Effect of Roughness and Unsteadiness on the Performance of a New LPT Blade at Low Reynolds Numbers

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the performance of a high lift profile for low pressure turbines at Reynolds numbers lower than in previous investigations. The separate and combined effects of roughness and wake passing are compared. The effect of incidence on cascade losses is also evaluated. The experimental investigation was carried out in the high speed wind tunnel of Whittle Laboratory, University of Cambridge. This is a closed circuit, continuous wind tunnel where the Reynolds number and Mach number can be fixed independently. The unsteadiness caused by wake passing in front of the blades is reproduced using a wake generator with rotating bars. The results obtained confirm that the beneficial effect of unsteadiness on losses is also present at the lowest Reynolds number examined (Re3 = 0.2×105). Roughening the surface also had a beneficial effect on the losses but this effect vanishes at the lower Reynolds numbers, i.e. (Re3 ≤ 0.3×105), where the surface becomes hydraulically smooth. The present study suggests that a blade with as-cast surface roughness has a lower loss than a polished one.