School of Water, Energy and Environment (SWEE)

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Browsing School of Water, Energy and Environment (SWEE) by Supervisor "Addali, Abdulmajid"

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    Experimental investigation of bubble activity at an early stage using te acoustic emission technique in two-phase flow systems.
    (2018-01) Alhashan, Taihiret; Addali, Abdulmajid; Teixeira, Joao Amaral
    This thesis presents an experimental investigation and identifies the feasibility of the use of AE technology to detect and monitor both early stage bubble occurrence and throughout the boiling process. The research programme also included monitoring of bubble formation/collapse phenomena in ball and globe valves using AE techniques. It was demonstrated that an AE piezoelectric sensor can detect pressure pulses associated with bubble occurrence during pool boiling and cavitation in flow through valves. For the pool boiling test, a dedicated test-rig was used to diagnose and monitor bubble formation. It was concluded that bubble occurrence is detectable with AE techniques and there is a clear relationship between increasing AE levels and bubble formation during the boiling process. For the valve tests, a purpose-built test-rig was used to monitor and detect cavitation phenomena with various flow rates and different valve opening percentages. It was shown that AE will detect incipient cavitation and that there is a clear correlation between AE signal levels and the flow rate through the ball and globe valves at a constant opening percentage. This investigation successfully demonstrated that AE monitoring is capable of early diagnosis and monitoring of bubble formation phenomena in boiling processes and valves. This research developed a methodology and prototype framework for using the AE technique for detection and diagnosis of early bubble formation and collapse, allowing cavitation development to be tracked, and maintenance activity to be planned to maximise equipment life and minimise downtime.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Heat removal in high pressure turbine seal segments
    (Cranfield University, 2017-02) Alenezi, Abdulrahman H.; Amaral Teixeira, Joao; Addali, Abdulmajid
    An important parameter for turbomachinery designers is “clearance control”, because the clearances between interfaces must be set to optimum values to maximize power output, operational life and efficiency. Leakage of hot gas result- ing from excessive clearance, can lead to flow instabilities, components overheat- ing, lower cycle efficiency and a dramatic increase in specific fuel consumption (SFC). Seal segments are used to reduce blade tip leakage, maintain coolant air flow and the stability of rotor-dynamic systems, helping to maximize blade perfor- mance. Seal segments in the High-Pressure Turbine (HPT) stages are one of the hottest components as they face the hot gases coming from the combustion chamber with temperatures which can reach 1700 0 C and which makes them sub- ject to oxidation, erosion, and creep. Thus, seal segments need to be protected. They are currently cooled using jet impingement techniques, passing cooling air (supplied by the high-pressure stage of the compressor) through channels to di- rectly impinge on the hot surfaces. The focus of this research was to improve the jet impingement cooling of the seal segments in HPTs by investigating methods that provide more effective heat removal. The role played by configurations of ribs (surface roughness using be- spoke turbulators), custom-made seal-segments, and surface features such as contouring, both in isolation and combination, were investigated using numerical methods. A set of 174 simulations were carried including the use of uniform and non-uniform roughness elements with different shapes and heights. Firstly, three different uniform roughness elements were tested, a square cross-sectional continuous rib, a hemi-spherical pin-fin and a cubical pin-fin for three jet impingement angles of α=90°, 60° and 45°. Each roughness element was also tested for six different heights (e) between 0.25 mm and 1.5 mm in increments of 0.25 mm. Results are presented in the form of average Nusselt number within and beyond the stagnation region. Secondly, the effect of using a roughness element with a square cross section in the shape of a circle, on the average Nu was investigated for four different radial locations (R), three jet angles (α) and six rib heights (e). Finally, the roughness element used was continuous, of square cross-sec- tion, in the shape of tear drops and reversed tear drops. This meant the rib did not act as a total barrier to flow in either the uphill or downhill direction.