Endwall Loss Reduction of High Lift Low Pressure Turbine Airfoils Using Profile Contouring—Part I: Airfoil Design

2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Eric Lyall ◽  
Paul I. King ◽  
John P. Clark ◽  
Rolf Sondergaard
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Loss Reduction ◽  
High Lift ◽  
Linear Cascade ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine ◽  
Turbine Airfoils ◽  
Stagger Angle

This paper presents the reasoning for and the design process of contouring a high lift front-loaded low pressure turbine (LPT) airfoil near the endwall to reduce the endwall loss. The test airfoil, L2F, was designed to the approximate gas angles with 38% larger pitchwise spacing than the widely studied Pack B airfoil. Being more front-loaded with a higher stagger angle, L2F is shown to produce more endwall losses than Pack B. It is suggested that the high endwall loss of L2F is due to the high stagger angle, not front-loading, as usually suggested in the literature. A procedure is presented to approximate the front-loading and stall resistance of L2F and obtain a low stagger version of that airfoil, designated as L2F-LS. A contoured airfoil is then designed by transitioning L2F into L2F-LS at the endwall to obtain a benefit from the reduced stagger angle at the endwall. Due to the contouring process generating a fillet, the contoured airfoil is referred to as L2F-EF (“endwall fillet”). Predictions in this paper suggest endwall loss reductions between 17% and 24% at Re = 100,000. Linear cascade experiments in Part II of this paper indicate that L2F-EF reduces endwall losses more than 20% compared to L2F. The overall conclusion is that the stagger angle has a significant effect on endwall loss and should be considered for designing high lift LPT airfoils at the endwall.

Endwall Loss Reduction of High Lift Low Pressure Turbine Airfoils Using Profile Contouring: Part I — Airfoil Design

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Eric Lyall ◽  
Paul I. King ◽  
John P. Clark ◽  
Rolf Sondergaard
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Loss Reduction ◽  
High Lift ◽  
Linear Cascade ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine ◽  
Turbine Airfoils ◽  
Stagger Angle

This paper presents the reasoning for and the design process of contouring a high lift front-loaded low pressure turbine (LPT) airfoil near the endwall to reduce the endwall loss. The test airfoil, L2F, was designed to the approximate gas angles with 38% larger pitchwise spacing than the widely studied Pack B airfoil. Being more front-loaded with a higher stagger angle, L2F is shown to produce more endwall losses than Pack B. It is suggested that the high endwall loss of L2F is due to the high stagger angle, not front-loading as usually suggested in the literature. A procedure is presented to approximate the front-loading and stall resistance of L2F and obtain a low stagger version of that airfoil, designated L2F-LS. A contoured airfoil is then designed by transitioning L2F into L2F-LS at the endwall to obtain a benefit from the reduced stagger angle at the endwall. The contouring process generates a fillet, so the contoured airfoil is referred to as L2F-EF (“Endwall Fillet”). Predictions in this paper suggest endwall loss reductions between 17% and 24% at Re = 100,000. Linear cascade experiments in Part II [1] of this paper indicate that L2F-EF reduces endwall losses more than 20% compared to L2F. The overall conclusion is that the stagger angle has a significant effect on endwall loss and should be considered for designing high lift LPT airfoils at the endwall.

End Wall Loss Reduction of High Lift Low Pressure Turbine Airfoils Using Profile Contouring—Part II: Validation

2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Sangston ◽  
Jesse Little ◽  
M. Eric Lyall ◽  
Rolf Sondergaard
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry ◽  
Loss Reduction ◽  
High Lift ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine ◽  
Wall Loss ◽  
Wall Flow ◽  
End Wall ◽  
Stagger Angle

The hypothesis, posed in Part I, that excessive end wall loss of high lift low pressure turbine (LPT) airfoils is due to the influence of high stagger angles on the end wall pressure distribution and not front loading is evaluated in a linear cascade at Re = 100,000 using both experimental and computational studies. A nominally high lift and high stagger angle front-loaded profile (L2F) with aspect ratio 3.5 is contoured at the end wall to reduce the stagger angle while maintaining the front loading. The contouring process effectively generates a fillet at the end wall, so the resulting airfoil is referred to as L2F-EF (end wall fillet). Although referred to as a fillet, this profile contouring process is novel in that it is designed to isolate the effect of stagger angle on end wall loss. Total pressure loss measurements downstream of the blade row indicate that the use of the lower stagger angle at the end wall reduces mixed out mass averaged end wall and passage losses approximately 23% and 10%, respectively. This is in good agreement with computational results used to design the contour which predict 18% and 7% loss reductions. The end wall flow field of the L2F and L2F-EF models is measured using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) in the passage. These data are used to quantify changes in the end wall flow field due to the contouring. PIV results show that this loss reduction is characterized by reduced inlet boundary layer separation as well as a change in strength and location of the suction side horseshoe vortex (SHV) and passage vortex (PV). The end wall profile contouring also produces a reduction in all terms of the Reynolds stress tensor consistent with a decrease in deformation work and overall flow unsteadiness. These results confirm that the stagger angle has a significant effect on high-lift front-loaded LPT end wall loss. Low stagger profiling is successful in reducing end wall loss by limiting the development and migration of the low momentum fluid associated with the SHV and PV interaction.

Endwall Loss Reduction of High Lift Low Pressure Turbine Airfoils Using Profile Contouring: Part II — Validation

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Sangston ◽  
Jesse Little ◽  
M. Eric Lyall ◽  
Rolf Sondergaard
Keyword(s):  
Flow Field ◽  
Suction Side ◽  
Boundary Layer Separation ◽  
Horseshoe Vortex ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry ◽  
Loss Reduction ◽  
High Lift ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine ◽  
Stagger Angle

The hypothesis, posed in Part I [1], that excessive endwall loss of high lift low pressure turbine (LPT) airfoils is due to the influence of high stagger angles on the endwall pressure distribution and not front-loading is evaluated in a linear cascade at Re = 100,000 using both experimental and computational studies. A nominally high lift and high stagger angle front-loaded profile (L2F) with aspect ratio 3.5 is contoured at the endwall to reduce the stagger angle while maintaining the front loading. The contouring process effectively generates a fillet at the endwall, so the resulting airfoil is referred to as L2F-EF (Endwall Fillet). Although referred to as a fillet, this profile contouring process is novel in that it is designed to isolate the effect of stagger angle on endwall loss. Total pressure loss measurements downstream of the blade row indicate that the use of the lower stagger angle at the endwall reduces mixed out mass averaged endwall and passage losses approximately 23% and 10% respectively. This is in good agreement with computational results used to design the contour which predict 18% and 7% loss reductions. The endwall flow field of the L2F and L2F-EF models is measured using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) in the passage. These data are used to quantify changes in the endwall flow field due to the contouring. PIV results show that this loss reduction is characterized by reduced inlet boundary layer separation as well as a change in strength and location of the suction side horseshoe vortex (SHV) and passage vortex (PV). The endwall profile contouring also produces a reduction in all terms of the Reynolds stress tensor consistent with a decrease in deformation work and overall flow unsteadiness. These results confirm that the stagger angle has a significant effect on high-lift front-loaded LPT endwall loss. Low stagger profiling is successful in reducing endwall loss by limiting the development and migration of the low momentum fluid associated with the SHV and PV interaction.

Redesign of High-Lift LP-Turbine Airfoils for Low Speed Testing

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele Marconcini ◽  
Filippo Rubechini ◽  
Roberto Pacciani ◽  
Andrea Arnone ◽  
Francesco Bertini
Keyword(s):  
Separated Flow ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
High Lift ◽  
Low Speed ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Flow Configurations ◽  
Artificial Neural Network Ann ◽  
Lp Turbine ◽  
Turbine Airfoils

Low pressure turbine airfoils of the present generation usually operate at subsonic conditions, with exit Mach numbers of about 0.6. To reduce the costs of experimental programs it can be convenient to carry out measurements in low speed tunnels in order to determine the cascades performance. Generally speaking, low speed tests are usually carried out on airfoils with modified shape, in order to compensate for the effects of compressibility. A scaling procedure for high-lift, low pressure turbine airfoils to be studied in low speed conditions is presented and discussed. The proposed procedure is based on the matching of a prescribed blade load distribution between the low speed airfoil and the actual one. Such a requirement is fulfilled via an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) methodology and a detailed parameterization of the airfoil. A RANS solver is used to guide the redesign process. The comparison between high and low speed profiles is carried out, over a wide range of Reynolds numbers, by using a novel three-equation, transition-sensitive, turbulence model. Such a model is based on the coupling of an additional transport equation for the so-called laminar kinetic energy (LKE) with the Wilcox k–ω model and it has proven to be effective for transitional, separated-flow configurations of high-lift cascade flows.

Evaluation of RANS Transition Modeling for High Lift LPT Flows at Low Reynolds Number

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Keadle ◽  
Mark McQuilling
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Total Pressure ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Pressure Coefficient ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
High Lift ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine ◽  
Low Reynolds ◽  
Turbine Airfoils

High lift low pressure turbine airfoils have complex flow features that can require advanced modeling capabilities for accurate flow predictions. These features include separated flows and the transition from laminar to turbulent boundary layers. Recent applications of computational fluid dynamics based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes formulation have included modeling for attached and separated flow transition mechanisms in the form of empirical correlations and two- or three-equation eddy viscosity models. This study uses the three-equation model of Walters and Cokljat [1] to simulate the flow around the Pack B and L2F low pressure turbine airfoils in a two-dimensional cascade arrangement at a Reynolds number of 25,000. This model includes a third equation for the development of pre-transitional laminar kinetic energy (LKE), and is an updated version of the Walters and Leylek [2] model. The aft-loaded Pack B has a nominal Zweifel loading coefficient of 1.13, and the front-loaded L2F has a nominal loading coefficient of 1.59. Results show the updated LKE model improves predicted accuracy of pressure coefficient and velocity profiles over its previous version as well as two-equation RANS models developed for separated and transitional flows. Transition onset behavior also compares favorably with experiment. However, the current model is not found suitable for wake total pressure loss predictions in two-dimensional simulations at extremely low Reynolds numbers due to the predicted coherency of suction side vortices generated in the separated shear layers which cause a local gain in wake total pressure.

Measurements of Secondary Losses in a High-Lift Front-Loaded Turbine Cascade With the Implementation of Non-Axisymmetric Endwall Contouring

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. Knezevici ◽  
S. A. Sjolander ◽  
T. J. Praisner ◽  
E. Allen-Bradley ◽  
E. A. Grover
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Flow ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Test Case ◽  
High Lift ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine ◽  
Baseline Test ◽  
Endwall Contouring ◽  
Turbine Airfoils

This paper is the second in a series from the same authors studying the mitigation of endwall losses using the low-speed linear cascade test facility at Carleton University. The previous paper documented the baseline test case for the study. The current work investigates the secondary flow in a cascade of more highly-loaded low-pressure turbine airfoils with and without the implementation of endwall profiling. This study is novel in two regards. First, the contouring is applied to low-pressure turbine airfoils, whereas studies conducted by other researchers have focused their endwall profiling efforts on the high-pressure turbine. Second, while previous researchers have optimized contouring designs for a given airfoil, the current work demonstrates the potential to open the design space by employing high-lift airfoils in conjunction with endwall contouring. Seven-hole pneumatic probe measurements taken within the blade passage and downstream of the trailing edge track the progression of the secondary flow and losses generated. The contouring divides the vorticity associated with the passage vortex into two weaker vortices, and reduces the secondary kinetic energy. Overall the secondary losses are reduced and the loss reduction is discussed with regards to changes in the flow physics. A detailed breakdown of the mixing losses further demonstrates the benefits of endwall contouring.

Effect of Blade Profile Contouring on Endwall Flow Structure in a High-Lift Low-Pressure Turbine Cascade

2016 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Sangston ◽  
Jesse Little ◽  
M. Eric Lyall ◽  
Rolf Sondergaard
Keyword(s):  
Total Pressure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Low Pressure ◽  
Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry ◽  
Loss Reduction ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
High Lift ◽  
Computational Tools ◽  
Design Modification ◽  
Low Pressure Turbine

Previous work has shown that low-stagger contouring near the endwall of a nominally high-lift and high-stagger angle front-loaded low-pressure turbine (LPT) airfoil is successful in reducing endwall loss by limiting the development and migration of low momentum fluid associated with secondary flow structures. The design modification that leads to loss reduction in that study was determined from an intuitive approach based on the premise that reducing flow separation near the endwall will lead to reduced loss production. Those authors also relied heavily upon Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) based computational tools. Due to uncertainties inherent in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) predictions, there is little confidence that the authors actually achieved true minimum loss. Despite recent advances in computing capability, turbulence modeling remains a shortcoming of modern design tools. As a contribution to overcoming this problem, this paper offers a three-dimensional (3D) view of the developing mean flow, total pressure, and turbulence fields that gave rise to the loss reduction of the airfoil mentioned above. Experiments are conducted in a linear cascade with aspect ratio of 3.5 and Re = 100,000. The results are derived from stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) and total pressure measurements inside the passage. Overall, the loss reduction correlates strongly with reduced turbulence production. The aim of this paper is to provide readers with a realistic view of mean flow and turbulence development that include all the components of the Reynolds stress tensor to assess, at least qualitatively, the validity of high fidelity computational tools used to calculate turbine flows.

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