Experimental Investigation in Annular Compressor Cascades at Transonic Flow Conditions

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Schulz ◽  
P. Dalbert ◽  
A. Bölcs

The paper describes flow measurements in an annular compressor cascade at sub- and supersonic inlet flow conditions. The investigation is concentrated on the evolution of the flow field along the blade passage. A homogeneous flow could be realized in the test section at midspan with carefully directed suction by a splitter downstream of the blade passage. Two typical compressor cascades (Multiple circular arc profile (MCA) and controlled diffusion (C.D.)) have been investigated at similar inlet flow conditions in the whole operating range with a maximum relative inlet Mach number of about 1.3. Detailed flow measurements have been performed over several axial and radial positions along the whole blade passage. The velocity vectors have been measured with a Laser-2-Focus anemometer and the total pressure with miniature pilot-probes. Cascade overall performance, blade-surface-pressure-distributions and flow-visualization are presented. The obtained results show that the blade shape has a strong influence on the loss behavior especially at off design conditions and on the shock system influencing the whole flow field of the blade row. Different boundary layer evolution on the suction side (measured with Laser-2-Focus) causes the shock to be fixed or in fluctuation resulting in different losses (shock-, profile-, overall losses).

Author(s):  
Wei Ma ◽  
Xavier Ottavy ◽  
Lipeng Lu ◽  
Francis Leboeuf ◽  
Feng Gao

In order to gain a better knowledge of the mechanisms of corner stall and to calibrate computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD) tools including both Reynolds-averaged Navier-stokes and large eddy simulation, a detailed and accurate experiment of three-dimensional flow field through a linear compressor cascade has been set up. Experimental data were acquired for a Reynolds number of 3.82 × 105 based on blade chord and inlet flow conditions. First, inlet flow conditions were surveyed by hot-wire anemometry in boundary layers. Second, in order to investigate the effects of incidence, measurements then were acquired at five incidences from −2° to 6°. The results included the outlet flow variables of the cascade, measured by a five-hole pressure probe, and static pressures on both blade and endwall surfaces, measured by pressure taps. Third, the flow field details were measured at an incidence angle of 4°. In this configuration the corner stall region was large enough to be investigated, and without two-dimensional (2D) separation at mid-span on the blade suction side near the trailing edge. The velocity field was then measured by 2D Particle Image Velocimetry in cross-sections parallel to the endwall. And the velocity field in the vicinity of the blade suction side was measured with 2D Laser Dropper Anemometry. In order to test the performance of CFD and also to validate the experimental results, a series of numerical simulations were carried out and compared with the experimental results. We thus obtained a set of detailed measurements which constitute an original and complete data base and in good agreement with the published experimental results in literature. These data were also compared with CFD results and showed that the improvements needed in turbulence modeling in order to accurately simulate the three-dimensional separation configuration of corner stall.


Author(s):  
M. Ladwig ◽  
L. Fottner

The objective of this work is to enhance the understanding of the influence of wake induced non-uniform, steady inlet flow conditions on the profile losses of highly-loaded turbines. For different Reynolds numbers wake and profile pressure distribution measurements were carried out on a linear subsonic turbine cascade as well as measurements with a single sensor hot-film probe. The non-uniform inlet flow were simulated with two different cascades of cylindrical bars. The measurements with various circumferential positions of the incoming wakes relative to the turbine cascade show at low Reynolds numbers a decrease of the losses compared to uniform inlet conditions, because no separation of the suction side boundary layer occurs. With increasing Reynolds numbers the non-uniform inlet flow conditions cause an increase in the losses compared to uniform inlet conditions, due to the forward shift of transition. Generally, the smallest influence of the non-uniform incoming flow can be observed when the wakes enter the cascade inlet plane between the pressure-side of the profiles and the middle of the blade passage. Incoming wakes have the highest influence when they enter the blade passage near to the suction side of the profiles.


Author(s):  
Dirk Wunderwald ◽  
Leonhard Fottner

Detailed measurements have been performed on a compressor cascade in order to obtain information about the overall performance, the state of the boundary layer, and the topology of turbulent boundary layers. The analysis of profile pressure distributions and wake traverse measurements across the midspan section of the cascade blade provide information on the loss behaviour. Using surface-mounted hot-film gauges on the suction side of the measuring blade different transition phenomena have been investigated under the influence of various inlet flow conditions representative of engine operation. Extensive measurements with 3D-hot-sensor anemometry have been evaluated to show essential features of the turbulent boundary layer. The results point out the dependence of turbulence characteristics, e.g. turbulent kinetic energy distribution and Reynolds stresses, on the inlet flow conditions and the upstream boundary layer development. The influence of free-stream turbulence intensity is discussed and the non-isotropy of the Reynolds normal stresses is presented.


Author(s):  
Wei Ma ◽  
Feng Gao ◽  
Xavier Ottavy ◽  
Lipeng Lu ◽  
A. J. Wang

Recently bimodal phenomenon in corner separation has been found by Ma et al. (Experiments in Fluids, 2013, doi:10.1007/s00348-013-1546-y). Through detailed and accurate experimental results of the velocity flow field in a linear compressor cascade, they discovered two aperiodic modes exist in the corner separation of the compressor cascade. This phenomenon reflects the flow in corner separation is high intermittent, and large-scale coherent structures corresponding to two modes exist in the flow field of corner separation. However the generation mechanism of the bimodal phenomenon in corner separation is still unclear and thus needs to be studied further. In order to obtain instantaneous flow field with different unsteadiness and thus to analyse the mechanisms of bimodal phenomenon in corner separation, in this paper detached-eddy simulation (DES) is used to simulate the flow field in the linear compressor cascade where bimodal phenomenon has been found in previous experiment. DES in this paper successfully captures the bimodal phenomenon in the linear compressor cascade found in experiment, including the locations of bimodal points and the development of bimodal points along a line that normal to the blade suction side. We infer that the bimodal phenomenon in the corner separation is induced by the strong interaction between the following two facts. The first is the unsteady upstream flow nearby the leading edge whose angle and magnitude fluctuate simultaneously and significantly. The second is the high unsteady separation in the corner region.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-18
Author(s):  
Honghui Xiang ◽  
Ning Ge ◽  
Jie Gao ◽  
Rongfei Yang ◽  
Minjie Hou

Abstract Aiming at resolving the problem of measuring probe blockage effect in the performance experiments of high loaded axial flow compressors, an experimental investigation of the probe support disturbance effect on the compressor cascade flow field was conducted on a transonic plane cascade test facility. The influence characteristics of the probe support tail structure on the cascade downstream flow field under different operation conditions were revealed through the detailed analysis of the test data. The results show that the aerodynamic coupling effect between the upstream probe support wake and the downstream cascade flow field is very intense. Some factors, i. e. inlet Mach number, probe support tail structure, circumferential installing position of probe, and axial distance from the probe support trailing edge to the downstream cascade, are found to have the most impact on the probe disturbance intensity. Under high speed inlet flow condition, changing probe support tail structure can’t inhibit probe support disturbance intensity effectively. Whereas under low speed inlet flow condition, compared with the cylindrical probe, the elliptic probe can inhibit probe support wake loss and reduce disturbance effects on the downstream cascade flow field.


2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Carvalho Figueiredo ◽  
B. D. J. Schreiner ◽  
A. W. Mesny ◽  
O. J. Pountney ◽  
J. A. Scobie ◽  
...  

Abstract Air-cooled gas turbines employ bleed air from the compressor to cool vulnerable components in the turbine. The cooling flow, commonly known as purge air, is introduced at low radius, before exiting through the rim-seal at the periphery of the turbine discs. The purge flow interacts with the mainstream gas path, creating an unsteady and complex flowfield. Of particular interest to the designer is the effect of purge on the secondary-flow structures within the blade passage, the extent of which directly affects the aerodynamic loss in the stage. This paper presents a combined experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) investigation into the effect of purge flow on the secondary flows in the blade passage of an optically accessible one-stage turbine rig. The experimental campaign was conducted using volumetric velocimetry (VV) measurements to assess the three-dimensional inter-blade velocity field; the complementary CFD campaign was carried out using unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) computations. The implementation of VV within a rotating environment is a world first and offers an unparalleled level of experimental detail. The baseline flow-field, in the absence of purge flow, demonstrated a classical secondary flow-field: the rollup of a horseshoe vortex, with subsequent downstream convection of a pressure-side and suction-side leg, the former transitioning in to the passage vortex. The introduction of purge, at 1.7% of the mainstream flowrate, was shown to modify the secondary flow-field by enhancing the passage vortex, in both strength and span-wise migration. The computational predictions were in agreement with the enhancement revealed by the experiments.


1986 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Wachter ◽  
G. Eyb

Up to now the determination of flow conditions across the entire circumference in LP steam turbines appears to be a difficult undertaking. The difficulties are mainly caused by the condensing medium steam and by the limited access to the stage from outside. The Last Stage Test Stand at the University of Stuttgart is a suitable facility for flow measurements in the LP part of steam turbines. Besides a short description of the test stand itself, the measuring equipment and the newly developed methods for data acquisition and evaluation are presented. Finally the flow field behind the last stage is shown and the results interpreted.


Author(s):  
Hongwei Ma ◽  
Jun Zhang ◽  
Jinghui Zhang ◽  
Zhou Yuan

This paper presents an experimental investigation of effects of grooved tip clearances on the flow field of a compressor cascade. The tests were performed in a low-speed large-scale cascade respectively with two tip clearance configurations, including flat tip and grooved tip with a chordwise channel on the blade top. The flow field at 10% chord downstream from the cascade trailing edge was measured at four incidence angles using a mini five-hole pressure probe. The static pressure distribution was measured on the tip endwall. The results show that the pressure gradient from the pressure side to the suction side on the blade tip is reduced due to the existence of the channel. As a result, the leakage flow is weakened. The high-blockage and high-loss region caused by the leakage flow is narrower with the grooved tip. In the meantime, the leakage flow migrates to lower spanwise position. The combined result is that the flow capacity in the tip region is improved at the incidence angles of 0° and 5° with the grooved tip. However, the loss is slightly greater than that with the flat tip at all the incidence angles.


Author(s):  
Ju Luo ◽  
Jun Hu ◽  
Zhiqiang Wang ◽  
Baofeng Tu

This paper presents experimental investigation conducted on a 2-stage low speed axial research compressor with cantilevered stator vanes. Flow fields at four different axial locations in the radial stacking and bowed stator passage were measured at maximum flow point and near stall point using 4 five-hole pressure probes. The aim of the work is to study the effects of the bowed stators with hub clearance on the flow field of compressor blade passage. The investigations were conducted with the first stage of the compressor. The hub clearances of both original and bowed stators are 1.1% of span. The results show that the scale of the separation vortex, the hub leakage vortex and the lower passage vortex in the bowed blade passage becomes much smaller and the hub leakage vortex is closer to the suction side at near stall point, which causes a much smaller mixing loss in the blade passage.


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