Boundary Layer Calculation Including the Prediction of Transition and Curvature Effects
The calculation of surface temperature on gas turbine blades in severe operating conditions requires a detailed knowledge of boundary layers behaviour. The prediction of laminar to turbulent transition as to existence and location, as well as the evaluation of heat transfer rates are major concerns. The program developed by SNECMA for this purpose is presented, in which models are introduced to take into account the main effects occuring on blades without film-cooling. The algorithm and discretisation scheme for boundary layer equations is Patankar and Spalding’s, with profiles initialization by Pohlhausen’s method. The turbulence and transition model, after Mc Donald and Fish, was improved in search for more stability and to have a better detection of the beginning of the transition. Adams and Johnston’s model for curvature, including propagation effects, was adapted to a transitional boundary layer. The validation tests of this program are described, which are based on numerous experimental data taken from a bibliography of tests over flat plates and blades. Other tests use heat transfer rate measurements conducted by SNECMA, together with VKI, on vanes and blades in non-rotating grids. The calculation results are further compared to the STAN5 program results; they show a superiority in predicting the transfer rates on a convex surface and for transitional boundary layers.