scholarly journals Predictions of Separated and Transitional Boundary Layers Under Low-Pressure Turbine Airfoil Conditions Using an Intermittency Transport Equation

2003 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. B. Suzen ◽  
P. G. Huang ◽  
Lennart S. Hultgren ◽  
David E. Ashpis

A new transport equation for the intermittency factor was proposed to predict separated and transitional boundary layers under low-pressure turbine airfoil conditions. The intermittent behavior of the transitional flows is taken into account and incorporated into computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, μt, with the intermittency factor, γ. Turbulent quantities are predicted by using Menter’s two-equation turbulence model (SST). The intermittency factor is obtained from a transport equation model, which not only can reproduce the experimentally observed streamwise variation of the intermittency in the transition zone, but also can provide a realistic cross-stream variation of the intermittency profile. In this paper, the intermittency model is used to predict a recent separated and transitional boundary layer experiment under low pressure turbine airfoil conditions. The experiment provides detailed measurements of velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and intermittency profiles for a number of Reynolds numbers and freestream turbulent intensity conditions and is suitable for validation purposes. Detailed comparisons of computational results with experimental data are presented and good agreements between the experiments and predictions are obtained.

2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. B. Suzen ◽  
P. G. Huang ◽  
D. E. Ashpis ◽  
R. J. Volino ◽  
T. C. Corke ◽  
...  

A transport equation for the intermittency factor is employed to predict the transitional flows in low-pressure turbines. The intermittent behavior of the transitional flows is taken into account and incorporated into computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, μt, with the intermittency factor, γ. Turbulent quantities are predicted by using Menter’s two-equation turbulence model (SST). The intermittency factor is obtained from a transport equation model which can produce both the experimentally observed streamwise variation of intermittency and a realistic profile in the cross stream direction. The model had been previously validated against low-pressure turbine experiments with success. In this paper, the model is applied to predictions of three sets of recent low-pressure turbine experiments on the Pack B blade to further validate its predicting capabilities under various flow conditions. Comparisons of computational results with experimental data are provided. Overall, good agreement between the experimental data and computational results is obtained. The new model has been shown to have the capability of accurately predicting transitional flows under a wide range of low-pressure turbine conditions.


2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. B. Suzen ◽  
P. G. Huang

An extensive computational investigation of the effects of unsteady wake/blade interactions on transition and separation in low-pressure turbines has been performed by numerical simulations of two recent sets of experiments using an intermittency transport equation. The experiments considered have been performed by Kaszeta and Simon and Stieger in order to investigate the effects of periodically passing wakes on laminar-to-turbulent transition and separation in low-pressure turbines. The test sections were designed to simulate unsteady wakes in turbine engines for studying their effects on boundary layers and separated flow regions over the suction surface. The numerical simulations of the unsteady wake/blade interaction experiments have been performed using an intermittency transport model. The intermittent behavior of the transitional flows is taken into account and incorporated into computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, with the intermittency factor. Turbulent quantities are predicted by using Menter’s two-equation turbulence model (SST). The intermittency factor is obtained from the transport equation model, which can produce both the experimentally observed streamwise variation of intermittency and a realistic profile in the cross-stream direction. Computational results are compared to the experiments. Overall, general trends are captured and prediction capabilities of the intermittency transport model for simulations of unsteady wake/blade interaction flowfields are demonstrated.


Author(s):  
Y. B. Suzen ◽  
P. G. Huang

An extensive computational investigation of the effects of unsteady wake/blade interactions on transition and separation in low-pressure turbines has been performed by numerical simulations of two recent sets of experiments using an intermittency transport equation. The experiments considered have been performed by Kaszeta and Simon [1] (Kaszeta et al. [2,3]), and Stieger [4] (Stieger and Hodson [5]) in order to investigate the effects of periodically passing wakes on laminar-to-turbulent transition and separation in low-pressure turbines. The test sections were designed to simulate unsteady wakes in turbine engines for studying their effects on boundary layers and separated flow regions over the suction surface. The numerical simulations of the unsteady wake/blade interaction experiments have been performed using an intermittency transport model. The intermittent behavior of the transitional flows is taken into account and incorporated into computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, with the intermittency factor. Turbulent quantities are predicted by using Menter’s two-equation turbulence model (SST). The intermittency factor is obtained from the transport equation model which can produce both the experimentally observed streamwise variation of intermittency and a realistic profile in the cross stream direction. Computational results are compared to the experiments. Overall, general trends are captured and prediction capabilities of the intermittency transport model for simulations of unsteady wake/blade interaction flowfields are demonstrated.


2000 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. B. Suzen ◽  
P. G. Huang

A new transport equation for intermittency factor is proposed to model transitional flows. The intermittent behavior of the transitional flows is incorporated into the computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, μt, obtainable from a turbulence model, with the intermittency factor, γ:μt*=γμt. In this paper, Menter’s SST model is employed to compute μt and other turbulent quantities. The proposed intermittency transport equation can be considered as a blending of two models—Steelant and Dick and Cho and Chung. The former was proposed for near-wall flows and was designed to reproduce the streamwise variation of the intermittency factor in the transition zone following Dhawan and Narasimha correlation and the latter was proposed for free shear flows and a realistic cross-stream variation of the intermittency profile was reproduced. The new model was used to predict the T3 series experiments assembled by Savill including flows with different freestream turbulence intensities and two pressure-gradient cases. For all test cases good agreements between the computed results and the experimental data were observed. [S0098-2202(00)02302-6]


Author(s):  
Marion Mack ◽  
Roland Brachmanski ◽  
Reinhard Niehuis

The performance of the low pressure turbine (LPT) can vary appreciably, because this component operates under a wide range of Reynolds numbers. At higher Reynolds numbers, mid and aft loaded profiles have the advantage that transition of suction side boundary layer happens further downstream than at front loaded profiles, resulting in lower profile loss. At lower Reynolds numbers, aft loading of the blade can mean that if a suction side separation exists, it may remain open up to the trailing edge. This is especially the case when blade lift is increased via increased pitch to chord ratio. There is a trend in research towards exploring the effect of coupling boundary layer control with highly loaded turbine blades, in order to maximize performance over the full relevant Reynolds number range. In an earlier work, pulsed blowing with fluidic oscillators was shown to be effective in reducing the extent of the separated flow region and to significantly decrease the profile losses caused by separation over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. These experiments were carried out in the High-Speed Cascade Wind Tunnel of the German Federal Armed Forces University Munich, Germany, which allows to capture the effects of pulsed blowing at engine relevant conditions. The assumed control mechanism was the triggering of boundary layer transition by excitation of the Tollmien-Schlichting waves. The current work aims to gain further insight into the effects of pulsed blowing. It investigates the effect of a highly efficient configuration of pulsed blowing at a frequency of 9.5 kHz on the boundary layer at a Reynolds number of 70000 and exit Mach number of 0.6. The boundary layer profiles were measured at five positions between peak Mach number and the trailing edge with hot wire anemometry and pneumatic probes. Experiments were conducted with and without actuation under steady as well as periodically unsteady inflow conditions. The results show the development of the boundary layer and its interaction with incoming wakes. It is shown that pulsed blowing accelerates transition over the separation bubble and drastically reduces the boundary layer thickness.


1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. G. Murawski ◽  
K. Vafai

An experimental study was conducted in a two-dimensional linear cascade, focusing on the suction surface of a low pressure turbine blade. Flow Reynolds numbers, based on exit velocity and suction length, have been varied from 50,000 to 300,000. The freestream turbulence intensity was varied from 1.1 to 8.1 percent. Separation was observed at all test Reynolds numbers. Increasing the flow Reynolds number, without changing freestream turbulence, resulted in a rearward movement of the onset of separation and shrinkage of the separation zone. Increasing the freestream turbulence intensity, without changing Reynolds number, resulted in shrinkage of the separation region on the suction surface. The influences on the blade’s wake from altering freestream turbulence and Reynolds number are also documented. It is shown that width of the wake and velocity defect rise with a decrease in either turbulence level or chord Reynolds number. [S0098-2202(00)00202-9]


2008 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Vera ◽  
Elena de la Rosa Blanco ◽  
Howard Hodson ◽  
Raul Vazquez

Research by de la Rosa Blanco et al. (“Influence of the State of the Inlet Endwall Boundary Layer on the Interaction Between the Pressure Surface Separation and the Endwall Flows,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., Part A, 217, pp. 433–441) in a linear cascade of low pressure turbine (LPT) blades has shown that the position and strength of the vortices forming the endwall flows depend on the state of the inlet endwall boundary layer, i.e., whether it is laminar or turbulent. This determines, amongst other effects, the location where the inlet boundary layer rolls up into a passage vortex, the amount of fluid that is entrained into the passage vortex, and the interaction of the vortex with the pressure side separation bubble. As a consequence, the mass-averaged stagnation pressure loss and therefore the design of a LPT depend on the state of the inlet endwall boundary layer. Unfortunately, the state of the boundary layer along the hub and casing under realistic engine conditions is not known. The results presented in this paper are taken from hot-film measurements performed on the casing of the fourth stage of the nozzle guide vanes of the cold flow affordable near term low emission (ANTLE) LPT rig. These results are compared with those from a low speed linear cascade of similar LPT blades. In the four-stage LPT rig, a transitional boundary layer has been found on the platforms upstream of the leading edge of the blades. The boundary layer is more turbulent near the leading edge of the blade and for higher Reynolds numbers. Within the passage, for both the cold flow four-stage rig and the low speed linear cascade, the new inlet boundary layer formed behind the pressure leg of the horseshoe vortex is a transitional boundary layer. The transition process progresses from the pressure to the suction surface of the passage in the direction of the secondary flow.


Author(s):  
Franz F. Blaim ◽  
Roland E. Brachmanski ◽  
Reinhard Niehuis

The objective of this paper is to analyze the influence of incoming periodic wakes, considering the variable width, on the integral total pressure loss for two low pressure turbine (LPT) airfoils. In order to reduce the overall weight of a LPT, the pitch to chord ratio was continuously increased, during the past decades. However, this increase encourages the development of the transition phenomena or even flow separation on the suction side of the blade. At low Reynolds numbers, large separation bubbles can occur there, which are linked with high total pressure losses. The incoming wakes of the upstream blades are known to trigger early transition, leading to a reduced risk of flow separation and hence minor integral total pressure losses caused by separation. For the further investigation of these effects, different widths of the incoming wakes will be examined in detail, here. This variation is carried out by using the numerical Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Solver TRACE developed by the DLR Cologne in collaboration with MTU Aero Engines AG. For the variation of the width of the wakes, a variable boundary condition was modeled, which includes the wake vorticity parameters. The width of the incoming wakes was used as the relevant variable parameter. The implemented boundary condition models the unsteady behavior of the incoming wakes by the variation of the velocity profile, using a prescribed frequenc. TRACE can use two different transition models; the main focus here is set to the γ–Reθt transition model, which uses local variables in a transport equation, to trigger the transition within the turbulence transport equation system. The experimental results were conducted at the high speed cascade open loop test facility at the Institute for Jet Propulsion at the University of the German Federal Armed Forces in Munich. For the investigation presented here, two LPT profiles — which were designed with a similar inlet angle, turning, and pitch are analyzed. However, with a common exit Mach number and a similar Reynolds number range between 40k and 400k, one profile is front loaded and the other one is aft loaded. Numerical unsteady results are in good agreement with the conducted measurements. The influence of the width of the wake on the time resolved transition behavior, represented by friction coefficient plots and momentum loss thickness will be analyzed in this paper.


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