Numerical and Experimental Investigation on Flow Field of the Turbine Stage under Different Axial Gaps

Abstract

In order to reduce efficiency losses and improve the aerodynamic efficiency of axial turbines used in industry, the flow fields of the turbine stage were investigated numerically and experimentally under different axial gaps in this work. The influence of the axial gaps on the flow unsteadiness and the flow field distribution is discussed. The results show that the aerodynamic efficiency of the turbine stage increases when the axial distance is reduced. The difference in entropy increases under different axial distances are mainly found in the section from the stator inlet to the rotor inlet: the turbine not only has a better time-average aerodynamic performance, but also has a better transient aerodynamic performance under working conditions with a small axial distance. Additionally, the maximum disturbance amplitudes of the stator and rotor are located near the trailing edge of the stator and the leading edge of the rotor, respectively. Compared with the wake disturbance of the upstream stator to the downstream adjacent rotor, the reverse disturbance of the downstream stator to the adjacent upstream rotor is more sensitive to the change in the blade spacing.