Turbine Stator Well CFD Studies: Effects of Cavity Cooling Air Flow

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Andreini ◽  
Riccardo Da Soghe ◽  
Bruno Facchini ◽  
Stefano Zecchi
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Engine Performance ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Secondary Air ◽  
Cooling Air

The improvement of the aerodynamic efficiency of gas turbine components is becoming more and more difficult to achieve. Nevertheless there are still some devices that could be improved to enhance engine performance. Further investigations on the internal air cooling systems, for instance, may lead to a reduction of cavities cooling air with a direct beneficial effect on engine performance. At the same time, further investigations on heat transfer mechanisms within turbine cavities may help to optimize cooling air flows saving engine life duration. This paper presents some CFD preliminary studies conducted on an two-stage axial turbine rig developed in a research programme on internal air systems funded by EU, named the Main Annulus Gas Path Interactions (MAGPI). Each turbine stage consists of 39 vanes and 78 rotating blades and the modelled domain includes both the main gas path of the two turbine stages and the second stator well. Pre experimental tests CFD computations were planned in order to point out the reliability of numerical models in the description of the flow patterns in the main annulus and in the cavities. Several computational meshes were considered with steady and unsteady approaches in order to assess the sensitivity to computational approach regarding the evaluation of the interactions between main annulus and disk cavities flows. Results were obtained for several cavities cooling air mass-flow rates and data were further analyzed to investigate the influence of the sealing flow inside the main annulus. MAGPI project is a 4 years Specific-Targeted-Research-Project (2007–2011) and its consortium includes six universities and nine gas turbines manufacturing companies. The project is focused on the analysis of interactions between primary and secondary air systems achieving a novel approach as these systems have, up to now, only been considered separately. In particular one of the tasks of the project will focus on heat transfer phenomena and delivering experimental data which will be used to validate the advanced design tools used by industries (CFD codes and correlative formulations).

ICAS-GT: A European Collaborative Research Programme on Internal Cooling Air Systems for Gas Turbines

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter D. Smout ◽  
John W. Chew ◽  
Peter R. N. Childs
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Cavity Flow ◽  
Internal Cooling ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Flow And Heat Transfer ◽  
Rotating Cavity ◽  
Internal Fluid Flow ◽  
Cooling Air

The Internal Cooling Air Systems for Gas Turbines (ICAS-GT) research programme, sponsored by the European Commission, ran from January 1998 to December 2000, and was undertaken by a consortium of ten gas turbine manufacturing companies and four universities. Research was concentrated in five discrete but related areas of the air system including turbine rim seals, rotating cavity flow and heat transfer, and turbine pre-swirl system effectiveness. In each case, experiments were conducted to extend the database of pressure, temperature, flow and heat transfer measurements to engine representative non-dimensional conditions. The data was used to develop correlations, and to validate CFD and FE calculation methods, for internal fluid flow and heat transfer. This paper summarises the outcome of the project by presenting a sample of experimental results from each technical work package. Examples of the associated CFD calculations are included to illustrate the progress made in developing validated tools for predicting rotating cavity flow and heat transfer over an engine representative range of flow conditions.

Heat Transfer in Turbine Hub Cavities Adjacent to the Main Gas Path

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Dixon ◽  
Antonio Guijarro ◽  
Andreas Bauknecht ◽  
Daniel Coren ◽  
Nick Atkins
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Fe Modelling ◽  
Turbine Stator ◽  
Turbine Efficiency ◽  
Fuel Burn ◽  
Air Supply ◽  
Modelling Techniques ◽  
Cooling Air

Reliable means of predicting heat transfer in cavities adjacent to the main gas path are increasingly being sought by engineers involved in the design of gas turbines. In this paper an interim summary of the results of a four-year research programme sponsored by the EU and several leading gas turbine manufactures and universities will be presented. Extensive use is made of CFD and FE modelling techniques to understand the thermo-mechanical behaviour of a turbine stator well cavity, including the interaction of cooling air supply with the main annulus gas (see Figure 1). The objective of the study has been to provide a means of optimising the design of such cavities for maintaining a safe environment for critical parts, such as disc rims and blade fixings, whilst maximising the turbine efficiency, and minimising the fuel burn and emissions penalties associated with the secondary airflow system. The modelling methods employed have been validated against data gathered from a dedicated two-stage turbine rig, running at engine representative conditions. Extensive measurements are available for a range of flow conditions and alternative cooling arrangements. The analysis method has been used to inform a design change which is also to be tested. Comparisons are provided between the predictions and measurements of the turbine stator well component temperature.

Investigation of Internal Cooling Air Flow of Gas Turbines With Attention to Heat Transfer

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Brillert ◽  
F.-K. Benra ◽  
H. J. Dohmen ◽  
O. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Internal Cooling ◽  
Flow Physics ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Air System ◽  
Secondary Air ◽  
Cooling Air ◽  
Material Temperature

The cooling air in the secondary air system of gas turbines is routed through the inside of the rotor shaft. The air enters the rotor through an internal extraction in the compressor section and flows through different components to the turbine blades. Constant improvements of the secondary air system is a basic element to increase efficiency and power of heavy duty gas turbines. It is becoming more and more important to have a precise calculation of the heat transfer and air temperature in the internal cooling air system. This influences the cooling behavior, the material temperature and consequently the cooling efficiency. The material temperature influences the stresses and the creep behavior which is important for the life time prediction and the reliability of the components of the engine. Furthermore, the material temperature influences the clearances and again the cooling flow, e.g. the amount of mass flow rate, hot gas ingestion etc. This paper deals with an investigation of the influence of heat transfer on the internal cooling air system and on the material temperature. It shows a comparison between numerical calculations with and without heat transfer. Firstly, the Navier-Stokes CFD calculation shows the cooling flow physics of different parts of the secondary air system passages with solid heat transfer. In the second approach, the study is expanded to consider the cooling flow physics under conditions without heat transfer. On the basis of these investigations, the paper shows a comparison between the flow with and without heat transfer. The results of the simulation with heat transfer show a negligible influence on the cooling flow temperature and a stronger influence on the material temperature. The results of the calculations are compared with measured data. The influence on the material temperature is verified with measured material temperatures from a Siemens Model V84.3A gas turbine prototype.

Internal Air Systems Experimental Rig Best Practice

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Childs ◽  
Klaus Dullenkopf ◽  
Dieter Bohn
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbines ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Internal Cooling ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Compressor Rotor ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Cooling Air ◽  
Experimental Rig

This paper reports best practice principles for experimental rig design and operation arising from a European Commision funded programme of research on internal air systems. The Internal Cooling Air Systems for Gas Turbines 2 (ICAS-GT2) research programme, ran from April 2001 to June 2005, and was undertaken by a consortium of ten gas turbine manufacturing companies and four universities. The programme of research involved both design and operation of a series of high pressure, high speed rotating rigs in order to deliver data at or near engine representative conditions. The rigs concerned cover the pre-swirl system, turbine rim seals, turbine stator wells, compressor rotor-rotor disc cavities, bolt windage and real engine parts experiments. Operation of these rigs has presented a wide range of challenges, particularly with respect to optical access in rotor-rotor and rotor-stator disc cavities and measurement of disc heat transfer. This paper explores the best practice principles developed for internal air system experimental rig design, operation and associated instrumentation.

Experimental and Analytical Investigation of Compact Liquid Cooled Heat Sinks

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Zugic ◽  
J. R. Culham ◽  
P. Teertstra ◽  
Y. Muzychka ◽  
K. Horne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
High Heat ◽  
Analytical Investigation ◽  
Boundary Resistance ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Heat Sinks ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Design Tools

Compact, liquid cooled heat sinks are used in applications where high heat fluxes and boundary resistance preclude the use of more traditional air cooling techniques. Four different liquid cooled heat sink designs, whose core geometry is formed by overlapped ribbed plates, are examined. The objective of this analysis is to develop models that can be used as design tools for the prediction of overall heat transfer and pressure drop of heat sinks. Models are validated for Reynolds numbers between 300 and 5000 using experimental tests. The agreement between the experiments and the models ranges from 2.35% to 15.3% RMS.

Heat Transfer Associated With Air-Water Spray Cooling of Forgings From High Temperatures

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ward ◽  
M. de Oliveira ◽  
D. R. Garwood ◽  
R. A. Wallis
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Spray Cooling ◽  
Solution Temperature ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Water Spray ◽  
Transfer Rates ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Water Spray Cooling

Abstract The desired mechanical properties of the nickel-based or titanium forgings used in gas turbines for aircraft and power generation applications can be controlled by varying the rate of cooling from the so-called solution temperature during an initial heat treatment process. The use of dilute air-water spray cooling of these forgings is a technique which can provide heat transfer rates lying between those associated with conventional oil quenching or convective air-cooling. Air assisted atomisation can result in fine sprays over a wide range of water flow rates and it has a further advantage in that the air “sweeps” the surface and hence helps to prevent the build up of deleterious vapour films at high surface temperatures. The paper presents experimental data for the heat transfer rates associated with the use of these sprays to cool surfaces from temperatures of approximately 800°C. Many forgings contain surface recesses, which can lead to build up or “pooling” of the water so that the effect of variations in surface geometry is also reported. Periodic interruption of the water flow is a technique which can be employed to provide additional control of the heat transfer rate, particularly at temperatures below 500°C so that data is also presented for pulsed sprays.

Effect of Film-Cooling Hole Location on Turbulator Heat Transfer Enhancement in Turbine Blade Internal Air-Cooling Circuits

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. McDonough ◽  
V. E. Garzón ◽  
D. E. Schulte
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Film Cooling ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Turbulence Modeling ◽  
Pressure Coefficient ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Cooling Hole ◽  
Cooling Air

Numerical results demonstrating the effect of film-cooling hole placement on turbulator heat transfer effectiveness in internal convective cooling air circuits of turbine blades in high-performance gas turbine engines is presented for a two-dimensional model problem. Of particular interest will be the performance of a new turbulence modeling formalism similar to large-eddy simulation (LES) but employing subgrid-scale models constructed from nonlinear discrete dynamical systems, and not requiring filtering of the resolved-scale governing equations. Computed results for temperature distribution, flow streamlines, pressure coefficient and heat transfer Stanton number are compared for three different cooling hole/turbulator configurations, and turbulence kinetic energy is compared with results from a standard k-ε model.

Flow and Heat Transfer in a Preswirl Rotor–Stator System

1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (2) ◽  
pp. 364-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Wilson ◽  
R. Pilbrow ◽  
J. M. Owen
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Swirl Ratio ◽  
Blade Cooling ◽  
Nusselt Numbers ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Via Holes ◽  
Cooling Air

Conditions in the internal-air system of a high-pressure turbine stage are modeled using a rig comprising an outer preswirl chamber separated by a seal from an inner rotor-stator system. Preswirl nozzles in the stator supply the “blade-cooling” air, which leaves the system via holes in the rotor, and disk-cooling air enters at the center of the system and leaves through clearances in the peripheral seals. The experimental rig is instrumented with thermocouples, fluxmeters, pitot tubes, and pressure taps, enabling temperatures, heat fluxes, velocities, and pressures to be measured at a number of radial locations. For rotational Reynolds numbers of Reφ ≃ 1.2 × 106, the swirl ratio and the ratios of disk-cooling and blade-cooling flow rates are chosen to be representative of those found inside gas turbines. Measured radial distributions of velocity, temperature, and Nusselt number are compared with computations obtained from an axisymmetric elliptic solver, featuring a low-Reynolds-number k–ε turbulence model. For the inner rotor-stator system, the computed core temperatures and velocities are in good agreement with measured values, but the Nusselt numbers are underpredicted. For the outer preswirl chamber, it was possible to make comparisons between the measured and computed values for cooling-air temperatures but not for the Nusselt numbers. As expected, the temperature of the blade-cooling air decreases as the inlet swirl ratio increases, but the computed air temperatures are significantly lower than the measured ones. Overall, the results give valuable insight into some of the heat transfer characteristics of this complex system.

Alstom GT11N2 M Expansion Turbine Design Modification and Operation Experience

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey Vorontsov ◽  
Stefan Irmisch ◽  
Alexey Karelin ◽  
Marcelo Rocha
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Engine Performance ◽  
System Optimization ◽  
Interval Length ◽  
Gas Temperature ◽  
Design Modification ◽  
Expansion Turbine ◽  
Efficiency Increase ◽  
Cooling Air

This paper summarizes the development steps and measures taken for the upgrade of the GT11N2 Turbine. The main targets to be achieved were specified as follows: - GT power increase; - GT gross efficiency increase; - Flexible operation with respect to power output and service interval length. All 4 turbine stages were re-designed in order to optimize their aerodynamic performance and minimize cooling air consumption. Turbine aerodynamic efficiency improvement was achieved by means of: - Turbine stage-to-stage loading optimization; - 3D airfoil profiling; - Replacement of the damping bolt of blade 4 by a full shroud; - Stator/rotor sealing optimization. On top of that, cooling air consumption was reduced by means of cooling system optimization for Vane 1, Blade 1, Vane 2, Blade2 and SHS/A. This allowed an increase of TIT (inlet turbine mixed temperature) keeping the hot gas temperature at the turbine inlet unchanged, which is important for meeting lifetime and emission targets. One of the key requirements for this Turbine Upgrade was to use exclusively validated design approaches and design features as available from existing and proven Alstom Gas Turbines ([1], [2], [3]) in order to minimize development- and implementation risks. Manufacturing of the new turbine parts was completed in an exceptionally short time, thanks to a dedicated R&D Logistic and Manufacturing support/process, an efficient NCR (Non Conformance Report) process, early supplier involvement and a very close/open work with suppliers. The first prototype of this turbine was implemented in a GT11N2 customer engine. Performance validation runs, performed in May 2008 confirmed that the design targets for power and efficiency were fully met. The validation of the turbine parts lifetime is still ongoing.

Development of Next Generation Gas Turbine Combined Cycle System

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Yamazaki ◽  
Yoshiaki Nishimura ◽  
Masahiro Abe ◽  
Kazumasa Takata ◽  
Satoshi Hada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Air Cooling ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Air Cooling System ◽  
Forced Air ◽  
Cooling Air

Tohoku Electric Power Company, Inc. (Tohoku-EPCO) has been adopting cutting-edge gas turbines for gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) power plants to contribute for reduction of energy consumption, and making a continuous effort to study the next generation gas turbines to further improve GTCC power plants efficiency and flexibility. Tohoku-EPCO and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd (MHPS) developed “forced air cooling system” as a brand-new combustor cooling system for the next generation GTCC system in a collaborative project. The forced air cooling system can be applied to gas turbines with a turbine inlet temperature (TIT) of 1600deg.C or more by controlling the cooling air temperature and the amount of cooling air. Recently, the forced air cooling system verification test has been completed successfully at a demonstration power plant located within MHPS Takasago Works (T-point). Since the forced air cooling system has been verified, the 1650deg.C class next generation GTCC power plant with the forced air cooling system is now being developed. Final confirmation test of 1650deg.C class next generation GTCC system will be carried out in 2020.

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