The objective of this work is to examine the flow structure and heat transfer distribution of a squealer tip rotor blade with purge flow cooling and provide a comparison with a basic flat tip rotor blade without purge flow cooling, under transonic conditions and high inlet free stream turbulence intensity. The blade design was provided by Solar Turbines Inc., and consists of a double squealer around the pressure and suction sides, two purge flow blowing holes located downstream of the leading edge and mid-chord, four ribs in the mid-chord region and a trailing edge bleeder exiting on the pressure side. Blade cavity depth is 2.29 mm (0.09 in.) and the total blade turning angle is 107.5°. Tests were performed in a blow-down facility at a turbulence intensity of 12%, in a seven bladed 2-D linear cascade at transonic conditions. Experiments were conducted at isentropic exit Mach numbers of 0.85 and 1.05, corresponding to Reynolds numbers based on axial chord of 9.75x10^5 and 1.15x10^6, respectively, and tip clearance gaps of 1% and 2% of the scaled engine blade span. A blowing ratio of 1.0 was used in the squealer tip experiments. Detailed heat transfer coefficient and film cooling effectiveness distributions were obtained using an infrared thermography technique, while oil flow visualization was used to investigate the flow patterns in the blade tip region. With the addition of a squealer tip, leakage flow was found to decrease, as compared to a flat tip blade. With increasing tip clearance gap, the heat transfer coefficients within the cavity and along the squealer rim were found to decrease and increase, respectively. Film cooling effectiveness decreased with increasing tip clearance gap and was mainly observed within the squealer cavity. The maximum heat transfer coefficient was observed on the leading edge, however, comparatively large values were observed on the mid-chord ribs. The presence of the ribs, greatly affected the flow structure and heat transfer distributions within the cavity and downstream towards the trailing edge. / Master of Science

abstract: Modern gas turbines operate at high mainstream gas temperatures and pressures, which requires high durability materials. A method of preventing these hot gases from leaking into the turbine cavities is essential for improved reliability and cost reduction. Utilizing bleed-off air from the compressor to cool internal components has been a common solution, but at the cost of decreasing turbine performance. The present work thoroughly describes the complex flow field between the mainstream gas and a single rotor-stator disk cavity, and mechanisms of mainstream gas ingestion. A combined approach of experimental measurement and numerical simulation are performed on the flow in a single-stage model gas turbine. Mainstream gas ingestion into the cavity is further reduced by utilizing two axially overlapping seal rings, one on the rotor disk and the other on the stator wall. Secondary purge air is injected into the rotor-stator cavity pre-swirled through the stator radially inboard of the two seal rings. Flow field predictions from the simulations are compared against experimental measurements of static pressure, velocity, and tracer gas concentration acquired in a nearly identical model configuration. Operational conditions were performed with a main airflow Reynolds number of 7.86e4 and a rotor disk speed of 3000rpm. Additionally the rotational Reynolds number was 8.74e5 with a purge air nondimensional flow rate cw=4806. The simulation models a 1/14 rotationally periodic sector of the turbine rig, consisting of four rotor blades and four stator vanes. Gambit was used to generate the three-dimensional unstructured grids ranging from 10 to 20 million cells. Effects of turbulence were modeled using the single-equation Spalart-Allmaras as well as the realizable k-epsilon models. Computations were performed using FLUENT for both a simplified steady-state and subsequent time-dependent formulation. Simulation results show larger scale structures across the entire sector angle inside the cavity and certain unsteady mainstream ingestion mechanisms are realized from the tracer gas. Simulated velocity distributions were scrutinized against Particle Image Velocimetry plots in the rotor-stator cavity and are in reasonable agreement with all of the measurements. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Engineering 2010

No description available.

This work concerns the validation of two 1D Turbine Design Tools, AXIAL by Concepts NREC and TML by GKN Aerospace, and is purely computational. By using the KTH Test Turbine as a reference frame, these two software programs were set up to simulate its performance, and the results consequently validated against existing experimental data from the turbine. The main objective of this work is to investigate the performance prediction abilities of the 1D Design Tools for a variety of turbine parameters such as efficiency, mass flow, power output and degree of reaction, and study the accuracy of these predictions under given boundary conditions, namely turbine stage inlet pressure, temperature and pressure ratio. The main focus of the simulation was to evaluate the impact of the choice of loss model in the 1D Software Tools for estimation of losses. Thus, in order to gain a better understanding of differences and similarities among the scope of available loss models, as well as deviation models, a literature study was performed. Additionally, in order to extend the knowledge of the detailed performance prediction characteristics of these software tools in regard to the loss model implemented, the individual loss coefficients (profile, secondary, trailing edge, tip clearance and incidence) were studied and analysed. The impact of chosen pressure ratio on the 1D simulation accuracy was also investigated. The software tool used and the loss model selected were both found to be of great significance to the accuracy of the simulated performance. The pressure ratio (PR) used for simulation also proved to be of great significance, with simulations performed at an elevated PR providing considerably more accurate results than at the design PR, suggesting that the majority of loss models are more accurate when estimating with higher PR. The KTH Test Turbine stage validated in this work featured a number of special geometrical features of inconvenient nature for 1D simulations. In order to account for this, a number of correction coefficients were developed and implemented and their individual effect on the simulated performance studied. Another special feature of the turbine stage studied was the lean angle of the stator, which impact on the 1D simulations was also investigated. Additionally, a number of different user selectable parameters in AXIAL and their impact on the simulations were investigated. The geometry correction coefficients and stator lean angle were found to be of negligible impact to the overall estimated performance, while the user selectable parameters in AXIAL proved to be of relatively big influence on the simulated results. Lastly, using the TML software tool, the concept of stator-rotor disc cavity flow known as 'purge flow' was simulated and validated against reference data. Purge flow serves to inhibit the inflow of hot air from the main annulus to the inner hub and simultaneously cool the rotor blades. The TML software was found to overestimate the losses associated with the use of purge flow, although providing relatively coherent trends for parameters such as efficiency, mass flow and power, suggesting that a correction coefficient applied to the overall losses from purge flow could potentially provide better overall accuracy in the simulations. / Swedish TURBOPOWER Research Program

The study presented herein describes and analyzes a detailed experimental investigation of the effects of density ratio on endwall thermal performance at varying blowing rates for a typical nozzle guide vane platform purge jet cooling scheme. An axisymmetric converging endwall with an upstream doublet staggered cylindrical hole purge jet cooling scheme was employed. Nominal exit flow conditions were engine representative and as follows: {rm Ma}_{Exit} = 0.85, {rm Re}_{Exit,C_{ax}} = 1.5 times {10}^6, and large-scale freestream Tu = 16%. Two blowing ratios were investigated corresponding to the upper and lower engine extrema. Each blowing ratio was investigated amid two density ratios; one representing typical experimental neglect of density ratio, at DR = 1.2, and another engine representative density ratio achieved by mixing foreign gases, DR = 1.95. All tests were conducted on a linear cascade in the Virginia Tech Transonic Blowdown Wind Tunnel using IR thermography and transient data reduction techniques. Oil paint flow visualization techniques were used to gather quantitative information regarding the alteration of endwall flow physics due two different blowing rates of high-density coolant. High resolution endwall adiabatic film cooling effectiveness, Nusselt number, and Net Heat Flux Reduction contour plots were used to analyze the thermal effects. The effect of density is dependent on the coolant blowing rate and varies greatly from the high to low blowing condition. At the low blowing condition better near-hole film cooling performance and heat transfer reduction is facilitated with increasing density. However, high density coolant at low blowing rates isn't adequately equipped to penetrate and suppress secondary flows, leaving the SS and PS largely exposed to high velocity and temperature mainstream gases. Conversely, it is observed that density ratio only marginally affects the high blowing condition, as the momentum effects become increasingly dominant. Overall it is concluded density ratio has a first order impact on the secondary flow alterations and subsequent heat transfer distributions that occur as a result of coolant injection and should be accounted for in purge jet cooling scheme design and analysis. Additionally, the effect of increasing high density coolant blowing rate was analyzed. Oil paint flow visualization indicated that significant secondary flow suppression occurs as a result of increasing the blowing rate of high-density coolant. Endwall adiabatic film cooling effectiveness, Nusselt number, and NHFR comparisons confirm this. Low blowing rate coolant has a more favorable thermal impact in the upstream region of the passage, especially near injection. The low momentum of the coolant is eventually dominated and entrained by secondary flows, providing less effectiveness near PS, near SS, and into the throat of the passage. The high momentum present for the high blowing rate, high-density coolant suppresses these secondary flows and provides enhanced cooling in the throat and in high secondary flow regions. However, the increased turbulence impartation due to lift off has an adverse effect on the heat load in the upstream region of the passage. It is concluded that only marginal gains near the throat of the passage are observed with an increase in high density coolant blowing rate, but severe thermal penalty is observed near the passage onset. / Master of Science / Gas turbine technology is used frequently in the burning of natural gas for power production. Increases in engine efficiency are observed with increasing firing temperatures, however this leads to the potential of overheating in the stages following. To prevent failure or melting of components, cooler air is extracted from the upstream compressor section and used to cool these components through various highly complex cooling schemes. The design and operational adequacy of these schemes is highly subject to the mainstream and coolant flow conditions, which are hard to represent in a laboratory setting. This experimental study explores the effects of various coolant conditions, and their respective response, for a purge jet cooling scheme commonly found in engine. This scheme utilizes two rows of staggered cylindrical holes to inject air into the mainstream from platform, upstream of the nozzle guide vane. It is the hope that this air forms a protective layer, effectively shielding the platform from the hostile mainstream conditions. Currently, little research has been done to quantify these effects of purge flow cooling scheme while mimicking engine geometry, mainstream and coolant conditions. For this study, an endwall geometry like that found in engine with a purge jet cooling scheme is studied. Commonly, an upstream gap is formed between the combustor lining and first stage vane platform, which is accounted for in this testing. Mainstream and coolant flow conditions can have large impacts on the results gathered, so both were matched to engine conditions. Varying of coolant density and injection rate is studied and quantitative results are gathered. Results indicate coolant fluid density plays a large role in purge jet cooling, and with neglection of this, potential thermal failure points could be overlooked This is exacerbated with less coolant injection. Interestingly, increasing the amount of coolant injected decreases performance across much of the passage, with only marginal gains in regions of complex flow. These results help to better explain the impacts of experimental neglect of coolant density, and aid in the understanding of purge jet coolant injection.

Afin de faire face aux fortes températures rencontrées par les composantsen aval de la chambre de combustion, des prélèvements d’air plus frais sont réalisésau niveau du compresseur. Cet air alimente les cavités en pied de turbine et refroidiles disques rotor permettant d’assurer le bon fonctionnement de la turbine.Ce manuscrit présente une étude numérique de l’effet de ces écoulements de cavitéau pied de la turbine sur ses performances aérodynamiques. Les phénomènesd’interaction entre l’air de cavité en pied de turbine et l’air de veine principal est unphénomène encore difficilement compris. L’étude de ces phénomènes est réalisée autravers de différentes approches numériques (RANS, LES et LES-LBM) appliquéesà deux configurations pour lesquelles des résultats expérimentaux s ont disponibles.Une première configuration en grille d’aube linéaire en amont de laquelle différentesgéométries d’entrefer (interface entre plateforme rotor et stator) et débits de cavitépouvaient être variés. Une seconde configuration annulaire composée de deux étagesde turbine comprenant les cavités en pied et plus proche d’une configuration industrielle.Les pertes additionnelles associées à l’écoulement de cavité sont mesurées etétudiées à l’aide d’une méthode basée sur l’exergie (bilans d’énergie dans l’objectifde générer du travail). / In order to deal with high temperatures faced by the components downstreamof the combustion chamber, some relatively cold air is bled at the compressor.This air feeds the cavities under the turbine main annulus and cool down the rotordisks ensuring a proper and safe operation of the turbine. This thesis manuscriptintroduces a numerical study of the effect of the cavity flow close to the turbine hubon its aerodynamic performance. The interaction phenomena between the cav-ity andmain annulus flow are not currently fully understood. The study of these phenomenais performed based on different numerical approaches (RANS, LES and LES-LBM)applied to two configurations for which experimental results are avail-able. A linearcascade configuration with an upstream cavity and various rim seal geometries(interface between rotor and stator platform) and cavity flow rate avail-able. Arotating configuration that is a two stage turbine including cavities close to realisticindustrial configurations. Additional losses incurred by the cavity flow are measuredand studied using a method based on exergy (energy balance in the purpose togenerate work).

Turbomachinery forms the principal prime mover in the energy and aviation industries. Due to its size, improvements to this fleet of machines have the potential of significant impact on global emissions. Due to high gas temperatures in stationary gas turbines and jet engines, areas of flow mixing and cooling are identified to benefit from continued research. Here, sensitive areas are cooled through cold air injection, but with the cost of power to compress the coolant to appropriate pressure. Further, the injection itself reduces output due to mixing losses.A turbine testing facility is center to the study, allowing measurement of cooling impact on a rotating low degree of reaction high pressure axial turbine. General performance, flow details, and cooling performance is quantified by output torque, pneumatic probes, and gas concentration measurement respectively. The methodology of simultaneously investigating the beneficial cooling and the detrimental mixing is aimed at the cavity purge flow, used to purge the wheelspace upstream of the rotor from hot main flow gas.Results show the tradeoff between turbine efficiency and cooling performance, with an efficiency penalty of 1.2 %-points for each percentage point of massflow ratio of purge. The simultaneous cooling effectiveness increase is about 40 %-points, and local impact on flow parameters downstream of the rotor is of the order of 2° altered turning and a Mach number delta of 0.01. It has also been showed that flow bypassing the rotor blading may be beneficial for cooling downstream.The results may be used to design turbines with less cooling. Detrimental effects of the remaining cooling may be minimized with the flow field knowledge. Stage performance is then optimized aerodynamically, mixing losses are reduced, and the cycle output is maximized due to the reduced compression work. The combination may be used to provide a significant benefit to the turbomachinery industry and reduced associated emissions. / Strömningsmaskinen i dess olika variationer bildar den främsta drivmotorn inom kraftproduktion och flygindustrin. En förbättring av denna väldiga maskinpark har potentialen till betydande inverkan på globala utsläpp. Områden som identifierats kunna dra nytta av vidare forskning är ombandningsprocesser och kylning. Dessa områden är inneboende i stationära gasturbiner och jetmotorer på grund av de heta gaser som används. Kylning uppnås genom injektion av kall luft i kritiska områden och försäkrar därmed säker drift. Kylningen kommer dock till en kostnad. På cykelnivå krävs arbete för att komprimera flödet till korrekt tryck. Dessutom medför injektionen i sig förluster som kan härledas till omblandningsprocessen. Syftet med detta arbete är att samtidigt undersöka de fördelaktiga kylegenskaperna som nackdelarna med inblandning för att på så sätt bestämma den uppoffring som måste göras för en viss kylning. Alla förbättringar tros dock inte behöva föregås av en uppoffring. Om påverkan av kylningen på huvudflödet är välförstådd kan designen justeras för att ta hänsyn till denna förändring och minimera inverkan. Denna metodologi riktar sig mot ett särskilt kylflöde, kavitetsrensningsflödet, som har till uppgift att avlägsna het luft från den kavitet som uppkommer uppströms rotorskivan i ett högtrycksturbinsteg. Studien kretsar kring en turbinprovanläggning som möjliggör detaljerade strömningsmätningar i ett roterande turbinsteg under inverkan av kavitetsrensningsflödet. Högtrycksturbinsteget som används för undersökningen är av låg reaktionsgrad. Här kvantifieras generell prestanda genom mätning av vridmomentet på utgående axel. Flödesfältet kvantifieras med pneumatiska sonder, och kylningsprestandan predikteras genom gaskoncentrationsmätningar. Resultaten visar avvägningen och sambandet mellan turbinverkningsgrad och kylning i kavitet samt huvudkanal. Flödet mäts i detalj, och de effekter som kan förväntas uppkomma då ett turbinsteg utsätts för en viss mängd av kylflödet kvantifieras. De kvantitativa resultaten för det undersökta steget visar på en förlust i verkningsgrad på 1.2 procentenheter för varje procentenhet av kavitetsrensningsflödet i termer om massflödesförhållande. Samtidigt ses kyleffektiviteten öka med 40 procentenheter. Den lokala inverkan på flödesfältet nedströms rotorn för det undersökta steget är 2° i flödesvinken och en ändring på 0.01 i Machnummer för varje procentenhet av kylflödet. Dessa ändringar ses i form av ökad omlänkning och reducerad hastighet nära hubben, och vice versa omkring halva spännvidden. Inverkan av aktuell driftpunkt understryks genom arbetet. Det har också visats att ett läckage som kringgår rotorbladen i vissa kan fall ge fördelaktig kylning i områden nedströms. Denna kombinerade kunskap kan användas för design av turbiner med så låg mängd kylning som möjligt samtidigt som säker drift bibehålls. Den negativa inverkan av den återstående kylningen kan minimeras genom kunskapen om hur flödesfältet påverkas. Genom detta optimeras stegverkningsgraden aerodynamiskt, omblandningsförluster minimeras, och cykeleffekten maximeras genom det minskade kompressionsarbetet till följd av de reducerade kylmängderna. Kombinationen kan ge en betydande förbättring för turbinindustrin och minskade utsläpp. / <p>QC 20171129</p>