Structural Analysis of Gas Turbine Blade

A turbine blade is a machine component which makes up the turbine section of a gas turbine. These blades are responsible for extracting energy from the high temperature, high pressure gas produced by the combustor. The turbine blades are often the limiting component of the gas turbine. To survive in this difficult environment , turbine blades often use exotic materials like super alloys and many different methods of cooling , such as internal air channels and thermal barrier coatings. A common failure mode for turbine machine is high cycle of fatigue of compressor and turbine blades due to high dynamic stress caused by blade vibration and temperature has significant effect on gas turbine blades. The stresses with detrimental effect to the nozzle and blade were principally of thermal type, developed due to high temperature gradients across the air foil wall. These generate thermal fatigue mechanism and high steady state load leading to creep mechanism. In this project, a turbine blade is designed and modelled in NX Unigraphics software which is an advanced high-end CAD/CAE/CAM. The design is modified by changing the base of the blade to increase overall efficiency. Since the design of turbo machinery is complex and efficiency is directly related to material performance and material selection is of prime importance. In this project few materials are considered for turbine blade –titanium alloy and Nickel alloy. Optimisation will be done by varying the materials by performing structural analysis and thermal analysis on the turbine blades for both the designs

APPLICATION OF IMMERSED BOUNDARY METHOD ON INSTRUMENTED TURBINE BLADE WITH LES

Leading edge instrumentation used in compressor and turbine blades for jet-engine test rigs can cause significant obstruction and lead to a marked increase in downstream pressure loss. Typical instrumentation used in such a scenario could be a Kiel shrouded probe with either a thermocouple or pitot-static tube for temperature/pressure measurement. High fidelity analysis of a coupled blade and probe requires the generation of a high-quality mesh which can take a significant amount of an engineer's time. The application of Immersed Boundary Method (IBM) and Large Eddy Simulation is shown in this paper to enable the use of an extremely simple mesh to observe the primary flow features generated due to the blade and probe interaction effects, as well as quantify downstream pressure loss to within a high level of accuracy. IBM is utilised to approximately model the probe, while fully resolving the blade itself through a series of LES simulations. This method has shown to be able to capture downstream loss profiles as well as integral quantities compared to both experiment and fully wall resolved LES without the need to spend a significant amount of time generating the ideal mesh. Additionally, it is also able to capture the turbulence anisotropy surrounding the probe and blade regions.

Estimation of texture parameters for the precision surfaces using the quasioptimal correlation algorithms

The authors considered a new method of texture analysis of machined precision surfaces based on using computer optics and the autocorrelation method of processing the images of micro-relief textures under the study. This method is based on a probabilistic comparative evaluation of the unknown texture of the micro-relief under the investigation with the available textures of reference micro-patterns, in which microrelief parameters are determined. The paper proposes an approach to identify the profile surface roughness of a gas turbine engine (GTE) blade after vibro-contact polishing according to the parameters of correlation surface texture. The authors studied the surface micro-geometry of the blade back and pressure side using the optoelectronic complex based on the calculation of the average amplitude of the variable component of an autocorrelation function resulting from computer processing of a surface video image. The application of the electrooptic method for evaluating the surface texture of compressor and turbine blades allows building the surface roughness fields and more deeply analyzing the technology of final processing of the GTE blade feather profile. The relevance and novelty of the study lie in the promising technique to evaluate the surface quality parameters using the electrooptic method. A special feature of this method is the measurement of surface area roughness, while the stylus methods measure the roughness of the surface profile. An important advantage of the proposed method is its application to measure the roughness parameters of a curved surface by a non-contact method, which is advanced since there are surfaces of parts that do not imply being scratched with a diamond needle.

Application of Immersed Boundary Method on Instrumented Turbine Blade With LES

Leading edge instrumentation used in compressor and turbine blades for jet-engine test rigs can cause significant obstruction and lead to a marked increase in downstream pressure loss. Typical instrumentation used in such a scenario could be a Kiel-shrouded probe with either a thermocouple or pitot-static tube for temperature/pressure measurement. High fidelity analysis of a coupled blade and probe requires the generation of a high quality mesh which can take a significant amount of an engineers time. The application of Immersed Boundary Method (IBM) and Large Eddy Simulation is shown in this paper to enable the use of an extremely simple mesh to observe the primary flow features generated due to the blade and probe interaction effects, as well as quantify downstream pressure loss to within a high level of accuracy. IBM is utilised to approximately model the probe, while fully resolving the blade itself through a series of LES simulations. This method has shown to be able to capture downstream loss profiles as well as integral quantities compared to both experiment and fully wall-resolved LES without the need to spend a significant amount of time generating the ideal mesh. Additionally, it is also able to capture the turbulence anisotropy surrounding the probe and blade regions.

Mean Velocity Scaling and Friction Coefficient Estimation for Rough Surface Turbulent Boundary Layers in Turbomachines

Based on flat plate results, mean velocity and friction coefficient estimation methods are proposed for rough surface turbulent boundary layers on axial compressor and turbine blades. The ratio of the displacement thickness to boundary layer thickness (δ*/δ) was first suggested by Zagarola and Smits (1998) for smooth pipe flows. The same parameter is proposed in this paper to scale the normalized mean velocity defect of smooth and rough surface flat plate turbulent boundary layers with zero, favorable, and adverse pressure gradients. The available mean velocity defect profiles of smooth and rough surface boundary layers from axial compressor and turbine blades are also scaled and compared to the flat plate results. Irrespective of the Reynolds number (Reθ), pressure gradient (K), and roughness (k), δ*/δ provides appropriate scaling for collapsing the flat plate and turbomachinery data. From the results, a new one-variable power law based on δ*/δ is proposed to estimate the mean velocity profile. The proposed power law can accurately estimate boundary layers on flat plates, compressor blades, and turbine blades. Finally, a new empirical Cf correlation is proposed for rough surface turbulent boundary layers under pressure gradients. The proposed Cf correlation is based on that of Bergstrom et al. (2005) and newly incorporates the acceleration parameter K. It can accurately estimate Cf in turbulent boundary layers of rough surface flat plates as well as those of smooth turbine blades.

Assessment and Characterization of Volcanic Ash Threat to Gas Turbine Engine Performance

Multiple volcanoes erupt yearly propelling volcanic ash into the atmosphere and creating an aviation hazard. The plinian eruption type is most likely to create a significant aviation hazard. Plinian eruptions can eject large quantities of fine ash up to an altitude of 50,000 m (164,000 ft). While large airborne particles rapidly fall, smaller particles at reduced concentrations drift for days to weeks as they gradually descend and deposit on the ground. Very small particles, less than 1 μm, can remain aloft for years. An average of three aircraft encounters with volcanic ash was reported every year between 1973 and 2003. Of these, eight resulted in some loss of engine power, including a complete shutdown of all four engines on a Boeing 747. However, no crashes have been attributed to volcanic ash. The major forms of engine damage caused by volcanic ash are: (1) deposition of ash on turbine nozzles and blades due to glassification (2) erosion of compressor and turbine blades (3) carbon deposits on fuel nozzles. The combination of these effects can push the engine to surge and flame out. If a flame out occurs, engine restart may be possible. Less serious engine damage can also occur. In most cases the major damage will require an engine overhaul long before the minor damage becomes an operational issue, but under some conditions no sign of volcanic ash is evident and the turbine cooling system blockage could go unnoticed until an engine inspection is performed. Several organizations provide aircrew procedures to respond to encounters with a volcanic ash cloud. If a volcanic ash encounter is suspected, then an engine inspection, including borescope, should be performed with particular attention given to the turbine cooling system.

Assessment and Characterization of Volcanic Ash Threat to Gas Turbine Engine Performance

Multiple volcanoes erupt yearly propelling volcanic ash into the atmosphere and creating an aviation hazard. The plinian eruption type is most likely to create a significant aviation hazard. Plinian eruptions can eject large quantities of fine ash up to an altitude of 50,000 m (164,000 feet). While large airborne particles rapidly fall, smaller particles at reduced concentrations drift for days to weeks as they gradually descend and deposit on the ground. Very small particles, less than 1 μm, can remain aloft for years. An average of three aircraft encounters with volcanic ash was reported every year between 1973 and 2003. Of these, 8 resulted in some loss of engine power, including a complete shutdown of all four engines on a Boeing 747. However, no crashes have been attributed to volcanic ash. The major forms of engine damage caused by volcanic ash are: 1. Deposition of ash on turbine nozzles and blades due to glassification 2. Erosion of compressor and turbine blades 3. Carbon deposits on fuel nozzles The combination of these effects can push the engine to surge and flame out. If a flame out occurs, engine restart may be possible. Less serious engine damage can also occur. In most cases the major damage will require an engine overhaul long before the minor damage becomes an operational issue, but under some conditions no sign of volcanic ash is evident and the turbine cooling system blockage could go unnoticed until an engine inspection is performed. Several organizations provide aircrew procedures to respond to encounters with a volcanic ash cloud. If a volcanic ash encounter is suspected, then an engine inspection, including borescope, should be performed with particular attention given to the turbine cooling system.