No abstract

For effective validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes for design, numerical simulations must be compared and contrasted with experimental data sets which are well posed and measured. This paper presents, with the emphasis placed primarily upon the description and explanation of the experimental results, a test case designed for CFD validation concerning the flow field generated by the presence of tip clearance in an annular cascade turbine blade row.The test case is based upon a moderately loaded prismatic blade profile, operating with axial inflow and a nominal mid-span exit Mach number of 0.5. In addition to the case with no clearance, three gap heights, representing 1, 3 and 5 per cent of chord length have been selected. These tip clearances were chosen because they represent three conditions where the tip clearance is below, approximately equal to and substantially larger than the inlet boundary layer displacement thickness. At the leading edge this produces different behaviours, with the smallest gap producing a stagnation point, equivalent to the case without tip clearance, while the largest clearance allows throughflow over the leading edge into the tip gap.In the presence of larger tip clearances, the tip leakage flow induces a stagnating flow in the trailing-edge region, which results in a large area of blocked flow in the blade passage downstream of the trailing edge.

To give insight into the influence of the clocking and the stator–rotor interaction, the unsteady three-dimensional (3D) flow through a two-stage turbine is simulated numerically, using a time marching Navier–Stokes computer code with a sliding mesh approach. A stator clocking is applied to the second stator vane over several circumferential positions. The numerical results are compared with the experimental one to check the availability of the code. Clocking effects on the turbine performance, wake trajectories, and outlet flow field are focused. A relative efficiency variation of about 0.52% is concluded among clocking positions. A link between the turbine efficiency and the wake trajectories on the midspan is shown based on the presented clocking analysis in the 3D unsteady flow field. The detailed illustration of the outlet flow field shows that the influence of the clocking at the outlet is focused on the temperature distribution.

This paper describes the design and construction of a new two stage axial turbine test facility, christened “Lisa”. The research objective of the rig is to study the impact (relevance) of unsteady flow phenomena upon the aerodynamic performance, this being achieved through the use of systematic studies of parametric changes in the stage geometry and operating point. Noteworthy in the design of the rig is the use of a twin shaft arrangement to decouple the stages. The inner shaft carries the load from the first stage whilst the outer is used with an integral torque-meter to measure the loading upon the second stage alone. This gives an accurate measurement of the loading upon the aerodynamically representative second stage, which possesses the correct stage inlet conditions in comparison to the full two stage machine which has an unrealistic axial inlet flow at the first stator. A calibrated Venturi nozzle measures the mass flow at an accuracy of below 1%, from which stage efficiencies can be derived. The rig is arranged in a closed loop system. The turbine has a vertical arrangement and is connected through a gear box to a generator system that works as a brake to maintain the desired operating speed. The turbine exit is open to ambient pressure. The rig runs at a low pressure ratio of 1.5. The maximum Mach number at stator exit is 0.3 at an inlet pressure of 1.5 bar. The maximum mass flow is 14 kg/sec. Nominal rotor design speed is 3000 RPM. The tip to hub blade ratio is 1.29, and the nominal axial chord is 50 mm. The rig is designed to accommodate a broad range of measurement techniques, but with a strong emphasis upon unsteady flow methods, for example fast response aerodynamic pressure probes for time-resolved flow measurements. The first section of this paper describes the overall test facility hardware. This is followed by a detailed focus on the torque measurement device including stage efficiency measurements at operating conditions in Lisa. Discussion of measurement techniques completes the paper.

The temperature drop during natural cooling and the way in which the steam turbine restarts have a major impact on the cyclic lifetime of critical parts and on the cyclic life of the whole machine. In order to ensure the fastest startup without reducing the lifetime of the turbine critical parts, the natural cooling must be captured accurately in calculation and the startup procedure optimized. During the cool down and restart, all turbine components interact both thermally and mechanically. For this reason, the thermal analyst has to include, in his numerical model, all turbine significant parts—rotor, casings together with their internal fluid cavities, valves, and pipes. This condition connected with the real phenomenon lead-time—more than 100 hours for natural cooling—makes the analysis time-consuming and not applicable for routine projects. During the past years, a concept called “over-conductivity” was introduced by Marinescu et al. (2013, “Experimental Investigation Into Thermal Behavior of Steam Turbine Components—Temperature Measurements With Optical Probes and Natural Cooling Analysis,” ASME J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power, 136(2), p. 021602) and Marinescu and Ehrsam (2012, “Experimental Investigation on Thermal Behavior of Steam Turbine Components: Part 2—Natural Cooling of Steam Turbines and the Impact on LCF Life,” ASME Paper No. GT2012-68759). According to this concept, the effect of the fluid convectivity and radiation is replaced by a scalar function K(T) called over-conductivity, which has the same heat transfer effect as the real convection and radiation. K(T) is calibrated against the measured temperature on a Alstom KA26-1 steam turbine (Ruffino and Mohr, 2012, “Experimental Investigation on Thermal Behavior of Steam Turbine Components: Part 1—Temperature Measurements With Optical Probes,” ASME Paper No. GT2012-68703). This concept allows a significant reduction of the calculation time, which makes the method applicable for routine transient analyses. The paper below shows the theoretical background of the over-conductivity concept and proves that when applied on other machines than KA26-1, the accuracy of the calculated temperatures remains within 15–18 °C versus measured data. A detailed analysis of the link between the over-conductivity and the energy equation is presented as well.