An investigation of the heat transfer and static pressure on the over-tip casing wall of an axial turbine operating at engine representative flow conditions. (II). Time-resolved results

Abstract

This article reports the measurements of time-resolved heat transfer rate and time-resolved static pressure that have been made on the over-tip casing of a transonic axial-flow turbine operating at flow conditions that are representative of those found in modern gas turbine engines. This data is discussed and analysed in the context of explaining the physical mechanisms that influence the casing heat flux. The physical size of the measurement domain was one nozzle guide vane-pitch and from −20% to +80% rotor axial chord. Additionally, measurements of the time-resolved adiabatic wall temperature are presented. The time-mean data from the same set of experiments is presented and discussed in Part I of this article. The nozzle guide vane exit flow conditions in these experiments were a Mach number of 0.93 and a Reynolds number of 2.7 × 10 6 based on nozzle guide vane mid-height axial chord. The data reveal large temporal variations in heat transfer characteristics to the casing wall that are associated with blade-tip passing events and in particular the blade over-tip leakage flow. The highest instantaneous heat flux to the casing wall occurs within the blade-tip gap, and this has been found to be caused by a combination of increasing flow temperature and heat transfer coefficient. The time-resolved static pressure measurements have enabled a detailed understanding of the tip-leakage aerodynamics to be established, and the physical mechanisms influencing the casing heat load have been determined. In particular, this has focused on the role of the unsteady blade lift distribution that is produced by upstream vane effects. This has been seen to modulate the tip-leakage flow and cause subsequent variations in casing heat flux. The novel experimental techniques employed in these experiments have allowed the measurement of the time-resolved adiabatic wall temperature on the casing wall. These data clearly show the falling flow temperatures as work is extracted from the gas by the turbine. Additionally, these temperature measurements have revealed that the absolute stagnation temperature within the tip-gap flow can be above the turbine inlet total temperature, and indicates the presence of a work process that leads to high adiabatic wall temperatures as a blade-tip passes a point on the casing wall. It is shown that this phenomena can be explained by consideration of the flow vectors within the tip-gap, and that these in turn are related to the local blade loading distribution. The paper also assesses the relative importance of different time-varying phenomena to the casing heat load distribution. This analysis has indicated that up to half of the casing heat load is associated with the over-tip leakage flow. Finally, the implications of the experimental findings are discussed in relation to future shroudless turbine design, and in particular the importance of accounting for the high heat fluxes found within the tip-gap.