The Off-Design Performance of a Low-Pressure Turbine Cascade

1987 ◽  
Vol 109 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. P. Hodson ◽  
R. G. Dominy

The ability of a given blade profile to operate over a wide range of conditions is often of the utmost importance. This paper reports the off-design performance of a low-pressure turbine rotor root section in a linear cascade. Data were obtained using pneumatic probes and surface flow visualization. The effects of incidence (+9, 0, −20 deg), Reynolds (1.5, 2.9, 6.0 × 105), pitch-chord ratio (0.46, 0.56, 0.69), and inlet boundary layer thickness (0.011, 0.022 δ*/C) are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the three dimensionality of the flow field. Significant differences in the detail of the flow occur over the range of operating conditions investigated. It is found that the production of new secondary loss is greatest at lower Reynolds numbers, positive incidence, and the higher pitch-chord ratios.

Author(s):  
H. P. Hodson ◽  
R. G. Dominy

The ability of a given blade profile to operate over a wide range of conditions is often of the utmost importance. This paper reports the off-design performance of a low pressure turbine rotor root section in a linear cascade. Data were obtained using pneumatic probes and surface flow visualisation. The effects of incidence (+9, 0, −20 deg.), Reynolds No. (1.5, 2.9, 6.0×105), pitch-chord ratio (0.46, 0.56, 0.69) and inlet boundary layer thickness (0.011, 0.022 δ*/C) are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the three-dimensionality of the flow field. Significant differences in the detail of the flow occur over the range of operating conditions investigated. It is found that the production of new secondary loss is greatest at the lower Reynolds numbers, positive incidence and the higher pitch-chord ratios.


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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvio Chemnitz ◽  
Reinhard Niehuis

Abstract The development and verification of new turbulence models for Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equation-based numerical methods require reliable experimental data with a deep understanding of the underlying turbulence mechanisms. High accurate turbulence measurements are normally limited to simplified test cases under optimal experimental conditions. This work presents comprehensive three-dimensional data of turbulent flow quantities, comparing advanced constant temperature anemometry (CTA) and stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) methods under realistic test conditions. The experiments are conducted downstream of a linear, low-pressure turbine cascade at engine relevant high-speed operating conditions. The special combination of high subsonic Mach and low Reynolds number results in a low density test environment, challenging for all applied measurement techniques. Detailed discussions about influences affecting the measured result for each specific measuring technique are given. The presented time mean fields as well as total turbulence data demonstrate with an average deviation of ΔTu<0.4% and ΔC/Cref<0.9% an extraordinary good agreement between the results from the triple sensor hot-wire probe and the 2D3C-PIV setup. Most differences between PIV and CTA can be explained by the finite probe size and individual geometry.


2004 ◽  
Vol 128 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas G. Bohl ◽  
Ralph J. Volino

The effectiveness of three-dimensional passive devices for flow control on low pressure turbine airfoils was investigated experimentally. A row of small cylinders was placed at the pressure minimum on the suction side of a typical airfoil. Cases with Reynolds numbers ranging from 25,000 to 300,000 (based on suction surface length and exit velocity) were considered under low freestream turbulence conditions. Streamwise pressure profiles and velocity profiles near the trailing edge were documented. Without flow control a separation bubble was present, and at the lower Reynolds numbers the bubble did not close. Cylinders with two different heights and a wide range of spanwise spacings were considered. Reattachment moved upstream as the cylinder height was increased or the spacing was decreased. If the spanwise spacing was sufficiently small, the flow at the trailing edge was essentially uniform across the span. The cylinder size and spacing could be optimized to minimize losses at a given Reynolds number, but cylinders optimized for low Reynolds number conditions caused increased losses at high Reynolds numbers. The effectiveness of two-dimensional bars had been studied previously under the same flow conditions. The cylinders were not as effective for maintaining low losses over a range of Reynolds numbers as the bars.


Author(s):  
Florian Herbst ◽  
Dragan Kozˇulovic´ ◽  
Joerg R. Seume

Steady blowing vortex generating jets (VGJ) on highly-loaded low-pressure turbine profiles have shown to be a promising way to decrease total pressure losses at low Reynolds-numbers by reducing laminar separation. In the present paper, the state of the art turbomachinery design code TRACE with RANS turbulence closure and coupled γ-ReΘ transition model is applied to the prediction of typical aerodynamic design parameters of various VGJ configurations in steady simulations. High-speed cascade wind tunnel experiments for a wide range of Reynolds-numbers, two VGJ positions, and three jet blowing ratios are used for validation. Since the original transition model overpredicts separation and losses at Re2is ≤ 100·103 an extra mode for VGJ induced transition is introduced. Whereas the criterion for transition is modelled by a filtered Q vortex criterion the transition development itself is modelled by a reduction of the local transition-onset momentum-thickness Reynolds number. The new model significantly improves the quality of the computational results by capturing the corresponding local transition process in a physically reasonable way. This is shown to yield an improved quantitative prediction of surface pressure distributions and total pressure losses.


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.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Mack ◽  
Reinhard Niehuis ◽  
Andreas Fiala ◽  
Yavuz Guendogdu

The current work investigates the performance benefits of pulsed blowing with frequencies up to 10 kHz on a highly loaded low pressure turbine (LPT) blade. The influence of blowing position and frequency on the boundary layer and losses are investigated. Pressure profile distribution measurements and midspan wake traverses are used to assess the effects on the boundary layer under a wide range of Reynolds numbers from 50,000 to 200,000 at a cascade exit Mach number of 0.6 under steady as well as periodically unsteady inflow conditions. High-frequency blowing at sufficient amplitudes is achieved with the use of fluidic oscillators. The integral loss coefficient calculated from wake traverses is used to assess the optimum pressure ratio driving the fluidic oscillators. The results show that pulsed blowing with fluidic oscillators can significantly reduce the profile losses of the highly loaded LPT blade T161 with a moderate amount of air used in a wide range of Reynolds numbers under both steady and unsteady inflow conditions.


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