Experimental Investigation of the Clocking Effect in a 1.5-Stage Axial Turbine—Part II: Unsteady Results and Boundary Layer Behavior

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven König ◽  
Bernd Stoffel ◽  
M. Taher Schobeiri

Comprehensive experimental investigations were conducted to get deeper insight into the physics of stator clocking in turbomachines. Different measurement techniques were used to investigate the influence of varying clocking positions on the highly unsteady flow field in a 1.5-stage axial low-pressure (LP) turbine. A Reynolds number typical for LP turbines as well as a two-dimensional blade design were chosen. Stator 2 was developed as a high-lift profile with a separation bubble on the suction side. This paper presents the results that were obtained by means of unsteady x-wire measurements upstream and downstream of Stator 2 and surface mounted hot-film measurements on the Stator 2 suction side. It was found that for the case when the Stator 1 wakes impinge close to the leading edge of Stator 2 the interaction between the Stator 1 and the rotor vortical structures takes place in proximity of the Stator 2 boundary layer, which leads to a shift of the transition point in the upstream direction. The major loss parameter concerning the Stator 2 aerodynamic performance could be attributed to the strength of the periodic fluctuations within the Stator 2 suction side boundary layer. A phase shift in the quasiwall shear stress signal in the front region of the Stator 2 vane was observed for different clocking positions.

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven König ◽  
Bernd Stoffel ◽  
M. Taher Schobeiri

Comprehensive experimental investigations were conducted to get deeper insight into the physics of stator clocking in turbomachines. Different measurement techniques were used to investigate the influence of varying clocking positions on the highly unsteady flow field in a 1.5-stage axial low-pressure (LP) turbine. A Reynolds number typical for LP turbines as well as a two-dimensional blade design were chosen. Stator 2 was developed as a high-lift profile with a separation bubble on the suction side. This paper presents the results that were obtained by means of static pressure tappings and five-hole probes as well as the time-averaged results of unsteady x-wire measurements. The probes were traversed in different measuring planes for ten clocking positions. Depending on the clocking position, a variation in total pressure loss for Stator 2, a change of the rotor exit flow angle, and a dependency of the Stator 2 exit flow angle were found. The influence of these parameters on turbine efficiency was studied. Three main factors affecting the total pressure loss could be separated: the size of the separation bubble, the production of turbulent kinetic energy, and the strength of the periodic fluctuations downstream of Stator 2.


Author(s):  
Jenny Baumann ◽  
Ulrich Rist ◽  
Martin Rose ◽  
Tobias Ries ◽  
Stephan Staudacher

The reduction of blade counts in the LP turbine is one possibility to cut down weight and therewith costs. At low Reynolds numbers the suction side laminar boundary layer of high lift LP turbine blades tends to separate and hence cause losses in turbine performance. To limit these losses, the control of laminar separation bubbles has been the subject of many studies in recent years. A project is underway at the University of Stuttgart that aims to suppress laminar separation at low Reynolds numbers (60,000) by means of actuated transition. In an experiment a separating flow is influenced by disturbances, small in amplitude and of a certain frequency, which are introduced upstream of the separation point. Small existing disturbances are therewith amplified, leading to earlier transition and a more stable boundary layer. The separation bubble thus gets smaller without need of a high air mass flow as for steady blowing or pulsed vortex generating jets. Frequency and amplitude are the parameters of actuation. The non-dimensional actuation frequency is varied from 0.2 to 0.5, whereas the normalized amplitude is altered between 5, 10 and 25% of the free stream velocity. Experimental investigations are made by means of PIV and hot wire measurements. Disturbed flow fields will be compared to an undisturbed one. The effectiveness of the presented boundary layer control will be compared to those of conventional ones. Phase-logged data will give an impression of the physical processes in the actuated flow.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Marcel Börner ◽  
Reinhard Niehuis

Abstract The results presented in this paper are based on experimental investigations on a generic transonic low pressure turbine profile at high subsonic exit Mach numbers. Here, the flow on the suction side reaches a maximum isentropic Mach number of approximately 1.2 and features a large separation bubble in a transonic flow regime characterized by Surface Hot-Film measurements. The measurements are supplemented by Schlieren images recorded with a high-speed camera at 19:2 kHz. A highly unsteady normal shock wave on the suction side is observable upstream of the trailing edge. It is interacting with laminar separated flow which is rarely documented in literature. The interaction of the normal shock with the boundary layer flow seems to amplifies the ongoing transition process over the separation bubble and the flow reattaches shortly downstream. A statistical analysis of the Schlieren images reveals characteristic low frequencies of the shock wave motions and a pulsation of the separation bubble. Additionally, the statistical information of the time-dependent signal from the Surface Hot-Film sensors demonstrate the instabilities influencing the boundary layer linked to the unsteadiness in the main flow.


2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Mailach ◽  
Konrad Vogeler

This two-part paper presents experimental investigations of unsteady aerodynamic blade row interactions in the first stage of the four-stage low-speed research compressor of Dresden. Both the unsteady boundary layer development and the unsteady pressure distribution of the stator blades are investigated for several operating points. The measurements were carried out on pressure side and suction side at midspan. In Part II of the paper the investigations of the unsteady pressure distribution on the stator blades are presented. The experiments were carried out using piezoresistive miniature pressure sensors, which are embedded into the pressure and suction side surface of a single blade. The unsteady pressure distribution on the blade is analyzed for the design point and an operating point near the stability limit. The investigations show that it is strongly influenced by both the incoming wakes and the potential flow field of the downstream rotor blade row. If a disturbance arrives the leading edge or the trailing edge of the blade the pressure changes nearly simultaneously along the blade chord. Thus the unsteady profile pressure distribution is independent of the wake propagation within the blade passage. A phase shift of the reaction on pressure and suction side is observed. The unsteady response of the boundary layer and the profile pressure distribution is compared. Based on the unsteady pressure distribution the unsteady pressure forces of the blades are calculated and discussed.


Author(s):  
Marcel Börner ◽  
Reinhard Niehuis

Abstract The results presented in this paper are based on experimental investigations on a generic transonic low pressure turbine profile at high subsonic exit Mach numbers. Here, the flow on the suction side reaches a maximum isentropic Mach number of approximately 1.2 and features a large separation bubble in a transonic flow regime characterized by Surface Hot-Film measurements. The measurements are supplemented by Schlieren images recorded with a high-speed camera at 19.2 kHz. A highly unsteady normal shock wave on the suction side is observable upstream of the trailing edge. It is interacting with laminar separated flow which is rarely documented in literature. The interaction of the normal shock with the boundary layer flow seems to amplifies the ongoing transition process over the separation bubble and the flow reattaches shortly downstream. A statistical analysis of the Schlieren images reveals characteristic low frequencies of the shock wave motions and a pulsation of the separation bubble. Additionally, the statistical information of the time-dependent signal from the Surface Hot-Film sensors demonstrate the instabilities influencing the boundary layer linked to the unsteadiness in the main flow.


2007 ◽  
Vol 129 (11) ◽  
pp. 1468-1477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven König ◽  
Bernd Stoffel

A comprehensive investigation was carried out using two different experimental setups: A 1.5-stage axial turbine and a simplified model, a “spoked-wheel” setup with a rotating wake generator consisting of cylindrical bars. The second stator of the turbine was designed at MTU Aero Engines as a high-lift profile with a Reynolds number typical for low-pressure turbines in jet engines. At design conditions, the flow on the stator 2 suction side features a pronounced separation bubble. To study the behavior of the stator 2 boundary layer and the interaction mechanisms between stator and rotor wakes, different measurement techniques were used: X-wire probes, five-hole probes, static pressure tappings, and surface mounted hot-film gauges. It was found that a rotating wake generator of the spoked-wheel type is not capable of resolving the relevant clocking mechanisms that occur in a real engine. However, such a simplified setup is useful to separate some of the physical mechanisms, and in case that the interaction of the stator 1 wakes with the stator 2 boundary layer is negligible, a spoked-wheel setup is well suited to simulate the influence of periodically incoming wakes on the transition behavior of stator 2.


Author(s):  
Dimitri P. Tselepidakis ◽  
Sung-Eun Kim

This paper presents the computation of the flow around a controlled diffusion compressor cascade. Features associated with by-pass transition close to the leading edge — including laminar leading-edge separation — contribute significantly to the evolution of the boundary layer on the blade surface. Previous studies have demonstrated that conventional k-ε models, based on linear or non-linear Boussinesq stress-strain relations, are able to capture by-pass transition in simple shear, but are unable to resolve transitional features in complex strain, like the leading-edge separation bubble, which is of considerable influence to the suction-side flow at high inlet angle. Here, the k-ω turbulence model has been implemented in a nonstaggered, finite-volume based segregated Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes solver. We demonstrate that this model, if properly sensitized to the generation of turbulence by irrotational strains, is capable of capturing the laminar leading-edge separation bubble. The real flow around the leading edge is laminar and the transition is only provoked on the reattachment region. Additional investigation of transition in a flat-plate boundary layer development has also produced reasonably promising results.


Author(s):  
Ju Hyun Im ◽  
Ju Hyun Shin ◽  
Garth V. Hobson ◽  
Seung Jin Song ◽  
Knox T. Millsaps

An experimental investigation has been conducted to characterize the influence of leading edge roughness and Reynolds number on compressor cascade profile loss. Tests have been conducted in a low-speed linear compressor cascade at Reynolds numbers between 210,000 and 640,000. Blade loading and loss have been measured with pressure taps and pneumatic probes. In addition, a two-component laser-doppler velocimeter (LDV) has been used to measure the boundary layer velocity profiles and turbulence levels at various chordwise locations near the blade suction surface. The “smooth” blade has a centerline-averaged roughness (Ra) of 0.62 μm. The “rough” blade is roughened by covering the leading edge of the “smooth” blade, including 2% of the pressure side and 2% of the suction side, with a 100 μm-thick tape with a roughness Ra of 4.97 μm. At Reynolds numbers ranging from 210,000 to 380,000, the leading edge roughness decreases loss slightly. At Reynolds number of 210,000, the leading edge roughness reduces the size of the suction side laminar separation bubble and turbulence level in the turbulent boundary layer after reattachment. Thus, the leading edge roughness reduces displacement and momentum thicknesses as well as profile loss at Reynolds number of 210,000. However, the same leading edge roughness increases loss significantly for Re = 450,000 ∼ 640,000. At Reynolds number of 640,000, the leading edge roughness decreases the magnitude of the favorable pressure gradient for axial chordwise locations less than 0.41 and induces turbulent separation for axial chordwise locations greater than 0.63, drastically increasing loss. Thus, roughness limited to the leading edge still has a profound effect on the compressor flow field.


Author(s):  
Yunfei Wang ◽  
Huaping Liu ◽  
Yanping Song ◽  
Fu Chen

In order to predict the phenomenon of laminar flow separation, transition and reattachment in a high-lift low-pressure turbine (LPT), a self-developed large eddy simulation program to solve three dimensional compressible N-S equations was used to simulate the flow structures in T106A LPT blade passage. The outlet Mach number is 0.4 and the Reynolds number is 1.1×105 based on the exit isentropic velocity and the axial chord. The distributions of the time-averaged static pressure coefficient, kinetic loss coefficient and wall shear stress on the blade surface at +7.8° incidence angle agree well with the results of experiment and direct numerical simulation (DNS). The locations of laminar separation and reattachment point occur around 83.6% and 97% axial chord respectively. The evolutionary process of spanwise vorticity and large-scale coherent structure near the trailing edge on the suction side in one period indicates that the two-dimensional shear layer is gradually unstable as a result of spanwise fluctuation and Kelvin-Helmholtz (K-H) instability. The boundary layer separates from the suction surface and the hairpin vortex appears in succession, which leads to transition to turbulence. Analysis of the incidence angle effect on the boundary layer separation point as well as separation bubble scale was also performed. A small scale separation bubble exists around the leading edge at positive incidences. As the incidence angle changes from positive to negative, the separation bubble near the leading edge disappears and the boundary layer thickness reduces gradually. The separation point at the rear part of suction side moves downstream, yet the reattachment point barely changes. The Reynolds stress and turbulent kinetic energy profiles change dramatically at zero and positive incidence. This illustrates that the incidence angle has great influence on the development of the boundary layer and the flow field structures.


Author(s):  
Deepakkumar M. Sharma ◽  
Kamal Poddar

Wind tunnel experiments were carried out on NACA 0015 airfoil model to investigate the formation of laminar separation bubble on the upper surface of the airfoil by varying angle of attack from −5° to 25° with respect to the free stream velocity at constant Reynolds number varying from 0.2E06 to 0.6E06. Pressure signals were acquired from the pressure ports selected at the mid-span of the airfoil model along the chord. Static stall characteristics were obtained from the surface pressure distribution. The flow separation was found to be a trailing edge turbulent boundary layer separation preceded with a laminar separation bubble. Flow Visualizations were done by using Surface Oil flow Technique for qualitative analysis of the transition zone formed due to the presence of laminar separation bubble As the angle of attack is increased the separation bubble moves towards the leading edge of the airfoil and finally gets shredded or burst at a particular angle of attack resulting in leading edge turbulent flow separation which induces the static stall condition. The flow separation process is critically analyzed and the existence of laminar separation bubble is visualized and quantified with the increase in angle of attack and Re. Effect of Re and angle of attack on the various boundary layer and Separation bubble parameters are obtained and analyzed.


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