Transient analysis of upstream wake inside turbine blade passage with purge flow

Abstract

Secondary air bled from the compressor which bypasses the combustion chamber is used to seal the turbine components from incoming hot gas. Interaction of this secondary air (also known as purge flow) with the mainstream flow can alter the flow characteristics of turbine blade passage. This paper presents numerical investigation of interaction between ejected purge flow and mainstream flow in the presence of upstream disturbances/wakes. Steady as well as unsteady simulations are carried out using Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes equations and SST turbulence model. The numerical results are validated with experimental measurements obtained at the blade exit region using an L shaped 5 hole probe and Scanivalve. Upstream wakes are generated by a circular cylinder, kept upstream of blade leading edge at different pitch-wise positions. For transient analysis cylinders are kept at stagnation line (STW) and middle of the blade passage (MW). The analysis reveals the interaction effects of two more additional vortices, viz. the cylinder vortex (Vc) and the purge vortex (Vp). Steady state analysis shows an increase in the underturning at blade exit due to the squeezing of the pressure side leg (PSL) of horse shoe vortex towards the pressure surface by the cylinder vortices (Vp). The unsteady analysis reveals the formation of filament shaped wake structures which breaks into smaller vortical structures at the blade leading edge for STW configuration. These filaments lead to the formation of additional pressure surface vortices. On the contrary, in MW configuration, the obstruction created by the purge flow causes the upper portion of cylinder vortices bend forward, creating a shearing action along the spanwise direction. In MW configuration, the horse shoe vortices generated from the upstream cylinder are broken by the purge vortex whereas in the STW configuration it slides over the purge vortex and move towards the suction surface under the influence of the pitchwise pressure gradient. � 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS