On the Flow and Turbulence Within the Wake and Boundary Layer of a Rotor Blade Located Downstream of an IGV

This paper presents detailed experimental data on the flow and turbulence within the wake and boundary layer of a rotor blade operating behind a row of Inlet Guide Vanes (IGVs). The experiments are performed in a refractive index matched facility that provides an unobstructed view of the entire flow field. Results of the high-resolution 2D Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements are used for characterizing the mean flow, Reynolds stresses, turbulent kinetic energy as well as dissipation and production rates. Dissipation and production rates are high and of the same order of magnitude near the trailing edge, and decrease rapidly with increasing distance from the blade. The trend is reversed in the wake kinking region, resulting in elevated turbulence levels, i.e. a turbulent hot spot. One-dimensional spectral analysis shows that, except for the very near wake and hot-spot regions, the turbulence within the rotor wake can be assumed to be isotropic. Also the directions of the maximum shear strain and shear stress are aligned in that region, i.e. consistent with eddy viscosity type Reynolds stress models. The rotor near wake mainly consists of two parallel layers experiencing planar shear with opposite signs as one would expect to find in a 2D wake. However, orientation differences can extend up to 45° near the trailing edge and the hot-spot. Furthermore, there is substantial mismatch in the location of the local maxima of stresses and strains. The values of S₃₃ are also large there, indicating that the flow is three-dimensional. Rotor boundary layer measurements focus on a region where the IGV wake intersects with the rotor blade. The impingement of the increased axial velocity region in between the IGV wakes causes the thinning of the boundary layer. This is similar to the effect of a turbulent jet impinging on a flat surface. When viewed in the frame of reference of “non-wake” flow regions, the boundary layer thinning can also be attributed to the suction (or “negative jet”) effect of the “slip velocity” present in the IGV wake segments. Spectral analysis shows that the turbulence in the rotor boundary layer is highly anisotropic. As a result, the spectra cannot be used for estimating the dissipation rate.