The Role of Rotor Tip Clearance on the Aerodynamic Interaction of a Last Gas Turbine Stage and an Exhaust Diffuser

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinhard Willinger ◽  
Hermann Haselbacher
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Wall Region ◽  
Specific Work ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Flow Measurements ◽  
Aerodynamic Interaction ◽  
Annular Diffuser

An investigation of the aerodynamic interaction between a last gas turbine stage and an exhaust diffuser is presented. Special attention is given to the influence of the rotor tip gap on this interaction. Flow measurements downstream of a linear cascade of turbine blades with tip gap have been performed in a low speed cascade wind tunnel. The geometry of the cascade corresponds to the tip section of a gas turbine of fairly recent design. Five tip gaps lying in the typical range were investigated. The two essential results are the leakage loss and the underturning in the end wall region. The flow field of the turbine cascade supplied the inlet boundary condition for the subsequent numerical investigation of the flow field in an annular diffuser. The geometry of the annular diffuser is based on dimensions of exhaust diffusers of some heavy duty and aeroderivative gas turbines. The result of the investigation is the diffuser pressure recovery factor as a function of the gap of the upstream cascade. The results from the cascade measurements and the diffuser computations have then been coupled by means of an interaction model. For gaps of practical interest, specific work and efficiency of the last gas turbine stage followed by an exhaust diffuser are independent of the rotor gap.

Three-Dimensional Time-Resolved Flow Field in the First and Last Turbine Stage of a Heavy Duty Gas Turbine: Part II — Interpretation of Blade Pressure Fluctuations

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin von Hoyningen-Huene ◽  
Wolfram Frank ◽  
Alexander R. Jung
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Potential Interaction ◽  
Heavy Duty ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Count Ratio ◽  
Heavy Duty Gas Turbine

Unsteady stator-rotor interaction in gas turbines has been investigated experimentally and numerically for some years now. Most investigations determine the pressure fluctuations in the flow field as well as on the blades. So far, little attention has been paid to a detailed analysis of the blade pressure fluctuations. For further progress in turbine design, however, it is mandatory to better understand the underlying mechanisms. Therefore, computed space–time maps of static pressure are presented on both the stator vanes and the rotor blades for two test cases, viz the first and the last turbine stage of a modern heavy duty gas turbine. These pressure fluctuation charts are used to explain the interaction of potential interaction, wake-blade interaction, deterministic pressure fluctuations, and acoustic waveswith the instantaneous surface pressure on vanes and blades. Part I of this two-part paper refers to the same computations, focusing on the unsteady secondary now field in these stages. The investigations have been performed with the flow solver ITSM3D which allows for efficient simulations that simulate the real blade count ratio. Accounting for the true blade count ratio is essential to obtain the correct frequencies and amplitudes of the fluctuations.

Three-Dimensional Time-Resolved Flow Field in the First and Last Turbine Stage of a Heavy Duty Gas Turbine: Part I — Secondary Flow Field

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin von Hoyningen-Huene ◽  
Wolfram Frank ◽  
Alexander R. Jung
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Secondary Flow ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Heavy Duty ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Heavy Duty Gas Turbine ◽  
Secondary Flow Field

Unsteady stator-rotor interaction in gas turbines has been investigated both experimentally and numerically for some years now. Even though the numerical methods are still in development, today they have reached a certain degree of maturity allowing industry to focus on the results of the computations and their impact on turbine design, rather than on a further improvement of the methods themselves. The key to increase efficiency in modern gas turbines is a better understanding and subsequent optimization of the loss-generation mechanisms. A major part of these are the secondary losses. To this end, this paper presents the time-resolved secondary flow field for the two test cases computed, viz the first and the last turbine stage of a modern heavy duty gas turbine. A companion paper referring to the same computations focuses on the unsteady pressure fluctuations on vanes and blades. The investigations have been performed with the flow solver ITSM3D which allows for efficient calculations that simulate the real blade count ratio. This is a prerequisite to simulate the unsteady phenomena in frequency and amplitude properly.

Numerical investigation of non-uniform flow in twin-silo combustors and impact on axial turbine stage performance

2021 ◽  
pp. 095765092199394
Author(s):  
Hafiz M Hassan ◽  
Adeel Javed ◽  
Asif H Khoja ◽  
Majid Ali ◽  
Muhammad B Sajid
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Internal Flow ◽  
Large Temperature ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Gas Temperature ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Flow Angle ◽  
Axial Turbine ◽  
Stage Performance

A clear understanding of the flow characteristics in the older generation of industrial gas turbines operating with silo combustors is important for potential upgrades. Non-uniformities in the form of circumferential and radial variations in internal flow properties can have a significant impact on the gas turbine stage performance and durability. This paper presents a comprehensive study of the underlying internal flow features involved in the advent of non-uniformities from twin-silo combustors and their propagation through a single axial turbine stage of the Siemens v94.2 industrial gas turbine. Results indicate the formation of strong vortical structures alongside large temperature, pressure, velocity, and flow angle deviations that are mostly located in the top and bottom sections of the turbine stage caused by the excessive flow turning in the upstream tandem silo combustors. A favorable validation of the simulated exhaust gas temperature (EGT) profile is also achieved via comparison with the measured data. A drop in isentropic efficiency and power output equivalent to 2.28% points and 2.1 MW, respectively is observed at baseload compared to an ideal straight hot gas path reference case. Furthermore, the analysis of internal flow topography identifies the underperforming turbine blading due to the upstream non-uniformities. The findings not only have implications for the turbine aerothermodynamic design, but also the combustor layout from a repowering perspective.

Pressure Gain Combustion Application to Marine and Industrial Gas Turbines

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip H. Snyder ◽  
M. Razi Nalim
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Turbine Engines ◽  
Specific Work ◽  
Compression Pressure ◽  
Pressure Gain Combustion ◽  
Industrial Gas Turbines ◽  
Incremental Improvement

Renewed interest in pressure gain combustion applied as a replacement of conventional combustors within gas turbine engines creates the potential for greatly increased capability engines in the marine power market segment. A limited analysis has been conducted to estimate the degree of improvements possible in engine thermal efficiency and specific work for a type of wave rotor device utilizing these principles. The analysis considers a realistic level of component losses. The features of this innovative technology are compared with those of more common incremental improvement types of technology for the purpose of assessing potentials for initial market entry within the marine gas turbine market. Both recuperation and non-recuperation cycles are analyzed. Specific fuel consumption improvements in excess of 35% over those of a Brayton cycle are indicated. The technology exhibits the greatest percentage potential in improving efficiency for engines utilizing relatively low or moderate mechanical compression pressure ratios. Specific work increases are indicated to be of an equally dramatic magnitude. The advantages of the pressure gain combustion approach are reviewed as well as its technology development status.

Effects of Stator Wakes and Spanwise Nonuniform Inlet Conditions on the Rotor Flow of an Axial Turbine Stage

1993 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Zeschky ◽  
H. E. Gallus
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Hot Wire ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Static Pressure Distribution ◽  
Inlet Conditions ◽  
Experimental Values ◽  
Rotor Flow

Detailed measurements have been performed in a subsonic, axial-flow turbine stage to investigate the structure of the secondary flow field and the loss generation. The data include the static pressure distribution on the rotor blade passage surfaces and radial-circumferential measurements of the rotor exit flow field using three-dimensional hot-wire and pneumatic probes. The flow field at the rotor outlet is derived from unsteady hot-wire measurements with high temporal and spatial resolution. The paper presents the formation of the tip clearance vortex and the passage vortices, which are strongly influenced by the spanwise nonuniform stator outlet flow. Taking the experimental values for the unsteady flow velocities and turbulence properties, the effect of the periodic stator wakes on the rotor flow is discussed.

Investigation of the Flow Field in a HP Turbine Stage for Two Stator-Rotor Axial Gaps: Part II — Unsteady Flow Field

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Gaetani ◽  
G. Persico ◽  
V. Dossena ◽  
C. Osnaghi
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Unsteady Flow ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Outer Part ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Pressure Probe ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Tip Leakage Flow ◽  
Flow Measurements

An extensive experimental analysis was carried out at Politecnico di Milano on the subject of unsteady flow in high pressure (HP) turbine stages. In this paper the unsteady flow measured downstream of a modern HP turbine stage is discussed. Traverses in two planes downstream of the rotor are considered and, in one of them, the effects of two very different axial gaps are investigated: the maximum axial gap, equal to one stator axial chord, is chosen to “switch off” the rotor inlet unsteadiness, while the nominal gap, equal to 1/3 of the stator axial chord, is representative of actual engines. The experiments were performed by means of a fast-response pressure probe, allowing for two-dimensional phase-resolved flow measurements in a bandwidth of 80 kHz. The main properties of the probe and the data processing are described. The core of the paper is the analysis of the unsteady rotor aerodynamics; for this purpose, instantaneous snapshots of the rotor flow in the relative frame are used. The rotor mean flow and its interaction with the stator wakes and vortices are also described. In the outer part of the channel only the rotor cascade effects can be observed, with a dominant role played by the tip-leakage flow and by the rotor tip passage vortex. In the hub region, where the secondary flows downstream of the stator are stronger, the persistence of stator vortices is slightly visible in the maximum stator-rotor axial gap configuration, while in the minimum stator-rotor axial gap configuration the interaction with the rotor vortices dominates the flow field. A fair agreement with the wakes and vortices transport models has been achieved. A discussion of the interaction process is reported giving particular emphasis to the effects of the different cascade axial gaps. Some final considerations on the effects of the different axial gap over the stage performances are reported.

The Effect of Clearance Flow of Variable Area Nozzles on Radial Turbine Performance

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideaki Tamaki ◽  
Shinya Goto ◽  
Masaru Unno ◽  
Akira Iwakami
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Specific Work ◽  
Nozzle Vane ◽  
Turbine Efficiency ◽  
Turbine Performance ◽  
Setting Angle ◽  
Clearance Flow ◽  
1D Model

The flow behind the variable area nozzle for radial turbines was measured with a 3-hole yaw probe and calculated with CFD. Two nozzle throat-areas were investigated: the smallest and the largest opening for the variable nozzle. Test results agreed with the calculated results qualitatively. The leakage flow through the tip clearance of the nozzle vane significantly affected the flow field downstream of the nozzle vane with the smallest opening. However, the effect on leakage flow on the flow field downstream of the nozzle vane with the largest opening was very weak. In the flow field of the largest opening nozzle, the effect of wake s dominant. The effect of the clearance of the nozzle vane on the turbine performance was estimated by a 1D-model and the strong influence on the turbine efficiency was confirmed at smallest opening. The flow fields in the impeller downstream of the nozzle vane at the smallest opening with and without the nozzle clearance were investigated with CFD. The setting angle of the nozzle vane without clearance was adjusted to match the operating point of the turbine with the nozzle clearance. In order to extract the specific work from the impeller, the nozzle vane with the vane clearance requires the larger vane setting angle than that without clearance. The increase of the vane setting angle increases the incidence loss and deteriorates turbine efficiency.

Time-Resolved Heat Transfer and Surface Pressure Measurements for a Fully Cooled Transonic Turbine Stage

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy B. Nickol ◽  
Randall M. Mathison ◽  
Malak F. Malak ◽  
Rajiv Rana ◽  
Jong S. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Surface Pressure ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Pressure Measurements ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Blade Cooling

The flow field in axial gas turbines is driven by strong unsteady interactions between stationary and moving components. While time-averaged measurements can highlight many important flow features, developing a deeper understanding of the complicated flows present in high-speed turbomachinery requires time-accurate measurements that capture this unsteady behavior. Toward this end, time-accurate measurements are presented for a fully cooled transonic high-pressure turbine stage operating at design-corrected conditions. The turbine is run in a short-duration blowdown facility with uniform, radial, and hot streak vane-inlet temperature profiles as well as various amounts of cooling flow. High-frequency response surface pressure and heat-flux instrumentation installed in the rotating blade row, stator vane row, and stationary outer shroud provide detailed measurements of the flow behavior for this stage. Previous papers have reported the time-averaged results from this experiment, but this paper focuses on the strong unsteady phenomena that are observed. Heat-flux measurements from double-sided heat-flux gauges (HFGs) cover three spanwise locations on the blade pressure and suction surfaces. In addition, there are two instrumented blades with the cooling holes blocked to isolate the effect of just blade cooling. The stage can be run with the vane and blade cooling flow either on or off. High-frequency pressure measurements provide a picture of the unsteady aerodynamics on the vane and blade airfoil surfaces, as well as inside the serpentine coolant supply passages of the blade. A time-accurate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation is also run to predict the blade surface pressure and heat-flux, and comparisons between prediction and measurement are given. It is found that unsteady variations in heat-flux and pressure are stronger at low to midspan and weaker at high span, likely due to the impact of secondary flows such as the tip leakage flow. Away from the tip, it is seen that the unsteady fluctuations in pressure and heat-flux are mostly in phase with each other on the suction side, but there is some deviation on the pressure side. The flow field is ultimately shown to be highly three-dimensional, as the movement of high heat transfer regions can be traced in both the chord and spanwise directions. These measurements provide a unique picture of the unsteady flow physics of a rotating turbine, and efforts to better understand and model these time-varying flows have the potential to change the way we think about even the time-averaged flow characteristics.

Flow Field Simulations of a Gas Turbine Combustor

2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 508-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. Barringer ◽  
O. T. Richard ◽  
J. P. Walter ◽  
S. M. Stitzel ◽  
K. A. Thole
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Wall Region ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
Tunnel Section ◽  
Nozzle Guide ◽  
Nozzle Guide Vanes ◽  
Combustor Liner

The flow field exiting the combustor in a gas turbine engine is quite complex considering the presence of large dilution jets and complicated cooling schemes for the combustor liner. For the most part, however, there has been a disconnect between the combustor and turbine when simulating the flow field that enters the nozzle guide vanes. To determine the effects of a representative combustor flow field on the nozzle guide vane, a large-scale wind tunnel section has been developed to simulate the flow conditions of a prototypical combustor. This paper presents experimental results of a combustor simulation with no downstream turbine section as a baseline for comparison to the case with a turbine vane. Results indicate that the dilution jets generate turbulence levels of 15–18% at the exit of the combustor with a length scale that closely matches that of the dilution hole diameter. The total pressure exiting the combustor in the near-wall region neither resembles a turbulent boundary layer nor is it completely uniform putting both of these commonly made assumptions into question.

Investigation of the Flow Field in a High-Pressure Turbine Stage for Two Stator-Rotor Axial Gaps—Part II: Unsteady Flow Field

2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Gaetani ◽  
G. Persico ◽  
V. Dossena ◽  
C. Osnaghi
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Unsteady Flow ◽  
Outer Part ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Pressure Probe ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Tip Leakage Flow ◽  
Flow Measurements

An extensive experimental analysis was carried out at Politecnico di Milano on the subject of unsteady flow in high pressure (HP) turbine stages. In this paper, the unsteady flow measured downstream of a modern HP turbine stage is discussed. Traverses in two planes downstream of the rotor are considered, and, in one of them, the effects of two very different axial gaps are investigated: the maximum axial gap, equal to one stator axial chord, is chosen to “switch off” the rotor inlet unsteadiness, while the nominal gap, equal to 1/3 of the stator axial chord, is representative of actual engines. The experiments were performed by means of a fast-response pressure probe, allowing for two-dimensional phase-resolved flow measurements in a bandwidth of 80kHz. The main properties of the probe and the data processing are described. The core of the paper is the analysis of the unsteady rotor aerodynamics; for this purpose, instantaneous snapshots of the rotor flow in the relative frame are used. The rotor mean flow and its interaction with the stator wakes and vortices are also described. In the outer part of the channel, only the rotor cascade effects can be observed, with a dominant role played by the tip leakage flow and by the rotor tip passage vortex. In the hub region, where the secondary flows downstream of the stator are stronger, the persistence of stator vortices is slightly visible in the maximum stator-rotor axial gap configuration, whereas in the minimum stator-rotor axial gap configuration their interaction with the rotor vortices dominates the flow field. A good agreement with the wakes and vortices transport models has been achieved. A discussion of the interaction process is reported giving particular emphasis to the effects of the different cascade axial gaps. Some final considerations on the effects of the different axial gap over the stage performances are reported.

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