Experimental Measurements of Ingestion Through Turbine Rim Seals: Part 5 — Fluid Dynamics of Wheel-Space

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl M. Sangan ◽  
Yogesh Lalwani ◽  
J. Michael Owen ◽  
Gary D. Lock
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Outer Region ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Rotating Disc ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Hot Gas ◽  
Fluid Core ◽  
Swirl Velocity ◽  
Good Agreement

This paper discusses the flow structure in typical rotor-stator systems with ingress and egress. Measurements of concentration, velocity and pressure were made using a rotating-disc rig which experimentally simulated hot gas ingestion into the wheel-space of an axial turbine stage. Externally-induced ingress through rim seals was generated from the non-axisymmetric pressures produced by the flow over the vanes and blades in the external annulus. Measurements were conducted using several single- and double-seal geometries and for a range of sealing flow rates and rotational speeds. The concentration measurements showed that the amount of ingress, which increased with decreasing sealing flow rate, depended on the seal geometry. The swirl velocity in the fluid core increased with decreasing sealing-flow rate but, outside the outer region in the wheel-space, it was largely unaffected by the seal geometry or by the amount of ingress. The radial distribution of static pressure, calculated from the measured swirl velocity in the core, was in good agreement with the pressures measured on the stator. The data for the double seals demonstrated that the ingested gas was predominately confined to the region between the seals near the periphery of the wheel-space; in the inner wheel-space, the effectiveness is shown to be significantly higher.

Prediction of Ingestion Through Turbine Rim Seals—Part II: Externally Induced and Combined Ingress

2010 ◽  
Vol 133 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Michael Owen
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Swirling Flows ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Hot Gas ◽  
Predicted Values ◽  
Good Agreement

Ingress of hot gas through the rim seals of gas turbines can be modeled theoretically using the so-called orifice equations. In Part I of this two-part paper, the orifice equations were derived for compressible and incompressible swirling flows, and the incompressible equations were solved for axisymmetric rotationally induced (RI) ingress. In Part II, the incompressible equations are solved for nonaxisymmetric externally induced (EI) ingress and for combined EI and RI ingress. The solutions show how the nondimensional ingress and egress flow rates vary with Θ0, the ratio of the flow rate of sealing air to the flow rate necessary to prevent ingress. For EI ingress, a “saw-tooth model” is used for the circumferential variation of pressure in the external annulus, and it is shown that ε, the sealing effectiveness, depends principally on Θ0; the theoretical variation of ε with Θ0 is similar to that found in Part I for RI ingress. For combined ingress, the solution of the orifice equations shows the transition from RI to EI ingress as the amplitude of the circumferential variation of pressure increases. The predicted values of ε for EI ingress are in good agreement with the available experimental data, but there are insufficient published data to validate the theory for combined ingress.

Prediction of Ingestion Through Turbine Rim Seals—Part 2: Externally-Induced and Combined Ingress

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Michael Owen
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Hot Gas ◽  
Predicted Values ◽  
Good Agreement

Ingress of hot gas through the rim seals of gas turbines can be modelled theoretically using the so-called orifice equations. In Part 1 (ASME GT 2009-59121) of this two-part paper, the orifice equations were derived for compressible and incompressible swirling flow, and the incompressible equations were solved for axisymmetric rotationally-induced (RI) ingress. In Part 2, the incompressible equations are solved for non-axisymmetric externally-induced (EI) ingress and for combined EI and RI ingress. The solutions show how the nondimensional ingress and egress flow rates vary with Θ0, the ratio of the flow rate of sealing air to the flow rate necessary to prevent ingress. For EI ingress, a ‘saw-tooth model’ is used for the circumferential variation of pressure in the external annulus, and it is shown that ε, the sealing effectiveness, depends principally on Θ0; the theoretical variation of ε with Θ0 is similar to that found in Part 1 for RI ingress. For combined ingress, the solution of the orifice equations shows the transition from RI to EI ingress as the amplitude of the circumferential variation of pressure increases. The predicted values of ε for EI ingress are in good agreement with available experimental data, but there are insufficient published data to validate the theory for combined ingress.

Effect of Ingestion on Temperature of Turbine Discs

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver J. Pountney ◽  
Carl M. Sangan ◽  
Gary D. Lock ◽  
J. Michael Owen
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Thermochromic Liquid Crystal ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Rotating Disc ◽  
Hot Gas ◽  
Nusselt Numbers ◽  
Adiabatic Effectiveness ◽  
Axial Clearance ◽  
First Time

This paper describes experimental results from a research facility which experimentally models hot-gas ingress into the wheel-space of an axial turbine stage with an axial-clearance rim seal. Thermochromic liquid crystal (TLC) was used to determine the effect of ingestion on heat transfer to the rotating disc; as far as the authors are aware, this is the first time that the measured effects of ingestion on adiabatic temperature have been published. An adiabatic effectiveness for the rotor was defined, and this definition was used to determine when the effect of ingress was first experienced by the rotor. Concentration measurements on the stator were used to determine the sealing effectiveness of the rim seal, and transient heat transfer tests with heated sealing air were used to determine the adiabatic effectiveness of the rotor. The thermal buffer ratio, which is defined as the ratio of the sealing flow rate when ingress first occurs to that when it is first experienced by the rotor, was shown to depend on the turbulent flow parameter. The local Nusselt numbers, Nu, which were measured on the rotor, were significantly smaller than those for a free disc; they decreased as the sealing flow rate decreased and as the ingress correspondingly increased. The values of Nu and adiabatic effectiveness obtained in these experiments provide data for the validation of CFD codes but caution is needed if they (particularly the values of Nu) are to be extrapolated to engine conditions.

Ingestion Into the Upstream Wheelspace of an Axial Turbine Stage

1994 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Green ◽  
A. B. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Distribution ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Computer Code ◽  
Rotor Blades ◽  
Rotor Speed ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Static Pressure Distribution ◽  
Axial Clearance

The upstream wheelspace of an axial air turbine stage complete with nozzle guide vanes (NGVs) and rotor blades (430 mm mean diameter) has been tested with the objective of examining the combined effect of NGVs and rotor blades on the level of mainstream ingestion for different seal flow rates. A simple axial clearance seal was used with the rotor spun up to 6650 rpm by drawing air through it from atmospheric pressure with a large centrifugal compressor. The effect of rotational speed was examined for several constant mainstream flow rates by controlling the rotor speed with an air brake. The circumferential variation in hub static pressure was measured at the trailing edge of the NGVs upstream of the seal gap and was found to affect ingestion significantly. The hub static pressure distribution on the rotor blade leading edges was rotor speed dependent and could not be measured in the experiments. The Denton three-dimensional C.F.D. computer code was used to predict the smoothed time-dependent pressure field for the rotor together with the pressure distribution downstream of the NGVs. The level and distribution of mainstream ingestion, and thus the seal effectiveness, was determined from nitrous oxide gas concentration measurements and related to static pressure measurements made throughout the wheelspace. With the axial clearance rim seal close to the rotor the presence of the blades had a complex effect. Rotor blades in connection with NGVs were found to reduce mainstream ingestion seal flow rates significantly, but a small level of ingestion existed even for very high levels of seal flow rate.

Experimental Study of the Flow in the Suction Pipe of a Centrifugal Pump at Partial Flow Rates in Unsteady Conditions

1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Bolpaire ◽  
J. P. Barrand
Keyword(s):  
Centrifugal Pump ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Pressure Measurements ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Suction Pipe ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Test Loop ◽  
Fast Start ◽  
Operational Range

The operational range and the performances of pumps are limited by the occurrence of backflow and prerotation in the suction pipe as the flow rate is reduced. This paper presents the study of static pressure measurements and visualizations in the suction pipe, near the inlet of a centrifugal pump, at partial flow rates, in steady conditions, and during a fast start-up of the pump. The tests were carried out in water on the DERAP© test loop of the ENSAM Lille laboratory. Standard methods allowed to determine the recirculation critical flow rate. A visualization method showed that the axial extent of the recirculation and the prerotation with the flow rate is considerably reduced during a fast start-up compared to steady conditions.

Analysis of the Mixing Plane Interface Between Stator and Rotor of a Transonic Axial Turbine Stage

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Giangiacomo ◽  
V. Michelassi ◽  
F. Martelli
Keyword(s):  
Mass Flow ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Tip Leakage ◽  
Mass Flow Rates ◽  
Stator Blade ◽  
Transonic Turbine ◽  
Rotor Mass

A three-dimensional transonic turbine stage is computed by means of a numerical simulation tool. The simulation accounts for the coolant ejection from the stator blade and for the tip leakage of the rotor blade. The stator and rotor rows interact via a mixing plane, which allows the stage to be computed in a steady manner. The analysis is focused on the matching of the stator and rotor mass flow rates. The computations proved that the mixing plane approach allows the stator and rotor mass flow rates to be balanced with a careful choice of the stator-rotor static pressure interface. At the same time, the pitch averaged distribution of the transported quantities at the interface for the stator and rotor may differ slightly, together with the value of the static pressure at the hub.

Identification of Wake Convection and Flow Outline in the Interface Region of Blade Rows With Axial Gap in a Counter Rotating Turbine

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rayapati Subbarao ◽  
M. Govardhan
Keyword(s):  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Mass Flow Rate ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Interface Region ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Deviation Angle ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Improved Performance

Abstract In a Counter Rotating Turbine (CRT), the stationary nozzle is trailed by two rotors that rotate in the opposite direction to each other. Flow in a CRT stage is multifaceted and more three dimensional, especially, in the gap between nozzle and rotor 1 as well as rotor 1 and rotor 2. By varying this gap between the blade rows, the flow and wake pattern can be changed favorably and may lead to improved performance. Present work analyzes the aspect of change in flow field through the interface, especially the wake pattern and deviation in flow with change in spacing. The components of turbine stage are modeled for different gaps between the components using ANSYS® ICEM CFD 14.0. Normalized flow rates ranging from 0.091 to 0.137 are used. The 15, 30, 50 and 70% of the average axial chords are taken as axial gaps in the present analysis. CFX 14.0 is used for simulation. At nozzle inlet, stagnation pressure boundary condition is used. At the turbine stage or rotor 2 outlet, mass flow rate is specified. Pressure distribution contours at the outlets of the blade rows describe the flow pattern clearly in the interface region. Wake strength at nozzle outlet is more for the lowest gap. At rotor 1 outlet, it is less for x/a = 0.3 and increases with gap. Incidence angles at the inlets of rotors are less for the smaller gaps. Deviation angle at the outlet of rotor 1 is also considered, as rotor 1-rotor 2 interaction is more significant in CRT. Deviation angle at rotor 1 outlet is minimum for this gap. Also, for the intermediate mass flow rate of 0.108, x/a = 0.3 is giving more stage performance. This suggests that at certain axial gap, there is better wake convection and flow outline, when compared to other gap cases. Further, it is identified that for the axial gap of x/a = 0.3 and the mean mass flow rate of 0.108, the performance of CRT is maximum. It is clear that the flow pattern at the interface is changing the incidence and deviation with change in axial gap and flow rate. This study is useful for the gas turbine community to identify the flow rates and gaps at which any CRT stage would perform better.

Liquid Transport Properties in Sub-Micron Channel Flows

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Johan A. Westin ◽  
Kenneth S. Breuer ◽  
Chang-Hwan Choi ◽  
Peter Huang ◽  
Zhiqiang Cao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Slip Boundary Conditions ◽  
Liquid Transport ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Slip Boundary ◽  
Laminar Channel Flow ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Good Agreement

Abstract An experimental set-up for pressure driven liquid flow through microchannels have been designed and tested. The flow rate is determined by tracking the free liquid surface in a precision bore hole using a laser distance meter. Measurements of the flow rate through silicon microchannels with a height of less than 0.9 μm show good results for Newtonian fluids (silicon oil, ethanol) at flow rates as low as 0.2 nl/s. The experimental results are also in very good agreement with predictions based on laminar channel flow using no-slip boundary conditions, indicating that standard macroscopic assumptions are still valid for these fluids under these conditions. However, experiments with aqueous solutions show anomalies in the form of unexpectedly low flow rates and time dependent variations. Possible explanations to these observations are discussed.

Experimental Measurements of Ingestion Through Turbine Rim Seals—Part II: Rotationally Induced Ingress

2012 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl M. Sangan ◽  
Oliver J. Pountney ◽  
Kunyuan Zhou ◽  
J. Michael Owen ◽  
Mike Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Results ◽  
Radial Clearance ◽  
Rotating Fluid ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Hot Gas ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Common ◽  
Axial Clearance ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Good Agreement

Part I of this two-part paper presented experimental results for externally-induced (EI) ingress, where the ingestion of hot gas through the rim seal into the wheel-space of a gas turbine is controlled by the circumferential variation of pressure in the external annulus. In Part II, experimental results are presented for rotationally-induced (RI) ingress, where the ingestion is controlled by the pressure generated by the rotating fluid in the wheel-space. Although EI ingress is the common form of ingestion through turbine rim seals, RI ingress or combined ingress (where EI and RI ingress are both significant) is particularly important for double seals, where the pressure asymmetries are attenuated in the annular space between the inner and outer seals. In this paper, the sealing effectiveness was determined from concentration measurements, and the variation of effectiveness with sealing flow rate was compared with theoretical curves for RI ingress obtained from an orifice model. Using a nondimensional sealing parameter Φ0 the data could be collapsed onto a single curve, and the theoretical variation of effectiveness with Φ0 was in very good agreement with the data for a wide range of flow rates and rotational speeds. It was shown that the sealing flow required to prevent RI ingress was much less than that needed for EI ingress, and it was also shown that the effectiveness of a radial-clearance seal is significantly better than that for an axial-clearance seal for both EI and RI ingress.

Deterministic Decomposition of the Unsteady Flow in a Unidirectional Axial Turbine for OWC Plant

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuria Alvarez Bertrand ◽  
Jesús Manuel Fernández Oro ◽  
Bruno Pereiras García ◽  
Manuel García Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Oscillating Water Column ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Aerodynamic Efficiency ◽  
Axial Turbine ◽  
Deterministic Framework ◽  
Energy Plants

The “twin-turbine” configuration has recently emerged as a feasible possibility for unidirectional turbines to be introduced in Oscillating Water Column wave energy plants without requiring auxiliary rectifying systems. Previous investigations by the authors have been focused on the development of a numerical CFD model to analyze the performance of a unidirectional axial turbine for twin turbine configuration in an OWC system. In this paper, all these numerical databases are further post-processed using a deterministic framework to give more insight about the flow patterns within the turbine. The final objective is the analysis of the unsteady features of the flow and the stator-rotor interactions using a deterministic decomposition. The present study reveals that levels of deterministic unsteadiness in the inter-row region are moderate, being more intense as the flow rate is decreased. Turbulence intensities are also observed to be clearly prominent in case of lower flow rates. Although these findings appear to be contradictory with the high-efficiency low flow rates of the turbine, the major levels of stator-rotor unsteadiness at higher flow rates (shown by the deterministic decomposition) justify the serious penalty in the aerodynamic efficiency as the turbine flow rate is increased. Finally, some advices with respect the design of the vane row in the turbine stage are given to control the generation of turbulence and stator-rotor interaction.

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