Turbomachinery Airfoil Air Injection for Boundary Layer Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional turbomachinery designs face reduced efficiency potential due to increased aerodynamic loadings and pressure losses, leading to higher specific fuel consumption and operating temperatures, which are challenging to offset without increasing flow deviation.
Innovation Solution
Integrated air injection systems with surface vortex generation are implemented in turbomachinery airfoils, using aerodynamic passageways to inject air at targeted areas prone to flow losses, reducing boundary layer growth and flow deviation through the creation of surface vortices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If aerodynamic loadings are increased to improve performance, then power output is improved, but efficiency potential is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing air injection at specific target areas on the airfoil surface where flow losses are most significant. Rather than uniformly treating the entire airfoil, the system identifies and addresses localized regions with high flow deviation and boundary layer growth, injecting air precisely where needed to maintain efficiency while preserving overall aerodynamic loading.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical parameters of the airflow by injecting additional air at controlled locations and rates. This modifies the boundary layer characteristics, reduces flow deviation angles, and alters the velocity distribution across the airfoil surface, thereby improving efficiency without reducing the overall aerodynamic loading required for power generation.
2Power
If aerodynamic loadings are increased to improve performance, then power output is improved, but pressure losses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The air injection system performs preliminary anti-action by introducing air at locations upstream of where flow separation and high losses would naturally occur. This preemptive injection prevents the development of adverse flow patterns, maintaining attached flow and reducing pressure losses before they can significantly impact performance.
Solution Approach 2:
Pressure losses are addressed locally at specific target areas rather than throughout the entire flow field. The system identifies regions with high pressure loss potential and applies air injection precisely to those locations, maintaining overall pressure distribution while reducing localized losses that would otherwise accumulate.
3Power
If aerodynamic loadings are increased to improve performance, then power output is improved, but flow deviation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the flow direction parameters by injecting air at target areas where flow deviation is most pronounced. This modification to the local flow vectors reduces the overall flow deviation angle, making the system easier to control and operate while maintaining the high aerodynamic loadings necessary for power generation.
4Power
If stage counts are increased to improve performance, then power output is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the performance improvement function from additional stages and concentrates it within the existing stages through air injection. By removing the need for increased stage counts and implementing flow control directly in the airfoils, the system maintains power output while reducing the complexity associated with multiple stages.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach minimizes pressure losses and flow deviation, enhancing turbomachinery performance by optimizing airflow redirection and reducing boundary layer thickness, thereby improving efficiency and reducing the need for increased stage counts or fan/compressor loadings.
Implementation Method 1
The aerodynamic passageway is configured to deliver air from the airflow through the airfoil to a target region
Implementation Method 2
an airfoil with a leading edge, a trailing edge, a pressure side, and a suction side, and is configured to influence an airflow passing from the leading edge to the trailing edge
Implementation Method 3
outlets are configured to inject the air at targeted areas that have a propensity to generate substantial flow losses
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for air injection passageway integration and optimization in turbomachinery using surface vortex generation. An airfoil including a leading edge, a trailing edge, a pressure side, and a suction side, and is configured to influence an airflow as it passes from the leading edge to the trailing edge. The airfoil defines an aerodynamic passageway having an inlet on the pressure side and an outlet on the suction side to deliver air from the airflow through the airfoil to the suction side. The outlets are configured to inject the air at areas on either airfoil side targeted due to their propensity to generate undesirable boundary layer growth and associated flow losses. Outlet may also be included in the hub and the shroud of the turbomachine.