Influence of a novel leading-edge winglet on the aerodynamic characteristics of a highly loaded turbine

Abstract

In order to decrease the flow loss of the region close to the endwall, a novel leading-edge modification strategy is proposed in this paper. Specifically, the winglet is installed at the leading edge of the first-stage blade of the highly loaded PW-E3 (Energy Efficient Engine designed by Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Group) turbine. The numerical methods used in this study are validated with the experimental data of the original blade profile of PW-E3. The SST (Shear Stress Transport model) γ-θ turbulence model is employed to calculate the flow field. The schemes of the forward bending winglet and reverse bending winglet are compared with the base case to prove the superiority of this modification strategy. The numerical results indicate a significant increase in stage efficiency by reducing the total pressure loss coefficient. Reverse bending winglets perform better than forward bending ones in terms of efficiency promotion. The effects of the normalized winglet height and bending angle are further explored. For reverse bending winglets, increasing the normalized winglet height and bending angle leads to improved flow control. Conversely, for forward bending winglets, reducing the normalized winglet height and bending angle is more favorable for loss reduction.