Axel Pfau

Flow Interaction From the Exit Cavity of an Axial Turbine Blade Row Labyrinth Seal

The structure of labyrinth cavity flow has been experimentally investigated in a three fin axial turbine labyrinth seal (four cavities). The geometry corresponds to a generic steam turbine rotor shroud. The relative wall motion has not been modeled. The measurements were made with specially developed low-blockage pneumatic probes and extensive wall pressure mapping. Instead of the classical picture of a circumferentially uniform leakage sheet exiting from the last labyrinth clearance, entering the channel, and uniformly spreading over the downstream channel wall, the results reveal uneven flow and the existence of high circumferential velocity within the entire exit cavity. The circumferential momentum is brought into the cavity by swirling fluid from the main channel. This fluid penetrates the cavity and breaks up the leakage sheet into individual jets spaced according to the blade passages. This gives rise to strong local cross flows that may also considerably disturb the performance of a downstream blade row.

Unsteady Flow Interactions Within the Inlet Cavity of a Turbine Rotor Tip Labyrinth Seal

This paper focuses on the flow within the inlet cavity of a turbine rotor tip labyrinth seal of a two stage axial research turbine. Highly resolved, steady and unsteady three-dimensional flow data are presented. The probes used here are a miniature five-hole probe of 0.9 mm head diameter and the novel virtual four sensor fast response aerodynamic probe (FRAP) with a head diameter of 0.84 mm. The cavity flow itself is not only a loss producing area due to mixing and vortex stretching, it also adversely affects the following rotor passage through the fluid that is spilled into the main flow. The associated fluctuating mass flow has a relatively low total pressure and results in a negative incidence to the rotor tip blade profile section. The dominating kinematic flow feature in the region between cavity and main flow is a toroidal vortex, which is swirling at high circumferential velocity. It is fed by strong shear and end wall fluid from the pressure side of the stator passage. The static pressure field interaction between the moving rotor leading edges and the stator trailing edges is one driving force of the cavity flow. It forces the toroidal vortex to be stretched in space and time. A comprehensive flow model including the drivers of this toroidal vortex is proposed. This labyrinth seal configuration results in about 1.6% turbine efficiency reduction. This is the first in a series of papers focusing on turbine loss mechanisms in shrouded axial turbines. Additional measurements have been made with variations in seal clearance gap. Initial indications show that variation in the gap has a major effect on flow structures and turbine loss.

Making use of labyrinth interaction flow

It is the aim of this publication to attract the designers attention to the end wall flow interactions of shrouded high pressure turbines. One of the key issues for designing better turbines is the understanding of the flow interactions set up by the presence of labyrinth seals. Those interaction flows are carefully examined in this publication using the control volume analysis and the radial equilibrium of forces acting on streamlines. The consequences on secondary flow development and mixing losses are discussed and quantified. Out of this insight, design recommendations are derived, which attempt to make use of the nature of the labyrinth interaction flow. The open labyrinth cavities are classified in a systematic way. The aim of this approach is to work out the characteristic differences between hub and tip cavities and those having a leakage jet or sucking main flow fluid into the labyrinth. The influence on the main flow is discussed in terms of the incidence flow angle of downstream blade rows and the associated loss production mechanisms. The design strategies presented in this paper follow two paths: (a) Optimization of the mixing losses of the leakage jets at hub and tip is estimated to result in an efficiency increase of up to 0.2%. (b) The nonaxisymmetric shaping of the labyrinth interaction flow path aims at the secondary flow control in downstream blade rows. This approach might contribute in the same magnitude of order as reduction in the mixing losses.

The 2-Stage Axial Turbine Test Facility "LISA"

This paper describes the design and construction of a new two stage axial turbine test facility, christened “Lisa”. The research objective of the rig is to study the impact (relevance) of unsteady flow phenomena upon the aerodynamic performance, this being achieved through the use of systematic studies of parametric changes in the stage geometry and operating point. Noteworthy in the design of the rig is the use of a twin shaft arrangement to decouple the stages. The inner shaft carries the load from the first stage whilst the outer is used with an integral torque-meter to measure the loading upon the second stage alone. This gives an accurate measurement of the loading upon the aerodynamically representative second stage, which possesses the correct stage inlet conditions in comparison to the full two stage machine which has an unrealistic axial inlet flow at the first stator. A calibrated Venturi nozzle measures the mass flow at an accuracy of below 1%, from which stage efficiencies can be derived.The rig is arranged in a closed loop system. The turbine has a vertical arrangement and is connected through a gear box to a generator system that works as a brake to maintain the desired operating speed. The turbine exit is open to ambient pressure. The rig runs at a low pressure ratio of 1.5. The maximum Mach number at stator exit is 0.3 at an inlet pressure of 1.5 bar. The maximum mass flow is 14 kg/sec. Nominal rotor design speed is 3000 RPM. The tip to hub blade ratio is 1.29, and the nominal axial chord is 50 mm. The rig is designed to accommodate a broad range of measurement techniques, but with a strong emphasis upon unsteady flow methods, for example fast response aerodynamic pressure probes for time-resolved flow measurements.The first section of this paper describes the overall test facility hardware. This is followed by a detailed focus on the torque measurement device including stage efficiency measurements at operating conditions in Lisa. Discussion of measurement techniques completes the paper.Copyright

DETERMINISTIC UNSTEADY VORTICITY FIELD IN A DRIVEN AXISYMMETRIC CAVITY FLOW

This paper introduces a new data visualization technique for the evaluation of 3D unsteady data using the various terms of the deterministic unsteady vorticity transport equation. The toroidal vortex residing in the inlet cavity of an axial turbine rotor labyrinth is discussed using the proposed technique. Especially secondary flow effects and the effect of unsteadiness with respect to its contribution to loss generation were investigated. The analysis has allowed further insight in flow physics. It turned out that the rotational acceleration of the vortex shows a phase shift of one quarter of blade passing period relative to the vortex strength.

Measurement of Gas Thermal Properties Using the Parametric Reduced-Order Modeling Approach

This paper deals with a thermal gas property micro-sensor. The proposed modeling approach of the sensor was based on reduced order modeling, in contrast to the traditional analytical modelling approach, which is the standard for this kind of sensors. This sensor was deployed for the measurement of the thermal conductivity (k) and the volumetric heat capacity (ρcp) of gases and works according to the temperature oscillation technique. A proper model is crucial for the measurement accuracy. The scope of this paper was to investigate the applicability of a sensor model based on a reduced-order modeling approach, intending to improve the performance of this sensor, as the behavior of the sensor can be modeled much more accurately than using an analytical model. For this reason, a parametric model-order reduction technique using proper orthogonal decomposition was applied. The main advantage of the reduced-order model is the high accuracy in the modeling of the conductive heat transfer problem, while it requires low computation effort. The approach was tested experimentally, where the model was calibrated in two pure gases and evaluated in 21 gases and gas mixtures. The sensor achieved an accuracy in the thermal conductivity of 6.5% and in the volumetric heat capacity of 3.2%.

Measurement and Evaluation of the Gas Density and Viscosity of Pure Gases and Mixtures Using a Micro-Cantilever Beam

Measurement of gas density and viscosity was conducted using a micro-cantilever beam. In parallel, the validity of the proposed modeling approach was evaluated. This study also aimed to widen the database of the gases on which the model development of the micro-cantilever beams is based. The density and viscosity of gases are orders of magnitude lower than liquids. For this reason, the use of a very sensitive sensor is essential. In this study, a micro-cantilever beam from the field of atomic force microscopy was used. Although the current cantilever was designed to work with thermal activation, in the current investigation, it was activated with an electromagnetic force. The deflection of the cantilever beam was detected by an integrated piezo-resistive sensor. Six pure gases and sixteen mixtures of them in ambient conditions were investigated. The outcome of the investigation showed that the current cantilever beam had a sensitivity of 240 Hz/(kg/m3), while the accuracy of the determined gas density and viscosity in ambient conditions reached ±1.5% and ±2.0%, respectively.