Yavuz Guendogdu

Investigation of the Suction Side Boundary Layer Development on Low Pressure Turbine Airfoils With and Without Separation Using a Preston Probe

Characterizing the transition process of airfoils can be very challenging and requires often extensive measurement methods. Frequently at low Reynolds numbers the suction side separation often occurs close to the trailing edge so that asserting reattachment of the flow to form a closed separation bubble from the profile pressure distributions becomes uncertain. In the current work the suction side transition process is investigated more precisely with a convenient method to determine the dynamic pressure close to the suction surface using a Preston probe (flattened Pitot tube). Therefore four low pressure turbine airfoils, which show different characteristics of the transition process in the static pressure distribution have been investigated at the High-Speed Cascade Wind Tunnel at the Universitat der Bundeswehr Munchen at constant Mach number and under a wide range of Reynolds numbers (40 000 to 400 000). It is shown that this method is appropriate to determine transition start and end as well as the separation and reattachment point of a separated flow as long as the probe height is small enough compared to the boundary layer thickness. The measurement results are compared to profile pressure distributions and hot-wire boundary layer profiles. Also the influence of periodic unsteady inflow conditions on the dynamic pressure near the wall is revealed in the time average. Limitations due to the probe geometry are discussed and a method to estimate the influence of the probe geometry on the measured dynamic pressure coefficient is suggested.Copyright

Investigation of Nonaxisymmetric Endwall Contouring and Three-Dimensional Airfoil Design in a 1.5 Stage Axial Turbine—Part II: Experimental Validation

This paper is the second part of a two-part paper reporting on the increase in efficiency of a 1.5 stage axial test rig turbine with the use of nonaxisymmetric endwalls and 3D airfoil design. Contoured endwalls were developed for the inlet guide vane separately, as well as in combination with a bowed radial profile stacking. In addition, a contour endwall was applied to the hub of the unshrouded rotor. In Part I, the design of the profiled endwalls and 3D airfoils is presented, as well as a detailed analysis of the steady and unsteady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results. Part II reports on the experimental validation of the numerical results. A distinct increase in mechanical efficiency for both new configurations in good agreement with the numerical results is observed. Additionally, performance map measurements demonstrate that the new designs are also beneficial under off-design conditions. Five- and three-hole-probes as well as fast-response total pressure probes are used to investigate the new designs. The main effect is the homogenization of the yaw angle behind the first stator.

Blade–Row Interactions in a Low Pressure Turbine at Design and Strong Off-Design Operation

In a joint project between the Institute of Aircraft Propulsion Systems (ILA) and MTU Aero Engines, a two-stage low pressure turbine is tested at design and strong off-design conditions. The experimental data taken in the Altitude Test Facility (ATF) aims to study the effect of positive and negative incidence of the second stator vane. A detailed insight and understanding of the blade row interactions at these regimes is sought. Steady and time-resolved pressure measurements on the airfoil as well as inlet and outlet hot-film traverses at identical Reynolds number are performed for the midspan streamline. The results are compared with unsteady multistage computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions. Simulations agree well with the experimental data and allow detailed insights in the time-resolved flow-field. Airfoil pressure field responses are found to increase with positive incidence whereas at negative incidence the magnitude remains unchanged. Different pressure to suction side (SS) phasing is observed for the studied regimes. The assessment of unsteady blade forces reveals that changes in unsteady lift are minor compared to changes in axial force components. These increase with increasing positive incidence. The wake-interactions are predominating the blade responses in all regimes. For the positive incidence conditions, vane 1 passage vortex fluid is involved in the midspan passage interaction, leading to a more distorted three-dimensional (3D) flow field. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4028213]

Time-Resolved Numerical Investigation of the Interaction of Labyrinth Seal Leakage and Main-Flow in a 1.5-Stage LP Turbine

In axial turbomachinery such as low pressure turbines, shrouded airfoils with labyrinth seals are commonly used. Among different sealing options, labyrinth seals in particular are characterized by long term durability and high sealing efficiency. Since a leakage flow is inevitable, a thorough understanding of how the leakage flow exits the cavities, its interaction with the main flow, and the induction of losses is necessary. In order to take into account unsteady effects, three-dimensional time resolved RANS computations of a 1.5 stage LPT rig in its design operating point are conducted. To capture effects in the boundary layer, a low Reynolds approach is used at the blade surface as well as on the hub and tip surfaces. To match the real geometry of the turbine blades, fillets have been modeled. Simulations were performed using the TRACE solver developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The investigation shows how cavity flows have a significant influence on the main-flow aerodynamics and the loss generation. Steady and unsteady results with full spatially discretized cavities show a significant decrease of isentropic efficiency compared to simulations without cavities. The efficiency drop for the steady and time-averaged cavity computations can be explained with intensified secondary flow. The time resolved calculation shows a strong non-uniformity of the leakage flux depending on the instantaneous circumferential position of the up- and downstream blades. The time dependent ingress of cavity leakage results in the formation of a counter-rotating vortex pair. In terms of the influence on the main flow, it is shown that the interaction is limited to the end walls with almost no influence on the midspan flow.Copyright

Investigation of Non-Axisymmetric Endwall Contouring and 3D Airfoil Design in a 1.5 Stage Axial Turbine: Part I — Design and Novel Numerical Analysis Method

This paper presents the results of the analysis of different 3D designs for the first stator and the rotor of a 1.5-stage turbine test rig. A tangential endwall contouring for the hub and the shroud, a bowed profile stacking, and a combination of those have been designed for the first stator. In addition a tangential endwall contouring has been designed for the hub of the unshrouded rotor. Part I of this two-part paper deals with the design process and the numerical analysis of the results. All designs have been optimized with the stage efficiency as the target function. For the design of the 3D stator vanes, the optimization led to an unexpected result: The secondary flow vortex strength increased. However, the secondary flow pattern has been rearranged and the exit flow angle has been homogenized. Although the stator losses increased, the stage efficiency also increased. Thus, a reduction of the rotor losses overcompensated the higher stator losses.In order to understand how the 3D vanes affect the stator secondary flow pattern, a detailed analysis of vortex stretching and vortex dissipation is presented here. With this approach, the various impacts of the 3D designs on the secondary flow vortices’ strength can be quantified. In addition, the potential theory effect of the self-induced velocity is introduced here in order to explain the effects of a tangential endwall contouring on the trajectory of the pressure side leg of the horseshoe vortex. At the authors’ knowledge, both approaches are new for the analysis of turbine secondary flows.The impact of the stronger but rearranged stator secondary flow on the rotor secondary loss development is analyzed by means of unsteady simulations. The results show that the rotor secondary flow can be effectively reduced through a proper stator secondary flow pattern. In part II of this paper, the analysis of extensive experimental results validates and supplements the numerical analysis.Copyright

Investigation of Non-Axisymmetric Endwall Contouring and 3D Airfoil Design in a 1.5 Stage Axial Turbine: Part II — Experimental Validation

This paper is the second part of a two-part paper reporting on the increase in efficiency of a 1.5 stage axial test rig turbine with the use of non-axisymmetric endwalls and 3D airfoil design. Contoured endwalls were developed for the inlet guide vane separately, as well as in combination with a bowed radial profile stacking. In addition, a contour endwall was applied to the hub of the unshrouded rotor. In part I the design of the profiled endwalls and 3D airfoils is presented, as well as a detailed analysis of the steady and unsteady CFD results. Part II reports on the experimental validation of the numerical results.A distinct increase in mechanical efficiency for both new configurations in good agreement with the numerical results is observed. Additionally, performance map measurements demonstrate that the new designs are also beneficial under off-design conditions. Five- and three-hole-probes, as well as fast-response total pressure probes are used to investigate the new designs. The main effect is the homogenization of the yaw angle behind the first stator.Copyright

Blade-Row Interactions in an LP Turbine at Design and Strong Off-Design Operation

In a joint project between the Institute of Aircraft Propulsion Systems (ILA) and MTU Aero Engines a two-stage low pressure turbine is tested at design and strong off-design conditions. The experimental data taken in the altitude test-facility aims to study the effect of positive and negative incidence of the second stator vane. A detailed insight and understanding of the blade row interactions at these regimes is sought. Steady and time-resolved pressure measurements on the airfoil as well as inlet and outlet hot-film traverses at identical Reynolds number are performed for the midspan streamline. The results are compared with unsteady multi-stage CFD predictions. Simulations agree well with the experimental data and allow detailed insights in the time-resolved flow-field. Airfoil pressure field responses are found to increase with positve incidence whereas at negative incidence the magnitude remains unchanged. Different pressure to suction side phasing is observed for the studied regimes. The assessment of unsteady blade forces reveals that changes in unsteady lift are minor compared to changes in axial force components. These increase with increasing positive incidence. The wake-interactions are predominating the blade responses in all regimes. For the positive incidence conditions vane 1 passage vortex fluid is involved in the midspan passage interaction leading to a more distorted three-dimensional flow field.© 2014 ASME

On the Unsteady Formation of Secondary Flow Inside a Rotating Turbine Blade Passage

This paper addresses the unsteady formation of secondary flow structures inside a turbine rotor passage. The first stage of a two-stage, low-pressure turbine is investigated at a Reynolds Number of 75,000. The design represents the third and the fourth stages of an engine-representative, low-pressure turbine. The flow field inside the rotor passage is discussed in the relative frame of reference using the streamwise vorticity. A multistage unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) prediction provides the time-resolved data set required. It is supported by steady and unsteady area traverse data acquired with five-hole probes and dual-film probes at rotor inlet and exit. The unsteady analysis reveals a nonclassical secondary flow field inside the rotor passage of this turbine. The secondary flow field is dominated by flow structures related to the upstream nozzle guide vane. The interaction processes at hub and casing appear to be mirror images and have characteristic forms in time and space. Distinct loss zones are identified, which are associated with vane-rotor interaction processes. The distribution of the measured isentropic stage efficiency at rotor exit is shown, which is reduced significantly by the secondary flow structures discussed. Their impacts on the steady as well as on the unsteady angle characteristics at rotor exit are presented to address the influences on the inlet conditions of the downstream nozzle guide vane. It is concluded that URANS should improve the optimization of rotor geometry and rotor loss can be controlled, to a degree, by nozzle guide vane (NGV) design.

Analysis of Laminar-Turbulent Transition of a Low-Loss Generic Low Pressure Turbine Distribution

The efficiency of modern Turbofan engines can be significantly increased by using a gearbox between compressor and turbine of the low pressure section. Rotational speed of the low pressure turbine (LPT) in a Geared Turbofan is much higher than in normal LPT’s which lead to necessary adjustments in blade design.This work has investigated the transition behavior of a modified profile geometry for low-loss at engine cruise conditions. Typical LPT conditions have thus been chosen as baseline for the experimental work. A pressure distribution has been created on a flat plate by means of contoured walls in a low speed wind tunnel. The paper will analyze the experimental results and show additionally the numerical predictions of the test case.The experimental part of this paper describe how the blade was Mach number scaled to obtain the geometry of the wind tunnel wall contour. The pressure distribution for the incompressible test case show a very good agreement to the compressible case. Boundary layer (BL) measurements with hot-wire-anemometry have been performed at high spatial resolution under a freestream turbulence of almost 8%. Different Reynolds numbers have been investigated and will be compared with special attention being paid to the transition on the suction side by contour plots (turbulence levels, turbulent intermittency) and integral BL parameters. It was found that the transition on the suction side is not completed for small Reynolds numbers but takes place at higher velocities.In the numerical part studies by means of steady RANS simulations with k-ω – SST turbulence model and γ-Reθ transition model have been conducted. The aim is to validate the RANS solver for the low-loss LPT application. Hence, comparison is made to the measured data and the transitional behavior of the BL. Furthermore, additional parameter variations have been conducted (turbulence intensity and Reynolds number).The numerical investigations show partially a good comparison for the BL development indicating the different transition modi with increasing Reynolds number and turbulence intensity.Copyright

Secondary Deviation and Unsteady Blockage in an LP Turbine due to Off-Design Operation

A two-stage low pressure turbine is tested at the aerodynamic design point and a strong off-design point representing flight idle conditions. The tests are performed on an altitude test facility at engine representative conditions. Time-resolved measurements are performed with dual-film probes up- and downstream of the second NGV row. The aim is to study the flow field for secondary deviation and the generation of losses in the NGV row. The experimental results are compared with multistage URANS predictions. The simulations match the measured data and allow for detailed analysis of the time-resolved flow field. With off-design operation a strong increase in cross-flow is observed due to radial migration. Wake fluid from the first stage tends to migrate towards the hub section and changes the blockage unsteadily in the NGV row. At off-design operation a distinction between a two-dimensional primary flow to the secondary flow areas is no longer possible.Copyright