Identification of Spinning Mode in the Unsteady Flow Field of a Low Pressure Turbine

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Lengani ◽  
Berardo Paradiso ◽  
Andreas Marn ◽  
Emil Göttlich

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the vane-blade unsteady interaction in an unshrouded low pressure (LP) turbine research rig with uneven blade/vane count (72 blades and 96 vanes). The rig was designed in cooperation with MTU Aero Engines and considerable efforts were put on the adjustment of all relevant model parameters. In particular blade count ratio, airfoil aspect ratio, reduced mass flow, reduced speed, and Mach and Reynolds numbers were chosen to reproduce the full scale LP turbine at take off condition. Measurements by means of a fast-response pressure probe were performed adopting a phase-locked acquisition technique in order to provide the time resolved flow field downstream of the turbine rotor. The probe has been fully traversed both in circumferential and radial traverses. The rotor exit is characterized by strong perturbations due to the tip leakage vortex and the rotor blade wake. Circumferential nonuniformities due to the upstream vane wake and to the downstream exit guide vane potential effects are also identified. Furthermore, in the present configuration with an uneven blade/vane count the nonuniformities due to the stator and rotor row are misaligned along the whole turbine circumference and create a spinning mode that rotates in direction opposite to the rotor at a high frequency. The aeroacoustic theory is employed to explain such further unsteady pattern. The variations of the exit flow angle within a cycle of such pattern are not negligible and almost comparable to the ones within the blade passing period.

Author(s):  
Davide Lengani ◽  
Berardo Paradiso ◽  
Andreas Marn ◽  
Emil Go¨ttlich

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the vane-blade unsteady interaction in an unshrouded LP turbine research rig with uneven blade/vane count (72 blades and 96 vanes). The rig was designed in cooperation with MTU Aero Engines and considerable efforts were put on the adjustment of all relevant model parameters. In particular blade count ratio, airfoil aspect ratio, reduced massflow, reduced speed, Mach and Reynolds numbers were chosen to reproduce the full scale LP turbine at take off condition. Measurements by means of a fast-response pressure probe were performed adopting a phase-locked acquisition technique in order to provide the time resolved flow field downstream of the turbine rotor. The probe has been fully traversed both in circumferential and radial traverses. The rotor exit is characterized by strong perturbations due to the tip leakage vortex and the rotor blade wake. Circumferential non uniformities due to the upstream vane wake and to the downstream exit guide vane potential effects are also identified. Furthermore in the present configuration with an uneven blade/vane count the non-uniformities due to the stator and rotor row are misaligned along the whole turbine circumference and create a spinning mode that rotates in direction opposite to the rotor at a high frequency. The aeroacoustic theory is employed to explain such further unsteady pattern. The variations of the exit flow angle within a cycle of such pattern are not negligible and almost comparable to the ones within the blade passing period.


2009 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Schennach ◽  
J. Woisetschläger ◽  
B. Paradiso ◽  
G. Persico ◽  
P. Gaetani

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the flow field in a high-pressure transonic turbine with a downstream vane row (1.5 stage machine) concerning the airfoil indexing. The objective is a detailed analysis of the three-dimensional aerodynamics of the second vane for different clocking positions. To give an overview of the time-averaged flow field, five-hole probe measurements were performed upstream and downstream of the second stator. Furthermore in these planes additional unsteady measurements were carried out with laser Doppler velocimetry in order to record rotor phase-resolved velocity, flow angle, and turbulence distributions at two different clocking positions. In the planes upstream of the second vane, the time-resolved pressure field has been measured by means of a fast response aerodynamic pressure probe. This paper shows that the secondary flows of the second vane are significantly modified by the different clocking positions, in connection with the first vane modulation of the rotor secondary flows. An analysis of the performance of the second vane is also carried out, and a 0.6% variation in the second vane loss coefficient has been recorded among the different clocking positions.


Author(s):  
J. Sans ◽  
G. Dell’Era ◽  
J. Desset ◽  
J.-F. Brouckaert ◽  
S. Hiernaux

The experimental investigation of the unsteady flow field in a highly loaded single stage low pressure axial compressor, also called a booster, is presented in this paper. The compressor design is representative of an advanced direct drive turbofan booster. Tests were performed on different speed lines at choke, design, and near stall, in the VKI-R4 closed loop compressor test rig. The rotor casing was instrumented with fast response pressure transducers to perform a detailed survey of the tip flow features. Simultaneous time-resolved measurements with fast response aerodynamic pressure probes were performed by radial and circumferential traverses to map the unsteady flow field at rotor and stator exit. The originality of this paper also resides in the fact that unsteady flow angle data are presented as the probe was used in a virtual 3-hole mode. The casing measurements allow to map the direction and extension of the tip leakage vortex. The flow path measurements show its extension at the exit of the rotor blade passage and its evolution as throttling is increased towards the compressor stability limit. The results are presented in terms of periodic and random fluctuations. These experimental results are combined to provide a three-dimensional view of the experimental flow field. They are discussed and compared to CFD simulations, showing that, in some regions, important features are not captured by the numerical model. In particular, the presence of a second wake has been observed in the unsteady yaw angle map at rotor exit. This uncommon feature is currently under further investigation.


Author(s):  
Davide Lengani ◽  
Cornelia Santner ◽  
Rosario Spataro ◽  
Berardo Paradiso ◽  
Emil Göttlich

The paper presents an experimental investigation of the unsteady flow field in the two-spool counter-rotating transonic turbine at Graz University of Technology. The test setup consists of a high pressure (HP) stage, a diffusing mid turbine frame with turning struts (TMTF) and a shrouded low pressure (LP) rotor. The two rotors are mounted on mechanically independent shafts in order to provide engine-representative operating conditions. The rig was designed in cooperation with MTU Aero Engines and Volvo Aero within the EU project DREAM (ValiDation of Radical Engine Architecture SysteMs). A two-sensor fast response aerodynamic pressure probe (2S-FRAP) has been employed to provide time-resolved aerodynamic area traverses downstream of the LP turbine. Such measurement allows estimating the total deterministic unsteadiness transported through the duct. In particular, it has been possible to isolate the structures induced by each rotor by means of the encoders mounted on the two shafts. A global ensemble averaged field, which takes into account the rotor-rotor interactions, is also provided. The time resolved distributions of the flow quantities are then discussed in details. The perturbations due to the HP rotor in terms of velocity and flow angle are negligible in this downstream plane. Indeed, the largest fluctuations of velocity are due to the TMTF-LP rotor interaction, they occur in the wake and secondary flows of the TMTF. Large fluctuations of static and total pressure are instead due to both rotors to the same extent.


Author(s):  
Julien Clinckemaillie ◽  
Tony Arts

This paper aims at evaluating the characteristics of the wakes periodically shed by the rotating bars of a spoked-wheel type wake generator installed upstream of a high-speed low Reynolds linear low-pressure turbine blade cascade. Due to the very high bar passing frequency obtained with the rotating wake generator (fbar = 2.4−5.6 kHz), a fast-response pressure probe equipped with a single 350 mbar absolute Kulite sensor has been used. In order to measure the inlet flow angle fluctuations, an angular aerodynamic calibration of the probe allowed the use of the virtual three-hole mode; additionally, yielding yaw corrected periodic total pressure, static pressure and Mach number fluctuations. The results are presented for four bar passing frequencies (fbar = 2.4/3.2/4.6/5.6 kHz), each tested at three isentropic inlet Mach numbers M1,is = 0.26/0.34/0.41 and for Reynolds numbers varying between Re1,is = 40,000 and 58,000, thus covering a wide range of engine representative flow coefficients (ϕ = 0.44−1.60). The measured wake characteristics show fairly good agreement with the theory of fixed cylinders in a cross-flow and the evaluated total pressure losses and flow angle variations generated by the rotating bars show fairly good agreement with theoretical results obtained from a control volume analysis.


Author(s):  
Thorsten Selic ◽  
Davide Lengani ◽  
Andreas Marn ◽  
Franz Heitmeir

This paper presents the effects of an unshrouded low pressure turbine (LPT) onto the following exit guide vane row (EGV). The measurement results were obtained in the subsonic test turbine facility at Graz University of Technology by means of a fast response pressure probe in planes downstream of the rotor as well as oil flow visualisation. The test rig was designed in cooperation with MTU Aero Engines and represents the last 1.5 stages of a commercial aero engine. Considerable efforts were put into the adjustment of all relevant model parameters to reproduce the full scale LPT situation. Different tip clearances were evaluated by means of CFD obtained using a commercial Navier-Stokes code and validated with experimental results. The goal is to evaluate the effect of the varying leakage flow on the flow in the low aspect ratio EGV. Special attention is given to the impact on the development of secondary flows as well as the flow structures downstream of the EGV. The effect of the leakage flow causes a change of the flow structure of the EGV, particularly losses. Considering the largest investigated tip-clearance, the losses increased by 71% when compared to a zero-leakage case.


Author(s):  
O. Schennach ◽  
J. Woisetschla¨ger ◽  
A. Fuchs ◽  
E. Go¨ttlich ◽  
A. Marn ◽  
...  

The current paper presents experimental clocking investigations of the flow field in midspan in a high-pressure transonic turbine with a downstream vane row (1.5 stage machine). Laser-Doppler-Velocimetry measurements were carried out in order to record rotor phase resolved velocity, flow angle and turbulence distributions upstream and downstream of the second vane row at several different vane-vane positions. Additionally, a fast response aerodynamic pressure probe was used to get the total pressure distribution downstream of the second vane row for the same positions. Altogether, the measurements were performed for ten different 1st vane to 2nd vane positions (clocking positions) for measurements downstream of the 2nd vane row and two different clocking positions for measurements upstream of the 2nd vane row. The paper shows that different clocking positions have a significant influence on the flow field downstream of the 2nd vane row. Furthermore different measurement lines upstream of the 2nd vane row indicate that clocking has nearly no influence on the flow field close to the rotor exit.


Author(s):  
O. Schennach ◽  
B. Paradiso ◽  
G. Persico ◽  
P. Gaetani ◽  
J. Woisetschla¨ger

The paper presents an experimental investigation of the flow field in a high-pressure transonic turbine with a downstream vane row (1.5 stage machine) concerning the airfoil indexing. The objective is a detailed analysis of the three dimensional flow field downstream of the high pressure turbine for different vane clocking positions. To give an overview of the time averaged flow field, measurements by means of a pneumatic five hole probe were performed upstream and downstream of the second stator. Furthermore in this planes additional unsteady measurements were carried out with Laser Doppler Velocimetry in order to record rotor phase resolved velocity, flow angle and turbulence distributions at two different clocking positions. In the measurement plane upstream the second vane the time resolved pressure field has been analyzed by means of a Fast Response Aerodynamic Pressure Probe. The paper shows that the secondary flows of the second vane are significantly modified for different clocking positions, in connection with the first vane modulation of the rotor secondary flows. An analysis of the performance of the second vane is also carried out.


Author(s):  
Ken-ichi Funazaki ◽  
Nobuaki Tetsuka ◽  
Tadashi Tanuma

This paper, Part II of the study on wake-passing effect upon the aerodynamic performance of the turbine cascade, demonstrates the detailed measurements of the time-varying flow field downstream of the turbine cascade as well as of the moving bars. The experiment employs a single hot-wire probe to measure pitchwise distributions of the ensemble-averaged velocity at the blade midspan. The resultant data consequently provide clear images of the incident bar wakes that are bowed and directed to the suction side of the blade wake. A custom-made total pressure probe, instrumented with a miniature fast-response pressure transducer, are also adopted to understand time-resolved feature of the wake-affected stagnation pressure fields downstream of the cascade. Furthermore, a decay process of the bar wake through the test cascade is examined in detail, which serves for the discussion related to wake recovery and its impact on the stage loss.


Author(s):  
P. Schuepbach ◽  
R. S. Abhari ◽  
M. G. Rose ◽  
T. Germain ◽  
I. Raab ◽  
...  

This paper is the second part of a two part paper that reports on the improvement of efficiency of a one-and-half stage high work axial flow turbine. The first part covered the design of the endwall profiling as well as a comparison with steady probe data, this part covers the analysis of the time-resolved flow physics. The focus is on the time-resolved flow physics that lead to a total-to-total stage efficiency improvement of Δηtt = 1.0% ± 0.4%. The investigated geometry is a model of a high work (Δh/U2 = 2.36), axial shroudless HP turbine. The time-resolved measurements have been acquired upstream and downstream of the rotor using a Fast Response Aerodynamic Probe (FRAP). The paper contains a detailed analysis of the secondary flow field that is changed between the axisymmetric and the non-axisymmetric endwall profiling cases. The flowfield at exit of the first stator is improved considerably due to non-axisymmetric endwall profiling and results in reduced secondary flow and a reduction of loss at both hub and tip, as well as a reduced trailing shed vorticity. The rotor has reduced losses and a reduction of secondary flows mainly at the hub. At the rotor exit the flow field with non-axisymmetric endwalls is more homogenous due to the reduction of secondary flows in the two rows upstream of the measurement plane. This confirms that non-axisymmetric endwall profiling is an effective tool for reducing secondary losses in axial turbines. Using a frozen flow assumption the time-resolved data is used to estimate the axial velocity gradients, which are then used to evaluate the streamwise vorticity and dissipation. The non-axisymmetric endwall profiling of the first nozzle guide vane show reductions of dissipation and streamwise vorticity due to reduced trailing shed vorticity. This smaller vorticity explains the reduction of loss at mid-span, which is shown in the first part of the two part paper. This leads to the conclusion that non-axisymmetric endwall profiling also has the potential of reducing trailing shed vorticity.


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