Critical speed

About: Critical speed is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2764 publications have been published within this topic receiving 31365 citations.

Determination of Blade Stresses Under Constant Speed and Transient Conditions With Nonlinear Damping

Abstract: Determination of resonant stresses is an important step in the life estimation of turbomachine blades. Resonance may occur either at a steady operating speed or under transient conditions of operation when the blade passes through a critical speed. Damping plays a significant role in limiting the amplitudes of vibration and stress values. The blade damping mechanism is very complex in nature, because of interfacial slip, material hysteresis, and gas dynamic damping occurring simultaneously. In this paper, a numerical technique to compute the stress response of a turbine blade with nonlinear damping characteristics, during steady and transient operations of the rotor, is presented. Damping is defined as a function of vibratory mode, rotor speed, and strain amplitude. The technique is illustrated by computing the stress levels at resonant rotor speeds for typical operation of a turbomachine.

Rotor Vibration Due to Collision With Annular Guard During Passage Through Critical Speed

Abstract: This paper deals with a nonstationary vibration of a rotor due to its collision with a guard during passage through a critical speed. An unbalanced rigid rotor supported by springs and dampers is accelerated at a constant angular acceleration and collides with an annular guard supported by springs and dampers. This dynamic process is calculated by the Runge-Kutta method, and effects of system-parameters on the process are discussed. The collision phenomenon is analyzed through two different theories. In the collision theory, the law of conservation of momentum and the coefficient of restitution are used in order to obtain rotor and guard velocities after collision. The impulse of the force induced by collision is assumed to be equal to the momentum change before and after collision. In the contact force theory, the contact force is assumed to be proportional to the overlapped displacement of the two bodies. Few differences are observed between the calculated responses based on the two theories. In some cases, the rotor executes a diverging backward whirl due to the friction force that occurs during collision with the guard and can not pass through the critical speed. The criteria maps for nonoccurrence of the backward whirl are shown.

Experimental Results and Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations of Labyrinth and Pocket Damper Seals for Wet Gas Compression

Abstract: The most recent development in centrifugal compressor technology is toward wet gas operating conditions. This means the centrifugal compressor has to manage a liquid phase which is varying between 0% and 3% liquid volume fraction (LVF) according to the most widely agreed definition. The centrifugal compressor operation is challenged by the liquid presence with respect to all the main aspects (e.g., thermodynamics, material selection, thrust load) and especially from a rotordynamic viewpoint. The main test results of a centrifugal compressor tested in a special wet gas loop (Bertoneri et al., 2014, “Development of Test Stand for Measuring Aerodynamic, Erosion, and Rotordynamic Performance of a Centrifugal Compressor Under Wet Gas Conditions,” ASME Paper No. GT2014-25349) show that wet gas compression (without an upstream separation) is a viable technology. In wet gas conditions, the rotordynamic behavior could be impacted by the liquid presence both from a critical speed viewpoint and stability-wise. Moreover, the major rotordynamic results from the previously mentioned test campaign (Vannini et al., 2014, “Centrifugal Compressor Rotordynamics in Wet Gas Conditions,” 43rd Turbomachinery Symposium, Houston) show that both vibrations when crossing the rotor first critical speed and stability (tested through a magnetic exciter) are not critically affected by the liquid phase. Additionally, it was found that the liquid may affect the vibration behavior by partially flooding the internal annular seals and causing a sort of forced excitation phenomenon. In order to better understand the wet gas test outcomes, the authors performed an extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis simulating all the different types of balance piston annular seals used (namely, a tooth on stator (TOS) labyrinth seal and a pocket damper seal (PDS)). They were simulated in both steady-state and transient conditions and finally compared in terms of liquid management capability. CFD simulation after a proper tuning (especially in terms of LVF level) showed interesting results which are mostly consistent with the experimental outcome. The results also provide a physical explanation of the behavior of both seals, which was observed during testing.

Forces on a slender ship advancing near the critical speed in a wide canal

Abstract: Employing matched asymptotics, the recent theory of Mei (1986) is extended to study the phenomenon of upstream influence by a slender ship moving near the critical speed. For a special class of channel width and ship slenderness, it is shown that the response on the sea surface is essentially one-dimensional with the wave crests perpendicular to the ship's axis. In particular, solitons are radiated upstream. The hydrodynamic pressure on the ship, as well as the total sinkage force, wave resistance and trimming moment are calculated. These forces are functions of time despite the constant speed of the ship. The sinkage and trim for a ship model fixed on an advancing carriage are computed and show rapid variations across the critical speed as in the reported experiments of Graff, kracht & Weinblum (1964). Because of the assumed slenderness of the ship, this theory does not predict two-dimensional waves in the wake. Nevertheless, there is crude agreement in the time-averaged hydrodynamic forces between theory and experiment.