An Experimental Investigation of Secondary Flows and Loss Development Downstream of a Highly Loaded Low Pressure Turbine Outlet Guide Vane Cascade (original) (raw)
To study the time-mean and temporal characteristics of secondary flow within a linear GE-E 3 high pressure turbine cascade, a planar Time-Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry (TR-PIV) system is used. In the double-passage cascade, a row of six converging slot-holes is placed upstream of center blade to generate film cooling effect, and different turbulence grids are replaced to create various free-stream turbulence (Tu in) levels. In this experiment, the time-mean characteristics of secondary flow, the fast switch process of unsteady leading edge horseshoe vortex (LEHV), and the temporal characteristics of corner vortices (CVs) are completely exhibited by the TR-PIV technique. The influences of the upstream coolant injection and Tu in level on the flow characteristics of LEHV and passage vortex (PV) are discussed. The discussion reveals that: (1) in the case of no coolant injection, a high Tu in level slightly moves the LEHV toward the blade, changes the shape of the PV, increases the fluctuations of the LEHV and PV, and reduces the frequency of the LEHV switch process; (2) at various Tu in levels, the coolant injections suppress the formation of the LEHV, and the LEHV disappears at a high coolant-to-mainstream blowing ratio (BR) of 1.5; (3) a high BR of 1.5 can greatly weaken the PV at various Tu in levels, and relative to the case of low Tu in , the high Tu in level induces a larger reduction; (4) for a low BR, at various Tu in levels, a slight change in the LEHV results in a distinct difference of the PV characteristics; (5) for a high BR, since the LEHV disappears, the Tu in effect on the secondary flow characteristics is slight.
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List of symbols c Coolant upstream of impingement plate C ax Axial chord length D Hole diameter H Impingement gap height M Blowing ratio (ρ c U c /ρ ∞ U ∞) Ma Mach number P Pressure PIV Particle image velocimetry p Pitch length Re Reynolds number (ρ ∞ U ∞ C ax /μ ∞) S Blade span s Static or streamwise coordinate T Temperature tke Turbulent kinetic energy 3/4 u ′ 2 + v ′ 2 U Velocity U inviscid Average inviscid velocity vector U meas Average measured velocity vector U sec Secondary velocity vector (U meas − U inviscid) u ′ Fluctuating velocity x Blade axial coordinate y Blade pitchwise coordinate z Blade spanwise coordinate δ Boundary layer thickness (99 %) μ Dynamic viscosity ρ Density ∞ Mainstream conditions at the cascade inlet
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