Numerical Studies on Combustor-Turbine Interaction at the Large Scale Turbine Rig (LSTR)

Author(s):  
Jonathan Hilgert ◽  
Martin Bruschewski ◽  
Holger Werschnik ◽  
Heinz-Peter Schiffer

In order to fully understand the physical behavior of lean burn combustors and its influence on high pressure turbine stages in modern jet engines, the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) promises to be a valuable addition to experimental techniques. The numerical investigations of this paper are based on the Large Scale Turbine Rig (LSTR) at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany which has been set up to explore the aerothermal combustor turbine interaction. The underlying numerical grids of the simulations take account of the complex cooling design to the fullest extent, considering coolant cavities, cooling holes and vane trailing edge slots within the meshing process. In addition to the k-ω-SST turbulence model, Scale-Adaptive Simulation (SAS) is applied for a computational domain comprising swirl generator and nozzle guide vanes in order to overcome the shortcomings of eddy viscosity turbulence models with regard to streamline curvature. The numerical results are compared with Five Hole Probe measurements at different streamwise locations showing good agreement and allowing for a more detailed examination of the complex flow physics caused by the interaction of turbine flow with lean-burn combustion and advanced film-cooling concepts. Moreover, numerically predicted Nu-contours on the hub end wall of the nozzle guide vane are validated by means of Infrared Thermography measurements.

2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Schneider ◽  
Heinz-Peter Schiffer ◽  
Knut Lehmann

Abstract Knowing the flow conditions at the combustor turbine interface is a key asset for an efficient cooling design of high-pressure turbines. However, measurements and numerical predictions of combustor exit conditions are challenging due to the extreme temperatures and complex flow patterns in modern combustors. Even the time-averaged flow fields at the combustor exit which are commonly used as inlet condition for simulations of the turbine are therefore subject to uncertainty. The goal of this paper is to illustrate how aleatory uncertainties in the magnitude and position of residual swirl and hot spots at the combustor exit affect uncertainties in the prediction of cooling and heat load of the first nozzle guide vane. Also, it is identified which of these uncertain parameters have the greatest impact. An iso-thermal test rig and an engine realistic setup with lean burn inflow conditions are investigated. The analysis combines a parameterized model for combustor exit flow fields with uncertainty quantification methods. It is shown that the clocking position of turbine inlet swirl has a large effect on the formation of secondary flows on the vane surface and thus affects the uncertainty of thermal predictions on the hub and vanes.


Author(s):  
Mahmood H. Alqefl ◽  
Kedar P. Nawathe ◽  
Pingting Chen ◽  
Rui Zhu ◽  
Yong W. Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract Flow over gas turbine endwalls is complex and highly three-dimensional. As boundaries for modern engine designs are pushed, this already-complex flow is affected by aggressive application of film cooling flows that actively interact. This two-part study describes, experimentally, the aero-thermal interaction of cooling flows near the endwall of a first stage nozzle guide vane passage. The approach flow conditions represent flow exiting a low-NOx combustor. The test section includes geometric and cooling details of a combustor-turbine interface in addition to endwall film cooling flows injected upstream of the passage. The first part of this study describes in detail, the passage aerodynamics as affected by injection of cooling flows. It reveals a system of secondary flows, including the newly-discovered Impingement Vortex, which redefines our understanding of the aerodynamics of flow in a modern, film-cooled, first-stage vane row. The second part investigates, through thermal measurements, the distribution, mixing and disruption of cooling flows over the endwall. Measurements are made with and without active endwall film cooling. Descriptions are made through adiabatic surface effectiveness measurements and correlations with in-passage velocity (presented in part one) and thermal fields. Results show that the newly-discovered impingement vortex has a positive effect on coolant distribution through passage vortex suppression and by carrying the coolant to hard-to-cool regions in the passage, including the pressure surface near the endwall.


Author(s):  
W. Colban ◽  
K. A. Thole ◽  
M. Haendler

The flow exiting the combustor in a gas turbine engine is considerably hotter than the melting temperature of the turbine section components, of which the turbine nozzle guide vanes see the hottest gas temperatures. One method used to cool the vanes is to use rows of film-cooling holes to inject bleed air that is lower in temperature through an array of discrete holes onto the vane surface. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the row-by-row interaction of fan-shaped holes as compared to the performance of a single row of fan-shaped holes in the same locations. This study presents adiabatic film-cooling effectiveness measurements from a scaled-up, two-passage vane cascade. High resolution film-cooling measurements were made with an infrared (IR) camera at a number of engine representative flow conditions. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions were also made to evaluate the performance of some of the current turbulence models in predicting a complex flow such as turbine film-cooling. The RNG k-ε turbulence model gave a closer prediction of the overall level of film-effectiveness, while the v2-f turbulence model gave a more accurate representation of the flow physics seen in the experiments.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-39
Author(s):  
Mahmood H. Alqefl ◽  
Kedar P. Nawathe ◽  
Pingting Chen ◽  
Rui Zhu ◽  
Yong Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract Flow over gas turbine endwalls is complex and highly three-dimensional. As boundaries for modern engine designs are pushed, this already-complex flow is affected by aggressive application of film cooling flows that actively interact. This two-part study describes, experimentally, the aero-thermal interaction of cooling flows near the endwall of a first stage nozzle guide vane passage. The approach flow conditions represent flow exiting a low-NOx combustor. The test section includes geometric and cooling details of a combustor-turbine interface in addition to endwall film cooling flows injected upstream of the passage. The first part of this study describes in detail, the passage aerodynamics as affected by injection of cooling flows. It reveals a system of secondary flows, including the newly-discovered Impingement Vortex, which redefines our understanding of the aerodynamics of flow in a modern, film-cooled, first-stage vane row. The second part investigates, through thermal measurements, the distribution, mixing and disruption of cooling flows over the endwall. Measurements are made with and without active endwall film cooling. Descriptions are made through adiabatic surface effectiveness measurements and correlations with in-passage velocity (presented in part one) and thermal fields. Results show that the newly-discovered impingement vortex has a positive effect on coolant distribution through passage vortex suppression and by carrying the coolant to hard-to-cool regions in the passage, including the pressure surface near the endwall.


2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Colban ◽  
K. A. Thole ◽  
M. Haendler

The flow exiting the combustor in a gas turbine engine is considerably hotter than the melting temperature of the turbine section components, of which the turbine nozzle guide vanes see the hottest gas temperatures. One method used to cool the vanes is to use rows of film-cooling holes to inject bleed air that is lower in temperature through an array of discrete holes onto the vane surface. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the row-by-row interaction of fan-shaped holes as compared to the performance of a single row of fan-shaped holes in the same locations. This study presents adiabatic film-cooling effectiveness measurements from a scaled-up, two-passage vane cascade. High-resolution film-cooling measurements were made with an infrared camera at a number of engine representative flow conditions. Computational fluid dynamics predictions were also made to evaluate the performance of some of the current turbulence models in predicting a complex flow such as turbine film-cooling. The renormalization group (RNG) k‐ε turbulence model gave a closer prediction of the overall level of film effectiveness, while the v2‐f turbulence model gave a more accurate representation of the flow physics seen in the experiments.


Author(s):  
Mitra Thomas ◽  
Benjamin Kirollos ◽  
Dougal Jackson ◽  
Thomas Povey

For engines operating at high turbine entry temperatures it is increasingly important to cool the high pressure nozzle guide vane (HP NGV) endwalls. This is particularly so for low NOx combustors operating with flatter outlet temperature distributions. Double-row arrangements of film/ballistic cooling holes upstream of the NGV passage have been employed in production engines. Optimisation of such systems is non-trivial, however, due to the complex nature of the flow in the endwall region. Previous studies have reported that strong cross passage pressure gradients lead to migration of coolant flow and boundary layer flow within the passage. In addition the vane potential field effects lead to non-uniform blowing ratios for holes upstream of the vanes. It has also been reported that inlet total pressure and turbulence profiles have a significant effect on the development of the film cooling layer. In this study, endwall film cooling flows are studied experimentally in a large-scale low-speed cascade tunnel with engine-realistic combustor geometry and turbulence profiles. At very low blowing ratios mild cross-passage migration effects are observed. At higher blowing ratios more realistic of the engine situation no cross-passage migration is observed. This finding is somewhat contrary to the classical view of endwall secondary flow, which is presented as significant at the scale of the vane passage by several authors. The difference arises in part because of the thinning of the boundary layer due to strong acceleration in the vane inlet contraction. The findings are further supported by CFD simulations. Methods of improving conventional double-row systems to offer improved cooling of the endwall are also discussed.


Author(s):  
John C. P. W. Ling ◽  
Peter T. Ireland ◽  
Lynne Tumer

Concern for the environment has led to world-wide emissions legislation. Under such legislation, land based gas turbines in particular are required to meet stringent emissions levels of NOx and CO. In response, Rolls-Royce has designed and developed a retro fit dry low emission (DLE) module for the industrial RB211 aero-derivative engine. The DLE combustion system achieves low emissions through the use of staged premixed lean burn combustion. The paper reports detailed measurements of heat transfer coefficient and film cooling effectiveness for full coverage film cooling systems suitable for cooling the transition section between the combustor and the nozzle guide vanes. The experiments were performed at large scale using the transient liquid crystal method of measuring heat transfer. The film cooling data are unusual since the film injection angle is 20°. Extensive arrays with hole spacings of 16d and 10d have been investigated with air and with CO2 as the coolant. The latter tests achieved engine representative film to free-stream density ratios. The paper discusses in detail the experimental strategy and compares the data to results from the literature.


2000 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Rowbury ◽  
M. L. G. Oldfield ◽  
G. D. Lock

An empirical means of predicting the discharge coefficients of film cooling holes in an operating engine has been developed. The method quantifies the influence of the major dimensionless parameters, namely hole geometry, pressure ratio across the hole, coolant Reynolds number, and the freestream Mach number. The method utilizes discharge coefficient data measured on both a first-stage high-pressure nozzle guide vane from a modern aero-engine and a scale (1.4 times) replica of the vane. The vane has over 300 film cooling holes, arranged in 14 rows. Data was collected for both vanes in the absence of external flow. These noncrossflow experiments were conducted in a pressurized vessel in order to cover the wide range of pressure ratios and coolant Reynolds numbers found in the engine. Regrettably, the proprietary nature of the data collected on the engine vane prevents its publication, although its input to the derived correlation is discussed. Experiments were also conducted using the replica vanes in an annular blowdown cascade which models the external flow patterns found in the engine. The coolant system used a heavy foreign gas (SF6 /Ar mixture) at ambient temperatures which allowed the coolant-to-mainstream density ratio and blowing parameters to be matched to engine values. These experiments matched the mainstream Reynolds and Mach numbers and the coolant Mach number to engine values, but the coolant Reynolds number was not engine representative (Rowbury, D. A., Oldfield, M. L. G., and Lock, G. D., 1997, “Engine-Representative Discharge Coefficients Measured in an Annular Nozzle Guide Vane Cascade,” ASME Paper No. 97-GT-99, International Gas Turbine and Aero-Engine Congress & Exhibition, Orlando, Florida, June 1997; Rowbury, D. A., Oldfield, M. L. G., Lock, G. D., and Dancer, S. N., 1998, “Scaling of Film Cooling Discharge Coefficient Measurements to Engine Conditions,” ASME Paper No. 98-GT-79, International Gas Turbine and Aero-Engine Congress & Exhibition, Stockholm, Sweden, June 1998). A correlation for discharge coefficients in the absence of external crossflow has been derived from this data and other published data. An additive loss coefficient method is subsequently applied to the cascade data in order to assess the effect of the external crossflow. The correlation is used successfully to reconstruct the experimental data. It is further validated by successfully predicting data published by other researchers. The work presented is of considerable value to gas turbine design engineers as it provides an improved means of predicting the discharge coefficients of engine film cooling holes.


Author(s):  
Rebecca Reviol ◽  
Roman Franze ◽  
Martin Böhle ◽  
Kenichiro Takeishi ◽  
Alexander Wiedermann

Film cooling effects on endwalls in the stagnation point region are of special interest since the heat transfer is influenced drastically by secondary flows. Additionally, a complex vortex structure exists along the stagnation streamline which influences heat transfer on the endwall. The flow phenomenon is described and discussed in the open literature but it is still difficult to predict the heat transfer on the endwall and the turbine profile by CFD methods with sufficient accuracy. In this paper it is examined how the flow field in the stagnation region should be simulated using CFD. The effect of meshes with various grid resolutions and turbulence models as k-ε-, k-ω-SST- and DES-turbulence models have been investigated. The CFD-data are compared with the experimental results obtained by Naphthalene Sublimation Method, Pressure Sensitive Paint, Laser Induced Fluorescence and Particle Image Velocimetry. Three cases, namely film cooling on a flat plate, the endwall flow near a symmetrical airfoil and the symmetrical airfoil with endwall film cooling, are examined in detail.


2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 508-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. Barringer ◽  
O. T. Richard ◽  
J. P. Walter ◽  
S. M. Stitzel ◽  
K. A. Thole

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.


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