Endwall Profiling Research Articles

Integrated Combustor Turbine Design for Improved Aerothermal Performance: Effect of Dilution Air Control

The effect of dilution air control in a combustor on the heat load distribution of an axial turbine with nonaxisymmetric endwall profiling is examined. Endwall profiling is a more common design feature in new engine types, due to its effectiveness in reducing secondary flows and their associated losses. In the present work, the effect of dilution air control is examined by using two different circumferentially nonuniform hot-streak shapes; the two cases differ in their spanwise extents either side of the stator and, therefore, represent different approaches for dilution air control. This numerical study details the impact of these two different strategies for dilution air control on the rotor blade heat load distribution. The inlet boundary conditions simulate the experiment that is conducted in the axial research turbine facility LISA at ETH Zurich. A circumferential nonuniformity in the spanwise migration pattern of the hot streak inside the stator is observed that is found to be alleviated by the effect of the endwall profiling. Due to the observed spanwise migration pattern inside the stator the two hot-streak cases result in considerably different heat load distributions on the rotor blade, emphasizing the importance of the integrated combustor turbine approach. Finally, the implications for dilution air control on the liner are discussed for the realization of the simulated hot-streak shapes in real combustors.

Influence of Rim Seal Purge Flow on the Performance of an Endwall-Profiled Axial Turbine

Nonaxisymmetric endwall profiling is a promising method to reduce secondary losses in axial turbines. However, in high-pressure turbines, a small amount of air is ejected at the hub rim seal to prevent the ingestion of hot gases into the cavity between the stator and the rotor disk. This rim seal purge flow has a strong influence on the development of the hub secondary flow structures. This paper presents time-resolved experimental and computational data for a one-and-1/2-stage high work axial turbine, showing the influence of purge flow on the performance of two different nonaxisymmetric endwalls and the axisymmetric baseline case. The experimental total-to-total efficiency assessment reveals that the nonaxisymmetric endwalls lose some of their benefit relative to the baseline case when purge is increased. The first endwall design loses 50% of the efficiency improvement seen with low suction, while the second endwall design exhibits a 34% deterioration. The time-resolved computations show that the rotor dominates the static pressure field at the rim seal exit when purge flow is present. Therefore, the purge flow establishes itself as jets emerging at the blade suction side corner. The jet strength is modulated by the first vane pressure field. The jets introduce circumferential vorticity as they enter the annulus. As the injected fluid is turned around the rotor leading edge, a streamwise vortex component is created. The dominating leakage vortex has the same sense of rotation as the rotor hub passage vortex. The first endwall design causes the strongest circumferential variation in the rim seal exit static pressure field. Therefore, the jets are stronger with this geometry and introduce more vorticity than the other two cases. As a consequence the experimental data at the rotor exit shows the greatest unsteadiness within the rotor hub passage with the first endwall design.

Numerical investigation of a high-subsonic axial-flow compressor rotor with non-axisymmetric hub endwall

The major source of loss in modern compressors is the secondary loss. Non-axisymmetric endwall profile contouring is now a well established design methodology in axial flow turbines. However, flow development in axial compressors is differ from turbines, the effects of non-axisymmetric endwall to axial compressors requires flow analysis in detail. This paper presents both experimental and numerical data to deal with the application of a non-axisymmetric hub endwall in a high-subsonic axial-flow compressor. The aims of the experiment here were to make sure the numerically obtained flow fields is the physical mechanism responsible for the improvement in efficiency, due to the non-axisymmetric hub endwall. The computational results were first compared with available measured data of axisymmetric hub endwall. The results agreed well with the experimental data for estimation of the global performance. The coupled flow of the compressor rotor with non-axisymmetric hub endwall was simulated by a state-of-the-art multi-block flow solver. The non-axisymmetric hub endwall was designed for a subsonic compressor rotor with the help of sine and cosine functions. This type of non-axisymmetric hub endwall was found to have a significant improvement in efficiency of 0.45% approximately and a slightly increase for the total pressure ratio. The fundamental mechanisms of non-axisymmetric hub endwall and their effects on the subsonic axial-flow compressor endwall flow field were analyzed in detail. It is concluded that the non-axisymmetric endwall profiling, though not optimum, can mitigate the secondary flow in the vicinity of the hub endwall, resulting in the improvement of aerodynamic performance of the compressor rotor.

Improving Efficiency of a High Work Turbine Using Nonaxisymmetric Endwalls—Part II: Time-Resolved Flow Physics

This paper is the second part of a two part paper that reports on the improvement of efficiency of a one and a half stage high work axial flow turbine. The first part covered the design of the endwall profiling, as well as a comparison with steady probe data; this part covers the analysis of the time-resolved flow physics. The focus is on the time-resolved flow physics that leads to a total-to-total stage efficiency improvement of 1.0%±0.4%. The investigated geometry is a model of a high work (Δh/U2=2.36), axial shroudless HP turbine. The time-resolved measurements have been acquired upstream and downstream of the rotor using a fast response aerodynamic probe (FRAP). This paper contains a detailed analysis of the secondary flow field that is changed between the axisymmetric and the nonaxisymmetric endwall profiling cases. The flowfield at the exit of the first stator is improved considerably due to the nonaxisymmetric endwall profiling and results in reduced secondary flow and a reduction in loss at both hub and tip, as well as a reduced trailing shed vorticity. The rotor has reduced losses and a reduction in secondary flows mainly at the hub. At the rotor exit, the flow field with nonaxisymmetric endwalls is more homogenous due to the reduction in secondary flows in the two rows upstream of the measurement plane. This confirms that nonaxisymmetric endwall profiling is an effective tool for reducing secondary losses in axial turbines. Using a frozen flow assumption, the time-resolved data are used to estimate the axial velocity gradients, which are then used to evaluate the streamwise vorticity and dissipation. The nonaxisymmetric endwall profiling of the first nozzle guide vane show reductions in dissipation and streamwise vorticity due to the reduced trailing shed vorticity. This smaller vorticity explains the reduction in loss at midspan, which is shown in the first part of the two part paper. This leads to the conclusion that nonaxisymmetric endwall profiling also has the potential of reducing trailing shed vorticity.

Improving Efficiency of a High Work Turbine Using Nonaxisymmetric Endwalls— Part I: Endwall Design and Performance

This paper is the first part of a two part paper reporting the improvement of efficiency of a one-and-half stage high work axial flow turbine by nonaxisymmetric endwall contouring. In this first paper the design of the endwall contours is described, and the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) flow predictions are compared with five-hole-probe measurements. The endwalls have been designed using automatic numerical optimization by means of a sequential quadratic programming algorithm, the flow being computed with the 3D Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver TRACE. The aim of the design was to reduce the secondary kinetic energy and secondary losses. The experimental results confirm the improvement of turbine efficiency, showing a stage efficiency benefit of 1%±0.4%, revealing that the improvement is underestimated by CFD. The secondary flow and loss have been significantly reduced in the vane, but improvement of the midspan flow is also observed. Mainly this loss reduction in the first row and the more homogeneous flow is responsible for the overall improvement. Numerical investigations indicate that the transition modeling on the airfoil strongly influences the secondary loss predictions. The results confirm that nonaxisymmetric endwall profiling is an effective method to improve turbine efficiency but that further modeling work is needed to achieve a good predictability.

Optimization of Nonaxisymmetric Endwalls in Compressor S-Shaped Ducts

This paper presents a new design methodology for strutted S-shaped compressor ducts that allows for more aggressive designs while maintaining current levels of duct loss. A baseline duct geometry was selected, which had a radius change to length ratio that is 34% larger than current engine design limits. A large-scale low-speed model of the baseline duct was experimentally tested. The flow in the corner between the hub and the strut was found to separate due to the high local diffusion causing an increase in duct loss. Area ruling was applied to the baseline duct and was predicted to reduce the size and extent of the strut-hub corner separation, but the duct design was compromised. The duct loss coefficient at midpitch was predicted to increase compared with that of the baseline design. Nonaxisymmetric endwall profiling was then used on the duct wall, locally to the strut, to remove the strut-hub corner separation and thus reduce net duct loss, without compromising the duct design away from the strut. The endwall geometry was produced by numerical optimization. It was shown that the net duct loss was insensitive to casing profiling but highly sensitive to hub profiling. The optimal hub geometry was experimentally tested and shown to completely remove endwall strut-hub corner separation. The profiling was found to reduce the net duct loss by 16%. The paper shows that the key benefit to endwall profiling is that it can be used to safely increase the size of the design space in which aeroengine duct designers can operate.

The benefits of turbine endwall profiling in a cascade

Non-axisymmetric profiled endwalls have been shown to reduce losses and secondary flow both in cascades and in rig tests. This paper presents experimental results which quantify the benefits of loss reduction in the cascade with particular attention to accuracy. The paper compares the benefits achieved in experiment to the results predicted by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The results show that both the experiment and CFD give significant reductions in secondary flow. A reduction of 31 per cent in secondary loss has been measured for the best case, but the CFD gives only a small reduction in loss. Previous studies on the planar endwall have shown significant areas of transitional flow, so the surface flow has been studied with the aid of surface-mounted hot films. It was concluded that the loss reductions were not due to changes in regions of laminar and turbulent flow.

Investigation of a Novel Secondary Flow Feature in a Turbine Cascade With End Wall Profiling

A novel secondary flow feature, previously unreported for turbine blading as far as the authors are aware, has been discovered. It has been found that it is possible to separate part of the inlet boundary layer on the blade row end wall as it is being over-turned and rolled up into the passage vortex. This flow feature has been discovered during a continuing investigation into the aerodynamic effects of non-axisymmetric end wall profiling. Previous work, using the low speed linear cascade at Durham University, has shown the potential of end wall profiling for reducing secondary losses. The latest study, the results of which are described here, was undertaken to determine the limits of what end wall profiling can achieve. The flow has been investigated in detail with pressure probe traversing and surface flow visualization. This has found that the inlet boundary locally separates, on the early suction side of the passage, generating significant extra loss which feeds directly into the core of the passage vortex. The presence of this new feature gives rise to the unexpected result that the secondary flow, as determined by the exit flow angle deviations and levels of secondary kinetic energy, can be reduced while at the same time the loss is increased. CFD was found to calculate the secondary flows moderately well compared with measurements. However, CFD did not predict this new feature, nor the increase in loss it caused. It is concluded that the application of non-axisymmetric end wall profiling, although it has been shown to be highly beneficial, can give rise to adverse features that current CFD tools are unable to predict. Improvements to CFD capability are required in order to be able to avoid such features, and obtain the full potential of end wall profiling.

Improving the Efficiency of the Trent 500-HP Turbine Using Nonaxisymmetric End Walls—Part I: Turbine Design

This paper describes the redesign of the HP turbine of the Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engine, making use of nonaxisymmetric end walls. The original, datum turbine used conventional axisymmetric end walls, while the vane and (shrouded) rotor aerofoil profiles were nominally the same for the two designs. Previous research on the large-scale, low-speed linear cascade at Durham University (see Hartland et al., 1998, “Non-Axisymmetric End Wall Profiling in a Turbine Cascade,” ASME 98–GT-525), had already demonstrated significant potential for reducing turbine secondary losses using nonaxisymmetric end walls-by about one third. This paper shows how a methodology was derived from the results of this research and applied to the design of the single-stage Trent 500-HP turbine (model rig). In particular, the application of a new linear design system for the parametric definition of these end wall shapes (described in Harvey et al., 1999, “Non-Axisymmetric Turbine End Wall Design: Part I Three-Dimensional Linear Design System,” ASME 99–GT-337) is discussed in detail.

Non-axisymmetric turbine end wall profiling

A design method for profiling the end wall to reduce secondary flow has been reported previously. A profile has been tested in the Durham Linear Cascade and the results confirmed the design method. This paper describes the design and testing of a second-generation end wall, where the profiling is more suited to a real turbine. The new end wall has been tested in the linear cascade and a comprehensive set of measurements have been taken. These include traverses of the flow field upstream and downstream of the blade row, surface static pressure distributions on the end wall and flow visualization. Comparisons have been made with the results with a planar end wall and the earlier profiled end wall. Observed reductions in exit angle deviations are even greater than for the first design, although the loss reduction is not as great. The results verify the design, confirming profiled end walls as a means of reducing secondary flow, kinetic energy and loss. Overall an improved understanding of the effects of end wall profiling has been obtained although further work is required in this area.

Flow Measurements in a Nozzle Guide Vane Passage With a Low Aspect Ratio and Endwall Contouring

Most turbine cascade studies in the literature have been performed in straight-endwall, high-aspect-ratio, linear cascades. As a result, there has been little appreciation for the role of, and added complexity imposed by, reduced aspect ratios. There also has been little documentation of endwall profiling with these reduced spans. To examine the role of these factors on cascade hydrodynamics, a large-scale nozzle guide vane simulator was constructed at the Heat Transfer Laboratory of the University of Minnesota. This cascade is comprised of three airfoils between one contoured and one flat endwall. The geometries of the airfoils and endwalls, as well as the experimental conditions in the simulator, are representative of those in commercial operation. Measurements with hot-wire anemometry were taken to characterize the flow approaching the cascade. These measurements show that the flow field in this cascade is highly elliptic and influenced by pressure gradients that are established within the cascade. Exit flow field measurements with triple-sensor anemometry and pressure measurements within the cascade indicate that the acceleration imposed by endwall contouring and airfoil turning is able to suppress the size and strength of key secondary flow features. In addition, the flow field near the contoured endwall differs significantly from that adjacent to the straight endwall. [S0889-504X(00)01104-1]

Nonaxisymmetric Turbine End Wall Design: Part I— Three-Dimensional Linear Design System

A linear design system, already in use for the forward and inverse design of three-dimensional turbine aerofoils, has been extended for the design of their end walls. This paper shows how this method has been applied to the design of a nonaxisymmetric end wall for a turbine rotor blade in linear cascade. The calculations show that nonaxisymmetric end wall profiling is a powerful tool for reducing secondary flows, in particular the secondary kinetic energy and exit angle deviations. Simple end wall profiling is shown to be at least as beneficial aerodynamically as the now standard techniques of differentially skewing aerofoil sections up the span, and (compound) leaning of the aerofoil. A design is presented that combines a number of end wall features aimed at reducing secondary loss and flow deviation. The experimental study of this geometry, aimed at validating the design method, is the subject of the second part of this paper. The effects of end wall perturbations on the flow field are calculated using a three-dimensional pressure correction based Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes CFD code. These calculations are normally performed overnight on a cluster of work stations. The design system then calculates the relationships between perturbations in the end wall and resulting changes in the flow field. With these available, linear superposition theory is used to enable the designer to investigate quickly the effect on the flow field of many combinations of end wall shapes (a matter of minutes for each shape). [S0889-504X(00)00902-8]

Nonaxisymmetric Turbine End Wall Design: Part II—Experimental Validation

The Durham Linear Cascade has been redesigned with the nonaxisymmetric profiled end wall described in the first part of this paper, with the aim of reducing the effects of secondary flow. The design intent was to reduce the passage vortex strength and to produce a more uniform exit flow angle profile in the radial direction with less overturning at the wall. The new end wall has been tested in the linear cascade and a comprehensive set of measurements taken. These include traverses of the flow field at a number of axial planes and surface static pressure distributions on the end wall. Detailed comparisons have been made with the CFD design predictions, and also for the results with a planar end wall. In this way an improved understanding of the effects of end wall profiling has been obtained. The experimental results generally agree with the design predictions, showing a reduction in the strength of the secondary flow at the exit and a more uniform flow angle profile. In a turbine stage these effects would be expected to improve the performance of any downstream blade row. There is also a reduction in the overall loss, which was not given by the CFD design predictions. Areas where there are discrepancies between the CFD calculations and measurement are likely to be due to the turbulence model used. Conclusions for how the three-dimensional linear design system should be used to define end wall geometries for improved turbine performance are presented. [S0889-504X(00)01002-3]

Experimental Investigation of Endwall Profiling in a Turbine Vane Cascade

Experimental Investigation of Endwall Profiling in a Turbine Vane Cascade