Guillermo Paniagua

Investigation of the Unsteady Rotor Aerodynamics in a Transonic Turbine Stage

The paper focuses on the unsteady pressure field measured around the rotor midspan profile of the VKI Brite transonic turbine stage. The understanding of the complex unsteady flow field is supported by a quasi-three-dimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes computation using a k - ω turbulence model and a modified version of the Abu-Ghannam and Shaw correlation for the onset of transition. The agreement between computational and experimental results is satisfactory. They both reveal the dominance of the vane shock in the interaction. For this reason, it is difficult to identify the influence of vane-wake ingestion in the rotor passage from the experimental data. However, the computations allow us to draw some useful conclusions in this respect. The effect of the variation of the rotational speed, the stator-rotor spacing, and the stator trailing edge coolant flow ejection is investigated and the unsteady blade force pattern is analyzed.

Effect of the Hub Endwall Cavity Flow on the Flow-Field of a Transonic High-Pressure Turbine

In high-pressure turbines, a small amount of cold flow is ejected at the hub from the cavity that exists between the stator and the rotor disk. This prevents the ingestion of hot gases into the wheel-space cavity, thus avoiding possible damage. This paper analyzes the interaction between the hub-endwall cavity flow and the mainstream in a high-pressure transonic turbine stage. Several cooling flow ratios are investigated under engine representative conditions. Both time-averaged and time-resolved data are presented. The experimental data is successfully compared with the results of a three-dimensional steady Navier-Stokes computation. Despite the small amount of gas ejected, the hub-endwall cavity flow has a significant influence on the mainstream flow. The Navier-Stokes predictions show how the ejected cold flow is entrained by the rotor hub vortex, The time-resolved static pressure field around the rotor is greatly affected when traversing the non-uniform vane exit flow field. When the cavity flow rate is increased, the unsteady forces on the rotor airfoil are reduced. This is linked to the decrease of vane exit Mach number caused by the blockage of the ejected flow.

Unsteady Strong Shock Interactions in a Transonic Turbine: Experimental and Numerical Analysis

The aerothermal performance of highly loaded high-pressure turbines is abated by the unsteady impact of the vane shocks on the rotor. This paper presents a detailed physical analysis of the stator-rotor interaction in a state-of-the-art transonic turbine stage at three pressure ratios. The experimental characterization of the steady and unsteady flowfield was performed in a compression tube test rig. The calculations were performed using ONERAs code elsA. This original comparison leads to an improved understanding of the complex unsteady flow physics of a high-pressure turbine stage. The vane shock impingement on the rotor originates a separation bubble on the rotor crown that is responsible for the generation of high losses. A model based on rothalpy conservation has been used to assess the pressure loss. The analysis of the unsteady forcing relates the shock patterns with the force fluctuations.

Integrated multifidelity, multidisciplinary evolutionary design optimization of counterrotating compressors

In high-speed air-breathing propulsion, compact turbomachinery is essential to reduce the engine size and weight. Hence, high compression ratios are required in the compressor stages. This paper proposes an optimization-based integrated design approach, which unifies aerodynamic and structural issues and provides innovative solutions in reduced time-to-market and development cost compared to traditional design methods. The methodology consists of two successive evolutionary optimizations; the first with low-fidelity radial distributions based on experimental correlations and the second with high-fidelity aerostructural performances. The key to allow a smooth transition between the low-fidelity preliminary design phase and the high-fidelity three-dimensional rotor shape optimization is a novel geometrical parameterization based on span-wise distributions. A differential evolution algorithm is employed to confront simultaneously the concurrent multidisciplinary objectives of aerodynamic efficiency and structural integrity. The proposed methodology was demonstrated with the design of a two-stage highly loaded compact counterrotating compressor.

Experimental investigation of the unsteady rotor aerodynamics of a transonic turbine stage

Abstract This paper describes some results of a large experimental programme on unsteady flow through the rotor of a transonic turbine stage in the large Compression Tube Turbine Facility at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics. The tests were carried out as part of a Brite EURAM project. The test programme covered the investigation of the effects of a variation in the rotational speed of the rotor, the axial stator-rotor distance and the stator trailing-edge coolant flow ejection. The paper aims at presenting the measurements of the relative inlet total pressure and the rotor blade surface pressure at rotor mid-span.

Effect of Clocking on the Second Stator Pressure Field of a One and a Half Stage Transonic Turbine

This paper focuses on the experimental investigation of the time-averaged and time-resolved pressure field of a second stator tested in a one and a half stage high-pressure transonic turbine. The effect of clocking and its influence on the aerodynamic and mechanical behaviour are investigated. The test program includes four different clocking positions, i.e. relative pitch-wise positions between the first and the second stator. Pneumatic probes located upstream and downstream of the second stator provide the time-averaged component of the pressure field. For the second stator airfoil, both time-averaged and time-resolved surface static pressure fields are measured at 15, 50 and 85% span with fast response pressure transducers. Regarding the time-averaged results, the effect of clocking is mostly observed in the leading edge region of the second stator, the largest effects being observed at 15% span. The surface static pressure distribution is changed locally, which is likely to affect the overall performance of the airfoil. The phase-locked averaging technique allows to process the time-resolved component of the data. The pressure fluctuations are attributed to the passage of pressure gradients linked to the traversing of the upstream rotor. The pattern of these fluctuations changes noticeably as a function of clocking. Finally, the time-resolved pressure distribution is integrated along the second stator surface to determine the unsteady forces applied on the vane. The magnitude of the unsteady force is very dependent on the clocking position.© 2004 ASME

Transonic Turbine Stage Heat Transfer Investigation in Presence of Strong Shocks

This paper reports the external convective heat transfer distribution of a modern single-stage transonic turbine together with the physical interpretation of the different shock interaction mechanisms. The measurements have been performed in the compression tube test rig of the von Karman Institute using single- and double-layered thin film gauges. The three pressure ratios tested are representative of those encountered in actual aeroengines, with M 2 ranging from 1.07 to 1.25 and a Reynolds number of about 10 6 . Three different rotor blade heights (15%, 50%, and 85%) and the stator blade at midspan have been investigated. The measurements highlight the destabilizing effect of the vane left-running shock on the rotor boundary layer. The stator unsteady heat transfer is dominated by the fluctuating right-running vane trailing edge shock at the blade passing frequency.

Entropy Minimization Design Approach of Supersonic Internal Passages

Fluid machinery operating in the supersonic regime unveil avenues towards more compact technology. However, internal supersonic flows are associated with high aerodynamic and thermal penalties, which usually prevent their practical implementation. Indeed, both shock losses and the limited operational range represent particular challenges to aerodynamic designers that should be taken into account at the initial phase of the design process. This paper presents a design methodology for supersonic passages based on direct evaluations of the velocity field using the method of characteristics and computation of entropy generation across shock waves. This meshless function evaluation tool is then coupled to an optimization scheme, based on evolutionary algorithms that minimize the entropy generation across the supersonic passage. Finally, we assessed the results with 3D Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes calculations.

Differential evolution based soft optimization to attenuate vane-rotor shock interaction in high-pressure turbines

This article presents a soft computing methodology to design turbomachinery components experiencing strong shock interactions. The study targets a reduction of unsteady phenomena using evolutionary optimization with robust, high fidelity, and low computational cost evaluations. A differential evolution (DE) algorithm is applied to optimize the transonic vane of a high-pressure turbine. The vane design candidates are examined by a cost-effective Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver, computing the downstream pressure distortion and aerodynamic efficiency. A reduction up to 55% of the strength of the shock waves propagating downstream of the stand-alone vane was obtained. Subsequently to the vane optimization, unsteady computations of the vane-rotor interaction were performed using a non-linear harmonic (NLH) method. Attenuation above 60% of the unsteady forcing on the rotor (downstream of the optimal vane) was observed, with no stage-efficiency abatement. These results show the effectiveness of the proposed soft optimization to improve unsteady performance in modern turbomachinery exposed to strong shock interactions.

Aerothermal Impact of Stator-Rim Purge Flow and Rotor-Platform Film Cooling on a Transonic Turbine Stage

The sealing of the stator-rotor gap and rotor-platform cooling are vital to the safe operation of the high-pressure turbine. Contrary to the experience in subsonic turbines, this paper demonstrates the potential to improve the efficiency in transonic turbines at certain rim seal rates. Two types of cooling techniques were investigated: purge gas ejected out of the cavity between the stator rim and the rotor disk, and cooling at the rotor-platform. The tests were carried out in a full annular stage fed by a compression tube at M 2is = 1.1, Re = 1.1 × 10 6 , and at temperature ratios reproducing engine conditions. The stator outlet was instrumented to allow the aerothermal characterization of the purge flow. The rotor blade was heavily instrumented with fast-response pressure sensors and double-layer thin film gauges. The tests are coupled with numerical calculations performed using the ONERAs code ELSA. The results indicate that the stator-rotor interaction is significantly affected by the stator-rim seal, both in terms of heat transfer and pressure fluctuations. The flow exchange between the rotor disk cavity and the mainstream passage is mainly governed by the vane trailing edge shock patterns. The purge flow leads to the appearance of a large coherent vortex structure on the suction side of the blade, which enhances the overall heat transfer coefficient due to the blockage effect created. The impact of the platform cooling is observed to be restricted to the platform, with negligible effects on the blade suction side. The platform cooling results in a clear attenuation of pressure pulsations at some specific locations. The experimental and computational fluid dynamics results show an increase in the turbine performance compared with the no rim seal case. A detailed loss breakdown analysis helped to identify the shock loss as the major loss source. The presented results should help designers improve the protection of the rotor platform while minimizing the amount of coolant used.