Numerical Analysis on Effects of the Contoured Endwall on the Three Dimensional Flow Characteristics in an Annular Turbine Nozzle Vane

The three-dimensional flow in a turbine nozzle guide vane passage causes large secondary loss through the passage and increased heat transfer on the blade surface. In order to reduce or control these secondary flows, a linear turbine with contoured endwall configurations was used and changes in the three-dimensional flow field were analyzed and discussed. Contoured endwalls are installed at a location downstream of the saddle point near the leading edge of the pressure side blade and several positions along the centerline of the passage at constant distance. The objective of this study is to document the development of the three-dimensional flow in a turbine nozzle guide vane cascade with modified endwall. In addition, it proposes and appropriates endwall contouring which shows best overall loss reduction performance among the simulated contoured endwall. The results of this study show that the development of passage vortex and cross flow in the cascade composed of one flat and one contoured endwalls are affected by the acceleration which occurs in contoured endwall side. The overall loss is reduced near the flat endwall rather than contoured endwall, the best performance was shown for the case of 10–15% contoured for span-wise, 40–70% length of chord from trailing edge.