Current combat Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are being designed for a new threat environment demanding low observability and stealth capabilities, as well as for weight requirements. These aircraft are designed to minimize the overall radar cross section presented to enemy radar installations. Nevertheless, the desire to hide the engine face from direct observation leads to duct curvature and convolution and generates flow characteristics which can adversely affect engine performance. Moreover, line-of-sight obscuration over a short duct length increases the risk of flow separations within the duct at flight conditions. Consequently, enhanced understanding of the flow physics involved in complex innovative inlet design can result in improved methodologies for controlling these internal flows. In order to reduce costly wind tunnel experiments during the development phase of aerial vehicles, the ability to accurately predict the aerodynamic performance of highly integrated intakes is of great importance. This paper describes DES (Detached Eddy Simulation) computations performed for a subsonic UAV configuration within the Aerodynamics Action Group AD/AG-46 "Highly Integrated Subsonic Air Intakes" of the Group for Aeronautical Research and Technology in EURope (GARTEUR). The paper compares numerical results of hybrid RANS/LES (Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes/Large Eddy Simulation) computations with steady RANS and unsteady RANS (URANS) data as well as with experimental data for the EIKON UAV configuration designed and tested at FOI in Sweden. The time evolutions of radial and circumferential distortion coefficients at the Aerodynamic Interface Plane (AIP) very well demonstrate the highly turbulent character of the flow in the separated region downstream of the S-duct. NomenclatureAIP = Aerodynamic Interface Plane, model scale D=0.1524m AAEM = ALENIA AERMACCHI AoA, α = Angle of Attack AoS, β = Angle of Sideslip CDI = Circumferential distortion descriptor CFD = Computational Fluid Dynamics Cp = Pressure coefficient (Cp = (p-p ∞ )/q ∞ ) D = Engine fan (AIP) diameter DC60 = Circumferential distortion based on 60-sectors at the AIP plane: DDES = Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation L = Total duct length, full scale=1.65m, model scale=0.38m M, Ma, m, mach = Mach number p = Static pressure P0 = Total pressure PR = Total pressure recovery at AIP q = Dynamic pressure RDI = Radial distortion descriptor Re = Reynolds number S-A, SA = Spalart-Allmaras (turbulence model) T = Static temperature x, y, z = Coordinates in reference coordinate system ZDES = Zonal Detached Eddy Simulation Δt = Time step size μ = Absolute (dynamic) viscosity, 1.7894·10 -5 N.S.m -2 , ISA at sea level Subscript: ∞ = Freestream (tunnel) conditions AIP = Average conditions at AIP ref = Calculated reference values t, tot = Total state
The present study describes the application of a preliminary design approach for the optimization of an organic Rankine cycle radial turbine. Losses in the nozzle the rotor have initially been modelled using a mean-line design approach. The work focuses on a typical small-scale application of 50 kW, and two working fluids, R245fa (1,1,1,3,3,-pentafluoropropane) and R236fa (1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane) are considered for validation purposes. Real gas formulations have been used based on the NIST REFPROP database. The validation is based on a design from the literature, and the results demonstrate close agreement the reference geometry and thermodynamic parameters. The total-to-total efficiencies of the reference turbine designs were 72% and 79%. Following the validation exercise, an optimization process was performed using a controlled random search algorithm with the turbine efficiency set as the figure of merit. The optimization focuses on the R245fa working fluid since it is more suitable for the operating conditions of the proposed cycle, enables an overpressure in the condenser and allows higher system efficiency levels. The R236fa working fluid was also used for comparison with the literature, and the reason is the positive slope of the saturation curve, somehow is possible to work with lower temperatures. Key preliminary design variables such as flow coefficient, loading coefficient, and length parameter have been considered. While several optimized preliminary designs are available in the literature with efficiency levels of up to 90%, the preliminary design choices made will only hold true for machines operating with ideal gases, i.e. typical exhaust gases from an air-breathing combustion engine. For machines operating with real gases, such as organic working fluids, the design choices need to be rethought and a preliminary design optimization process needs to be introduced. The efficiency achieved in the final radial turbine design operating with R245fa following the optimization process was 82.4%. A three-dimensional analysis of the flow through the blade section using computational fluid dynamics was carried out on the final optimized design to confirm the preliminary design and further analyze its characteristics.
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