Off-Design Performance of a Highly Loaded LP Turbine Cascade Under Steady and Unsteady Incoming Flow Conditions

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Berrino ◽  
Daniele Simoni ◽  
Marina Ubaldi ◽  
Pietro Zunino ◽  
Francesco Bertini
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Incidence Angle ◽  
Incoming Flow ◽  
Turbine Cascade ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Angle Variation ◽  
Unsteady Inflow ◽  
Lp Turbine ◽  
Highly Loaded

The off-design performance of a highly loaded LP turbine cascade has been experimentally investigated, at the Aerodynamics and Turbomachinery Laboratory of Genova University, under steady and unsteady incoming flow conditions. Tests have been performed for different Reynolds numbers (Re = 70000 and Re = 300000), in order to cover the typical LP turbine working range. The incidence angle has been varied between i = −9° and +9°, in order to test off-design conditions characterizing the engine. For the unsteady case upstream wake periodic perturbations have been generated by means of a tangential wheel of radial rods. The cascade and the moving bars system have been located over a common bearing in order to make them rigidly rotating. This solution allows a proper comparison of the cascade robustness at the incidence angle variation under steady and unsteady incoming flows, since all the other operating parameters have been kept the same. In order to survey the variation of the unsteady boundary conditions characterizing the off-design operation of the downstream cascade, time-mean and time-resolved wake structures have been analyzed in detail. For what concerns the cascade performance, profile aerodynamic loadings and total pressure loss coefficients at the cascade exit have been surveyed for the different incidence angles under both steady and unsteady inflows. Different total pressure loss sensitivity at the incidence angle variation has been observed for the steady and the unsteady inflow conditions. Hot-wire anemometer has been employed to obtain the time-mean pressure and suction side boundary layer velocity profiles at the blade trailing edge for the different conditions. The integral parameters at the cascade exit plane help to justify the different loss trend vs incidence angle found for the steady and the unsteady cases, explaining the different sensibility of the blade profile when this operates under realistic unsteady inflow condition.

Off-Design Performance of a Highly Loaded Low Pressure Turbine Cascade Under Steady and Unsteady Incoming Flow Conditions

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Simoni ◽  
Marco Berrino ◽  
Marina Ubaldi ◽  
Pietro Zunino ◽  
Francesco Bertini
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Incidence Angle ◽  
Incoming Flow ◽  
Turbine Cascade ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Angle Variation ◽  
Unsteady Inflow ◽  
Lp Turbine ◽  
Highly Loaded

The off-design performance of a highly loaded low pressure (LP) turbine cascade has been experimentally investigated, at the Aerodynamics and Turbomachinery Laboratory of Genova University, under steady and unsteady incoming flow conditions. Tests have been performed for different Reynolds numbers (Re = 70,000 and Re = 300,000), in order to cover the typical LP turbine working range. The incidence angle has been varied between i = −9 deg and +9 deg, in order to test off-design conditions characterizing the engine. For the unsteady case, upstream wake periodic perturbations have been generated by means of a tangential wheel of radial rods. The cascade and the moving bars system have been located over a common bearing in order to make them rigidly rotating. This solution allows a proper comparison of the cascade robustness at the incidence angle variation under steady and unsteady incoming flows, since all the other operating parameters have been kept the same. In order to survey the variation of the unsteady boundary conditions characterizing the off-design operation of the downstream cascade, time-mean and time-resolved wake structures have been analyzed in detail. For what concerns the cascade performance, profile aerodynamic loadings and total pressure loss coefficients at the cascade exit have been surveyed for the different incidence angles under both steady and unsteady inflows. Different total pressure loss sensitivity at the incidence angle variation has been observed for the steady and the unsteady inflow conditions. Hot-wire anemometer has been employed to obtain the time-mean pressure and suction side boundary layer velocity profiles at the blade trailing edge for the different conditions. The integral parameters at the cascade exit plane help to justify the different loss trend versus incidence angle found for the steady and the unsteady cases, explaining the different sensibility of the blade profile when this operates under realistic unsteady inflow condition.

Aerodynamic Loading Distribution Effects on Off-Design Performance of Highly Loaded LP Turbine Cascades Under Steady and Unsteady Incoming Flows

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Berrino ◽  
Daniele Simoni ◽  
Marina Ubaldi ◽  
Pietro Zunino ◽  
Francesco Bertini
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Incidence Angle ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Angle Variation ◽  
Aerodynamic Loading ◽  
Profile Losses ◽  
Unsteady Inflow ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Highly Loaded

The present work is part of a continuous cooperation between GE AvioAero and the University of Genova aimed at understanding the detailed flow physics of efficient highly loaded LPT blades for aeroengine applications. In this paper the effects of the aerodynamic loading distribution on the performances of three different cascades with the same Zweifel number have been experimentally investigated under steady and unsteady incoming flow conditions. Measurements have been carried out for several Reynolds numbers (in the range 70000<Re<300000) with an incidence angle variation of ±9°, in order to cover the typical realistic LP aeroengine turbine working range on design and off-design conditions. Profile aerodynamic loadings and total pressure loss coefficients have been evaluated for the different cases. Efficiency data clearly highlight that at nominal incidence an aft loaded cascade provides the lowest profile losses when the boundary layer is attached to the wall, as it occurs in the unsteady case or at high Reynolds numbers. Only at the lowest Reynolds number in the steady case, a front loaded profile is preferable since it helps to prevent a laminar boundary layer separation. Moreover, the aft loaded profile has also shown a better robustness to incidence angle variation, both for the steady and the unsteady inflow conditions. Indeed, the growth of profile losses with incidence is weaker for the aft loaded cascade with respect to the front and the mid loaded ones. However, irrespective of the loading distribution the loss trend vs incidence angle has been found to be completely different between the steady and the unsteady operations. Results in the paper give a clear overview of the impact of the loading distribution on profile losses as a function of Reynolds number, as well as a detailed view of the influence due to the loading characteristics on incidence robustness under the realistic unsteady inflow case.

Experimental Investigation of Total Pressure Loss Development in a Highly Loaded Low Pressure Turbine Cascade

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Bear ◽  
Mitch Wolff ◽  
Andreas Gross ◽  
Christopher R. Marks ◽  
Rolf Sondergaard
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Turbine Cascade ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine ◽  
Pressure Transport ◽  
Secondary Flow Field ◽  
Highly Loaded

Improvements in turbine design methods have resulted in the development of blade profiles with both high lift and good Reynolds lapse characteristics. An increase in aerodynamic loading of blades in the low pressure turbine section of aircraft gas turbine engines has the potential to reduce engine weight or increase power extraction. Increased blade loading means larger pressure gradients and increased secondary losses near the endwall. Prior work has emphasized the importance of reducing these losses if highly loaded blades are to be utilized. The present study analyzes the secondary flow field of the front-loaded low-pressure turbine blade designated L2F with and without blade profile contouring at the junction of the blade and endwall. The current work explores the loss production mechanisms inside the low pressure turbine cascade. Stereoscopic particle image velocimetry data and total pressure loss data are used to describe the secondary flow field. The flow is analyzed in terms of total pressure loss, vorticity, Q-Criterion, turbulent kinetic energy and turbulence production. The flow description is then expanded upon using an Implicit Large Eddy Simulation of the flow field. The RANS momentum equations contain terms with pressure derivatives. With some manipulation these equations can be rearranged to form an equation for the change in total pressure along a streamline as a function of velocity only. After simplifying for the flow field in question the equation can be interpreted as the total pressure transport along a streamline. A comparison of the total pressure transport calculated from the velocity components and the total pressure loss is presented and discussed. Peak values of total pressure transport overlap peak values of total pressure loss through and downstream of the passage suggesting that total pressure transport is a useful tool for localizing and predicting loss origins and loss development using velocity data which can be obtained non-intrusively.

Effect of Upstream Purge Slot on a Transonic Turbine Blade Passage: Part 1 — Aerodynamic Performance

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorian M. Blot ◽  
Arnab Roy ◽  
Srinath V. Ekkad ◽  
Wing Ng ◽  
Andrew S. Lohaus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Secondary Flow ◽  
Film Cooling ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Incidence Angle ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Backward Facing Step ◽  
Film Cooling Effectiveness

In this paper, detailed experimental results of total pressure loss and secondary flow field are presented for a high turning (127°) airfoil passage in presence of an upstream purge slot (with and without coolant injection). The experiments were performed at Virginia Tech’s quasi 2D linear turbine cascade operating at transonic conditions. Measurements were made at design exit Mach number 0.88 and design incidence angle. The selected coolant to mainstream mass flow ratio (MFR) was set at 1.0%. In order to match engine representative inlet/exit blade loading, a diverging endwall was utilized where the span increased from the inlet to the exit at a 13 degree angle. A 5-hole probe traverse was used to measure exit total pressure. Pressure loss coefficients were calculated both along pitchwise and spanwise directions at 0.1 axial chord downstream of the blade trailing edge. CFD studies were conducted to compliment the experimental results. The backward facing step present with the upstream slot affects the approaching boundary layer and influences the passage horse-shoe vortex strength. The addition of coolant from the purge slot further increased the aerodynamic losses. However, the backward facing step of the upstream slot seems to be the predominant factor in affecting pressure losses when compared to with or without blowing cases. These results provide further understanding of the passage secondary flow characteristics and aid towards improved design of endwall passages. The heat transfer experiments, designed to find the heat transfer coefficient and the film cooling effectiveness are described in detail in part II of this paper [1].

scholarly journals Numerical and Experimental Investigations on Optimized 3D Compressor Airfoils

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Mihalyovics ◽  
Christian Brück ◽  
Dieter Peitsch ◽  
Ilias Vasilopoulos ◽  
Marcus Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Flow Angle ◽  
Flow Phenomena ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Stator Design

The objective of the presented work is to perform numerical and experimental studies on compressor stators. This paper presents the modification of a baseline stator design using numerical optimization resulting in a new 3D stator. The Rolls Royce in-house compressible flow solver HYDRA was employed to predict the 3D flow, solving the steady RANS equations with the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model, and its corresponding discrete adjoint solver. The performance gradients with respect to the input design parameters were used to optimize the stator blade with respect to the total pressure loss over a prescribed incidence range, while additionally minimizing the flow deviation from the axial direction at the stator exit. Non-uniform profile boundary conditions, being derived from the experimental measurements, have been defined at the inlet of the CFD domain. The presented results show a remarkable decrease in the axial exit flow angle deviation and a minor decrease in the total pressure loss. Experiments were conducted on two compressor blade sets investigating the three-dimensional flow in an annular compressor stator cascade. Comparing the baseline flow of the 42° turning stator shows that the optimized stator design minimizes the secondary flow phenomena. The experimental investigation discusses the impact of steady flow conditions on each stator design while focusing on the comparison of the 3D optimized design to the baseline case. The flow conditions were investigated using five-hole probe pressure measurements in the wake of the blades. Furthermore, oil-flow visualization was applied to characterize flow phenomena. These experimental results are compared with the CFD calculations.

The Effects of Inlet Boundary Layer Condition and Periodically Incoming Wakes on Secondary Flow in a Low Pressure Turbine Cascade

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Schubert ◽  
Silvio Chemnitz ◽  
Reinhard Niehuis
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Secondary Flow ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Turbine Cascade ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine ◽  
Speed Flow ◽  
Unsteady Inflow

Abstract A particular turbine cascade design is presented with the goal of providing a basis for high quality investigations of endwall flow at high-speed flow conditions and unsteady inflow. The key feature of the design is an integrated two-part flat plate serving as a cascade endwall at part-span, which enables a variation of the inlet endwall boundary layer conditions. The new design is applied to the T106A low pressure turbine cascade for endwall flow investigations in the High-Speed Cascade Wind Tunnel of the Institute of Jet Propulsion at the Bundeswehr University Munich. Measurements are conducted at realistic flow conditions (M2th = 0.59, Re2th = 2·105) in three cases of different endwall boundary layer conditions with and without periodically incoming wakes. The endwall boundary layer is characterized by 1D-CTA measurements upstream of the blade passage. Secondary flow is evaluated by Five-hole-probe measurements in the turbine exit flow. A strong similarity is found between the time-averaged effects of unsteady inflow conditions and the effects of changing inlet endwall boundary layer conditions regarding the attenuation of secondary flow. Furthermore, the experimental investigations show, that all design goals for the improved T106A cascade are met.

Complex Secondary Flow and Associated Loss Generation in Ultra-Highly Loaded Turbine Cascade

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoshio Tsujita ◽  
Atsumasa Yamamoto
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Flow ◽  
Static Pressure ◽  
Incidence Angle ◽  
Blade Surface ◽  
Turbine Cascade ◽  
Blade Loading ◽  
Oil Flow ◽  
Oil Flow Visualization ◽  
Secondary Flow Structure ◽  
Highly Loaded

An increase of turbine blade loading decreases the numbers of blades and stages, and results in the improvement of the performance characteristics of gas turbines. However, in such highly loaded turbine cascade with high turning angle, the secondary flow becomes much strong due to the steep pressure gradient across the blade-to-blade passage and deteriorates the performance of turbine enormously. In this study, the computations were performed for the flow in the ultra-highly loaded turbine cascade in order to clarify the effects of the inlet boundary layer thickness and the incidence angle which strongly influence the secondary flow structure in a turbine cascade. Moreover, the experimental oil flow visualization was conducted on the blade surface and the endwall, and the measurements of blade surface static pressure were performed at the midspan. The computed results agreed well with the oil flow visualization and the measured blade surface static pressure. The effects of the incidence angle and the inlet boundary layer thickness on the secondary flow structure, the total pressure loss, the secondary flow kinetic energy and the blade loading distributions were examined in detail. The positive incidence angle induced the characteristic vortex released from the endwall. Moreover, it was revealed that the interactions among the horseshoe vortex, the passage vortex and the characteristic vortex strongly increase the secondary loss in the cascade passage.

Computational Modeling of Three-Dimensional Endwall Flow Through a Turbine Rotor Cascade With Strong Secondary Flows

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y.-H. Ho ◽  
B. Lakshminarayana
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Turbulence Intensity ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Turbulence Kinetic Energy ◽  
Length Scale ◽  
Turbine Cascade ◽  
Turbulence Length ◽  
Turbulence Length Scale

A steady, three-dimensional Navier-Stokes solver which utilizes a pressure-based technique for incompressible flows is used to simulate the three-dimensional flow field in a turbine cascade. A new feature of the numerical scheme is the implementation of a second-order plus fourth-order artificial dissipation formulation, which provides a precise control of the numerical dissipation. A low-Reynolds-number form of a two-equation turbulence model is used to account for the turbulence effects. Comparison between the numerical predictions and the experimental data indicates that the numerical model is able to capture most of the complex flow phenomena in the endwall region of a turbine cascade, except the high gradient region in the secondary vortex core. The effects of inlet turbulence intensity and turbulence length scale on secondary vortices, total pressure loss, and turbulence kinetic energy inside the passage are presented and interpreted. It is found that higher turbulence intensity energizes the vortical motions and tends to move the passage vortex away from the endwall. With a larger turbulence length scale the secondary flow inside the passage is reduced. However, the total pressure loss increases due to higher turbulence kinetic energy production.

Experimental Investigation of Total Pressure Loss Development in a Highly Loaded Low-Pressure Turbine Cascade

2017 ◽  
Vol 140 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Bear ◽  
Mitch Wolff ◽  
Andreas Gross ◽  
Christopher R. Marks ◽  
Rolf Sondergaard
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Secondary Flow ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Total Pressure Loss ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine ◽  
Pressure Transport ◽  
Secondary Flow Field ◽  
Highly Loaded

Improvements in turbine design methods have resulted in the development of blade profiles with both high lift and good Reynolds lapse characteristics. An increase in aerodynamic loading of blades in the low-pressure turbine (LPT) section of aircraft gas turbine engines has the potential to reduce engine weight or increase power extraction. Increased blade loading means larger pressure gradients and increased secondary losses near the endwall. Prior work has emphasized the importance of reducing these losses if highly loaded blades are to be utilized. The present study analyzes the secondary flow field of the front-loaded low-pressure turbine blade designated L2F with and without blade profile contouring at the junction of the blade and endwall. The current work explores the loss production mechanisms inside the LPT cascade. Stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (SPIV) data and total pressure loss data are used to describe the secondary flow field. The flow is analyzed in terms of total pressure loss, vorticity, Q-Criterion, turbulent kinetic energy, and turbulence production. The flow description is then expanded upon using an implicit large eddy simulation (ILES) of the flow field. The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) momentum equations contain terms with pressure derivatives. With some manipulation, these equations can be rearranged to form an equation for the change in total pressure along a streamline as a function of velocity only. After simplifying for the flow field in question, the equation can be interpreted as the total pressure transport along a streamline. A comparison of the total pressure transport calculated from the velocity components and the total pressure loss is presented and discussed. Peak values of total pressure transport overlap peak values of total pressure loss through and downstream of the passage suggesting that the total pressure transport is a useful tool for localizing and predicting loss origins and loss development using velocity data which can be obtained nonintrusively.

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