Computational and Experimental Study of the Unsteady Convection of Entropy Waves Within a High Pressure Turbine Stage

TitleComputational and Experimental Study of the Unsteady Convection of Entropy Waves Within a High Pressure Turbine Stage
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsPinelli L, Marconcini M, Pacciani R, Gaetani P, Persico G
Conference NameASME Turbo Expo 2020 Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition
Volume2E: Turbomachinery
NumberV02ET41A015
Pagination14
Date Published09/2020
PublisherASME
Conference LocationVirtual Event, September 21-25, 2020
ISBN Number978-0-7918-8410-2
Other NumbersScopus 2-s2.0-85097149428
Abstract

This paper describes the transport and the interaction of pulsating entropy waves generated by combustor burners within a high pressure turbine stage for aeronautical application. Experiments and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were carried out in the context of the European Research Project RECORD. Experimental campaigns considering burner-representative temperature fluctuations (in terms of spot shape, fluctuation frequency and total temperature variation percentage) injected upstream of an un-cooled high-pressure gas turbine stage have been performed in the high-speed closed-loop test-rig of the Fluid Machine Laboratory (LFM) of Politecnico di Milano (Italy). The pulsating entropy waves are injected at the stage inlet in streamwise direction at four different azimuthal positions featuring a 7% over-temperature with respect to the main flow with a frequency of 90 Hz. Detailed time-resolved temperature measurements (in the range of 0–200 Hz) upstream and downstream of the stage, as well as in the stator–rotor axial gap were performed. Time-accurate CFD simulations with and without entropy fluctuations imposed at the stage inlet were performed with the TRAF code, developed by the University of Florence. A numerical post-processing procedure, based on the DFT (Discrete Fourier Transform) of the conservative variables has been implemented to extract the low frequency content connected to the entropy fluctuations. Measurements highlighted a significant attenuation of the entropy wave spot throughout their transport within the stator channel and their interaction with the rotor blade rows, highly depending on their injection azimuthal position. Simulations show an overall good agreement with the experiments on the measurement traverses, especially at the stage outlet. By exploiting the combination of experiments and simulations, the aerodynamic and thermal implications of the temperature fluctuation injected upstream of the stage were properly assessed, thus allowing suggest useful information to the designer.
The comparison with the experiments confirms the accuracy of the CFD method to solve the periodic, but characterized by a low frequency content event, associated with the entropy wave fluctuation.

Notes

GT2020-14725

URLhttps://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/GT/proceedings-abstract/GT2020/84102/V02ET41A015/1094665
DOI10.1115/GT2020-14725
Refereed DesignationRefereed