Effects of Freestream Turbulence Intensity, Turbulence Length Scale, and Exit Reynolds Number on Vane Endwall Secondary Flow and Heat Transfer in a Transonic Turbine Cascade

Author(s):  
Zhigang Li ◽  
Bo Bai ◽  
Luxuan Liu ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Shuo Mao ◽  
...  

Abstract In gas turbine engines, the first-stage vanes usually suffer harsh incoming flow conditions from the combustor with high pressure, high temperature and high turbulence. The combustor-generated high freestream turbulence and strong secondary flows in a gas turbine vane passage have been reported to augment the endwall thermal load significantly. This paper presents a detailed numerical study on the effects of high freestream turbulence intensity, turbulence length scale, and exit Reynolds number on the endwall secondary flow pattern and heat transfer distribution of a transonic linear turbine vane passage at realistic engine Mach numbers, with a flat endwall no cooling. Numerical simulations were conducted at a range of different operation conditions: six freestream turbulence intensities (Tu = 1%, 5%, 10%, 13%, 16% and 20%), six turbulence length scales (normalized by the vane pitch of Λ/P = 0.01, 0.04, 0.07, 0.12, 0.24, 0.36), and three exit isentropic Mach number (Maex = 0.6, 0.85 and 1.02 corresponding exit Reynolds number Reex = 1.1 × 106, 1.7 × 106 and 2.2 × 106, respectively, based on the vane chord). Detailed comparisons were presented for endwall heat transfer coefficient distribution, endwall secondary flow field at different operation conditions, while paying special attention to the link between endwall thermal load patterns and the secondary flow structures. Results show that the freestream turbulence intensity and length scale have a significant influence on the endwall secondary flow field, but the influence of the exit Reynolds number is very weak. The Nusselt number patterns for the higher turbulence intensities (Tu = 16%, 20%) appear to be less affected by the endwall secondary flows than the lower turbulence cases. The thermal load distribution in the arc region around the vane leading edge and the banded region along the vane pressure side are influenced most strongly by the freestream turbulence intensity. In general, the higher freestream turbulence intensities make the vane endwall thermal load more uniform. The Nusselt number distribution is only weakly affected by the turbulence length scale when Λ/P is larger than 0.04. The heat transfer level appears to have a significant uniform augmentation over the whole endwall region with the increasing Maex. The endwall thermal load distribution is classified into four typical regions, and the effects of freestream turbulence, exit Reynolds number in each region were discussed in detail.

2010 ◽  
Vol 133 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Carullo ◽  
S. Nasir ◽  
R. D. Cress ◽  
W. F. Ng ◽  
K. A. Thole ◽  
...  

This paper experimentally investigates the effect of high freestream turbulence intensity, turbulence length scale, and exit Reynolds number on the surface heat transfer distribution of a turbine blade at realistic engine Mach numbers. Passive turbulence grids were used to generate freestream turbulence levels of 2%, 12%, and 14% at the cascade inlet. The turbulence grids produced length scales normalized by the blade pitches of 0.02, 0.26, and 0.41, respectively. Surface heat transfer measurements were made at the midspan of the blade using thin film gauges. Experiments were performed at the exit Mach numbers of 0.55, 0.78, and 1.03, which represent flow conditions below, near, and above nominal conditions. The exit Mach numbers tested correspond to exit Reynolds numbers of 6×105, 8×105, and 11×105, based on true chord. The experimental results showed that the high freestream turbulence augmented the heat transfer on both the pressure and suction sides of the blade as compared with the low freestream turbulence case. At nominal conditions, exit Mach 0.78, average heat transfer augmentations of 23% and 35% were observed on the pressure side and suction side of the blade, respectively.


Author(s):  
J. S. Carullo ◽  
S. Nasir ◽  
R. D. Cress ◽  
W. F. Ng ◽  
K. A. Thole ◽  
...  

This paper experimentally investigates the effect of high freestream turbulence intensity, turbulence length scale, and exit Reynolds number on the surface heat transfer distribution of a turbine blade at realistic engine Mach numbers. Passive turbulence grids were used to generate freestream turbulence levels of 2%, 12%, and 14% at the cascade inlet. The turbulence grids produced length scales normalized by the blade pitch of 0.02, 0.26, and 0.41, respectively. Surface heat transfer measurements were made at the midspan of the blade using thin film gauges. Experiments were performed at exit Mach numbers of 0.55, 0.78 and 1.03 which represent flow conditions below, near, and above nominal conditions. The exit Mach numbers tested correspond to exit Reynolds numbers of 6 × 105, 8 × 105, and 11 × 105, based on true chord. The experimental results showed that the high freestream turbulence augmented the heat transfer on both the pressure and suction sides of the blade as compared to the low freestream turbulence case. At nominal conditions, exit Mach 0.78, average heat transfer augmentations of 23% and 35% were observed on the pressure side and suction side of the blade, respectively.


Author(s):  
F. Mumic ◽  
B. Sunden

In the present work, a numerical study has been performed to simulate the effect of free-stream turbulence, length scale and variations in rotational speed of the rotor on heat transfer and fluid flow for a transonic high-pressure turbine stage with tip clearance. The stator and rotor rows interact via a mixing plane, which allows the stage to be computed in a steady manner. The focus is on turbine aerodynamics and heat transfer behavior at the mid-span location, and at the rotor tip and casing region. The results of the fully 3D CFD simulations are compared with experimental results available for the so-called MT1 turbine stage. The predicted heat transfer and static pressure distributions show reasonable agreement with the experimental data. In general, the local Nusselt number increases, at the same turbulence length scale, as the turbulence intensity increases, and the location of the suction side boundary layer transition moves upstream towards the blade leading edge. Comparison of the different length scales at the same turbulence intensity shows that the stagnation heat transfer was significantly increased as the length scale increased. However, the length scale evidenced no significant effects on blade tip or rotor casing heat transfer. Also, the results presented in this paper show that the rotational speed in addition to the turbulence intensity and length scale has an important contribution to the turbine blade aerodynamics and heat transfer.


1995 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Dullenkopf ◽  
R. E. Mayle

The effect of length scale in free-stream turbulence is considered for heat transfer in laminar boundary layers. A model is proposed that accounts for an “effective” intensity of turbulence based on a dominant frequency for a laminar boundary layer. Assuming a standard turbulence spectral distribution, a new turbulence parameter that accounts for both turbulence level and length scale is obtained and used to correlate heat transfer data for laminar stagnation flows. The result indicates that the heat transfer for these flows is linearly dependent on the “effective” free-stream turbulence intensity.


Author(s):  
Y.-H. Ho ◽  
B. Lakshminarayana

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.


2000 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. Secundov ◽  
M. Kh. Strelets ◽  
A. K. Travin

The one-equation, eddy-viscosity transport model of Gulyaev, Kozlov, and Secundov, νt-92, is modified and supplemented by an equation for the turbulence length scale. The advantages of the model developed here are demonstrated by computing a shear-free “boundary layer” on a flat plate, and the flow and heat transfer near the forward stagnation line of a circular cylinder. Both cases are known to be challenging for conventional turbulence models.


Author(s):  
A. Chernobrovkin ◽  
B. Lakshminarayana

A viscous flow solver based on the Runge-Kutta scheme has been modified for the numerical investigation of the aerothermal field due to the leading edge film cooling at a compound angle. An existing code has been modified to incorporate multi-block capabilities. Good agreement with the measured data has been achieved. Results of the numerical investigation have been used to analyze the vortex structure associated with the coolant jet-freestream interaction to understand the contribution of different vortices on the cooling effectiveness and aerothermal losses. Two counter-rotating vortices generated by the interaction between the mainflow and the coolant jet have been found to have a major influence in decreasing the cooling efficiency through strong entrainment of the hot fluid. Numerical simulation was carried out to investigate the influence of the inlet Mach number, inlet turbulence intensity, and length scale on the aerothermal field due to the leading edge film cooling. Variation of the inlet Mach number leads to a minor modification of the cooling effectiveness, and this is predominantly caused by the modified pressure gradient. Increased turbulence intensity has profound effect on the cooling near the leading edge. Adiabatic effectiveness downstream of the second row of coolant holes is less sensitive to a change in turbulence intensity. Results of the numerical simulation indicate that the turbulence length scale has a significant effect on the accuracy of the numerical prediction of film cooling. Not only the inlet turbulence intensity but also the turbulence length scale should be accurately set to achieve a reliable numerical prediction of the heat and mass transfer due to film cooling.


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