scholarly journals A Computational Fluid Dynamics Study of Transitional Flows in Low-Pressure Turbines Under a Wide Range of Operating Conditions

2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. B. Suzen ◽  
P. G. Huang ◽  
D. E. Ashpis ◽  
R. J. Volino ◽  
T. C. Corke ◽  
...  

A transport equation for the intermittency factor is employed to predict the transitional flows in low-pressure turbines. The intermittent behavior of the transitional flows is taken into account and incorporated into computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, μt, with the intermittency factor, γ. Turbulent quantities are predicted by using Menter’s two-equation turbulence model (SST). The intermittency factor is obtained from a transport equation model which can produce both the experimentally observed streamwise variation of intermittency and a realistic profile in the cross stream direction. The model had been previously validated against low-pressure turbine experiments with success. In this paper, the model is applied to predictions of three sets of recent low-pressure turbine experiments on the Pack B blade to further validate its predicting capabilities under various flow conditions. Comparisons of computational results with experimental data are provided. Overall, good agreement between the experimental data and computational results is obtained. The new model has been shown to have the capability of accurately predicting transitional flows under a wide range of low-pressure turbine conditions.

2003 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. B. Suzen ◽  
P. G. Huang ◽  
Lennart S. Hultgren ◽  
David E. Ashpis

A new transport equation for the intermittency factor was proposed to predict separated and transitional boundary layers under low-pressure turbine airfoil conditions. The intermittent behavior of the transitional flows is taken into account and incorporated into computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, μt, with the intermittency factor, γ. Turbulent quantities are predicted by using Menter’s two-equation turbulence model (SST). The intermittency factor is obtained from a transport equation model, which not only can reproduce the experimentally observed streamwise variation of the intermittency in the transition zone, but also can provide a realistic cross-stream variation of the intermittency profile. In this paper, the intermittency model is used to predict a recent separated and transitional boundary layer experiment under low pressure turbine airfoil conditions. The experiment provides detailed measurements of velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and intermittency profiles for a number of Reynolds numbers and freestream turbulent intensity conditions and is suitable for validation purposes. Detailed comparisons of computational results with experimental data are presented and good agreements between the experiments and predictions are obtained.


2005 ◽  
Vol 109 (1093) ◽  
pp. 101-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. B. Suzen ◽  
P. G. Huang

Abstract A transport equation for the intermittency factor is employed to predict transitional flows under the effects of pressure gradients, freestream turbulence intensities, Reynolds number variations, flow separation and reattachment, and unsteady wake-blade interactions representing diverse operating conditions encountered in low-pressure turbines. The intermittent behaviour of the transitional flows is taken into account and incorporated into computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, μτ with the intermittency factor, γ. Turbulent quantities are predicted by using Menter’s two-equation turbulence model (SST). The onset location of transition is obtained from correlations based on boundary-layer momentum thickness, accelaration parameter, and turbulence intensity. The intermittency factor is obtained from a transport model which can produce both the experimentally observed streamwise variation of intermittency and a realistic profile in the cross stream direction. The intermittency transport model is tested and validated against several well documented low pressure turbine experiments ranging from flat plate cases to unsteady wake-blade interaction experiments. Overall, good agreement between the experimental data and computational results is obtained illustrating the predicting capabilities of the model and the current intermittency transport modelling approach for transitional flow simulations.


1987 ◽  
Vol 109 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. P. Hodson ◽  
R. G. Dominy

The ability of a given blade profile to operate over a wide range of conditions is often of the utmost importance. This paper reports the off-design performance of a low-pressure turbine rotor root section in a linear cascade. Data were obtained using pneumatic probes and surface flow visualization. The effects of incidence (+9, 0, −20 deg), Reynolds (1.5, 2.9, 6.0 × 105), pitch-chord ratio (0.46, 0.56, 0.69), and inlet boundary layer thickness (0.011, 0.022 δ*/C) are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the three dimensionality of the flow field. Significant differences in the detail of the flow occur over the range of operating conditions investigated. It is found that the production of new secondary loss is greatest at lower Reynolds numbers, positive incidence, and the higher pitch-chord ratios.


2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Biagiotti ◽  
Juri Bellucci ◽  
Michele Marconcini ◽  
Andrea Arnone ◽  
Gino Baldi ◽  
...  

Abstract In this work, the effects of turbine center frame (TCF) wakes on the aeromechanical behavior of the downstream low-pressure turbine (LPT) blades are numerically investigated and compared with the experimental data. A small industrial gas turbine has been selected as a test case, composed of a TCF followed by the two low-pressure stages and a turbine rear frame (TRF) before the exhaust plenum. Full annulus unsteady computations of the whole low-pressure module have been performed. Two operating conditions, full (100%) and partial (50%) load, have been investigated with the aim of highlighting the impact of TCF wakes convection and diffusion through the downstream rows. Attention was paid to the harmonic content of rotors’ blades. The results show a slower decay of the wakes through the downstream rows in off-design conditions compared with the design point. The analysis of the rotors’ frequency spectrum reveals that moving from design to off-design conditions, the effect of the TCF does not change significantly. The harmonic contribution of all turbine components has been extracted, highlighting the effect of statoric parts on the last LPT blade. The TCF harmonic content remains the most relevant from an aeromechanic point of view as per experimental evidence, and it is considered for an forced response analysis (FRA) on the last LPT blade itself. Finally, aerodynamic and aeromechanic predictions have been compared with the experimental data to validate the numerical approach. Some general design solutions aimed at mitigating the TCF wakes impact are discussed.


Author(s):  
Sara Biagiotti ◽  
Juri Bellucci ◽  
Michele Marconcini ◽  
Andrea Arnone ◽  
Gino Baldi ◽  
...  

Abstract In this work, the effects of Turbine Center Frame (TCF) wakes on the aeromechanical behavior of the downstream Low Pressure Turbine (LPT) blades are numerically investigated and compared with experimental data. A small industrial gas turbine has been selected as a test case, composed of a TCF followed by the two low pressure stages and a Turbine Rear Frame (TRF) before the exhaust plenum. Full annulus unsteady computations of the whole low-pressure module have been performed. Two operating conditions, full (100%) and partial (50%) load, have been investigated with the aim of highlighting the impact of TCF wakes convection and diffusion through the downstream rows. Attention was paid to the harmonic content of rotors’ blades. From an aerodynamic point of view, the results show a slower decay of the wakes through the downstream rows in off-design conditions as compared to the design point. The wakes generated by the struts at partial load persist throughout the domain outlet, while they are chopped and circumferentially transported by the rotors motion. This is due to the strong incidence variation at which the TCF works, which induces the growth of wide regions of separated flow on the rear part of the struts. Nevertheless, the analysis of the rotors’ frequency spectrum reveals that moving from design to off-design conditions, the effect of the TCF does not change significantly, thanks to the filtering action of the first LPT stage movable Nozzle Guide Vane (NGV). From unsteady calculations the harmonic contribution of all turbine components has been extracted, highlighting the effect of statoric parts on the last LPT blade. Anyhow the TCF harmonic content remains the most relevant from an aeromechanic point of view as per experimental evidence, and it is considered for a Forced Response Analysis (FRA) on the last LPT blade itself. Finally, aerodynamic and aeromechanic predictions have been compared with the experimental data to validate the numerical approach. In the last part of this paper some general design solutions, that can help mitigation of the TCF wakes impact, are discussed.


2000 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. B. Suzen ◽  
P. G. Huang

A new transport equation for intermittency factor is proposed to model transitional flows. The intermittent behavior of the transitional flows is incorporated into the computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, μt, obtainable from a turbulence model, with the intermittency factor, γ:μt*=γμt. In this paper, Menter’s SST model is employed to compute μt and other turbulent quantities. The proposed intermittency transport equation can be considered as a blending of two models—Steelant and Dick and Cho and Chung. The former was proposed for near-wall flows and was designed to reproduce the streamwise variation of the intermittency factor in the transition zone following Dhawan and Narasimha correlation and the latter was proposed for free shear flows and a realistic cross-stream variation of the intermittency profile was reproduced. The new model was used to predict the T3 series experiments assembled by Savill including flows with different freestream turbulence intensities and two pressure-gradient cases. For all test cases good agreements between the computed results and the experimental data were observed. [S0098-2202(00)02302-6]


2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. B. Suzen ◽  
P. G. Huang

An extensive computational investigation of the effects of unsteady wake/blade interactions on transition and separation in low-pressure turbines has been performed by numerical simulations of two recent sets of experiments using an intermittency transport equation. The experiments considered have been performed by Kaszeta and Simon and Stieger in order to investigate the effects of periodically passing wakes on laminar-to-turbulent transition and separation in low-pressure turbines. The test sections were designed to simulate unsteady wakes in turbine engines for studying their effects on boundary layers and separated flow regions over the suction surface. The numerical simulations of the unsteady wake/blade interaction experiments have been performed using an intermittency transport model. The intermittent behavior of the transitional flows is taken into account and incorporated into computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, with the intermittency factor. Turbulent quantities are predicted by using Menter’s two-equation turbulence model (SST). The intermittency factor is obtained from the transport equation model, which can produce both the experimentally observed streamwise variation of intermittency and a realistic profile in the cross-stream direction. Computational results are compared to the experiments. Overall, general trends are captured and prediction capabilities of the intermittency transport model for simulations of unsteady wake/blade interaction flowfields are demonstrated.


Author(s):  
Y. B. Suzen ◽  
P. G. Huang

An extensive computational investigation of the effects of unsteady wake/blade interactions on transition and separation in low-pressure turbines has been performed by numerical simulations of two recent sets of experiments using an intermittency transport equation. The experiments considered have been performed by Kaszeta and Simon [1] (Kaszeta et al. [2,3]), and Stieger [4] (Stieger and Hodson [5]) in order to investigate the effects of periodically passing wakes on laminar-to-turbulent transition and separation in low-pressure turbines. The test sections were designed to simulate unsteady wakes in turbine engines for studying their effects on boundary layers and separated flow regions over the suction surface. The numerical simulations of the unsteady wake/blade interaction experiments have been performed using an intermittency transport model. The intermittent behavior of the transitional flows is taken into account and incorporated into computations by modifying the eddy viscosity, with the intermittency factor. Turbulent quantities are predicted by using Menter’s two-equation turbulence model (SST). The intermittency factor is obtained from the transport equation model which can produce both the experimentally observed streamwise variation of intermittency and a realistic profile in the cross stream direction. Computational results are compared to the experiments. Overall, general trends are captured and prediction capabilities of the intermittency transport model for simulations of unsteady wake/blade interaction flowfields are demonstrated.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document