Modeling of particle erosion of high-pressure turbine based on dynamic mesh method

Abstract

In this work, we investigate erosion characteristics of a high-pressure turbine by using Oka erosion model coupled with the dynamic mesh method, which allows for the dynamic change of blade profile. The variation of blade profile, material removal and performance degradation during erosion are quantified for the original blade, and the results are compared with those of an optimized blade previously obtained through multi-objective optimization of aerodynamic and erosion resistance performances. It is found that compared with the original blade, the optimized blade is of higher efficiency and lower erosion, suggesting that the previous multi-objective optimization, albeit ignoring the dynamic change of blade profile, still works for the dynamic erosion process. For either blade, the efficiency decreases slowly at first and drops sharply after a period of erosion, because as the erosion proceeds, the regions occupied by the vortex rapidly expand, leading to the blockage of blade passage. The transient erosion characteristics and particle trajectories indicate that the erosion is initially located near the middle and rear of blade on pressure side and the leading edge on suction side; as the erosion progresses, the erosion mainly occurs near the leading edge on pressure side but almost disappears on suction side.