Modeling of Combustor and Turbine Vane Interaction

Author(s):  
Ishan Verma ◽  
Laith Zori ◽  
Jaydeep Basani ◽  
Samir Rida

Abstract Modern aero-engines are characterized by compact components (fan, compressor, combustor, and turbine). Such proximity creates a complex interaction between the components and poses a modeling challenge due to the difficulties in identifying a clear interface between components since they are usually modeled separately. From a numerical point of view, the simulation of a complex compact aero-engine system requires interaction between these individual components, especially the combustor-turbine interaction. The combustor is characterized by a subsonic chemically reacting and swirling flow while the high-pressure turbine (HPT) stage has flow which is transonic. Furthermore, the simulation of combustor-turbine interactions is more challenging due to aggressive flow conditions such as non-uniform temperature, non-uniform total-pressure, strong swirl, and high turbulence intensity. The simulation of aero-engines, where combustor-turbine interactions are important, requires a methodology that can be used in a real engine framework while ensuring numerical requirements of accuracy and stability. Conventionally, such a simulation is carried out using one of the two approaches: a combined simulation (or joint-simulation) of the combustor and the HPT geometries, or a co-simulation between the combustor and the turbine with the exchange of boundary conditions between these two separate domains. The primary objective of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of the joint simulation versus the co-simulation and propose a more practical approach for modeling combustor and turbine interactions. First, a detailed grid independence study with hexahedral and polyhedral meshes is performed to select the required polyhedral mesh. Then, an optimal location of the interface between the combustor and the nozzle guide vane (NGV) is identified. Co-simulations are then performed by exchanging information between the combustor and the NGV at the interface, wherein the combustor is solved using LES while the NGV is solved using RANS. The joint combustor-NGV simulations are solved using LES. The effect of the combustor-NGV interaction on the flow field and hot streak migration is analyzed. The results suggest that the joint simulation is computationally efficient and more accurate since both components are modelled together.

Author(s):  
Sohail Hamid Zaidi ◽  
Robin L. Elder

A lightweight, high pressure radial inflow turbine was tested and laser anemometry used to measure the flow at various positions within the nozzle guide vanes, immediately upstream of the rotor and at two axial stations downstream of the rotor. The laser anemometry results indicated flow conditions within the nozzle vanes which were largely two dimensional (blade-to-blade with little hub to shroud variation) except at the vane outlet. Unsteadiness due to rotor blade passing effects were detected at the nozzle guide vane trailing edge but had almost entirely decayed at the vane throat. The results also indicate significant variations in flow conditions across the pitch of the nozzles suggesting incidence variations on the rotor of approaching 30 degrees. The laser anemometry results downstream of the turbine show a swirling flow characterised by a turbulent inner core region, a ‘centre annulus’ region of uniform velocity and flow direction and an outer flow region with a similar flow direction but velocity which increases rapidly towards the outer wall. The blade passing unsteadiness (blade-to-blade) is hardly noticeable some 50mm downstream of the rotor trailing edge.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Khanal ◽  
L. He ◽  
J. Northall ◽  
P. Adami

The high pressure (HP) turbine is subject to inlet flow nonuniformities resulting from the combustor. A lean-burn combustor tends to combine temperature variations with strong swirl and, although considerable research efforts have been made to study the effects of a circumferential temperature nonuniformity (hot-streak), there is relatively little known about the interaction between the two. This paper presents a numerical investigation of the transonic test HP stage MT1 behavior under the combined influence of the swirl and hot-streak. The in house Rolls-Royce HYDRA numerical computational fluid dynamics (CFD) suite is used for all the simulations of the present study. Baseline configurations with either hot-streak or swirl at the stage inlet are analyzed to assess the methodology and to identify reference performance parameters through comparisons with the experimental data. Extensive computational analyses are then carried out for the cases with hot-streak and swirl combined, including both the effects of the combustor-nozzle guide vane (NGV) clocking and the direction of the swirl. The present results for the combined hot-streak and swirl cases reveal distinctive radial migrations of hot fluid in the NGV and rotor passages with considerable impact on the aerothermal performance. It is illustrated that the blade heat transfer characteristics and their dependence on the clocking position can be strongly affected by the swirl direction. A further computational examination is carried out on the validity of a superposition of the influences of swirl and hot-streak. It shows that the blade heat transfer in a combined swirl and hot-streak case cannot be predicted by the superposition of each in isolation.


Author(s):  
Christian H. Schulze ◽  
Jan Habermann ◽  
Stephan Staudacher ◽  
Martin G. Rose ◽  
Udo Freygang

A two-stage low pressure turbine, developed by MTU Aero Engines AG (MTU), has been tested in the altitude test facility of the Institute for Aircraft Propulsion Systems (ILA) at Stuttgart University. The focus was on the change in the turbines behaviour to a rise in inflow turbulence levels and inflow distortion at flight conditions. Hence, the turbine flow with a clean inlet was compared to two cases with a built in turbulence grid prior to the first vane at a Reynolds number of 75,000. Data was collected in the inflow and inside the turbine using radial and area probe traverses. The observed rise in inflow turbulence level and the inflow distortion impacted the first turbine nozzle guide vane. Static pressure tappings and thin film gauges show changes in separation as well as transition location on the vane’s suction side. Five hole probe and 3D hot film probe measurements show distinct changes in secondary flow patterns as well as nozzle guide vane wakes. The changes lead to a higher blade row efficiency and a more homogeneous distribution of turbulence intensity at stator exit.


Author(s):  
Massimiliano Insinna ◽  
Simone Salvadori ◽  
Francesco Martelli

Numerical techniques are commonly used during both design and analysis processes, mainly considering single components. Technological progress asks for advanced approaches that include real-machine conditions and analyze components interaction, especially considering the combustor/turbine coupling. Modern combustors operate with strong swirl motions in order to obtain an adequate flame stabilization, generating a very complex flow field characterized by high turbulence level. These aspects affect performance of downstream components which are subjected to very aggressive inlet flow conditions: non-uniform total temperature, non-uniform total pressure, swirl and high turbulence intensity. For these reasons coupled analysis of combustor and turbine is necessary to accurately predict aero-thermal aspects that influence performance and reliability of these two components. From a numerical point of view the simulation of a single domain characterized by a reactive flow with very different Mach number regimes (from low-Mach flow in combustion chamber to transonic flow in turbine) is problematic due to the different numerical requirements needed, especially concerning stability and accuracy. These problems could be overcome using coupled methods to simultaneously simulate combustor and turbine in separated domains which are managed by different solvers that communicate with each other. A coupling method for the study of combustor/turbine interaction using the RANS methodology is proposed. In the first part of the paper the method is described and validated. The second part is dedicated to the application of the proposed coupling methodology to a realistic test case consisting of a model annular combustor and the Nozzle Guide Vane (NGV) of the MT1 high-pressure turbine stage. A commercial solver and an in-house code are respectively used for the simulation of combustor and NGV. Results are presented and analyzed highlighting the importance of such type of simulations in understanding aero-thermal phenomena that characterize combustor/vane interaction.


Author(s):  
Xijia Wu ◽  
Zhong Zhang ◽  
Leiyong Jiang ◽  
Prakash Patnaik

Nozzle guide vanes (NGV) of gas turbine engines are the first components to withstand the impingement of hot combustion gas and therefore often suffer thermal fatigue failures in service. A lifting analysis is performed for the NGV of a gas turbine engine using the integrated creep–fatigue theory (ICFT). With the constitutive formulation of inelastic strain in terms of mechanism-strain components such as rate-independent plasticity, dislocation glide-plus-climb, and grain boundary sliding (GBS), the dominant deformation mechanisms at the critical locations are thus identified quantitatively with the corresponding mechanism-strain component. The material selection scenarios are discussed with regards to damage accumulated during take-off and cruise. The interplay of those deformation mechanisms in the failure process is elucidated such that an “optimum” material selection solution may be achieved.


Author(s):  
Özhan H. Turgut ◽  
Cengiz Camcı

Three different ways are employed in the present paper to reduce the secondary flow related total pressure loss. These are nonaxisymmetric endwall contouring, leading edge (LE) fillet, and the combination of these two approaches. Experimental investigation and computational simulations are applied for the performance assessments. The experiments are carried out in the Axial Flow Turbine Research Facility (AFTRF) having a diameter of 91.66cm. The NGV exit flow structure was examined under the influence of a 29 bladed high pressure turbine rotor assembly operating at 1300 rpm. For the experimental measurement comparison, a reference Flat Insert endwall is installed in the nozzle guide vane (NGV) passage. It has a constant thickness with a cylindrical surface and is manufactured by a stereolithography (SLA) method. Four different LE fillets are designed, and they are attached to both cylindrical Flat Insert and the contoured endwall. Total pressure measurements are taken at rotor inlet plane with Kiel probe. The probe traversing is completed with one vane pitch and from 8% to 38% span. For one of the designs, area averaged loss is reduced by 15.06%. The simulation estimated this reduction as 7.11%. Computational evaluation is performed with the rotating domain and the rim seal flow between the NGV and the rotor blades. The most effective design reduced the mass averaged loss by 1.28% over the whole passage at the NGV exit.


2000 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 526-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maik Tiedemann ◽  
Friedrich Kost

This investigation is aimed at an experimental determination of the unsteady flowfield downstream of a transonic high pressure turbine stage. The single stage measurements, which were part of a joined European project, were conducted in the windtunnel for rotating cascades of the DLR Go¨ttingen. Laser-2-focus (L2F) measurements were carried out in order to determine the Mach number, flow angle, and turbulence distributions. Furthermore, a fast response pitot probe was utilized to determine the total pressure distribution. The measurement position for both systems was 0.5 axial rotor chord downstream of the rotor trailing edge at midspan. While the measurement position remained fixed, the nozzle guide vane (NGV) was “clocked” to 12 positions covering one NGV pitch. The periodic fluctuations of the total pressure downstream of the turbine stage indicate that the NGV wake damps the total pressure fluctuations caused by the rotor wakes. Furthermore, the random fluctuations are significantly lower in the NGV wake affected region. Similar conclusions were drawn from the L2F turbulence data. Since the location of the interaction between NGV wake and rotor wake is determined by the NGV position, the described effects are potential causes for the benefits of “stator clocking” which have been observed by many researchers.


1993 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. N. Dawes

This paper describes recent developments to a three-dimensional, unstructured mesh, solution-adaptive Navier–Stokes solver. By adopting a simple, pragmatic but systematic approach to mesh generation, the range of simulations that can be attempted is extended toward arbitrary geometries. The combined benefits of the approach result in a powerful analytical ability. Solutions for a wide range of flows are presented, including a transonic compressor rotor, a centrifugal impeller, a steam turbine nozzle guide vane with casing extraction belt, the internal coolant passage of a radial inflow turbine, and a turbine disk cavity flow.


Author(s):  
Steven W. Burd ◽  
Terrence W. Simon

The vast number of turbine cascade studies in the literature has been performed in straight-endwall, high-aspect-ratio, linear cascades. As a result, there has been little appreciation for the role of, and added complexity imposed by, reduced aspect ratios. There also has been little documentation of endwall profiling at these reduced spans. To examine the role of these factors on cascade hydrodynamics, a large-scale nozzle guide vane simulator was constructed at the Heat Transfer Laboratory of the University of Minnesota. This cascade is comprised of three airfoils between one contoured and one flat endwall. The geometries of the airfoils and endwalls, as well as the experimental conditions in the simulator, are representative of those in commercial operation. Measurements with hot-wire anemometry were taken to characterize the flow approaching the cascade. These measurements show that the flow field in this cascade is highly elliptic and influenced by pressure gradients that are established within the cascade. Exit flow field measurements with triple-sensor anemometry and pressure measurements within the cascade indicate that the acceleration imposed by endwall contouring and airfoil turning is able to suppress the size and strength of key secondary flow features. In addition, the flow field near the contoured endwall differs significantly from that adjacent to the straight endwall.


Author(s):  
Neil W. Harvey ◽  
Martin G. Rose ◽  
John Coupland ◽  
Terry Jones

A 3-D steady viscous finite volume pressure correction method for the solution of the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations has been used to calculate the heat transfer rates on the end walls of a modern High Pressure Turbine first stage stator. Surface heat transfer rates have been calculated at three conditions and compared with measurements made on a model of the vane tested in annular cascade in the Isentropic Light Piston Facility at DERA, Pyestock. The NGV Mach numbers, Reynolds numbers and geometry are fully representative of engine conditions. Design condition data has previously been presented by Harvey and Jones (1990). Off-design data is presented here for the first time. In the areas of highest heat transfer the calculated heat transfer rates are shown to be within 20% of the measured values at all three conditions. Particular emphasis is placed on the use of wall functions in the calculations with which relatively coarse grids (of around 140,000 nodes) can be used to keep computational run times sufficiently low for engine design purposes.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document