Blade Lean and Shroud Leakage Flows in Low Aspect Ratio Turbines

2011 ◽  
Vol 134 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Budimir Rosic ◽  
Liping Xu
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Industrial Practice ◽  
Leakage Flows ◽  
Low Aspect Ratio ◽  
Stator Blade ◽  
Different Levels

Blade lean, i.e., nonradial blade stacking, has been intensively used over the past in the design process of low aspect ratio gas and steam turbines. Although its influence on turbine efficiency is not completely understood, it has been proved as an effective way of controlling blade loading and secondary flows on blade passage endwalls. Three-dimensional blade designs in modern industrial practice are usually carried out using clean endwalls. The influence of the leakage flows on three-dimensional blade design is traditionally neglected. This paper presents an experimental study where two different stator blades, with different levels of compound lean, were tested in a low speed three-stage model turbine with the shroud leakage flow geometry representative of industrial practice. The experimental measurements were compared with numerical tests, conducted on the same blade geometries. The influence of the compound lean on the stator flow field was analyzed in detail. In order to analyze the combined effects of both the stator hub and the rotor shroud leakage flow on the blade lean, in the second part of the paper a numerical study on a two stage turbine with both leakage flow paths representative of a real turbine was carried out. Performance of three different stator blade designs (two different levels of compound lean and a straight blade) was investigated. The aim of this study is to understand the mechanism and the consequence of the stator blade lean on stage performance in an environment with leakage flows and associated cavities.

Blade Lean and Shroud Leakage Flows in Low Aspect Ratio Turbines

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Budimir Rosic ◽  
Liping Xu
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Industrial Practice ◽  
Leakage Flows ◽  
Low Aspect Ratio ◽  
Stator Blade ◽  
Different Levels

Blade lean, i.e. non-radial blade stacking, has been intensively used over the past in the design process of low aspect ratio gas and steam turbines. Although its influence on turbine efficiency is not completely understood, it has been proved as an effective way of controlling blade loading and secondary flows on blade passage endwalls. Three-dimensional blade designs in modern industrial practice are usually carried out using clean endwalls. The influence of the leakage flows on three-dimensional blade design is traditionally neglected. This paper presents an experimental study where two different stator blades, with different levels of compound lean, were tested in a low speed three-stage model turbine with the shroud leakage flow geometry representative of industrial practice. The experimental measurements were compared with numerical tests, conducted on the same blade geometries. The influence of the compound lean on the stator flow field was analysed in detail. In order to analyse the combined effects of both the stator hub and rotor shroud leakage flow on the blade lean, in the second part of the paper a numerical study on a two stage turbine with both leakage flow paths representative of a real turbine was carried out. Performance of three different stator blade designs (two different levels of compound lean and a straight blade) was investigated. The aim of this study is to understand the mechanism and the consequence of the stator blade lean on stage performance in an environment with leakage flows and associated cavities.

Improving the Performance of a Turbine With Low Aspect Ratio Stators by Aft-Loading

2004 ◽  
Vol 128 (3) ◽  
pp. 492-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Pullan ◽  
John Denton ◽  
Eric Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Loss Reduction ◽  
Low Aspect Ratio ◽  
Surface Pressure Distribution ◽  
Loaded Surface ◽  
Nozzle Guide ◽  
Nozzle Guide Vanes ◽  
Stage Efficiency

Experimental data and numerical simulations are presented from a research turbine with low aspect ratio nozzle guide vanes (NGVs). The combined effects of mechanical and aerodynamic constraints on the NGV create very strong secondary flows. This paper describes three designs of NGV that have been tested in the turbine, using the same rotor row in each case. NGV 2 used three-dimensional design techniques in an attempt to improve the performance of the datum NGV 1 blade, but succeeded only in creating an intense vortex shed from the trailing edge (as previously reported) and lowering the measured stage efficiency by 1.1% points. NGV 3 was produced to avoid the “shed vortex” while adopting a highly aft-loaded surface pressure distribution to reduce the influence of the secondary flows. The stage with NGV 3 had an efficiency 0.5% points greater than that with NGV 1. Detailed comparisons between experiment and computations, including predicted entropy generation rates, are used to highlight the areas where the loss reduction has occurred and hence to quantify the effects of employing highly aft-loaded NGVs.

Experimental and Numerical Study of Stall Flutter in a Transonic Low-Aspect Ratio Fan Blisk

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Sanders ◽  
K. K. Hassan ◽  
D. C. Rabe
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Fluid Dynamic ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Strain Gages ◽  
Pressure Transducers ◽  
Low Aspect Ratio ◽  
Benchmark Data

Experiments are performed on a modern design transonic shroudless low-aspect ratio fan blisk that experienced both subsonic/transonic and supersonic stall-side flutter. High-response flush mounted miniature pressure transducers are utilized to measure the unsteady aerodynamic loading distribution in the tip region of the fan for both flutter regimes, with strain gages utilized to measure the vibratory response at incipient and deep flutter operating conditions. Numerical simulations are performed and compared with the benchmark data using an unsteady three-dimensional nonlinear viscous computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis, with the effects of tip clearance, vibration amplitude, and the number of time steps-per-cycle investigated. The benchmark data are used to guide the validation of the code and establish best practices that ensure accurate flutter predictions.

Improving the Performance of a Turbine With Low Aspect Ratio Stators by Aft-Loading

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Pullan ◽  
John Denton ◽  
Eric Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Loss Reduction ◽  
Low Aspect Ratio ◽  
Surface Pressure Distribution ◽  
Loaded Surface ◽  
Nozzle Guide ◽  
Nozzle Guide Vanes ◽  
Stage Efficiency

Experimental data and numerical simulations are presented from a research turbine with low aspect ratio nozzle guide vanes (NGVs). The combined effects of mechanical and aerodynamic constraints on the NGV create very strong secondary flows. This paper describes three designs of NGV that have been tested in the turbine, using the same rotor row in each case. NGV 2 used three-dimensional design techniques in an attempt to improve the performance of the datum NGV 1 blade but succeeded only in creating an intense vortex shed from the trailing edge (as previously reported) and lowering the measured stage efficiency by 1.1% points. NGV 3 was produced to avoid the “shed vortex” while adopting a highly aft-loaded surface pressure distribution to reduce the influence of the secondary flows. The stage with NGV 3 had an efficiency 0.5% points greater than that with NGV 1. Detailed comparisons between experiment and CFD, including predicted entropy generation rates, are used to highlight the areas where the loss reduction has occurred and hence to quantify the effects of employing highly aft-loaded NGVs.

scholarly journals Experimental and Numerical Study of Flow Structures Associated With Low Aspect Ratio Elliptical Cavities

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taravat Khadivi ◽  
Eric Savory
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Particle Image ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Reynolds Stress Model ◽  
Cavity Flows ◽  
Low Aspect Ratio ◽  
Image Velocimetry ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

The flow regimes associated with 2:1 aspect ratio elliptical planform cavities of varying depth immersed in a turbulent boundary layer at a Reynolds number of 8.7 × 104, based on the minor axis of the cavity, have been quantified from particle image velocimetry measurements and three-dimensional steady computational fluid dynamics simulations (Reynolds stress model closure). Although these elliptical cavity flows have some similarities with nominally two-dimensional and rectangular cases, three-dimensional effects due to the low aspect ratio and curvature of the walls give rise to features exclusive to low aspect ratio elliptical cavities, including formation of cellular structures at intermediate depths and vortex structures within and downstream of the cavity.

Cross-Wind Influence on Low Aspect Ratio Wings at Low Reynolds Numbers

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Karimi Noughabi ◽  
Mehran Tadjfar
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Micro Air Vehicles ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Aerodynamic Characteristics ◽  
Low Aspect Ratio ◽  
Aspect Ratios ◽  
Lift And Drag ◽  
Lift And Drag Coefficient

The aerodynamics of the low aspect ratio (LAR) wings is of outmost importance in the performance of the fixed-wing micro air vehicles (MAVs). The flow around these wings is widely influenced by three dimensional (3D) phenomena: including wing-tip vortices, formation of laminar bubble, flow separation and reattachment, laminar to turbulent transition or any combination of these phenomena. All the recent studies consider the aerodynamic characteristics of the LAR wings under the effect of the direct wind. Here we focus on the numerical study of the influence of cross-wind on flow over the inverse Zimmerman wings with the aspect ratios (AR) between 1 and 2 at Reynolds numbers between 6×104 and 105. We have considered cross-wind’s angles from 0° to 40° and angle of attack from 0° to 12°. The results show that lift and drag coefficient generally decrease when the angle of the cross-wind is increased.

The Control of Shroud Leakage Flows to Reduce Aerodynamic Losses in a Low Aspect Ratio, Shrouded Axial Flow Turbine

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Wallis ◽  
J. D. Denton ◽  
A. A. J. Demargne
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Leakage Flows ◽  
Low Aspect Ratio ◽  
Leakage Fraction ◽  
Aerodynamic Losses

The losses generated by fluid leaking across the shrouds of turbine blade rows are known to form a significant proportion of the overall loss generated in low aspect ratio turbines. The use of shrouds to encase the tips of turbine blades has encouraged the development of many innovative sealing arrangements, all of which are intended to reduce the quantity of fluid (the leakage fraction) leaking across the shroud. Modern sealing arrangements have reduced leakage fractions considerably, meaning that further improvements can only be obtained by controlling the leakage flow in such a way so as to minimise the aerodynamic losses incurred by the extraction and re-injection of the leakage flow into the mainstream. There are few published experimental investigations on the interaction between mainstream and leakage flows to provide guidance on the best means of managing the leakage flows to do this. This paper describes the development and testing of a strategy to turn the fluid leaking over shrouded turbine rotor blade rows with the aim of reducing the aerodynamic losses associated with its re-injection into the mainstream flow. The intent was to extract work from the leakage flow in the process. A four stage research turbine was used to test in detail the sealing design resulting from this strategy. A reduction in brake efficiency of 3.5% was measured. Further investigation suggested that much of the increase in loss could be attributed to the presence of axial gaps upstream and downstream of the shroud cavity which facilitated the periodic ingress and egress of mainstream fluid into the shroud cavity under the influence of the rotor potential field. This process was exacerbated by reductions in the leakage fraction.

Challenges and Opportunities for the Turbine Performance Improvement Through Stator Clocking and Vane Bowing

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoni Smolny ◽  
Jaroslaw R. Blaszczak ◽  
Jan Krysinski ◽  
Tomasz Borzecki
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Secondary Flow ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Secondary Flows ◽  
Flow Structures ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Local Flow ◽  
Low Aspect Ratio ◽  
The Impact

The paper describes experimental and numerical investigations of turbine vane clocking effects on the flow process in a two-stage turbine with low-aspect ratio stators. The data present clocking effects that can be observed both for local flow patterns and external characteristics for the entire machine in terms of efficiency. A low-aspect ratio and high turning create a highly three-dimensional flow that is dominated by secondary flows. The aim was to reduce the impact of the secondary flows by bowing the first stator vanes by means of different vane bending and the stator clocking. Another major objective was to show how wake trajectory features can be applied in a turbine design. The changes in the secondary flow structures of the first stator were performed by leaning and bowing the airfoils to achieve load reduction near end walls. This can lead to a weaker end wall secondary flow structures and lower losses. Bowed blades are nowadays often adopted for high-pressure gas and steam turbines. The results demonstrate that incoming interacting streamwise vortices have a major influence on the secondary flows and loss generation mechanisms of the downstream airfoil rows. Using the clocking concept, the secondary flow structures are forced to interact one with another at different positions of the stators. This procedure reveals the best nature of such interactions and shows the resulting benefits. The data acquired by clocking the upstream cascade can identify the effects of incoming vortices, particularly when they entering the leading edge regions of the downstream cascade airfoil. The results for this test indicate that the size and strength of the secondary flows for the downstream cascade should be lower than those obtained without interaction. It is apparent from these investigations that incoming stream-wise vortices may have a potential effect on the flow distribution for downstream airfoil rows. The first part of the paper presents results of the stator clocking identification for different geometries of the first stator. An introduction of the vane bowing has redesigned the first stator. The cylindrical version and two combinations of the bowed vanes with low and high curvature have been considered for the first stator. The authors have found that modified vanes produce smaller and weaker secondary flow structures. The second part presents experimental and numerical results of the clocking investigations for the above-mentioned versions. The experiments have shown that clocking effects seem to be related to the stator wake and vortex structures which produce low momentum fluid areas. These areas interact with boundary layers or secondary flow regions of the second stator where the fluid momentum is already low. Clocking effects on external flow parameter are analyzed versus the low momentum area trajectories due to the first stator vane bowing. The present work focuses on the structures that are formed downstream as a result of the exit flow field of the upstream stage, and examines the implication for efficiency improvement. This paper therefore deals with an interaction of complex three-dimensional stator-rotor flow structures in the two-stage axial turbine.

Experimental and Numerical Study of Stall Flutter in a Transonic Low-Aspect Ratio Fan Blisk

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Sanders ◽  
K. K. Hassan ◽  
D. C. Rabe
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Fluid Dynamic ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Strain Gages ◽  
Pressure Transducers ◽  
Low Aspect Ratio ◽  
Benchmark Data

Experiments are performed on a modern design transonic shroudless low-aspect ratio fan blisk that experienced both subsonic/transonic and supersonic stall-side flutter. High-response flush mounted miniature pressure transducers are utilized to measure the unsteady aerodynamic loading distribution in the tip region of the fan for both flutter regimes, with strain gages utilized to measure the vibratory response at incipient and deep flutter operating conditions. Numerical simulations are performed and compared with the benchmark data using an unsteady three-dimensional nonlinear viscous computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis, with the effects of tip clearance, vibration amplitude, and the number of time steps-per-cycle investigated. The benchmark data are used to guide the validation of the code and establish best practices that ensure accurate flutter predictions.

The Control of Shroud Leakage Flows to Reduce Aerodynamic Losses in a Low Aspect Ratio, Shrouded Axial Flow Turbine

2000 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Wallis ◽  
J. D. Denton ◽  
A. A. J. Demargne
Keyword(s):  
Aspect Ratio ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Leakage Flow ◽  
Leakage Flows ◽  
Low Aspect Ratio ◽  
Leakage Fraction ◽  
Aerodynamic Losses

The losses generated by fluid leaking across the shrouds of turbine blade rows are known to form a significant proportion of the overall loss generated in low aspect ratio turbines. The use of shrouds to encase the tips of turbine blades has encouraged the development of many innovative sealing arrangements, all of which are intended to reduce the quantity of fluid (the leakage fraction) leaking across the shroud. Modern sealing arrangements have reduced leakage fractions considerably, meaning that further improvements can only be obtained by controlling the leakage flow in such a way so as to minimize the aerodynamic losses incurred by the extraction and re-injection of the leakage flow into the mainstream. There are few published experimental investigations on the interaction between mainstream and leakage flows to provide guidance on the best means of managing the leakage flows to do this. This paper describes the development and testing of a strategy to turn the fluid leaking over shrouded turbine rotor blade rows with the aim of reducing the aerodynamic losses associated with its re-injection into the mainstream flow. The intent was to extract work from the leakage flow in the process. A four stage research turbine was used to test in detail the sealing design resulting from this strategy. A reduction in brake efficiency of 3.5 percent was measured. Further investigation suggested that much of the increase in loss could be attributed to the presence of axial gaps upstream and downstream of the shroud cavity which facilitated the periodic ingress and egress of mainstream fluid into the shroud cavity under the influence of the rotor potential field. This process was exacerbated by reductions in the leakage fraction.

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