The Impact of Manufacturing Variability on High Pressure Turbine Profile Loss

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of measured manufacturing variability on the aerodynamic performance of a High Pressure Turbine (HPT) rotor blade. Emphasis is placed on building an aerodynamic analysis framework to understand the mechanisms that drive changes in HPT rotor blade profile loss and performance. This framework is based on perturbations of the blade surface curvature distribution and the associated response of the boundary layer. Aerodynamic assessments are performed numerically for scanned geometries obtained from an existing manufacturing line for a modern gas turbine. Manufacturing variability causes changes in blade curvature that impact the development of surface boundary layers and hence the performance of HPT rotor blades. Blade curvature is therefore a more fundamental indicator of aerodynamic performance than geometric assessments using point measurements for manufacturing accuracy.