Local Heat/Mass Transfer Characteristics on a Rotating Blade With Flat Tip in a Low Speed Annular Cascade: Part 1 — Near-Tip Surface

The present study focuses on local heat/mass transfer characteristics on the near-tip region of a rotating blade. To investigate the local heat/mass transfer on the near-tip surface of the rotating turbine blade, detailed measurements of time-averaged mass transfer coefficients on the blade surfaces were conducted using a naphthalene sublimation technique. A low speed wind tunnel with a single stage annular turbine cascade was used. The turbine stage is composed of sixteen guide plates and blades with spacing of 34 mm, and the chord length of the blade is 150 mm. The mean tip clearance is about 2.5% of the blade chord. The tested Reynolds number based on inlet flow velocity and blade chord is 1.5×10⁵ and the rotational speed of blade is 255.8 rpm for the design condition. The result at the design condition was compared with the results for the stationary blade to clarify the rotational effect, and the effects of incoming flow incidence angle were examined for incidence angles ranging from −15 to +7 degree. The off-design test condition is obtained by changing the rotational speed maintaining a fixed incoming flow velocity. Complex heat transfer characteristics are observed on the blade surface due to the complicated flow patterns, such as flow acceleration, laminarization, transition, separation bubble and tip leakage flow. The blade rotation causes an increase of the incoming flow turbulence intensity and a reduction of the tip gap flow. At off-design conditions, the heat transfer on the turbine rotor changes significantly due to the flow acceleration/deceleration and the incoming flow angle variation.