Tip-Shroud Cutbacks in a Low-Pressure Gas Turbine Stage

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 1077-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick S. Rebholz ◽  
Reza S. Abhari ◽  
Anestis I. Kalfas ◽  
Carsten Zscherp

Author(s):  
Hafiz M Hassan ◽  
Adeel Javed ◽  
Asif H Khoja ◽  
Majid Ali ◽  
Muhammad B Sajid

A clear understanding of the flow characteristics in the older generation of industrial gas turbines operating with silo combustors is important for potential upgrades. Non-uniformities in the form of circumferential and radial variations in internal flow properties can have a significant impact on the gas turbine stage performance and durability. This paper presents a comprehensive study of the underlying internal flow features involved in the advent of non-uniformities from twin-silo combustors and their propagation through a single axial turbine stage of the Siemens v94.2 industrial gas turbine. Results indicate the formation of strong vortical structures alongside large temperature, pressure, velocity, and flow angle deviations that are mostly located in the top and bottom sections of the turbine stage caused by the excessive flow turning in the upstream tandem silo combustors. A favorable validation of the simulated exhaust gas temperature (EGT) profile is also achieved via comparison with the measured data. A drop in isentropic efficiency and power output equivalent to 2.28% points and 2.1 MW, respectively is observed at baseload compared to an ideal straight hot gas path reference case. Furthermore, the analysis of internal flow topography identifies the underperforming turbine blading due to the upstream non-uniformities. The findings not only have implications for the turbine aerothermodynamic design, but also the combustor layout from a repowering perspective.



Author(s):  
Jong-Shang Liu ◽  
Mark C. Morris ◽  
Malak F. Malak ◽  
Randall M. Mathison ◽  
Michael G. Dunn

In order to have higher power to weight ratio and higher efficiency gas turbine engines, turbine inlet temperatures continue to rise. State-of-the-art turbine inlet temperatures now exceed the turbine rotor material capability. Accordingly, one of the best methods to protect turbine airfoil surfaces is to use film cooling on the airfoil external surfaces. In general, sizable amounts of expensive cooling flow delivered from the core compressor are used to cool the high temperature surfaces. That sizable cooling flow, on the order of 20% of the compressor core flow, adversely impacts the overall engine performance and hence the engine power density. With better understanding of the cooling flow and accurate prediction of the heat transfer distribution on airfoil surfaces, heat transfer designers can have a more efficient design to reduce the cooling flow needed for high temperature components and improve turbine efficiency. This in turn lowers the overall specific fuel consumption (SFC) for the engine. Accurate prediction of rotor metal temperature is also critical for calculations of cyclic thermal stress, oxidation, and component life. The utilization of three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (3D CFD) codes for turbomachinery aerodynamic design and analysis is now a routine practice in the gas turbine industry. The accurate heat-transfer and metal-temperature prediction capability of any CFD code, however, remains challenging. This difficulty is primarily due to the complex flow environment of the high-pressure turbine, which features high speed rotating flow, coupling of internal and external unsteady flows, and film-cooled, heat transfer enhancement schemes. In this study, conjugate heat transfer (CHT) simulations are performed on a high-pressure cooled turbine stage, and the heat flux results at mid span are compared to experimental data obtained at The Ohio State University Gas Turbine Laboratory (OSUGTL). Due to the large difference in time scales between fluid and solid, the fluid domain is simulated as steady state while the solid domain is simulated as transient in CHT simulation. This paper compares the unsteady and transient results of the heat flux on a high-pressure cooled turbine rotor with measurements obtained at OSUGTL.



Author(s):  
Kenneth Van Treuren ◽  
Tyler Pharris ◽  
Olivia Hirst

The low-pressure turbine has become more important in the last few decades because of the increased emphasis on higher overall pressure and bypass ratios. The desire is to increase blade loading to reduce blade counts and stages in the low-pressure turbine of a gas turbine engine. Increased turbine inlet temperatures for newer cycles results in higher temperatures in the low-pressure turbine, especially the latter stages, where cooling technologies are not used. These higher temperatures lead to higher work from the turbine and this, combined with the high loadings, can lead to flow separation. Separation is more likely in engines operating at high altitudes and reduced throttle setting. At the high Reynolds numbers found at takeoff, the flow over a low-pressure turbine blade tends to stay attached. At lower blade Reynolds numbers (25,000 to 200,000), found during cruise at high altitudes, the flow on the suction surface of the low-pressure turbine blades is inclined to separate. This paper is a study on the flow characteristics of the L1A turbine blade at three low Reynolds numbers (60,000, 108,000, and 165,000) and 15 turbulence intensities (1.89% to 19.87%) in a steady flow cascade wind tunnel. With this data, it is possible to examine the impact of Reynolds number and turbulence intensity on the location of the initiation of flow separation, the flow separation zone, and the reattachment location. Quantifying the change in separated flow as a result of varying Reynolds numbers and turbulence intensities will help to characterize the low momentum flow environments in which the low-pressure turbine must operate and how this might impact the operation of the engine. Based on the data presented, it is possible to predict the location and size of the separation as a function of both the Reynolds number and upstream freestream turbulence intensity (FSTI). Being able to predict this flow behavior can lead to more effective blade designs using either passive or active flow control to reduce or eliminate flow separation.



Author(s):  
Dominik Wassmer ◽  
Felix Pause ◽  
Bruno Schuermans ◽  
Christian Oliver Paschereit ◽  
Jonas P. Moeck

Entropy noise affects thermoacoustic stability in lean pre-mixed gas turbine combustion chambers. It is defined as acoustic noise that is emitted at the first turbine stage due to the acceleration of entropy waves that are advected from the reaction zone in the combustor to the turbine inlet. These non-isentropic temperature waves are caused by equivalence ratio fluctuations which are inherently present in a technically premixed combustion system. To experimentally study the generation and transport of entropy waves, an estimation of the spatial distribution of the entropy spots is highly valuable as it allows the accurate determination of the cross-section averaged entropy, which is the relevant quantity for the formation mechanism of entropy noise at the turbine stage. In this work, a time-of-flight based temperature measurement method is applied to a circular combustion test rig equipped with a premixed swirl-stabilized combustor. Downstream of the burner, an electric spark discharge is employed to generate a narrow acoustic pulse which is detected with a circumferentially arranged microphone array. The measured time of flight of the acoustic signal corresponds to the line-integrated inverse of the speed of sound between the acoustic source and each microphone. By modulating a share of the injected gaseous fuel, equivalence ratio fluctuations are generated upstream of the reaction zone and consequently entropy spots are advected through the axial measurement plane. The spark discharge is triggered at distinct phase angles of the entropy oscillation, thus allowing a time resolved-analysis of the thermo-acoustic phenomenon. Estimating the spatial temperature distribution from the measured line integrated inverse speed of sounds requires tomographic reconstruction. A Tikhonov regularized Onion Peeling is employed to deduce radial temperature profiles. To increase the number of independent data, the spark location is radially traversed, which enhances the resolution of the reconstructed temperature field. A phantom study is conducted, which allows the assessment of the capabilities of the reconstruction algorithm. By means of the reconstructed radial entropy field, spatially resolved entropy waves are measured and their amplitudes and phases are extracted. The characteristics of the entropy waves measured in this way correspond well to former studies.



Author(s):  
M. Morini ◽  
M. Pinelli ◽  
P. R. Spina ◽  
M. Venturini

Gas turbine operating state determination consists of the assessment of the modification, due to deterioration and fault, of performance and geometric data characterizing machine components. One of the main effects of deterioration and fault is the modification of compressor and turbine performance maps. Since detailed information about actual modification of component maps is usually unavailable, many authors simulate the effects of deterioration and fault by a simple scaling of the map itself. In this paper, stage-by-stage models of the compressor and the turbine are used in order to assess the actual modification of compressor and turbine performance maps due to blade deterioration. The compressor is modeled by using generalized performance curves of each stage matched by means of a stage-stacking procedure. Each turbine stage is instead modeled as a couple of nozzles, a fixed one (stator) and a moving one (rotor). The results obtained by simulating some of the most common causes of blade deterioration (i.e., compressor fouling, compressor mechanical damage, turbine fouling and turbine erosion, occurring in one or more stages simultaneously) are reported in this paper. Moreover, compressor and turbine maps obtained through a stage-by-stage procedure are compared to the ones obtained by means of map scaling.



2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-21
Author(s):  
L. Witanowski ◽  
P. Klonowicz ◽  
P. Lampart




Author(s):  
Fumiaki Watanabe ◽  
Takeshi Nakamura ◽  
Ken-ichi Shinohara

The structural reliability of composite parts for aircraft is established through the “building block” approach, which is a series of tests that are conducted using specimens of various levels of complexity. In this approach, the failure modes and criteria are validated step by step with tests and analysis at coupon, element, sub-component, and component levels. IHI is developing ceramic matrix composite (CMC) components for aircraft engines to realize performance improvement and weight reduction. We conducted the concept design of CMC low pressure turbine (LPT) blade with the building block approach. In this paper, we present the processes and results of the design, which was supported by a series of tests. Typical low pressure turbine blade has dovetail, airfoil and tip shroud. Each element has different function and characteristic shape. In order to select the configuration of CMC LPT blade, we conducted screening tests for each element. The function of dovetail is to sustain the connection with blade and disk against centrifugal force. The failure modes and strength of dovetail elements were examined by static load tests and cyclic load tests. The configuration of airfoil was selected by modal tests. The function of tip shroud is forming gas passage and reducing the leakage flow, therefore this portion needs to sustain the shape against the centrifugal force and the rubbing force. The feasibility of tip shroud was verified by spin tests and rubbing tests. The initial CMC LPT blades were designed as combination of the selected elements by these screening tests. Prototype parts were made and tested to check the manufacturability and the structural feasibility. The static strength to the centrifugal force was examined by spin test. The durability to vibration was examined by HCF test.



2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 136-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. V. Afanas’ev ◽  
A. V. Granovskii


Author(s):  
L. Simonassi ◽  
M. Zenz ◽  
P. Bruckner ◽  
S. Pramstrahler ◽  
F. Heitmeir ◽  
...  

Abstract The design of modern aero engines enhances the interaction between components and facilitates the propagation of circumferential distortions of total pressure and temperature. As a consequence, the inlet conditions of a real turbine have significant spatial non-uniformities, which have direct consequences on both its aerodynamic and vibration characteristics. This work presents the results of an experimental study on the effects of different inlet total pressure distortion-stator clocking positions on the propagation of total pressure inflow disturbances through a low pressure turbine stage, with a particular focus on both the aerodynamic and aeroelastic performance. Measurements at a stable engine relevant operating condition and during transient operation were carried out in a one and a half stage subsonic turbine test facility at the Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machine Dynamics at Graz University of Technology. A localised total pressure distortion was generated upstream of the stage in three different azimuthal positions relative to the stator vanes. The locations were chosen in order to align the distortion directly with a vane leading edge, suction side and pressure side. Additionally, a setup with clean inflow was used as reference. Steady and unsteady aerodynamic measurements were taken downstream of the investigated stage by means of a five-hole-probe (5HP) and a fast response aerodynamic pressure probe (FRAPP) respectively. Strain gauges applied on different blades were used in combination with a telemetry system to acquire the rotor vibration data. The aerodynamic interactions between the stator and rotor rows and the circumferential perturbation were studied through the identification of the main structures constituting the flow field. This showed that the steady and unsteady alterations created by the distortion in the flow field lead to modifications of the rotor vibration characteristics. Moreover, the importance of the impact that the pressure distortion azimuthal position has on the LPT stage aerodynamics and vibrations was highlighted.



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