This paper describes the results of a study to determine the performance improvements achievable by circumferentially indexing successive rows of turbine stator airfoils. An experimental / analytical investigation has been completed which indicates significant stage efficiency increases can be attained through application of this airfoil clocking concept. A series of tests was conducted at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to experimentally investigate stator wake clocking effects on the performance of the Space Shuttle Main Engine Alternate Fuel Turbopump Turbine Test Article. Extensive time-accurate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations have been completed for the test configurations. The CFD results provide insight into the performance improvement mechanism. Part one of this paper describes details of the test facility, rig geometry, instrumentation, and aerodynamic operating parameters. Results of turbine testing at the aerodynamic design point are presented for six circumferential positions of the first stage stator, along with a description of the initial CFD analyses performed for the test article. It should be noted that first vane positions 1 and 6 produced identical first to second vane indexing. Results obtained from off-design testing of the “best” and “worst” stator clocking positions, and testing over a range of Reynolds numbers are also presented. Part two of this paper describes the numerical simulations performed in support of the experimental test program described in part one. Time-accurate Navier-Stokes flow analyses have been completed for the five different turbine stator positions tested. Details of the computational procedure and results are presented. Analysis results include predictions of instantaneous and time-average mid-span airfoil and turbine performance, as well as gas conditions throughout the flow field. An initial understanding of the turbine performance improvement mechanism is described.

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The effects of suction surface film cooling on aerodynamic losses are investigated using an experimental apparatus designed especially for this purpose. A symmetric airfoil with the same transonic Mach number distribution on both sides is employed. Mach numbers range from 0.4 to 1.24 and match values on the suction surface of airfoils from operating aeroengines. Film cooling holes are located on one side of the airfoil near the passage throat where the free-stream Mach number is nominally 1.07. Round cylindrical and conical diffused film cooling hole configurations are investigated with density ratios from 0.8 to 1.3 over a range of blowing ratios, momentum flux ratios, and Mach number ratios. Also included are discharge coefficients, local and integrated total pressure losses, downstream kinetic energy distributions, Mach number profiles, and a correlation for integral aerodynamic losses as they depend upon film cooling parameters. The contributions of mixing and shock waves to total pressure losses are separated and quantified. These results show that losses due to shock waves vary with blowing ratio as shock wave strength changes. Aerodynamic loss magnitudes due to mixing vary significantly with film cooling hole geometry, blowing ratio, Mach number ratio, and (in some situations) density ratio. Integrated mixing losses from round cylindrical holes are three times higher than from conical diffused holes, when compared at the same blowing ratio. Such differences depend upon mixing losses just downstream of the airfoil, as well as turbulent diffusion of streamwise momentum normal to the airfoil symmetry plane. [S0889-504X(00)02202-9]

A conjugate heat transfer analysis methodology has been defined and applied to an Air Force film cooled turbine vane consisting of 648 cooling holes. An unstructured computational mesh was used to model both the fluid and metal sides of the turbine vane. A summary of the numerical methods employed by Code Leo is provided along with a description of the coupling procedure employed between the fluid and heat conduction computations. Numerical simulations were conducted at multiple mesh resolutions to assess accuracy and repeatability. A detailed review is presented for the numerical solution obtained from a fine mesh consisting of 24 million elements (8 million solid, 16 million fluid) covering all 648 film holes. Results showed that cooled air from the film holes formed a protective layer around the airfoil surfaces and endwalls as intended. Low metal temperatures were present not only on the external surfaces exposed to hot gas, but also around the entrances to the film cooling holes. Cooled air was also observed to pile up along the pressure surface at mid-span. Solution convergence was achieved in approximately 15,000 iterations and 100 hours elapsed time on a dual-socket Intel E5504 workstation. The combination of fast turnaround time with accurate metal temperature prediction will enable conjugate heat transfer analysis to be easily incorporated into routine design processes to better address durability goals.