Flow and heat transfer in the row-1 upstream rotor-stator disk cavity of a large 3600-rpm industrial gas turbine was investigated using an integrated approach. A two dimensional axisymmetric transient thermal analysis using aeroengine-based correlations was performed to predict the steady-state metal temperatures and hot running seal clearances at ISO rated power condition. The cooling mass flow and the flow pattern assumption for the thermal model were obtained from the steady-state two dimensional axisymmetric CFD study. The CFD model with wall heat transfer was validated using cavity steady-state air temperatures and static pressures measured at inlet to the labyrinth seal and four cavity radial positions in an engine test which included the mean annulus static pressure at hub radius. The predicted wall temperature distribution from the matched thermal model was used in the CFD model by incorporating wall temperature curve-fit polynomial functions. Results indicate that although the high rim seal effectiveness prevents ingestion from entering the cavity, the disk pumping flow draws air from within the cavity to satisfy entrainment leading to an inflow along the stator. The supplied cooling flow exceeds the minimum sealing flow predicted from both the rotational Reynolds-number-based correlation and the annulus Reynolds number correlation. However, the minimum disk pumping flow was found to be based on a modified entrainment expression with a turbulent flow parameter of 0.08. The predicted coefficient of discharge (Cd) of the industrial labyrinth seal from CFD was confirmed by modifying the carryover effect of a correlation reported recently in the literature. Moreover, the relative effects of seal windage and heat transfer were obtained and it was found that contrary to what was expected, the universal windage correlation was more applicable than the aeroengine-based labyrinth seal windage correlation. The CFD predicted disk heat flux profile showed reasonably good agreement with the free disk calculated heat flux. The irregular cavity shape and high rotational Reynolds number (in the order of $7×107)$ leads to entrance effects that produce a thicker turbulent boundary layer profile compared to that predicted by the 1/7 power velocity profile assumption.

1.
Roy, R. P., Devasenathipathy, S., Xu, G., and Zhao, Y., 1999, “A Study of the Flow Field in a Model Rotor-Stator Disk Cavity,” ASME Paper No. 99-GT-246.
2.
Vaughan, C., 1986, “A Numerical Investigation into the Effect of an External Flow Field on the Sealing of a Rotor-Stator Cavity,” Ph.D. thesis, University of Sussex.
3.
,
U. P.
, and
Owen
,
J. M.
,
1988
, “
Aerodynamic Aspects of the Sealing of Gas Turbine Rotor-Stator Systems, Part 3: The Effect of Nonaxisymmetric External Flow on Seal Performance
,”
Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow
,
9
, No.
2
, pp.
113
117
.
4.
Ko
,
S. H.
, and
Rhode
,
D. L.
,
1992
, “
Thermal Details in a Rotor-Stator Cavity at Engine Conditions With a Mainstream
,”
ASME J. Turbomach.
,
111
, pp.
333
340
.
5.
Chew, J. W., Green, T., and Turner, A. B., 1994, “Rim Sealing of Rotor-Stator Wheelspaces in the Presence of External Flow,” ASME Paper No. 94-GT-126.
6.
Green
,
T.
, and
Turner
,
A. B.
,
1994
, “
Ingestion into the Upstream Wheelspace of an Axial Turbine Stage
,”
ASME J. Turbomach.
,
116
, pp.
327
332
.
7.
Bohn, D., Johann, E., and Kru¨ger, U., 1995, “Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Hot Gas Ingestion in Rotor-Stator Systems With Superimposed Cooling Mass Flow,” ASME Paper No. 95-GT-143.
8.
Bohn, D., Rudzinski, B., and Suerken, N., 1999, “Influence of Rim Seal Geometry on Hot Gas Ingestion into the Upstream Cavity of an Axial Turbine Stage,” ASME Paper No. 99-GT-248.
9.
Reichert, A. W., and Lieser, D., 1999, “Efficiency of Air-Purged Rotor-Stator Seals in Combustion Turbine Engines,” ASME Paper No. 99-GT-250.
10.
Owen, J. M., and Rogers, R. H., 1989, Flow and Heat Transfer in Rotating Disk Systems. Vol. I: Rotor-Stator Systems, Research Studies Press, Taunton, UK.
11.
Chen
,
J. X.
,
Gam
,
X.
, and
Owen
,
J. M.
,
1996
, “
Heat Transfer in an Air-Cooled Rotor-Stator System
,”
ASME J. Turbomach.
,
118
, pp.
444
451
.
12.
Roy, R. P., Agarwal, V., Devasenathipathy, S., He, J., Kim, Y. W., and Howe, J., 1997, “A Study of the Flow Field and Convective Heat Transfer in a Model Rotor-Stator Cavity,” Experimental Methods in Heat Transfer, HTD-Vol. 353, ASME, New York, pp. 97–107.
13.
Mirzamoghadam, A. V., 1996, “Investigation of the Flow and Heat Transfer in a Low Pressure Turbine Interdisc Cavity with Skewed Radial Jet-Flow,” ASME Paper No. 96-GT-308.
14.
Zimmermann, H., and Wolff, K. H., 1998, “Air System Correlations, Part 1: Labyrinth Seals,” ASME Paper No. 98-GT-206.
15.
Dorfman, L. A., 1963, Hydrodynamic Resistance and Heat Loss of Rotating Solids, Oliver and Boyd, London.