Influence of Tip Clearance on the Inter Blade and Exit Flow Field of a Turbine Rotor Cascade

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Govardhan ◽  
N. Venkatrayulu ◽  
V. S. Vishnubhotla
Keyword(s):  
Static Pressure ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Turbine Rotor ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Turbine Cascade ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Static Pressure Distribution ◽  
Blade Tip ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Downstream Flow

A detailed study of flow through the blade passage and downstream of a linear turbine cascade was carried out for four cases of tip clearance including zero clearance. Apart from inlet traverse, a total of eight stations were chosen for inter-blade flow traversing between 5% and 95% of axial chord from leading edge. Downstream flow surveys were made at distances of 106% of axial chord from the blade leading edge. Pitchwise and spanwise traverses were conducted for each tip clearance at these stations using a small five hole probe. Provision was also made for the measurement of static pressure distribution on the suction and pressure surfaces and also on the blade tip surface when clearance is present. At about 40% of axial chord from the leading edge, the presence of clearance vortex is identified inside the passage. The growth of the clearance vortex in size, its movement towards the suction surface and its increase in strength with the gap size were observed beyond 55% of axial chord till the trailing edge region. The rate of growth of the losses in the endwall region increased with clearance. Horse shoe vortex was not observed for the highest clearance. The overall losses increase rapidly with clearance in the rear half of the blade.

scholarly journals Numerical Calculation of Flow for Cascade With Tip Clearance

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shimpei Mizuki ◽  
Hoshio Tsujita
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Turbine Cascade ◽  
Governing Equations ◽  
Tensor Form ◽  
Pressure Surface ◽  
Rear Part ◽  
Blade Tip ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Blade Tip Geometry

Three-dimensional incompressible turbulent flow within a linear turbine cascade with tip clearance is analyzed numerically. The governing equations involving the standard k-ε model are solved in the physical component tensor form with a boundary-fitted coordinate system. In the analysis, the blade tip geometry is treated accurately in order to predict the flow through the tip clearance in detail when the blades have large thicknesses. Although the number of grids employed in the present study is not enough because of the limitation of computer storage memory, the computed results show good agreements with the experimental results. Moreover, the results clearly exhibit the locus of minimum pressure on the rear part of the pressure surface at the blade tip.

Flow in a Turbine Cascade: Part 1—Losses and Leading-Edge Effects

1984 ◽  
Vol 106 (2) ◽  
pp. 400-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Moore ◽  
A. Ransmayr
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Turbine Cascade ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Linear Cascade ◽  
High Loss ◽  
Downstream Flow

An experimental investigation was conducted to study the effect of the leading-edge shape on the overall losses in a large-scale linear cascade of turbine blades. The leading-edge shapes used were a cylinder and a wedge. The cascade was designed to be geometrically similar to the cascade used by Langston et al. at United Technologies Research Center, with the same span/chord and pitch/chord ratios. Measurements of wall static pressure on the blades and of total pressure and flow direction downstream of the cascade showed only minor changes due to the alteration of the leading-edge shape. The measurements of the flow and loss distributions downstream of the cascade complement the results of Langston et al., which showed the flow development only within the cascade. The downstream flow is important, however, as apppoximately 50 percent of the losses occur downstream of the trailing edge. Regions of high loss were found near midspan at an axial location 40 percent of the axial chord downstream of the trailing edge. The sources of fluid in these regions are determined in Part 2.

scholarly journals The Tip Clearance Cavitation Mechanism of a High-Speed Centrifugal Pump with a Splitter-Bladed Inducer

Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1576
Author(s):  
Xiaomei Guo ◽  
Shidong Yang ◽  
Xiaojun Li ◽  
Liang Shi ◽  
Ertian Hua ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
High Speed ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Small Range ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Static Pressure Distribution ◽  
The Impact ◽  
External Characteristics

For a high-speed centrifugal pump, cavitation occurs easily. To equip a high-performance splitter-bladed inducer upstream of the pump is an effective method to suppress cavitation. In this paper, an external characteristics experiment of the high-speed centrifugal pump with a splitter-bladed inducer is carried out, and the corresponding numerical calculations are completed. The research shows that the results of the numerical calculation are credible. Numerical cavitation calculations under eight different tip clearance conditions are carried out. First, it is found that the tip clearance (TC) has a certain impact on the head of the centrifugal pump. When TC is in a small range, the clearance leakage is small, and the impact on the head of the pump is not so obvious, which can give the pump a higher performance. Second, it is found that TC has a certain influence on the static pressure distribution in the cascade passage of the splitter-bladed inducer. When TC is in a certain range, the increasement in TC will aggravate the cavitation at the suction surface of the long blades near the inlet. When it exceeds the certain range, it will cause cavitation at the outlet of the inducer. At last, it is found that the cavitation’s severity and position of the inducer are closely related to TC. TC affects the magnitude and position of vorticity in the inducer’s passage. In this paper the flow mechanism of TC is revealed, and its research results can provide theoretical basis and technical support for the design of the tip clearance of the inducers.

Methods for Desensitizing Tip Clearance Effects in Turbines

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Tallman ◽  
B. Lakshminarayana
Keyword(s):  
Turbulence Modeling ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Appreciable Amount ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Blade Loading ◽  
Blade Tip ◽  
Flow Through

This study is an attempt to reduce the effect of the leakage vortex in axial flow turbines. A 3D Navier-Stokes CFD solver with k-ε turbulence modeling was used compute the flow through an axial flow turbine with modified blade tip designs. A baseline flat tip case and three modified tip cases were simulated and the leakage flow and vortex for each was analyzed in detail. The three modified blade tip designs each involved adding a chamfer to the tip of the blade, in an attempt to diffuse the leakage flow through the gap and obstruct the leakage flow with the outer casing’s shear layer. Chamfering of the blade tip near the leading edge of the gap and across the entire gap region both failed to reduce the size and strength of the leakage vortex. By chamfering the blade tip near the trailing edge of the gap, the leakage flow inside the gap was turned toward the direction of the blade’s camber. This turning resulted in a decrease in the size and the strength of the leakage vortex and its subsequent losses, while at the same time, did not reduce the blade loading by an appreciable amount. This paper is available in color on the World Wide Web at http://navier.aero.psu.edu/∼jat/research.html

Unsteady Endwall/Tip-Clearance Flows and Losses due to Turbine Rotor-Stator Interaction

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsumasa Yamamoto ◽  
Takayuki Matsunuma ◽  
Kenichiro Ikeuchi ◽  
Eisuke Outa
Keyword(s):  
Static Pressure ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Turbine Rotor ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Time Dependent ◽  
Random Fluctuation ◽  
Generation Process ◽  
Rotor Stator Interaction ◽  
Random Fluctuations

Unsteady static pressure on the tip endwall of a 1.5-stage low-speed axial-flow turbine was measured in detail using a micro high-response pressure transducer to investigate effects of rotor-stator interaction on the endwall and tip-clearance flows which play important roles in turbine loss generation process. In the present paper, distributions of the time-averaged and the time-dependent pressures over the rust-stage rotor and the second-stage stator are presented. Also time-averaged and time-dependent random fluctuations of the pressure were analyzed to understand unsteady behaviors of the flows and the associated losses over the endwall as well as inside the blade tip clearance. These unsteady characteristics were described for three rotor speeds with different incidences or loadings. Significantly large random fluctuations occur around the blade surfaces, particularly at the inlet and the outlet of the tip gap of the leakage flows, and in a flow separated region from the blade leading edge in a large negative incidence case A strong relation was found between the random fluctuation of the endwall static pressure and the total pressure loss inside the rotor, where large random fluctuation is attributed to high loss and vice versa. It can be seen clearly that the loss generation process is fairly unsteady due to the rotor-stator interaction.

Unsteady Numerical Simulation of Shock Systems in Vaneless Counter-Rotating Turbine

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huishe Wang ◽  
Qingjun Zhao ◽  
Xiaolu Zhao ◽  
Jianzhong Xu
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Mach Number ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Turbine Rotor ◽  
Nozzle Design ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Rotor Wake ◽  
Wake Interaction ◽  
Unsteady Numerical Simulation ◽  
Almost All

A detailed unsteady numerical simulation has been carried out to investigate the shock systems in the high pressure (HP) turbine rotor and unsteady shock-wake interaction between coupled blade rows in a 1+1/2 counter-rotating turbine (VCRT). For the VCRT HP rotor, due to the convergent-divergent nozzle design, along almost all the span, fishtail shock systems appear after the trailing edge, where the pitch averaged relative Mach number is exceeding the value of 1.4 and up to 1.5 approximately (except the both endwalls). A group of pressure waves create from the suction surface after about 60% axial chord in the VCRT HP rotor, and those waves interact with the inner-extending shock (IES). IES first impinges on the next HP rotor suction surface and its echo wave is strong enough and cannot be neglected, then the echo wave interacts with the HP rotor wake. Strongly influenced by the HP rotor wake and LP rotor, the HP rotor outer-extending shock (OES) varies periodically when moving from one LP rotor leading edge to the next. In VCRT, the relative Mach numbers in front of IES and OES are not equal, and in front of IES, the maximum relative Mach number is more than 2.0, but in front of OES, the maximum relative Mach number is less than 1.9. Moreover, behind IES and OES, the flow is supersonic. Though the shocks are intensified in VCRT, the loss resulted in by the shocks is acceptable, and the HP rotor using convergent-divergent nozzle design can obtain major benefits.

scholarly journals Effects of Tip Clearance Gap and Exit Mach Number on Turbine Blade Tip and Near-Tip Heat Transfer

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Anto ◽  
S. Xue ◽  
W. F. Ng ◽  
L. J. Zhang ◽  
H. K. Moon
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Mach Number ◽  
Turbine Blade ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Suction Side ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Pressure Side ◽  
Engine Blade ◽  
Blade Tip ◽  
Exit Mach Number

This study focuses on local heat transfer characteristics on the tip and near-tip regions of a turbine blade with a flat tip, tested under transonic conditions in a stationary, 2-D linear cascade with high freestream turbulence. The experiments were conducted at the Virginia Tech transonic blow-down wind tunnel facility. The effects of tip clearance and exit Mach number on heat transfer distribution were investigated on the tip surface using a transient infrared thermography technique. In addition, thin film gages were used to study similar effects in heat transfer on the near-tip regions at 94% height based on engine blade span of the pressure and suction sides. Surface oil flow visualizations on the blade tip region were carried-out to shed some light on the leakage flow structure. Experiments were performed at three exit Mach numbers of 0.7, 0.85, and 1.05 for two different tip clearances of 0.9% and 1.8% based on turbine blade span. The exit Mach numbers tested correspond to exit Reynolds numbers of 7.6 × 105, 9.0 × 105, and 1.1 × 106 based on blade true chord. The tests were performed with a high freestream turbulence intensity of 12% at the cascade inlet. Results at 0.85 exit Mach showed that an increase in the tip gap clearance from 0.9% to 1.8% translates into a 3% increase in the average heat transfer coefficients on the blade tip surface. At 0.9% tip clearance, an increase in exit Mach number from 0.85 to 1.05 led to a 39% increase in average heat transfer on the tip. High heat transfer was observed on the blade tip surface near the leading edge, and an increase in the tip clearance gap and exit Mach number augmented this near-leading edge tip heat transfer. At 94% of engine blade height on the suction side near the tip, a peak in heat transfer was observed in all test cases at s/C = 0.66, due to the onset of a downstream leakage vortex, originating from the pressure side. An increase in both the tip gap and exit Mach number resulted in an increase, followed by a decrease in the near-tip suction side heat transfer. On the near-tip pressure side, a slight increase in heat transfer was observed with increased tip gap and exit Mach number. In general, the suction side heat transfer is greater than the pressure side heat transfer, as a result of the suction side leakage vortices.

Experimental Investigation on the Annular Sector Cascade of a High Endwall-Angle Turbine

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiliang Fu ◽  
Jie Gao ◽  
Chen Liang ◽  
Fukai Wang ◽  
Qun Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mach Number ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Incidence Angle ◽  
Pressure Sensors ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Turbine Cascade ◽  
Cascade Flow ◽  
Annular Sector ◽  
The Way

The flow in high endwall-angle turbine is complex, and it is different from the ordinary turbine flow in characteristics. In order to study the flow field characteristics of high endwall-angle turbines, the annular sector cascade experimental study of high endwall-angle turbines is carried out. The blade is studied experimentally in the form of annular sector cascade. The cascade includes 7 blades, and makes up 6 flow passages, in order to simulate full cascade flow. The experimental Mach number is adjusted by the way of changing inlet total pressure, and the Mach number influence (0.7, 0.8 and 0.9) on annular sector cascade flow is studied. Based on it, the inlet incidence angle (−15°, −7.5°, 0°, 7.5° and 15° )is changed with the way of changing sector straight pipes upstream of the cascade, and its influence on turbine flow fields is studied at the Mach number of 0.8. Here, five-hole probes are used to measure aerodynamic parameters distributions downstream of the cascade, and static pressure taps are positioned on the blade surface to measure surface static pressure distribution. The auto-traversing system and pressure sensors were operated by a self-compiled program based control program. The results indicate that there are two passage vortices inside the turbine cascade flow passage under the high Mach number condition, and the passage vortex near the high endwall-angle region is bigger. As Mach number increases, the passage vortices inside turbine cascade passage will become strong, and moves towards the blade mid-span. Besides, it is shown that the way of changing sector straight pipes can achieve the variation of inlet incidence angles. And, the blade profile with big leading-edge radius has good design and off-design performance. Detailed results and analyses are presented in the paper.

scholarly journals Influence of Large Relative Tip Clearances for a Micro Radial Fan and Design Guidelines for Increased Efficiency

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick H. Wagner ◽  
Jan Van herle ◽  
Lili Gu ◽  
Jürg Schiffmann
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Rise ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Blade Tip ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Experimental Findings ◽  
Blade Tip Clearance

Abstract The blade tip clearance loss was studied experimentally and numerically for a micro radial fan with a tip diameter of 19.2mm. Its relative blade tip clearance, i.e., the clearance divided by the blade height of 1.82 mm, was adjusted with different shims. The fan characteristics were experimentally determined for an operation at the nominal rotational speed of 168 krpm with hot air (200 °C). The total-to-total pressure rise and efficiency increased from 49 mbar to 68 mbar and from 53% to 64%, respectively, by reducing the relative tip clearance from 7.7% to the design value of 2.2%. Single and full passage computational fluid dynamics simulations correlate well with these experimental findings. The widely-used Pfleiderer loss correlation with an empirical coefficient of 2.8 fits the numerical simulation and the experiments within +2 efficiency points. The high sensitivity to the tip clearance loss is a result of the design specific speed of 0.80, the highly-backward curved blades (17°), and possibly the low Reynolds number (1 × 105). The authors suggest three main measures to mitigate the blade tip clearance losses for small-scale fans: (1) utilization of high-precision surfaced-grooved gas-bearings to lower the blade tip clearance, (2) a mid-loaded blade design, and (3) an unloaded fan leading edge to reduce the blade tip clearance vortex in the fan passage.

Investigation Into the Effects of Hub Rotation on the Hub Leakage Flow of Cantilever Stator in a Transonic Axial Compressor

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Botao Zhang ◽  
Bo Liu ◽  
Xin Sun ◽  
Hang Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Total Pressure ◽  
Pressure Ratio ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Compressor Cascade ◽  
Suction Surface ◽  
Blade Root ◽  
Flow Loss ◽  
Total Pressure Ratio

Abstract In order to explore the similarities and differences between the flow fields of cantilever stator and idealized compressor cascade with tip clearance, and to extend the cascade leakage model to compressors, the influence of stator hub rotation to represent cascade and cantilever stator on hub leakage flow was numerically studied. On this basis, the control strategy and mechanism of blade root suction were discussed. The results show that there is no obvious influence on stall margin of the compressor whether the stator hub is rotating or stationary. For rotating stator hub, the overall efficiency is decreased while the total pressure ratio is increased. At peak efficiency point and near stall point, the efficiency is reduced by about 0.43% and 0.34% individually, while the total pressure ratio is enlarged by about 0.23% and 0.27%, respectively. The gap leakage flow is promoted due to stator hub rotation, and the structure of the leakage vortex is weakened obviously. In addition, the hub leakage flow originating from the blade leading edge of rotating hub may contribute to double leakage near the trailing edge of the adjacent blade. However, the leakage flow directly out of the blade passage with stationary stator hub. The stator root loading and strength of the leakage flow increase with the rotation of the hub, and the leakage vortex is further away from the suction surface of the blade and is stretched to an ellipse closer to the endwall under the shear action. The rotating hub makes the flow loss near the stator gap increase, while the flow loss in the upper part of the blade root is decreased. Meanwhile, the total pressure ratio in the end area is increased. Blade root suction of cantilever stator can effectively control the hub leakage flow, inhibit the development of hub leakage vortex, and improve the flow capacity of the passage, thereby reducing the flow loss and modifying the flow field in the end zone.

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