Combined Effects of Surface Trips and Unsteady Wakes on the Boundary Layer Development of an Ultra-High-Lift LP Turbine Blade

2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Feng Zhang ◽  
Howard Hodson

An experimental investigation of the combined effects of upstream unsteady wakes and surface trips on the boundary layer development on an ultra-high-lift low-pressure turbine blade, known as T106C, is described. Due to the large adverse pressure gradient, the incoming wakes are not strong enough to periodically suppress the large separation bubble on the smooth suction surface of the T106C blade. Therefore, the profile loss is not reduced as much as might be possible. The first part of this paper concerns the parametric study of the effect of surface trips on the profile losses to optimize the surface trip parameters. The parametric study included the effects of size, type, and location of the surface trips under unsteady flow conditions. The surface trips were straight cylindrical wires, straight rectangular steps, wavy rectangular steps, or wavy cylindrical wires. The second part studies the boundary layer development on the suction surface of the T106C linear cascade blade with and without the recommended surface trips to investigate the loss reduction mechanism. It is found that the selected surface trip does not induce transition immediately, but hastens the transition process in the separated shear layer underneath the wakes and between them. In this way, the combined effects of the surface trip and unsteady wakes further reduce the profile losses. This passive flow control method can be used over a relatively wide range of Reynolds numbers.

Author(s):  
Xue Feng Zhang ◽  
Howard Hodson

An experimental investigation of the combined effects of upstream unsteady wakes and surface trips on the boundary layer development on an ultra-high-lift low-pressure turbine blade, known as T106C, is described. The incoming wakes are not strong enough to periodically suppress the large separation bubble on the smooth suction surface of the T106C blade. Therefore, the profile loss is not reduced as much as might be possible. The first part of this paper concerns the parametric study of the effect of surface trips on the profile losses to optimise the trip parameters. The parametric study included the effects of size, type and location of the surface trips under unsteady flow conditions. The surface trips were straight cylindrical wires, straight rectangular steps, wavy rectangular steps or wavy cylindrical wires. The second part studies the boundary layer development on the suction surface of the T106C linear cascade blade with and without the recommended surface trips to investigate the loss reduction mechanism. It is found that the selected surface trip does not induce transition immediately but hastens the transition process in the separated shear layer underneath the wakes and between them. In this way, the combined effects of the surface trip and unsteady wakes further reduce the profile losses. This passive flow control method can be used over a relatively wide range of Reynolds numbers.


Author(s):  
Wenhua Duan ◽  
Jian Liu ◽  
Weiyang Qiao

Abstract A numerical analysis of the effect of Mach number on the boundary layer development and aerodynamic performance of a high-lift, after loaded low pressure turbine blade is presented in this paper. The turbine blade is designed for the GTF engine and works in a low Reynolds number, high Mach number environment. Three different isentropic exit Mach numbers (0.14, 0.87 and 1.17) are simulated by large eddy simulation method, while the Reynolds number based on the axial chord length of the blade and the exit flow velocity is kept the same (1 × 105). The condition Mais,2 = 0.14 represents the lowspeeed wind tunnel environment which is usually used in the low pressure turbine investigation. The condition Mais,2 = 0.87 represents the design point of the turbine blade. The condition Mais,2 = 1.17 represents the severe environment when the shock wave shows up. A comparison of the boundary layer development is made and the total pressure loss results from the boundary layer is discussed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sun Shuang ◽  
Lei Zhijun ◽  
Lu Xin’gen ◽  
Zhang Yanfeng ◽  
Zhu Junqiang

AbstractThe combined effects of upstream wakes and surface roughness on boundary layer development have been investigated experimentally to improve the performance of ultra-high-lift low-pressure turbine (LPT) blades. The measurement was performed on a linear cascade with an ultra-high-lift LP turbine profile named IET-LPTA with a Zweifel loading coefficient of about 1.4. The wakes were simulated by the moving cylindrical bars upstream of the cascade. The surface roughness was achieved using sandpaper strips which were placed into the slot incised on the blades surfaces. Three types of slots combined with three types of roughness heights formed a large measurement matrix. The roughness with a height of 8.82 μm (1.05×10


Author(s):  
Xingen Lu ◽  
Yanfeng Zhang ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Shuzhen Hu ◽  
Junqiang Zhu

The laminar-turbulent transition process in the boundary layer is of significant practical interest because the behavior of this boundary layer largely determines the overall efficiency of a low pressure turbine. This article presents complementary experimental and computational studies of the boundary layer development on an ultra-high-lift low pressure turbine airfoil under periodically unsteady incoming flow conditions. Particular emphasis is placed on the influence of the periodic wake on the laminar-turbulent transition process on the blade suction surface. The measurements were distinctive in that a closely spaced array of hot-film sensors allowed a very detailed examination of the suction surface boundary layer behavior. Measurements were made in a low-speed linear cascade facility at a freestream turbulence intensity level of 1.5%, a reduced frequency of 1.28, a flow coefficient of 0.70, and Reynolds numbers of 50,000 and 100,000, based on the cascade inlet velocity and the airfoil axial chord length. Experimental data were supplemented with numerical predictions from a commercially available Computational Fluid Dynamics code. The wake had a significant influence on the boundary layer of the ultra-high-lift low pressure turbine blade. Both the wake’s high turbulence and the negative jet behavior of the wake dominated the interaction between the unsteady wake and the separated boundary layer on the suction surface of the ultra-high-lift low pressure turbine airfoil. The upstream unsteady wake segments convecting through the blade passage behaved as a negative jet, with the highest turbulence occurring above the suction surface around the wake center. Transition of the unsteady boundary layer on the blade suction surface was initiated by the wake turbulence. The incoming wakes promoted transition onset upstream, which led to a periodic suppression of the separation bubble. The loss reduction was a compromise between the positive effect of the separation reduction and the negative effect of the larger turbulent-wetted area after reattachment due to the earlier boundary layer transition caused by the unsteady wakes. It appeared that the successful application of ultra-high-lift low pressure turbine blades required additional loss reduction mechanisms other than “simple” wake-blade interaction.


2009 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Feng Zhang ◽  
Howard Hodson

The effects of Reynolds numbers and the freestream turbulence intensities (FSTIs) on the unsteady boundary layer development on an ultra-high-lift low-pressure turbine airfoil, so-called T106C, are investigated. The measurements were carried out at both Tu=0.5% and 4.0% within a range of Reynolds numbers, based on the blade chord and the isentropic exit velocity, between 100,000 and 260,000. The interaction between the unsteady wake and the boundary layer depends on both the strength of the wake and the status of the boundary layer. At Tu=0.5%, both the wake’s high turbulence and the negative jet behavior of the wake dominate the interaction between the unsteady wake and the separated boundary layer on the suction surface of the airfoil. Since the wake turbulence cannot induce transition before separation on this ultra-high-lift blade, the negative jet of the wake has the opportunity to induce a rollup vortex. At Tu=4.0%, the time-mean separation on the suction surface is much smaller. With elevated FSTI, the turbulence in the wake just above the boundary layer is no longer distinguishable from the background turbulence level. The unsteady boundary layer transition is dominated by the wake’s negative jet induced boundary layer variation.


1982 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.J. Baker ◽  
L.C. Squire

SummaryDetailed measurements have been made of the boundary-layer development on a small two-dimensional aerofoil with supercritical flow and a weak shock wave, together with similar measurements on the tunnel side wall opposite the aerofoil surface. The Reynolds number of the test is similar to that found in the turbines of jet engines and there is a strong favourable pressure gradient ahead of the interaction of the shock with the boundary layer as often occurs in turbine blade passages. However, whereas the boundary layer on the aerofoil is thin and of the same thickness as that on a turbine blade, the thicker boundary layer on the wall is more typical of that on the hub or casing. The experimental results are compared with results from a wide range of calculation methods. One interesting conclusion from these comparisons is the fact that prediction methods which perform well for the thin boundary layers on the aerofoil do not necessarily perform as well for the thicker boundary layers on the wall.


Author(s):  
Xue Feng Zhang ◽  
Howard Hodson

The effects of Reynolds numbers and the freestream turbulence intensities (FSTI) on the unsteady boundary layer development on an ultra-high-lift low-pressure (LP) turbine airfoil, so-called T106C, are investigated. The measurements were carried out at both Tu = 0.5% and 4.0% within a range of Reynolds numbers, based on the blade chord and the isentropic exit velocity, between 100,000 and 260,000. The interaction between the unsteady wake and the boundary layer depends on both the strength of the wake and the status of the boundary layer. At Tu = 0.5%, both the wake’s high turbulence and the negative jet behaviour of the wake dominate the interaction between the unsteady wake and the separated boundary layer on the suction surface of the airfoil. Since the wake turbulence cannot induce transition before separation on this ultra-high-lift blade, the negative jet of the wake has the opportunity to induce a rollup vortex. At Tu = 4.0%, the time-mean separation on the suction surface is much smaller. With elevated FSTI, the turbulence in the wake just above the boundary layer is no longer distinguishable from the background turbulence level. The unsteady boundary layer transition is dominated by the wake’s negative jet induced boundary layer variation.


1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. P. Sharma ◽  
R. A. Graziani

This paper presents the results of an analysis to assess the influence of cascade passage endwall flow on the airfoil suction surface mid-height boundary layer development in a turbine cascade. The effect of the endwall flow is interpreted as the generation of a cross flow and a cross flow velocity gradient in the airfoil boundary layer, which results in an extra term in the mass conservation equation. This extra term is shown to influence the boundary layer development along the mid-height of the airfoil suction surface through an increase in the boundary layer thickness and consequently an increase in the mid-height losses, and a decrease in the Reynolds shear stress, mixing length, skin friction, and Stanton number. An existing two-dimensional differential boundary layer prediction method, STAN-5, is modified to incorporate the above two effects.


2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. Schobeiri ◽  
B. O¨ztu¨rk

The paper experimentally studies the effects of periodic unsteady wake flow on boundary layer development, separation and reattachment along the suction surface of a low pressure turbine blade. The experimental investigations were performed on a large scale, subsonic unsteady turbine cascade research facility at the Turbomachinery Performance and Flow Research Laboratory (TPFL), Texas A&M University. The experiments were carried out at a Reynolds number of 110,000 (based on suction surface length and exit velocity) with a free-stream turbulence intensity of 1.9%. One steady and two different unsteady inlet flow conditions with the corresponding passing frequencies, wake velocities, and turbulence intensities were investigated. The reduced frequencies cover the entire operating range of LP turbines. In addition to the unsteady boundary layer measurements, blade surface measurements were performed at the same Reynolds number. The surface pressure measurements were also carried out at one steady and two periodic unsteady inlet flow conditions. The results presented in ensemble-averaged, and the contour plot forms help to understand the physics of the separation phenomenon under periodic unsteady wake flow. It was found that the suction surface displayed a strong separation bubble for these three different reduced frequencies. For each condition, the locations and the heights defining the separation bubble were determined by carefully analyzing and examining the pressure and the mean velocity profile data. The location of boundary layer separation was independent of the reduced frequency level. However, the extent of the separation was strongly dependent on the reduced frequency level. Once the unsteady wake started to penetrate into the separation bubble, the turbulent spot produced in the wake paths caused a reduction of the separation bubble height.


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