R. Dénos

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.

Unsteady Heat Transfer in Stator–Rotor Interaction by Two-Equation Turbulence Model

A transonic turbine stage is computed by means of an unsteady Navier-Stokes solver. A two-equation turbulence model is coupled to a transition model based on integral parameters and an extra transport equation. The transonic stage is modeled in two dimensions with a variable span height for the rotor row. The analysis of the transonic turbine stage with stator trailing edge coolant ejection is carried out to compute the unsteady pressure and heat transfer distribution on the rotor blade under variable operating conditions. The stator coolant ejection allows the total pressure losses to be reduced, although no significant effects on the rotor heat transfer are found both in the computer simulation and the measurements. The results compare favorable with experiments in terms of both pressure distribution and heat transfer around the rotor blade.

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.

Investigation of the Flow Field Downstream of a Turbine Trailing Edge Cooled Nozzle Guide Vane

A trailing edge cooled low aspect ratio transonic turbine guide vane is investigated in the VKI Compression Tube Cascade Facility at an outlet Mach number {bar M}{sub 2,is} = 1.05 and a coolant flow rate {dot m}c/{dot m}g = 3 percent. The outlet flow field is surveyed by combined total-directional pressure probes and temperature probes. Special emphasis is put on the development of low blockage probes. Additional information is provided by oil flow visualizations and numerical flow visualizations with a three-dimensional Navier-Stokes code. The test results describe the strong differences in the axial evolution of the hub and tip endwall and secondary flows and demonstrate the self-similarity of the midspan wake profiles. According to the total pressure and temperature profiles, the wake mixing appears to be very fast in the near-wake but very slow in the far-wake region. The total pressure wake profile appears to be little affected by the coolant flow ejection.

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.

UNSTEADY ROTOR HEAT TRANSFER IN A TRANSONIC TURBINE STAGE

This experimental investigation reports the convective heat transfer coefficient around the rotor of a transonic turbine stage. Both time-resolved and time-averaged aspects are addressed. The measurements are performed around the rotor blade at 15%, 50% and 85% span as well as on the rotor tip and the hub platform. Four operating conditions are tested covering two Reynolds numbers and three pressure ratios. The tests are performed in the compression tube turbine test rig CT3 of the von Karman Institute, allowing a correct simulation of the operating conditions encountered in modern aero-engines. The time-averaged Nusselt number distribution shows the strong dependence on both blade Mach number distribution and Reynolds number. The time-resolved heat transfer rate is mostly dictated by the vane trailing edge shock impingement on the rotor boundary layer. The shock passage corresponds to a sudden heat transfer increase. The effects are more pronounced in the leading edge region. The increase of the stage pressure ratio causes a stronger vane trailing edge shock and thus larger heat transfer fluctuations. The influence of the Reynolds number is hardly visible.Copyright

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

Time-averaged and time-resolved heat flux measurements on a turbine stator blade using two-layered thin-film gauges

This paper describes the steps undertaken to measure heat flux in a turbine tested in a blowdown windtunnel when using a two-layered thin film gauge array. The sensor consists of a nickel thermoresistor deposited onto a flexible polyamide sheet that can be easily bounded on a substrate using double sided adhesive. The assembly constitutes a two-layered system. First, a numerical algorithm is proposed to extract the wall heat flux from the surface temperature history measured by the thin film gauge. It is very flexible and handles multilayered systems. Then, an original procedure is proposed to determine the thermal properties and the thickness of the different layers. It uses the above numerical algorithm coupled with a minimization routine. The repeatability of the procedure is assessed. Finally, tests are processed according to the proposed method. The results are successfully compared with measurements performed with single-layered thin film gauges.

Unsteady Rotor Heat Transfer in a Transonic Turbine Stage

ABSTRACT This experimental investigation reports the convective heat transfer coefficient around the rotor of a transonic turbine stage. Both time-resolved and time-averaged aspects are addressed. The measurements are performed around the rotor blade at 15%, 50% and 85% span as well as on the rotor tip and the hub platform. Four operating conditions are tested covering two Reynolds numbers and three pressure ratios. The tests are performed in the compression tube turbine test rig CT3 of the von Karman Institute, allowing a correct simulation of the operating conditions encountered in modern aero-engines. The time-averaged Nusselt number distribution shows the strong dependence on both blade Mach number distribution and Reynolds number. The time-resolved heat transfer rate is mostly dictated by the vane trailing edge shock impingement on the rotor boundary layer. The shock passage corresponds to a sudden heat transfer increase. The effects are more pronounced in the leading edge region. The increase of the stage pressure ratio causes a stronger vane trailing edge shock and thus larger heat transfer fluctuations. The influence of the Reynolds number is hardly visible.

Effect of vane-rotor interaction on the unsteady flowfield downstream of a transonic high pressure turbine

Abstract This paper analyses the effect of the stator-rotor interference on the stage exit flow field of a transonic turbine operated under engine representative conditions in the von Karman Institute (VKI) compression tube facility. The test programme comprises three pressure ratios and two Reynolds numbers. The time-averaged radial distributions of total pressure and temperature downstream of the rotor are affected by the hub passage vortices and the interaction between the tip passage vortex and the rotor tip leakage vortex. The azimuthal distributions exhibit significant non-uniformities with a periodicity of one vane pitch. The amplitude of this non-uniformity is very sensitive to the pressure ratio. A simple model shows that, contrary to the common belief, the transport of the vane wake and secondary flows across the rotor is not enough to explain the magnitude of the variations. The pitch-wise vane exit static pressure distribution, which is significantly distorted owing to the transonic regime of the vane, should be taken into account. The amplitude of the time-resolved fluctuations of pressure and temperature, which are due to rotor blade passing events, also varies significantly depending on the probe location in a vane pitch. The measured time-accurate rotor relative inlet total pressure suggests that the rotor relative exit undergoes periodic excursions in the transonic regime.