Roberto Pacciani

Rotor-stator interaction analysis using the Navier-Stokes equations and a multigrid method

A recently developed, time-accurate multigrid viscous solver has been extended to the analysis of unsteady rotor-stator interaction. In the proposed method, a fully implicit discretization is used to remove stability limitations. By means of a dual time-stepping approach, a four-stage Runge-Kutta scheme is used in conjunction with several accelerating techniques typical of steady-state solvers, instead of traditional time-expensive factorizations. The accelerating strategies include local time stepping, residual smoothing, and multigrid. Two-dimensional viscous calculations of unsteady rotor-stator interaction in the first stage of a modern gas turbine are presented. The stage analysis is based on the introduction of several blade passages to approximate the stator:rotor count ratio. Particular attention is dedicated to grid dependency in space and time as well as to the influence of the number of blades included in the calculations.

Numerical Investigation of Airfoil Clocking in a Three-Stage Low-Pressure Turbine

A quasi-three-dimensional, blade-to-blade, time-accurate, viscous solver was used for a three-stage LP turbine study. Due to the low Reynolds number, transitional computations were performed. Unsteady analyses were then carried out by varying the circumferential relative position of consecutive vanes and blade rows to study the effects of clocking on the turbines performance. A clocking strategy developed in order to limit the number of configurations to be analyzed is discussed. The optimum analytically-determined clocking position is illustrated for two different operating conditions, referred to as cruise and takeoff. The effects of clocking on wake interaction mechanisms and unsteady blade loadings is presented and discussed. For low Reynolds number turbine flows, the importance of taking transition into account in clocking analysis is demonstrated by a comparison with a fully turbulent approach.

Parametric Optimization of a High-Lift Turbine Vane

Numerical optimization techniques are increasingly used in the aerodynamic design of turbomachine blades. In the present paper, an existing three-dimensional high-lift turbine cascade was redesigned by means of CFD analyses and optimization techniques, based on the blade geometrical parameterization. A new parametric design tool was developed for this purpose. Blade geometry was handled in a fully three dimensional way, using Bezier curves and surfaces for both camber-surface and thickness distribution. In the optimization procedure different techniques were adopted: a Genetic Algorithm (GA) strategy made it possible to considerably reduce two-dimensional profile losses, while the optimal stacking line was found based on a successive Design of Experiments (DOE) analysis. As a result, a new high-lift blade with higher performance was obtained; in addition, the effect of hub/tip leaning was presented and discussed.Copyright

An assessment of the laminar kinetic energy concept for the prediction of high-lift, low-Reynolds number cascade flows

The laminar kinetic energy (LKE) concept has been applied to the prediction of low-Reynolds number flows, characterized by separation-induced transition, in high-lift airfoil cascades for aeronautical low-pressure turbine applications. The LKE transport equation has been coupled with the low-Reynolds number formulation of the Wilcoxs k − ω turbulence model. The proposed methodology has been assessed against two high-lift cascade configurations, characterized by different loading distributions and suction-side diffusion rates, and tested over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. The aft-loaded T106C cascade is studied in both high- and low-speed conditions for several expansion ratios and inlet freestream turbulence values. The front-loaded T108 cascade is analysed in high-speed, low-freestream turbulence conditions. Numerical predictions with steady inflow conditions are compared to measurements carried out by the von Kármán Institute and the University of Cambridge. Results obtained with the proposed model show its ability to predict the evolution of the separated flow region, including bubble-bursting phenomenon and the formation of open separations, in high-lift, low-Reynolds number cascade flows.

A CFD Study of Low Reynolds Number Flow in High Lift Cascades

A study of the separated flow in high-lift, low-Reynolds-number cascade, has been carried out using a novel three-equation, transition-sensitive, turbulence model. It is based on the coupling of an additional transport equation for the so-called laminar kinetic energy with the Wilcox k-ω model. Such an approach takes into account the increase of the non-turbulent fluctuations in the pre-transitional and transitional region. Two high-lift cascades (T106C and T108), recently tested at the von Karman Institute in the framework of the European project TATMo (Turbulence and Transition Modelling for Special Turbomachinery Applications), were analyzed. The two cascades have different loading distributions and suction side diffusion rates, and therefore also different separation bubble characteristics and loss levels. The analyzed Reynolds number values span the whole range typically encountered in aeroengines low-pressure turbines operations. Several expansion ratios for steady inflow conditions characterized by different freestream turbulence intensities were considered. A detailed comparison between measurements and computations, including bubble structural characteristics, will be presented and discussed. Results with the proposed model show its ability to predict the evolution of the separated flow region, including bubble bursting phenomena, in high-lift cascades operating in LP-turbine conditions.Copyright

A CFD-based throughflow method with an explicit body force model and an adaptive formulation for the S2 streamsurface

The paper describes the development and validation of a novel CFD-based throughflow model. It is based on the axisymmetric Euler equations with tangential blockage and body forces and inherits its numerical scheme from state-of-the-art CFD solver (TRAF code), including real-gas capabilities. A crucial aspect of the numerical procedure is represented by an adaptive approach for the meridional flow surface, which employs a new time-dependent equation to accommodate incidence and deviation effects, and which allows the explicit calculation of the blade body force. A realistic distribution of entropy along the streamlines is proposed in order to compute dissipative forces on the basis of a distributed loss model. The throughflow code is applied to the investigation of the NASA rotor 67 transonic fan and of a four stage low-pressure steam turbine at design conditions. The performance of the method is evaluated by comparing predicted operating characteristics and spanwise distributions of flow quantities with the results of CFD, steady, viscous calculations and experimental data.

Predicting High-Lift Low-Pressure Turbine Cascades Flow Using Transition-Sensitive Turbulence Closures

This paper discusses the application of different transition-sensitive turbulence closures to the prediction of low-Reynolds-number flows in high-lift cascades operating in low-pressure turbine (LPT) conditions. Different formulations of the well known γ-R˜eθt model are considered and compared to a recently developed transition model based on the laminar kinetic energy (LKE) concept. All those approaches have been coupled to the Wilcox k-ω turbulence model. The performance of the transition-sensitive closures has been assessed by analyzing three different high-lift cascades, recently tested experimentally in two European research projects (Unsteady Transition in Axial Turbomachines (UTAT) and Turbulence and Transition Modeling for Special Turbomachinery Applications (TATMo)). Such cascades (T106A, T106C, and T108) feature different loading distributions, different suction side diffusion factors, and they are characterized by suction side boundary layer separation when operated in steady inflow. Both steady and unsteady inflow conditions (induced by upstream passing wakes) have been studied. Particular attention has been devoted to the treatment of crucial boundary conditions like the freestream turbulence intensity and the turbulent length scale. A detailed comparison between measurements and computations, in terms of blade surface isentropic Mach number distributions and cascade lapse rates will be presented and discussed. Specific features of the computed wake-induced transition patterns will be discussed for selected Reynolds numbers. Finally, some guidelines concerning the computations of high-lift cascades for LPT applications using Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS)/unsteady RANS (URANS) approaches and transition-sensitive closures will be reported.

Predicting High-Lift LP Turbine Cascades Flows Using Transition-Sensitive Turbulence Closures

This paper discusses the application of different transition-sensitive turbulence closures to the prediction of low-Reynolds number flows in high-lift cascades operating in low-pressure turbine (LPT) conditions. Different formulations of the well known γ – Reθt model are considered, and compared to a recently developed transition model based on the laminar kinetic energy (LKE) concept. All those approaches have been coupled to the Wilcox k – ω turbulence model. The performance of the transition-sensitive closures has been assessed by analyzing three different high lift cascades, recently tested experimentally in two European research projects (UTAT and TATMo). Such cascades (T106A, T106C, and T108) feature different loading distributions, different suction side diffusion factors, and they are characterized by suction side boundary layer separation when operated in steady inflow. Both steady and unsteady inflow conditions (induced by upstream passing wakes) have been studied. A particular attention has been devoted to the treatment of crucial boundary conditions like the freestream turbulence intensity and the turbulent length scale. A detailed comparison between measurements and computations, in terms of blade surface isentropic Mach number distributions and cascade lapse rates will be presented and discussed. Specific features of the computed wake-induced transition patterns will be discussed for selected Reynolds numbers. Some guidelines concerning the computations of high-lift cascades for LPT applications using RANS/URANS approaches and transition-sensitive closures will be finally reported.© 2013 ASME

Low-Pressure Turbine Cascade Performance Calculations With Incidence Variation and Periodic Unsteady Inflow Conditions

The performance of a Low-Pressure Turbine (LPT) cascade were investigated under both steady and periodic unsteady inflow boundary conditions with different Reynolds numbers and a reduced frequency representative of real LPT working conditions. A sensitivity analysis to the variation of the inlet flow angle was performed to assess the performance during off-design operation.The numerical framework is based on a steady/unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS/URANS) flow solver which includes some state-of-the-art transition-sensitive turbulence closures. Boundary conditions for the time-accurate computations upstream of the cascade were derived from the experimental characterization of a moving bar system used to generate the wake periodic perturbations.The computed performance of the cascade, as a function of Reynolds number and incidence angle variation, is discussed in comparison with experimental data. Steady and unsteady boundary layer quantities are also compared with measurements in order to gain more insights into the loss generation process and to better support the numerical results. Such an assessment proves that the proposed procedure is adequate for the analysis of the off-design behavior of cascades operating in low pressure turbine conditions.Copyright

URANS Analysis of Wake-Induced Effects in High-Lift, Low Reynolds Number Cascade Flows

A URANS analysis of unsteady effects induced by incoming wakes in high-lift, low-Reynolds-number cascade flows has been carried out using a novel, transition-sensitive, turbulence model. It is based on the coupling of two additional transport equations, one for the so-called laminar kinetic energy (LKE) and one for a turbulence indicator function, with a low Reynolds number formulation of the Wilcox k-ω model. Two high-lift cascades (T106C and T2), recently tested at the von Karman Institute in the framework of the two European research projects UTAT (Unsteady Transition in Axial Turbomachines) and TATMo (Turbulence and Transition Modelling for Special Turbomachinery Applications), were considered for the present study. The analyzed Reynolds number values span the whole range typically encountered in aero-engines low-pressure turbines operations, and both steady and periodically unsteady inflow conditions were considered. A detailed comparison between measurements and computations, in terms of blade surface isentropic Mach number distributions and cascade lapse rates will be presented and discussed. Results with the proposed model show its ability to predict the major effects of passing wakes on the boundary layer development and loss characteristics of high-lift cascades operating in LP-turbine conditions.Copyright