Simulation of Entropy Generation under Stall Conditions in a Centrifugal Fan

Rotating stalls are generally the first instability met in turbomachinery, before surges. This 3D phenomenon is characterized by one or more stalled flow cells which rotate at a fraction of the impeller speed. The goal of the present work is to shed some light on the entropy generation in a centrifugal fan under rotating stall conditions. A numerical simulation of entropy generation is carried out with the ANSYS Fluent software which solves the Navier-Stokes equations and user defined function (UDF). The entropy generation characteristics in the centrifugal fan for five typical conditions are presented and discussed, involving the design condition, conditions on occurrence and development of stall inception, the rotating stall conditions with two throttle coefficients. The results show that the entropy generation increases after the occurrence of stall inception. The high entropy generation areas move along the circumferential and axial directions, and finally merge into one stall cell. The entropy generation rate during circumferential propagation of the stall cell is also discussed, showing that the entropy generation history is similar to sine curves in impeller and volute, and the volute tongue has a great influence on entropy generation in the centrifugal fan.