Performance improvement through indexing of turbine airfoils. Part 2: Numerical simulation
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Huntsville, AL (United States). Marshall Space Flight Center
- Pratt and Whitney, West Palm Beach, FL (United States)
An experimental/analytical study has been conducted to determine the performance improvements achievable by circumferentially indexing succeeding rows of turbine stator airfoils. A series of tests was conducted to experimentally investigate stator wake clocking effects on the performance of the space shuttle main engine (SSME) alternate turbopump development (ATD) fuel turbine test article (TTA). The results from this study indicate that significant increases in stage efficiency can be attained through application of this airfoil clocking concept. Details of the experiment and its results are documented in part of this paper. In order to gain insight into the mechanisms of the performance improvement, extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were executed. The subject of the present paper is the initial results from the CFD investigation of the configurations and conditions detailed in part 1 of the paper. To characterize the aerodynamic environments in the experimental test series, two-dimensional, time-accurate, multistage, viscous analyses were performed at the TTA midspan. Computational analyses for five different circumferential positions of the first stage stator have been completed. Details of the computational procedure and the results are presented. The analytical results verify the experimentally demonstrated performance improvement and are compared with data whenever possible. Predictions of time-averaged turbine efficiencies as well as gas conditions throughout the flow field are presented. An initial understanding of the turbine performance improvement mechanism based on the results from this investigation is described.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 404402
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950629-; ISSN 0889-504X; TRN: IM9653%%4
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Turbomachinery, Vol. 118, Issue 4; Conference: 40. International gas turbine and aeroengine congress and exposition, Houston, TX (United States), 5-8 Jun 1995; Other Information: PBD: Oct 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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