An Investigation of Turbine Wheelspace Cooling Flow Interactions With a Transonic Hot Gas Path—Part II: CFD Simulations

2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Laskowski ◽  
R. S. Bunker ◽  
J. C. Bailey ◽  
G. Ledezma ◽  
S. Kapetanovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Coolant Flow ◽  
Experimental Program ◽  
Cfd Simulations ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Hot Gas ◽  
Flow Interactions ◽  
Measured Flow

A computational model has been developed to study the mechanisms responsible for hot gas ingestion into the wheel-space cavity of a stationary high pressure turbine (HPT) cascade rig. Simulations were undertaken for the stationary rig described by Bunker et al. (2009, “An Investigation of Turbine Wheelspace Cooling Flow Interactions With a Transonic Hot Gas Path—Part I: Experimental Measurements,” ASME Paper No. GT2009-59237) in a companion paper. The rig consists of five vanes, a wheel-space cavity, and five cylinders that represent the blockage due to the leading edge of the rotor airfoils. The experimental program investigated two cylinder diameters and three clocking positions for a nominal coolant flow rate. Comparisons are made between the computed and measured flow-fields for the smaller of the two cylinders. It is demonstrated that the circumferential variation of pressure established by the vane wake and leading edge bow wave results in an unstable shear layer over the rim seal axial gap (trench) that causes hot gases to ingest for a nominal coolant flow. Steady-state computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations did not capture this effect and it was determined that an unsteady analysis was required in order to match the experimental data. Favorable agreement is noted between the time-averaged computed and measured pressure distributions in the circumferential direction both upstream and downstream of the trench, as well as within the trench itself. Furthermore, it is noted that time-averaged buffer cavity effectiveness agrees to within 5% of the experimental data for the cases studied. The validated CFD model is then used to simulate the effect of rotation by rotating the cylinders and disk at rotational rate that scales with a typical engine. A sliding mesh interface is utilized to communicate data between the stator and rotor domains. The stationary cases tend to ingest past the first angel-wing for a nominal coolant flow condition, whereas the effect of rotation helps pressurize the cavity and is responsible for preventing hot gas from entering the buffer cavity.

An Investigation of Turbine Wheelspace Cooling Flow Interactions With a Transonic Hot Gas Path—Part 2: CFD Simulations

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Laskowski ◽  
R. S. Bunker ◽  
J. C. Bailey ◽  
G. Ledezma ◽  
S. Kapetanovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Coolant Flow ◽  
Experimental Program ◽  
Cfd Simulations ◽  
Hot Gas ◽  
Pressure Distributions ◽  
Flow Interactions ◽  
Measured Flow

A computational model has been developed to study the mechanisms responsible for hot gas ingestion into the wheel-space cavity of a stationary HPT cascade rig. Simulations were undertaken for the stationary rig described by Bunker et al. (2009) in a companion paper. The rig consists of 5 vanes, a wheel-space cavity and 5 cylinders that represent the blockage due to the leading edge of the rotor airfoils. The experimental program investigated two cylinder diameters and three clocking positions for a nominal coolant flow rate. Comparisons are made between the computed and measured flow-field for the smaller of the two cylinders. It is demonstrated that the circumferential variation of pressure established by the vane wake and leading edge bow wave results in an unstable shear layer over the rim seal axial gap (trench) that causes hot gases to ingest for a nominal coolant flow. Steady state CFD simulations did not capture this effect and it was determined that a unsteady analysis was required in order to match the experimental data. Favorable agreement is noted between the time-averaged computed and measured pressure distributions in the circumferential direction both upstream and downstream of the trench, as well as within the trench itself. Furthermore, it is noted that time-averaged buffer cavity effectiveness agrees to within 5% of the experimental data for the cases studied. The validated CFD model is then used to simulate the effect of rotation by rotating the cylinders and disk at rotational rate that scales with a typical engine. A sliding mesh interface is utilized to communicate data between the stator and rotor domains. The stationary cases tend to ingest past the first angel wing for a nominal coolant flow condition the effect of rotation helps pressurize the cavity and is responsible for preventing hot gas from entering the buffer cavity.

Numerical and Experimental Study of the Performance Effects of Varying Vaneless Space and Vane Solidity in Radial Turbine Stators

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. Simpson ◽  
S. W. T. Spence ◽  
J. K. Watterson
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Models ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Experimental Program ◽  
Cfd Simulations ◽  
Static Pressure Distribution ◽  
Flow Capacity ◽  
Radial Turbine ◽  
Performance Effects ◽  
Stator Vane ◽  
Design Software

An extensive experimental program has been carried out on a 135 mm tip diameter radial turbine using a variety of stator designs, in order to facilitate direct performance comparisons of varying stator vane solidity and the effect of varying the vaneless space. A baseline vaned stator was designed using commercial blade design software, having 15 vanes and a vane trailing edge to rotor leading edge radius ratio (Rte/rle) of 1.13. Two additional series of stator vanes were designed and manufactured; one series having varying vane numbers of 12, 18, 24, and 30, and a further series with Rte/rle ratios of 1.05, 1.175, 1.20, and 1.25. As part of the design process a series of CFD simulations were carried out in order to guide design iterations towards achieving a matched flow capacity for each stator. In this way the variations in the measured stage efficiency could be attributed to the stator passages only, thus allowing direct comparisons to be made. Interstage measurements were taken to capture the static pressure distribution at the rotor inlet and these measurements were then used to validate subsequent numerical models. The overall losses for different stators have been quantified and the variations in the measured and computed efficiency were used to recommend optimum values of vane solidity and Rte/rle.

scholarly journals Modeling Film-Coolant Flow Characteristics at the Exit of Shower-Head Holes

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijay K. Garg
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Experimental Data ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Film Cooling ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Flow Characteristics ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Coolant Flow ◽  
The Heat Transfer Coefficient

Abstract The coolant flow characteristics at the hole exits of a film-cooled blade are derived from an earlier analysis where the hole pipes and coolant plenum were also discretized. The blade chosen is the VKI rotor with three staggered rows of shower-head holes. The present analysis applies these flow characteristics at the shower-head hole exits. A multi-block three-dimensional Navier-Stokes code with Wilcox’s k-ω model is used to compute the heat transfer coefficient on the film-cooled turbine blade. A reasonably good comparison with the experimental data as well as with the more complete earlier analysis where the hole pipes and coolant plenum were also gridded is obtained. If the 1/7th power law is assumed for the coolant flow characteristics at the hole exits, considerable differences in the heat transfer coefficient on the blade surface, specially in the leading-edge region, are observed even though the span-averaged values of h match well with the experimental data. This calls for span-resolved experimental data near film-cooling holes on a blade for better validation of the code.

Influence of Film Cooling Unsteadiness on Turbine Blade Leading Edge Heat Flux

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Rutledge ◽  
Paul I. King ◽  
Richard B. Rivir
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Turbine Blade ◽  
Film Cooling ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Coolant Flow ◽  
Adiabatic Wall ◽  
Stagnation Line ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
Cooling Flow

Film cooling in the hot gas path of a gas turbine engine can protect components from the high temperature main flow, but it generally increases the heat transfer coefficient h partially offsetting the benefits in reduced adiabatic wall temperature. We are thus interested in adiabatic effectiveness η and h which are combined in a formulation called net heat flux reduction (NHFR). Unsteadiness in coolant flow may arise due to inherent unsteadiness in the external flow or be intentionally introduced for flow control. In previous work it has been suggested that pulsed cooling flow may, in fact, offer benefits over steady blowing in either improving NHFR or reducing the mass flow requirements for matched NHFR. In this paper we examine this hypothesis for a range of steady and pulsed blowing conditions. We use a new experimental technique to analyze unsteady film cooling on a semicircular cylinder simulating the leading edge of a turbine blade. The average NHFR with pulsed and steady film cooling is measured and compared for a single coolant hole located 21.5° downstream from the leading edge stagnation line, angled 20° to the surface and 90° to the streamwise direction. We show that for moderate blowing ratios at blade passing frequencies, steady film flow yields better NHFR. At higher coolant flow rates beyond the optimum steady blowing ratio, however, pulsed film cooling can be advantageous. We present and demonstrate a prediction technique for unsteady blowing at frequencies similar to the blade passing frequency that only requires the knowledge of steady flow behavior. With this important result, it is possible to predict when pulsing would be beneficial or detrimental.

The Prediction of Flow Through Leading Edge Holes in a Film Cooled Airfoil With and Without Inserts

1985 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. S. Tillman ◽  
E. O. Hartel ◽  
H. F. Jen
Keyword(s):  
Leading Edge ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Cooling Flow ◽  
Internal Loss ◽  
Measured Flow ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Loss Coefficients ◽  
Cooling Air Flow ◽  
Cooling Air ◽  
Good Agreement

A method for predicting cooling air flow rates using tests on cylindrical models of typical turbine blade leading edges has been extended to include blades with inserts and blades with reversed-angled holes. When an insert is used, the pressure loss across the insert can be determined from flow tests and added to other losses in the flow path to determine cooling flow rates. Calculated and experimentally determined flow rates are compared with good agreement. The second experiment was performed to determine internal loss coefficients for reverse-angled holes oriented so the flow makes a reverse turn to enter the holes. The reversed flow case produced significantly greater internal loss coefficients than when the same holes were oriented in the direction of flow. These results were used to predict flow from arrays of reverse- angled holes and from a cylinder containing both reverse-angled holes and nonreversed holes. In all cases, good agreement was found between predicted and measured flow rates.

Numerical and Experimental Study of the Performance Effects of Varying Vaneless Space and Vane Solidity in Radial Inflow Turbine Stators

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alister Simpson ◽  
Stephen Spence ◽  
John Watterson
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Models ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Experimental Program ◽  
Cfd Simulations ◽  
Static Pressure Distribution ◽  
Flow Capacity ◽  
Performance Effects ◽  
Stator Vane ◽  
Design Software ◽  
Stage Efficiency

An extensive experimental program has been carried out on a 135 mm tip diameter radial turbine using a variety of stator designs, so as to facilitate direct performance comparisons of varying stator vane solidity and the effect of varying the vane-less space. A baseline nozzle was designed using commercial blade design software, having 15 vanes and a vane trailing edge to rotor leading edge radius ratio (Rte/rle) of 1.13. Two additional sets were designed and manufactured; one set having varying vane numbers of 12, 18, 24 and 30, and a further set with Rte/rle ratios of 1.05, 1.175, 1.20 and 1.25. As part of the design process a series of CFD simulations were carried out in order to guide design iterations towards achieving a matched flow capacity for each stator. In this way the variations in measured stage efficiency could be attributed to the stator passages only, thus allowing direct comparisons to be made. Inter-stage measurements were taken to capture the static pressure distribution at rotor inlet, and these measurements then used to validate subsequent numerical models. The overall losses for different stators have been quantified, and the variations in measured and computed efficiency used to recommend optimum values of vane solidity and Rte/rle.

Validation of CATHARE V2.5 Thermal-Hydraulic Code Against Full-Scale PERSEO Tests for Decay Heat Removal in LWRs

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomino Bandini ◽  
Paride Meloni ◽  
Massimiliano Polidori ◽  
Calogera Lombardo
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Heat Removal ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Experimental Program ◽  
Decay Heat ◽  
The Past ◽  
Reserve Pool ◽  
Large Water ◽  
Safety Systems

The PERSEO experimental program was performed in the framework of a domestic research program on innovative safety systems with the purpose to increase the reliability of passive decay heat removal systems implementing in-pool heat exchangers. The conceived system was tested at SIET laboratories by modifying the existing PANTHERS IC-PCC facility utilized in the past for testing a full scale module of the GE-SBWR in-pool heat exchanger. Integral tests and stability tests were conducted to verify the operating principles, the steadiness and the effectiveness of the system. Two of the more representative tests have been analyzed with CATHARE V2.5 for code validation purposes. The paper deals with the comparison of code results against experimental data. The capabilities and the limits of the code in simulating such kind of tests are highlighted. An improvement in the modeling of the large water reserve pool is suggested trying to reduce the discrepancies observed between code results and test measurements.

Effects of Multiple Impacts and Size Distribution of Particles on Erosion Predictions Using CFD

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongli Zhang ◽  
Brenton S. McLaury ◽  
Siamack A. Shirzai
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Particle Size ◽  
Particle Size Distribution ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Target Material ◽  
Average Particle ◽  
Multiple Impacts ◽  
Cfd Simulations ◽  
Erosion Damage ◽  
Wide Range

Erosion equations are usually obtained from experiments by impacting solid particles entrained in a gas or liquid on a target material. The erosion equations are utilized in CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) models to predict erosion damage caused by solid particle impingements. Many erosion equations are provided in terms of an erosion ratio. By definition, the erosion ratio is the mass loss of target material divided by the mass of impacting particles. The mass of impacting particles is the summation of (particle mass × number of impacts) of each particle. In erosion experiments conducted to determine erosion equations, some particles may impact the target wall many times and some other particles may not impact the target at all. Therefore, the experimental data may not reflect the actual erosion ratio because the mass of the sand that is used to run the experiments is assumed to be the mass of the impacting particles. CFD and particle trajectory simulations are applied in the present work to study effects of multiple impacts on developing erosion ratio equations. The erosion equation as well as the CFD-based erosion modeling procedure is validated against a variety of experimental data. The results show that the effect of multiple impacts is negligible in air cases. In water cases, however, this effect needs to be accounted for especially for small particles. This makes it impractical to develop erosion ratio equations from experimental data obtained for tests with sand in water or dense gases. Many factors affecting erosion damage are accounted for in various erosion equations. In addition to some well-studied parameters such as particle impacting speed and impacting angle, particle size also plays a significant role in the erosion process. An average particle size is usually used in analyzing experimental data or estimating erosion damage cases of practical interest. In petroleum production applications, however, the size of sand particles that are entrained in produced fluids can vary over a fairly broad range. CFD simulations are also performed to study the effect of particle size distribution. In CFD simulations, particle sizes are normally distributed with the mean equaling the average size of interest and the standard deviation varying over a wide range. Based on CFD simulations, an equation is developed and can be applied to account for the effect of the particle size distribution on erosion prediction for gases and liquids.

Effect of Outer Fin Axial Gap on the Sealing Effectiveness and Fluid Dynamics of Radial Rim Seal

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhigang Li ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Liming Song ◽  
Qing Gao ◽  
Xin Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Numerical Approach ◽  
Coolant Flow ◽  
Coolant Flow Rate ◽  
Navier Stokes ◽  
Hot Gas

The modern gas turbine is widely applied in the aviation propulsion and power generation. The rim seal is usually designed at the periphery of the wheel-space and prevented the hot gas ingestion in modern gas turbines. The high sealing effectiveness of rim seal can improve the aerodynamic performance of gas turbines and avoid of the disc overheating. Effect of outer fin axial gap of radial rim seal on the sealing effectiveness and fluid dynamics was numerically investigated in this work. The sealing effectiveness and fluid dynamics of radial rim seal with three different outer fin axial gaps was conducted at different coolant flow rates using three-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and SST turbulent model solutions. The accuracy of the presented numerical approach for the prediction of the sealing performance of the turbine rim seal was demonstrated. The obtained results show that the sealing effectiveness of radial rim seal increases with increase of coolant flow rate at the fixed axial outer fin gap. The sealing effectiveness increases with decrease of the axial outer fin gap at the fixed coolant flow rate. Furthermore, at the fixed coolant flow rate, the hot gas ingestion increases with the increase of the axial outer fin gap. This flow behavior intensifies the interaction between the hot gas and coolant flow at the clearance of radial rim seal. The preswirl coefficient in the wheel-space cavity is also illustrated to analyze the flow dynamics of radial rim seal at different axial outer fin gaps.

Comparison of 3D Unsteady Transient Conjugate Heat Transfer Analysis on a High Pressure Cooled Turbine Stage With Experimental Data

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Shang Liu ◽  
Mark C. Morris ◽  
Malak F. Malak ◽  
Randall M. Mathison ◽  
Michael G. Dunn
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Experimental Data ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
High Pressure ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Conjugate Heat Transfer ◽  
Turbine Rotor ◽  
Turbine Stage ◽  
Cooling Flow

In order to have higher power to weight ratio and higher efficiency gas turbine engines, turbine inlet temperatures continue to rise. State-of-the-art turbine inlet temperatures now exceed the turbine rotor material capability. Accordingly, one of the best methods to protect turbine airfoil surfaces is to use film cooling on the airfoil external surfaces. In general, sizable amounts of expensive cooling flow delivered from the core compressor are used to cool the high temperature surfaces. That sizable cooling flow, on the order of 20% of the compressor core flow, adversely impacts the overall engine performance and hence the engine power density. With better understanding of the cooling flow and accurate prediction of the heat transfer distribution on airfoil surfaces, heat transfer designers can have a more efficient design to reduce the cooling flow needed for high temperature components and improve turbine efficiency. This in turn lowers the overall specific fuel consumption (SFC) for the engine. Accurate prediction of rotor metal temperature is also critical for calculations of cyclic thermal stress, oxidation, and component life. The utilization of three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (3D CFD) codes for turbomachinery aerodynamic design and analysis is now a routine practice in the gas turbine industry. The accurate heat-transfer and metal-temperature prediction capability of any CFD code, however, remains challenging. This difficulty is primarily due to the complex flow environment of the high-pressure turbine, which features high speed rotating flow, coupling of internal and external unsteady flows, and film-cooled, heat transfer enhancement schemes. In this study, conjugate heat transfer (CHT) simulations are performed on a high-pressure cooled turbine stage, and the heat flux results at mid span are compared to experimental data obtained at The Ohio State University Gas Turbine Laboratory (OSUGTL). Due to the large difference in time scales between fluid and solid, the fluid domain is simulated as steady state while the solid domain is simulated as transient in CHT simulation. This paper compares the unsteady and transient results of the heat flux on a high-pressure cooled turbine rotor with measurements obtained at OSUGTL.

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