Session: 14-01 Compressor Cavities 1

Paper Number: 126369

126369 - Analysis of Heat Transfer Within Buoyancy Dominated Rotating Cavities of H.P Compressors 

A detailed knowledge of the flow structure and heat transfer within disc cavities is required for designing safe and efficient aero-engine compressors with a useful operating range. This paper presents the results from temperature field measurements obtained from the Multiple Cavity test facility at the University of Sussex. This emulates the secondary air system in an aircraft engine high-pressure compressor. It comprises four externally heated disc-cavities and is supplied by a cool bore flow. The heat transfer is studied with the help of finite-element method using measured temperatures as boundary conditions. A validated 2D steady state heat conduction analysis methodology is also presented. Results are presented for a range of values of Rossby number, rotational and axial Reynolds numbers and the buoyancy parameter. The sensitivity of the estimated overall cavity heat transfer over different fitting approximations used for disc surface temperature distribution is discussed. A numerical study using the Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) methodology was carried out and the results were compared and validated with the experimental measurements. The numerical results show the coupled nature of the flow structure and temperature distributions along the cob and the disc. The data analysis of the numerical results inside the cavities has also shown the existence of pairs of cyclonic and anti-cyclonic circulations.

Presenting Author: Seyed Mostafa Fazeli University of Sussex

Presenting Author Biography: After finishing a BSc in Mechanical Engineering at Tehran, I worked in the industry for several years. I then continued my postgraduate study at University of Sussex in Advanced Mechanical Engineering. I was subsequently granted a full fund PhD research project by a member of staff. I have been working on the heated rotating cavity flow structure and heat transfer experimentally and numerically since I started my PhD course.

Authors:

Seyed Mostafa Fazeli University of Sussex
Vasudevan Kanjirakkad University of Sussex
Christopher Long University of Sussex