This paper presents a simple method for predicting tip leakage losses in transonic axial-flow turbines. The method is based upon experimental work conducted on a flat plate at 5° incidence and with isentropic exit Mach number of 1.26. The tip gap height was varied from zero up to 15% of chord. Measurements were made (using Laser-2-Focus) of velocity vectors around the tip gap region. These revealed a strong shear layer emerging from the gap onto the suction side of the plate. The relative angle between the leakage flow and the freestream was identified as a key parameter determining the subsequent mixing and overall loss generation. The proposed model applies two-dimensional potential flow analysis to estimate the flow angle as a function of tip gap height and the angle of incidence. Subsequently, comparisons were made with experimental results obtained in an annular cascade on the outer profile of the last-stage blade of a steam turbine. The predicted tip leakage losses compare favourably with the measured values.
Calculated results for tip flow around two different blade configurations are presented and compared with experimental data. The first configuration (case number 1) is a flat-plate profile tested in a linear transonic tunnel — the profile is an idealized representation of the aft-section of some highly curved turbine blades. The second configuration (case number 2) originates from the outer profile on the last-stage-blade of a steam turbine, however it is also reminiscient of a section from a turbine blade with supersonic exit flow. This configuration was tested in an annular cascade at Mach numbers representative of engine operating conditions. The computed results were obtained using a parallel 3D unstructured Navier-Stokes code. The code runs on a work-station cluster, as well as being optimized for the 256 processor Cray T3D at EPFL: the code is capable of gigaflop performance using more than 3 million cells — adaptive mesh refinement thus allows enhanced resolution within the tip gap region. For each configuration we have calculated two Runs. In both cases, Run-1 is similar to the experimental conditions, so that direct comparison between measured and calculated results is possible. With case number 1/Run-2 we re-calculated the flow without imposing a prescribed inflow boundary-layer along the sidewall. Comparison between the two runs helped reveal how free-stream total pressure can establish itself within the tip gap region. For the second configuration — in the annular cascade — we were interested in observing the influence of relative movement between the blade tip and adjacent sidewall. Hence for case number 2/Run-2 we imposed a circumferential velocity on the adjacent sidewall. This modified the effective sidewall boundary-layer and had a noticeable influence on the development of the tip-leakage flow.
Parallel computing is maturing to become a viable approach for increasing CFD mesh resolution and reducing turnaround times — many of todays commercial programs are already available for parallel architecture machines, and software tools exist to help with automated parallelization of irregular (unstructured) scientific problems. However, despite numerous impressive demonstrations of applications, it is still not exactly clear when and how these will really impact on the way we do turbomachinery CFD. The current paper does not even attempt to answer such a general question, but instead presents the authors experience and views obtained while developing parallel codes for both industry and in conjunction with their own research work. We give a brief review of events leading up to the present situation, and explain why parallel processing is the accepted route to follow. We then describe our parallel unstructured code; discuss practical issues relating to parallel performance; present some sample test case calculations; and finally consider a possible scenario regarding the role and requirements for similar computations in the future.
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