Large industrial gas turbines for combined heat and power generation normally have axial diffusers leading to the heat recovery steam generator. The diffusers operate with high inlet axial Mach number (0.6) and with a nonuniform inlet total pressure profile from the turbine. Tests have been carried out on a generic highly loaded axial diffuser in a scaled axial diffuser test rig, with different inlet total pressure profiles including those that might be met in practice. The results show that the inlet total pressure profile has a strong effect on the position of flow separation, whereby a hub-strong profile tends to separate at the casing and the tip-strong profile on the hub. Steady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations using the shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model have been carried out based on extensive studies of the best way to model the inlet boundary conditions. These simulations provide good agreement with the prediction of separation in the diffuser but the separated regions often persist too long so that, in this highly loaded case with flow separation, the calculated diffuser pressure recovery can be in error by up to 30%.
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e-mail: hirschmann@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
e-mail: volkmer@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
e-mail: schatz@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
e-mail: finzel@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
e-mail: casey@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
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March 2012
Research Papers
The Influence of the Total Pressure Profile on the Performance of Axial Gas Turbine Diffusers
A. Hirschmann,
A. Hirschmann
ITSM–Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machinery Laboratory,
e-mail: hirschmann@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
Universität Stuttgart
, Pfaffenwaldring 6, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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S. Volkmer,
S. Volkmer
ITSM–Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machinery Laboratory,
e-mail: volkmer@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
Universität Stuttgart
, Pfaffenwaldring 6, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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M. Schatz,
M. Schatz
ITSM–Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machinery Laboratory,
e-mail: schatz@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
Universität Stuttgart
, Pfaffenwaldring 6, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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C. Finzel,
C. Finzel
ITSM–Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machinery Laboratory,
e-mail: finzel@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
Universität Stuttgart
, Pfaffenwaldring 6, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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M. Casey,
M. Casey
ITSM–Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machinery Laboratory,
e-mail: casey@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
Universität Stuttgart
, Pfaffenwaldring 6, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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M. Montgomery
M. Montgomery
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A. Hirschmann
ITSM–Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machinery Laboratory,
Universität Stuttgart
, Pfaffenwaldring 6, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germanye-mail: hirschmann@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
S. Volkmer
ITSM–Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machinery Laboratory,
Universität Stuttgart
, Pfaffenwaldring 6, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germanye-mail: volkmer@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
M. Schatz
ITSM–Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machinery Laboratory,
Universität Stuttgart
, Pfaffenwaldring 6, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germanye-mail: schatz@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
C. Finzel
ITSM–Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machinery Laboratory,
Universität Stuttgart
, Pfaffenwaldring 6, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germanye-mail: finzel@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
M. Casey
ITSM–Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machinery Laboratory,
Universität Stuttgart
, Pfaffenwaldring 6, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germanye-mail: casey@itsm.uni-stuttgart.de
M. Montgomery
J. Turbomach. Mar 2012, 134(2): 021017 (9 pages)
Published Online: June 29, 2011
Article history
Received:
July 12, 2010
Revised:
July 28, 2010
Online:
June 29, 2011
Published:
June 29, 2011
Citation
Hirschmann, A., Volkmer, S., Schatz, M., Finzel, C., Casey, M., and Montgomery, M. (June 29, 2011). "The Influence of the Total Pressure Profile on the Performance of Axial Gas Turbine Diffusers." ASME. J. Turbomach. March 2012; 134(2): 021017. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4003064
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