Numerical Simulation of ITD Flows in the Presence of HP Blade and LP Vane

Author(s):  
Jie Gao ◽  
Xuezheng Liu ◽  
Weiyan Xiao ◽  
Weiliang Fu ◽  
Fusheng Meng ◽  
...  

Flows in an intermediate turbine duct (ITD) connecting high-pressure turbines (HPT) and low-pressure turbines (LPT) are highly complex, influenced by the upstream HP turbine flow structures. Non-uniformities originating from the duct with struts of different sizes also affect the LPT inflow conditions, resulting in reduced efficiency. The goal of this paper is to provide detailed understanding of the flow physics and loss mechanisms within the ITDs for highly efficient ITD designs. Steady and unsteady numerical simulations of flows through the ITDs in the presence of HP blade and LP vane were conducted. Effects of upstream HP blade on flow fields and loss characteristics within the ITDs are explored. The generation and propagation of wake and secondary flows through the whole configuration is described, including the fast Fourier transformation (FFT) analyses of the flow in the ITD. Results from the numerical simulations show complex flow patterns resulted from blade-strut-vane flow interactions in a high-endwall-angle duct, which are not obtainable from ITD-only simulations. Moreover, the ITD has a strong amplifying effect on the distorted inflow, and the inflow with the upstream wake and secondary flows introduces a high loss area along the casing at ITD exit. Detailed results are presented and discussed for the flow physics and loss mechanisms within the ITD.

Author(s):  
Jie Gao ◽  
Xuezheng Liu ◽  
Xudong Zhao ◽  
Weiliang Fu ◽  
Guoqiang Yue ◽  
...  

Flows in an intermediate turbine duct connecting low-pressure turbines and power turbines are very complex, affected by the upstream low-pressure turbine flow structures. Non-uniformities originating from the duct with struts also affect the power turbine inflow conditions, resulting in reduced efficiency. The present investigation is done to clarify the flow and loss mechanisms within the intermediate turbine duct and the power turbine. Steady and unsteady numerical investigations of the flow interaction between low-pressure turbine blade, intermediate turbine duct and power turbine vane were conducted. Effects of upstream low-pressure turbine blade on intermediate turbine duct flow fields and loss characteristics, and that of intermediate turbine duct with big and small struts on power turbine aerodynamics are explored. The generation and propagation of wake and secondary flows through the whole configuration are described. The fast Fourier transformation analyses of the flow in the low-pressure turbine blade, intermediate turbine duct and power turbine vane are also presented. Results from the steady and unsteady investigations show complex flow patterns resulted from blade–strut–vane flow interactions, which are not obtainable from intermediate turbine duct-only or power turbine-only simulations. The intermediate turbine duct has a great amplifying influence on the distorted inflow, and the inlet flow with upstream wakes and secondary flows introduces a high-loss area along the casing at intermediate turbine duct exit. Detailed results are presented and discussed for the flow physics and loss mechanisms as well as the unsteady flow evolution through the low-pressure turbine blade, intermediate turbine duct and power turbine vane.


Author(s):  
Martin Aubé ◽  
Charles Hirsch

The analysis and design methods used for turbomachinery components are mostly based on steady aerodynamics, neglecting the important unsteady nature of the flow field. An improvement in performance can however be achieved with a prior understanding, evaluation and modeling of the main unsteady loss sources generated in rotor/stator interactions, through new advanced experimental data coupled to systematic and controlled numerical simulations performed at the full unsteady level of approximation. But such calculations are even nowadays challenges to the CFD community, due to their high requirement in computer resources. To investigate the importance of unsteady loss mechanisms, a 1-1/2 axial turbine stage has been resolved at both quasi-steady and fully unsteady levels of approximation. In order to reduce the demand on computer resources, a scaling procedure can be applied to retrieve equal pitch distance on both sides of each rotor/stator interface. The space and time flow periodicity are then uncoupled and the unsteady flowfield may be resolved on a reduced number of blade passages per row without having to consider any time periodicity in the boundary treatment. The grid scaling however affects the turbine total pressure ratio and the position and strength of secondary flows, as the pitch-to-chord ratio is not kept constant. This effect is analyzed in the paper, with the objective to assess the associated approximation errors. Steady and unsteady numerical simulations are compared with the experimental data along three measuring stations placed downstream of each blade row. Even if steady results are in good agreement and allow capturing the main flow structures of the turbine stage, only the fully unsteady calculation resolves the complex loss mechanisms encountered mainly in the rotor and downstream stator components. These unsteady interactions are observed through time variations of the entropy, absolute flow angle and static pressure.


Author(s):  
Peter B. V. Johansson ◽  
Lars-Uno Axelsson

Multi-spool turbofan engines have intermediate ducts connecting the high-pressure turbine with the low-pressure turbine. The demands for more efficient and environmentally friendly jet engines force future turbofan engines to have higher by-pass ratios. This leads to that the radial off-set between the turbine stages increases and therefore the radial off-set of the intermediate duct has to increase. In order to save fuel consumption it is desirable to decrease engine weight and thus the duct should be made as short as possible. The flow in the intermediate duct is complex, so safely shortening the duct requires a thorough understanding of the flow physics in order to be able to accomplish this in a controlled manner. The present investigation focus on a joint experimental and numerical investigation of an intermediate duct configuration. The main purpose of the numerical simulation is to obtain an insight into the current capabilities of numerical simulations for these kinds of complex flow. The conclusion is that the numerical simulations manage fairly well to capture the total pressure and swirl angle profile from about 20% to 80% span. Also, the hub and shroud pressure profiles are well predicted while the total pressure loss is overpredicted in the numerical simulations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 497
Author(s):  
L. Aravindakshan Pillai ◽  
Praveen Nair

<p>Analysis of plasma flows at hypersonic velocity over blunt bodies is quite complex and challenging as it involves complex flow physics and carries several uncertainties. Simultaneous simulation of all the parameters as existing in re-entry flight puts constraints on most of the ground based experiments. Numerical simulations, on the other hand, require modelling of ionisation and real gas effects and prove to be computationally costly. This paper highlights the development of unstructured, cell centred second order accurate parallel version of in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver where high temperature equivalent properties used from Hansen’s 7 species model and establishment of a simplified procedure for estimation of heat flux over wedge models tested in Plasma Wind Tunnel facility, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. Numerical simulations were carried out for Plasma tunnel initially to get the flow properties inside the tunnel when operated without any model. A simplified CFD based approach is established for computing the heat flux over the bodies tested inside the tunnel and compared with the measured data. The comparison of numerical and measured values shows that the proposed methodology captures the flow physics and various parameters with acceptable levels of accuracy.</p>


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 884
Author(s):  
Rawaa Shaheed ◽  
Abdolmajid Mohammadian ◽  
Xiaohui Yan

River bends are one of the common elements in most natural rivers, and secondary flow is one of the most important flow features in the bends. The secondary flow is perpendicular to the main flow and has a helical path moving towards the outer bank at the upper part of the river cross-section, and towards the inner bank at the lower part of the river cross-section. The secondary flow causes a redistribution in the main flow. Accordingly, this redistribution and sediment transport by the secondary flow may lead to the formation of a typical pattern of river bend profile. It is important to study and understand the flow pattern in order to predict the profile and the position of the bend in the river. However, there are a lack of comprehensive reviews on the advances in numerical modeling of bend secondary flow in the literature. Therefore, this study comprehensively reviews the fundamentals of secondary flow, the governing equations and boundary conditions for numerical simulations, and previous numerical studies on river bend flows. Most importantly, it reviews various numerical simulation strategies and performance of various turbulence models in simulating the flow in river bends and concludes that the main problem is finding the appropriate model for each case of turbulent flow. The present review summarizes the recent advances in numerical modeling of secondary flow and points out the key challenges, which can provide useful information for future studies.


Author(s):  
Ch. Hirsch ◽  
S. Kang ◽  
G. Pointel

The three-dimensional flow in centrifugal impellers is investigated on the basis of a detailed analysis of the results of numerical simulations. In order to gain confidence in this process, an in-depth validation is performed, based on computations of Krain’s centrifugal compressor and of a radial pump impeller, both with vaneless diffusers. Detailed comparisons with available experimental data provide high confidence in the numerical tools and results. The appearance of a high loss ‘wake’ region results from the transport of boundary layer material from the blade surfaces to the shroud region and its location depends on the balance between secondary and tip leakage flows and is not necessarily connected to 3D boundary layer separation. Although the low momentum spots near the shroud can interfere with 3D separated regions, the main outcome of the present analysis is that these are two distinct phenomena. Part I of this paper focuses on the validation base of the numerical approach, based on fine mesh simulations, while Part II presents an analysis of the different contributions to the secondary flows and attempts to estimate their effect on the overall flow pattern.


2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1083-1098 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew E. Jeglum ◽  
Sebastian W. Hoch ◽  
Derek D. Jensen ◽  
Reneta Dimitrova ◽  
Zachariah Silver

AbstractLarge temperature fluctuations (LTFs), defined as a drop of the near-surface temperature of at least 3°C in less than 30 min followed by a recovery of at least half of the initial drop, were frequently observed during the Mountain Terrain Atmospheric Modeling and Observations (MATERHORN) program. Temperature time series at over 100 surface stations were examined in an automated fashion to identify and characterize LTFs. LTFs occur almost exclusively at night and at locations elevated 50–100 m above the basin floors, such as the east slope of the isolated Granite Mountain (GM). Temperature drops associated with LTFs were as large as 13°C and were typically greatest at heights of 4–10 m AGL. Observations and numerical simulations suggest that LTFs are the result of complex flow interactions of stably stratified flow with a mountain barrier and a leeside cold-air pool (CAP). An orographic wake forms over GM when stably stratified southwesterly nocturnal flow impinges on GM and is blocked at low levels. Warm crest-level air descends in the lee of the barrier, and the generation of baroclinic vorticity leads to periodic development of a vertically oriented vortex. Changes in the strength or location of the wake and vortex cause a displacement of the horizontal temperature gradient along the slope associated with the CAP edge, resulting in LTFs. This mechanism explains the low frequency of LTFs on the west slope of GM as well as the preference for LTFs to occur at higher elevations later at night, as the CAP depth increases.


Author(s):  
Kevin Liu ◽  
Hongzhou Xu ◽  
Michael Fox

Cooling of the turbine nozzle endwall is challenging due to its complex flow field involving strong secondary flows. Increasingly-effective cooling schemes are required to meet the higher turbine inlet temperatures required by today’s gas turbine applications. Therefore, in order to cool the endwall surface near the pressure side of the airfoil and the trailing edge extended area, the spent cooling air from the airfoil film cooling and pressure side discharge slots, referred to as “phantom cooling” is utilized. This paper studies the effect of compound angled pressure side injection on nozzle endwall surface. The measurements were conducted in a high speed linear cascade, which consists of three nozzle vanes and four flow passages. Two nozzle test models with a similar film cooling design were investigated, one with an axial pressure side film cooling row and trailing edge slots; the other with the same cooling features but with compound angled injection, aiming at the test endwall. Phantom cooling effectiveness on the endwall was measured using a Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) technique through the mass transfer analogy. Two-dimensional phantom cooling effectiveness distributions on the endwall surface are presented for four MFR (Mass Flow Ratio) values in each test case. Then the phantom cooling effectiveness distributions are pitchwise-averaged along the axial direction and comparisons were made to show the effect of the compound angled injection. The results indicated that the endwall phantom cooling effectiveness increases with the MFR significantly. A compound angle of the pressure side slots also enhanced the endwall phantom cooling significantly. For combined injections, the phantom cooling effectiveness is much higher than the pressure side slots injection only in the endwall downstream extended area.


Author(s):  
R. S. Amano ◽  
Krishna Guntur ◽  
Jose Martinez Lucci

It has been a common practice to use cooling passages in gas turbine blade in order to keep the blade temperatures within the operating range. Insufficiently cooled blades are subject to oxidation, to cause creep rupture, and even to cause melting of the material. To design better cooling passages, better understanding of the flow patterns within the complicated flow channels is essential. The interactions between secondary flows and separation lead to very complex flow patterns. To accurately simulate these flows and heat transfer, both refined turbulence models and higher-order numerical schemes are indispensable for turbine designers to improve the cooling performance. Power output and the efficiency of turbine are completely related to gas firing temperature from chamber. The increment of gas firing temperature is limited by the blade material properties. Advancements in the cooling technology resulted in high firing temperatures with acceptable material temperatures. To better design the cooling channels and to improve the heat transfer, many researchers are studying the flow patterns inside the cooling channels both experimentally and computationally. In this paper, the authors present the performance of three turbulence models using TEACH software code in comparison with the experimental values. To test the performance, a square duct with rectangular ribs oriented at 90° and 45° degree and placed at regular intervals. The channel also has bleed holes. The normalized Nusselt number obtained from simulation are validated with that of experiment. The Reynolds number is set at 10,000 for both the simulation and experiment. The interactions between secondary flows and separation lead to very complex flow patterns. To accurately simulate these flows and heat transfer, both refined turbulence models and higher-order numerical schemes are indispensable for turbine designers to improve the cooling performance. The three-dimensional turbulent flows and heat transfer are numerically studied by using several different turbulence models, such as non-linear low-Reynolds number k-omega and Reynolds Stress (RSM) models. In k-omega model the cubic terms are included to represent the effects of extra strain-rates such as streamline curvature and three-dimensionality on both turbulence normal and shear stresses. The finite volume difference method incorporated with the higher-order bounded interpolation scheme has been employed in the present study. The outcome of this study will help determine the best suitable turbulence model for future studies.


2003 ◽  
Vol 127 (4) ◽  
pp. 649-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Gier ◽  
Bertram Stubert ◽  
Bernard Brouillet ◽  
Laurent de Vito

Endwall losses significantly contribute to the overall losses in modern turbomachinery, especially when aerodynamic airfoil load and pressure ratios are increased. In turbines with shrouded airfoils a large portion of these losses are generated by the leakage flow across the shroud clearance. Generally the related losses can be grouped into losses of the leakage flow itself and losses caused by the interaction with the main flow in subsequent airfoil rows. In order to reduce the impact of the leakage flow and shroud design related losses a thorough understanding of the leakage losses and especially of the losses connected to enhancing secondary flows and other main flow interactions has to be understood. Therefore, a three stage LP turbine typical for jet engines is being investigated. For the three-stage test turbine 3D Navier-Stokes computations are performed simulating the turbine including the entire shroud cavity geometry in comparison with computations in the ideal flow path. Numerical results compare favorably against measurements carried out at the high altitude test facility at Stuttgart University. The differences of the simulations with and without shroud cavities are analyzed for several points of operation and a very detailed quantitative loss breakdown is presented.


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