No abstract

A transonic centrifugal compressor impeller is generally composed of the main and the splitter blades which are different in chord length. As a result, the tip leakage flows from the main and the splitter blades interact with each other and then complicate the flow field in the compressor. In this study, in order to clarify the individual influences of these leakage flows on the flow field in the transonic centrifugal compressor stage at near-choke to near-stall condition, the flows in the compressor at four conditions prescribed by the presence and the absence of the tip clearances were analyzed numerically. The computed results clarified the following noticeable phenomena. The tip clearance of the main blade induces the tip leakage vortex from the leading edge of the main blade. This vortex decreases the blade loading of the main blade to the negative value by the increase of the flow acceleration along the suction surface of the splitter blade, and consequently induces the tip leakage vortex caused by the negative blade loading of the main blade at any operating points. These phenomena decline the impeller efficiency. On the other hand, the tip clearance of the splitter blade decreases the afore mentioned acceleration by the formation of the tip leakage vortex from the leading edge of the splitter blade and the decrease of the incidence angle for the splitter blade caused by the suction of the flow into the tip clearance. These phenomena reduce the loss generated by the negative blade loading of the main blade and consequently reduce the decline of the impeller efficiency. Moreover, the tip clearances enlarge the flow separation around the diffuser inlet and then decline the diffuser performance independently of the operating points.

In a transonic centrifugal compressor, the loss generation is intensified by the formation of the shock wave and consequently the blockage is expected to increase. The blockage is considered to influence not only the flow rate and the increase of the static pressure but also the stall inception. However, the detailed mechanism of the blockage generation in the transonic centrifugal compressor has not been fully clarified. In this study, in order to clarify the mechanisms of loss and blockage generations in the transonic centrifugal compressor which are expected to be strongly influenced by the operating condition, the flows in the compressor at the off-design condition as well as at the design condition were analyzed numerically. The verifications of the computed results were carried out by comparing with available experimental results. The computed result clarified that the loss generation near the impeller inlet at design condition was mainly caused by the interactions of the shock wave with the tip leakage vortex appearing from the leading edge of the main blade as well as the boundary layer on the suction surface of the main blade. Moreover, these interactions were intensified by the decrease of the flow rate, and consequently enhanced the blockage effects by the tip leakage vortex from the leading edge of the main blade and resulted in the increase of the aerodynamic loss especially along the shroud surface in the impeller passage. On the other hand, the decrease of the blockage effects by the tip leakage vortex from the main blade with the increase of the flow rate formed the shock wave on the suction surface of the splitter blade at near-choke condition. This shock wave interacted with the tip leakage vortex from the splitter blade and consequently increased the aerodynamic loss.

The aerodynamic performance of turbine components constituting the gas turbine engine is seriously required to be improved in order to reduce environmental load. The energy recovery efficiency in turbine component can be enhanced by the increase of turbine blade loading. In this study, as the first stage to investigate the aerodynamic performance of an ultra-highly loaded turbine cascade (UHLTC) with a turning angle of 160 degrees at transonic flow regime, two-dimensional steady compressible flows in UHLTC were analyzed numerically by using a commercial CFD code to focus on the profile loss. In the computations, the isentropic exit Mach number was varied in the wide range from 0.3 to 1.8 in order to examine the effects of exit Mach number on the shock wave formation and the associated profile loss generation. The computed results were examined in detail by comparing with those for a typical transonic turbine cascade. The detailed examination for the present computed results clarified the variation of shock pattern with the increase of exit Mach number and the loss “plateau” behavior in the present UHLTC.

Gas turbines widely applied to power generation and aerospace propulsion systems are continuously enhanced in efficiency for the reduction of environmental load. The energy recovery efficiency from working fluid in a turbine component constituting gas turbines can be enhanced by the increase of turbine blade loading. However, the increase of turbine blade loading inevitably intensifies the secondary flows, and consequently increases the associated loss generation. The development of the passage vortex is strongly influenced by the pitchwise pressure gradient on the endwall in the cascade passage. In addition, a practical high pressure turbine stage is generally driven under transonic flow conditions where the shock wave strongly influences the pressure distribution on the endwall. Therefore, it becomes very important to clarify the effects of the shock wave formation on the secondary flow behavior in order to increase the turbine blade loading without the deterioration of efficiency. In this study, the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional transonic flows in the HS1A linear turbine cascade at the design incidence angle were analyzed numerically by using the commercial CFD code with the assumption of steady compressible flow. The isentropic exit Mach number was varied from the subsonic to the supersonic conditions in order to examine the effects of development of shock wave caused by the increase of exit Mach number on the secondary flow behavior. The increase of exit Mach number induced the shock across the passage and increased its obliqueness. The increase of obliqueness reduced the cross flow on the endwall by moving the local minimum point of static pressure along the suction surface toward the trailing edge. As a consequence, the increase of exit Mach number attenuated the passage vortex.