Modeling of Combustor-Turbine Vane Interaction Using Stress-Blended Eddy Simulation

Abstract

Abstract Modeling the interaction between gas turbine engine modules is complex. The compact nature of modern engines makes it difficult to identify an optimal interface location between components, especially in the hot section. The combustor and high-pressure turbine (HPT) are usually modeled separately with a one-way boundary condition transfer to the turbine inlet. This approach is not ideal for capturing all the intricate flow details that travel between the combustor and the turbine and for tracking hot streak migration that determines turbine durability. Modeling combustor-turbine interaction requires a practical methodology that can be leveraged during the engine design process while ensuring accurate, fast, and robust CFD solutions. The objective of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of joint simulation versus co-simulation in modeling combustor and turbine interaction. Co-simulations are performed by exchanging information between the combustor and the turbine stator at the interface, wherein the combustor is solved using Stress-Blended Eddy Simulation (SBES) while the stator is solved using RANS. The joint combustor-stator simulations are solved using SBES. The benefits of using SBES versus LES are explored. The effect of the combustor-stator interaction on the flow field and hot streak migration is analyzed. The results suggest that the SBES model is more accurate than LES for heat transfer predictions because of the wall treatment and the joint simulation is computationally efficient and less prone to interpolation errors since both hot section components are modeled in a single domain.