Experimental and NumERical study of real-Gas Effects in TransonIc Compressors
Heat pump systems provide cost-effective solutions for recovering heat from various sources for use in a variety of industrial, commercial, or residential applications. As energy costs continue to rise, it is imperative to save energy and improve overall energy efficiency. Improving the performance and reliability of heat pumps, as well as their environmental impact, is an ongoing concern, and it is forced by the European Community. Most compressors in heat pump installations are centrifugal compressors, but for future large applications, axial-flow compressors might be solutions as well. Although compressors are a proven technology, the use of heavy organic vapors as working fluids increases the impact of blade roughness and non-ideal compressibility effects. As a result, low-fidelity numerical tools used in the design process can lead to large discrepancies in predicted performance, while high-fidelity models are prohibitively costly for industrial use. High-fidelity numerical simulations and experiments will be employed to improve our fundamental understanding of flows of complex fluids in compressors. Experiments in a compressor test and wind tunnel facility will be fused with high-fidelity simulations based on a compressible flow solver to learn data-driven models. The latter will be implemented and tested in low-fidelity codes against measurements. Axial-flow compressors, which are currently less used in the heat pump context, will also be studied experimentally and numerically. Utilizing a compressor cascade, secondary flow, shock wave boundary layer interactions, and roughness effects will be investigated in detail. Multifidelity optimization will be implemented to optimize compressor blades, in particular the secondary flows responsible for a significant proportion of losses. Axial and centrifugal compressors optimized to take advantage of the real gas effects associated with the use of organic vapor as a working fluid will then be tested in the CLOWT wind tunnel. The synergy between the numerical and experimental team has already been demonstrated in a previous ANR-DFG project Regal-ORC (13 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 20 contributions to international conference proceedings) and can unravel the physical mechanisms driving the energy efficiency of axial or centrifugal compressors, the key element in heat pump systems.
3/6 complete
Imported from OpenAIRE Germany | Grant ANR-25-CE50-0189.
Open sourceOverview
Grant agreement ANR-25-CE50-0189 | ENERGETIC
Open sourceHeat pump systems provide cost-effective solutions for recovering heat from various sources for use in a variety of industrial, commercial, or residential applications. As energy costs continue to rise, it is imperative to save energy and improve overall energy efficiency. Improving the performance and reliability of heat pumps, as well as their environmental impact, is an ongoing concern, and it is forced by the European Community. Most compressors in heat pump installations are centrifugal compressors, but for future large applications, axial-flow compressors might be solutions as well. Although compressors are a proven technology, the use of heavy organic vapors as working fluids increases the impact of blade roughness and non-ideal compressibility effects. As a result, low-fidelity numerical tools used in the design process can lead to large discrepancies in predicted performance, while high-fidelity models are prohibitively costly for industrial use. High-fidelity numerical simulations and experiments will be employed to improve our fundamental understanding of flows of complex fluids in compressors. Experiments in a compressor test and wind tunnel facility will be fused with high-fidelity simulations based on a compressible flow solver to learn data-driven models. The latter will be implemented and tested in low-fidelity codes against measurements. Axial-flow compressors, which are currently less used in the heat pump context, will also be studied experimentally and numerically. Utilizing a compressor cascade, secondary flow, shock wave boundary layer interactions, and roughness effects will be investigated in detail. Multifidelity optimization will be implemented to optimize compressor blades, in particular the secondary flows responsible for a significant proportion of losses. Axial and centrifugal compressors optimized to take advantage of the real gas effects associated with the use of organic vapor as a working fluid will then be tested in the CLOWT wind tunnel. The synergy between the numerical and experimental team has already been demonstrated in a previous ANR-DFG project Regal-ORC (13 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 20 contributions to international conference proceedings) and can unravel the physical mechanisms driving the energy efficiency of axial or centrifugal compressors, the key element in heat pump systems.