Session: 22-02 Fan Aerodynamic Excitation and Inlet Distortion 2

Paper Number: 126523

126523 - Fan Non-Synchronous Forced Vibration Under Crosswind 

Inlet distortion is paramount in influencing the behavior of the initial compressor stages in an aeroengine. This distortion not only reduces the efficiency and performance of the aircraft fans but also has an additional effect on the flutter stability of the fan of aircraft engines. At present, most design analysis methods are based on the assumption of clean inlet flow, as modeling distortion is complex. However, the influence of distortion must be taken into account during the design due to its frequent appearance in more compact nacelles that use shorter intakes and its detrimental effects.

Some researchers in the past have studied flutter issues in distorted inflow conditions with a predefined distortion pattern, such as a simple sinusoidal steady total pressure inlet distortion, without solving the distortion produced at the inlet. In reality, distortion is manifested as a complex phenomenon that can be caused by several factors. To the knowledge of the authors, no work has been published on the effect of realistic crosswind distortion on the aeromechanical response of a fan.

Therefore, this paper examines the influence of a realistic inlet-solved distortion pattern caused by crosswind on the flutter response of a loaded transonic fan rotor using a 3D unstructured Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes aerolastic solver. The mechanical model solves the modal equations of the structure, allowing for a direct computation of the structural response during unsteady simulations. The impact of stability in the distorted case is assessed by comparing with the clean intake results.

Presenting Author: Venkata y.t. Chennuru Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Presenting Author Biography: Venkata got his bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from NIT Trichy, India, and proceeded to get his Masters dual degree from THRUST program at KTH and University of Liege. He did his master's thesis at Imperial College London in 2023. Currently, he is a second Ph.D. student under Prof. Roque Corral's turbomachinery and aeromechanics group at the Politechnic University of Madrid.

Authors:

Venkata y.t. Chennuru Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Roque Corral García Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Salvador Rodríguez-Blanco Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Mehdi Vahdati Imperial College London
Fanzhou Zhao Imperial College London