Investigation of Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Over Pocket Cavity in the Rear Part of Gas Turbine

Author(s):  
Jian Liu ◽  
Chenglong Wang ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Gongnan Xie ◽  
Martin Andersson ◽  
...  

The pocket cavity is generated at the transition part between the low pressure turbine (LPT) and outlet guide vane (OGV) in a gas turbine engine. Because the important connection with OGV, the heat transfer and fluid flow need to be investigated and analyzed. In the present work, a simplified triangular pocket cavity is built and heat transfer and fluid flow are investigated experimentally and numerically. Liquid Crystal Thermography (LCT) is employed to measure the heat transfer over the pocket surface with Reynolds number ranging from 54,054 to 135,135. In addition, two fillets with different radii are designed to investigate the flow structures over the pocket surface. The turbulent flow details are provided by numerically calculations based on the commercial software Fluent 15.0 with a validated turbulence model. Based on the results, the highest heat transfer value is located in the downstream boundary of the pocket cavity where the strongest flow impingement happens. The smaller fillet radius presents a higher heat transfer peak value and also induces stronger recirculating flow inside the pocket cavity. Considering the design requirement in the rear part of a gas turbine, i.e., to decrease the heat transfer peak value, a larger fillet radius is recommended for practical design. The heat transfer and flow details also provide a reliable reference for gas turbine engine design.

Author(s):  
Jian Liu ◽  
Safeer Hussain ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Gongnan Xie ◽  
Bengt Sundén ◽  
...  

A pocket cavity is generated at the connection of two parts, such as the transition part between the low pressure turbine (LPT) and outlet guide vane (OGV) in a gas turbine engine. A bluff body, working as a heat transfer enhancement part or supporting strength part, has tremendous engineering applications in turbomachinery. In the present work, the effect of the pocket on the heat transfer of endwall with a bluff body in the rear part of gas turbine is investigated. A simplified triangular pocket cavity is built in a rectangular channel and two bluff bodies, a cylinder or a cuboid is attached downstream on the endwall. The heat transfer and fluid flow on the endwall are investigated experimentally and numerically. Liquid Crystal Thermography (LCT) is employed to measure the heat transfer over the pocket surface with Reynolds number ranging from 87,597, to 218,994. The turbulent flow details are provided by numerically calculations based on the commercial software Fluent 17.0. Based on the results, high heat transfer areas are usually found at the boundary of the pocket cavity and vortex street shedding regions around the bluff body. When a pocket cavity is placed in the upstream of a bluff body, the endwall heat transfer around the bluff body is obviously decreased due to the disturbance by the pocket. There are no recirculating flows in front of the tested cylinder while this is not applicable for the cuboid case. The recirculating flow behind the bluff bodies forms a three-dimensional flow structure rotating in two directions.


Author(s):  
Godwin Ita Ekong ◽  
Christopher A. Long ◽  
Peter R. N. Childs

Compressor tip clearance for a gas turbine engine application is the radial gap between the stationary compressor casing and the rotating blades. The gap varies significantly during different operating conditions of the engine due to centrifugal forces on the rotor and differential thermal expansions in the discs and casing. The tip clearance in the axial flow compressor of modern commercial civil aero-engines is of significance in terms of both mechanical integrity and performance. In general, the clearance is of critical importance to civil airline operators and their customers alike because as the clearance between the compressor blade tips and the casing increases, the aerodynamic efficiency will decrease and therefore the specific fuel consumption and operating costs will increase. This paper reports on the development of a range of concepts and their evaluation for the reduction and control of tip clearance in H.P. compressors using an enhanced heat transfer coefficient approach. This would lead to improvement in cruise tip clearances. A test facility has been developed for the study at the University of Sussex, incorporating a rotor and an inner shaft scaled down from a Rolls-Royce Trent aero-engine to a ratio of 0.7:1 with a rotational speed of up to 10000 rpm. The idle and maximum take-off conditions in the square cycle correspond to in-cavity rotational Reynolds numbers of 3.1×106 ≤ Reφ ≤ 1.0×107. The project involved modelling of the experimental facilities, to demonstrate proof of concept. The analysis shows that increasing the thermal response of the high pressure compressor (HPC) drum of a gas turbine engine assembly will reduce the drum time constant, thereby reducing the re-slam characteristics of the drum causing a reduction in the cold build clearance (CBC), and hence the reduction in cruise clearance. A further reduction can be achieved by introducing radial inflow into the drum cavity to further increase the disc heat transfer coefficient in the cavity; hence a further reduction in disc drum time constant.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Illia Petukhov ◽  
Taras Mykhailenko ◽  
Oleksii Lysytsia ◽  
Artem Kovalov

Abstract A clear understanding of the heat transfer processes in a gas turbine engine bearing chamber at the design stage makes it possible to properly design the lubrication and sealing systems and ensure the future bearing safe operation. The heat transfer coefficient (HTC) calculated based on the classical Newton-Richman equation is widely used to represent the heat transfer data and useful for the thermal resistance analysis. However, this approach is only formally applicable in the case of a two-phase medium. While there is a need to model a two-phase medium, setting the flow core temperature correctly in the Newton-Richman equation is an issue that is analyzed in this study. The heat from the flow core is transferred to the boundary of the oil film on the bearing chamber walls by an adjacent air and precipitating droplets. The analysis showed that droplet deposition plays a decisive role in this process and significantly intensifies the heat transfer. The main contribution to the thermal resistance of internal heat transfer is provided by the oil film. In this regard, the study considers the issues of the bearing chamber workflow modeling allowing to determine the hydrodynamic parameters of the oil film taking into account air and oil flow rates and shaft revolutions. The study also considers a possibility to apply the thermohydraulic analogy methods for the oil film thermal resistance determination. The study presents practical recommendations for process modeling in the bearing chamber.


Author(s):  
G. Paniagua ◽  
C. H. Sieverding ◽  
T. Arts

Advances in turbine-based engine efficiency and reliability are achieved through better knowledge of the mechanical interaction with the flow. The life-limiting component of a modern gas turbine engine is the high-pressure (HP) turbine stage due to the arduous environment. For the same reason, real gas turbine engine operation prevents fundamental research. Various types of experimental approaches have been developed to study the flow and in particular the heat transfer, cooling, materials, aero-elastic issues and forced response in turbines. Over the last 30 years short duration facilities have dominated the research in the study of turbine heat transfer and cooling. Two decades after the development of the von Karman Institute compression tube facility (built in the 90s), one could reconsider the design choices in view of the modern technology in compression, heating, control and electronics. The present paper provides first the history of the development and then how the wind tunnel is operated. Additionally the paper disseminates the experience and best practices in specifically designed measurement techniques to both experimentalists and experts in data processing. The final section overviews the turbine research capabilities, providing details on the required upgrades to the test section.


2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bennett M. Staton ◽  
Brian T. Bohan ◽  
Marc D. Polanka ◽  
Larry P. Goss

Abstract A disk-oriented engine was designed to reduce the overall length of a gas turbine engine, combining a single-stage centrifugal compressor and radial in-flow turbine (RIT) in a back-to-back configuration. The focus of this research was to understand how this unique flow path impacted the combustion process. Computational analysis was accomplished to determine the feasibility of reducing the axial length of a gas turbine engine utilizing circumferential combustion. The desire was to maintain circumferential swirl from the compressor through a U-bend combustion path. The U-bend reverses the outboard flow from the compressor into an integrated turbine guide vane in preparation for power extraction by the RIT. The computational targets for this design were a turbine inlet temperature of 1300 K, operating with a 3% total pressure drop across the combustor, and a turbine inlet pattern factor (PF) of 0.24 to produce a cycle capable of creating 668 N of thrust. By wrapping the combustion chamber about the circumference of the turbomachinery, the axial length of the entire engine was reduced. Reallocating the combustor volume from the axial to radial orientation reduced the overall length of the system up to 40%, improving the mobility and modularity of gas turbine power in specific applications. This reduction in axial length could be applied to electric power generation for both ground power and airborne distributive electric propulsion. Computational results were further compared to experimental velocity measurements on custom fuel–air swirl injectors at mass flow conditions representative of 668 N of thrust, providing qualitative and quantitative insight into the stability of the flame anchoring system. From this design, a full-scale physical model of the disk-oriented engine was designed for combustion analysis.


Author(s):  
Arash Farahani ◽  
Peter Childs

Strip seals are commonly used to prevent or limit leakage flows between nozzle guide vanes (NGV) and other gas turbine engine components that are assembled from individual segments. Leakage flow across, for example, a nozzle guide vane platform, leads to increased demands on the gas turbine engine internal flow system and a rise in specific fuel consumption (SFC). Careful attention to the flow characteristics of strip seals is therefore necessary. The very tight tolerances associated with strip seals provides a particular challenge to their characterisation. This paper reports the validation of CFD modelling for the case of a strip seal under very carefully controlled conditions. In addition, experimental comparison of three types of strip seal design, straight, arcuate, and cloth, is presented. These seals are typical of those used by competing manufacturers of gas turbine engines. The results show that the straight seal provides the best flow sealing performance for the controlled configuration tested, although each design has its specific merits for a particular application.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 578-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. Mishra ◽  
Johney Thomas ◽  
K. Srinivasan ◽  
Vaishakhi Nandi ◽  
Raghavendra Bhat

Author(s):  
Riccardo Da Soghe ◽  
Cosimo Bianchini ◽  
Antonio Andreini ◽  
Lorenzo Mazzei ◽  
Giovanni Riccio ◽  
...  

The transition-piece of a gas turbine engine is subjected to high thermal loads as it collects high temperature combustion products from the gas generator to a turbine. This generally produces high thermal stress levels in the casing of the transition piece, strongly limiting its life expectations and making it one of the most critical components of the entire engine. The reliable prediction of such thermal loads is hence a crucial aspect to increase the transition-piece life span and to assure safe operations. The present study aims to investigate the aero-thermal behaviour of a gas turbine engine transition-piece and in particular to evaluate working temperatures of the casing in relation to the flow and heat transfer situation inside and outside the transition-piece. Typical operating conditions are considered to determine the amount of heat transfer from the gas to the casing by means of CFD. Both conjugate approach and wall fixed temperature have been considered to compute the heat transfer coefficient, and more in general, the transition-piece thermal loads. Finally a discussion on the most convenient heat transfer coefficient expression is provided.


Author(s):  
Tom Filburn ◽  
Amanda Kloter ◽  
Dave Cloud

Compact heat exchanger designs are commonly used in many gas turbine engine applications. Though effective in their heat transfer function, they are often heavy, costly, and poor aerodynamic performers causing a reduction in engine efficiency. In addition, they are complex to manufacture and often prone to leakage. Finned surface heat exchangers are an attractive alternative to traditional compact designs. They can perform efficiently both aerodynamically and thermally. Such units could be mounted in the bypass fan stream of a gas turbine engine where large amounts of heat must be rejected from vital engine fluids such as oil and fuel. This research project investigated the efficiency of various fin designs applied to an oil cooler. Highly conductive materials, such as carbon composites were explored, and then compared to aerospace-quality aluminum alloys. Thermal, aerodynamic, economic, and weight performance comparisons between the carbon and aluminum fin structures were quantified. A three-dimensional numerical estimation of the final design concept was conducted using ANSYS. This research project specifically investigated the design of a finned surface air-oil heat exchanger. Design parameters included a total heat rejection of 2000 Btu/min and an oil temperature change of 100 degrees Fahrenheit with an inlet oil temperature of 300 degrees. The first design phase was conducted using an aerospace quality aluminum alloy. Internal and external flow convection theory was studied closely as well as basic heat exchanger and fin design concepts. A heat exchanger program was developed in Excel, automating the heat transfer based on basic geometric inputs. The program allowed easy iterations of fin/oil passage designs to meet the performance requirements and optimize the heat exchanger’s weight. The final iteration was then numerically modeled in ANSYS. The predicted heat transfer rate was then compared to the numerical estimation in ANSYS. The Excel program was validated by producing results within 2% of the ANSYS predicted solutions. Upon completion of the aluminum design. highly conductive materials, such as carbon composites were explored and implemented. The final designs of this project (both Aluminum and Carbon-Carbon) identified a new method of heat rejection at a significantly lower weight impact to the engine. The aluminum design had a total core weight of 25.4 lb while the carbon-carbon final design had a total core weight of 12.8 lb. In addition, both units have the potential to be incorporated within an existing engine case exposed to the bypass air stream, which may result in an additional weight savings.


Author(s):  
J. R. Taylor

A discussion of the problems encountered in prediction of heat transfer in the turbine section of a gas turbine engine is presented. Areas of current gas turbine engine is presented. Areas of current concern to designers where knowledge is deficient or lacking are elucidated. Consideration is given to methods and problems associated with determination of heat transfer coefficients, external gas temperatures, and, where applicable, film cooling effectiveness. The paper is divided into parts dealing with turbine airfoil heat transfer, endwall heat transfer, and heat transfer in the internal cavities of cooled turbine blades. Recent literature dealing with these topics is listed.


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