Modulation and Radial Migration of Turbine Hub Cavity Modes by the Rim Seal Purge Flow

In the present paper, the results of an experimental and numerical investigation of the hub cavity modes and their migration into the main annulus flow are presented. A one-and-a-half stage, unshrouded and highly loaded axial turbine configuration with three-dimensionally shaped blades and cylindrical end walls has been tested in an axial turbine facility. Both the blade design and the rim seal purge flow path are representative to modern high-pressure gas turbines. The unsteady flow field at the hub cavity exit region has been measured with the fast-response aerodynamic probe (FRAP) for two different rim seal purge flow rates. Furthermore, fast-response wall-mounted pressure transducers have been installed inside the cavity. Unsteady full-annular computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations have been employed in order to complement the experimental work. The time-resolved pressure measurements inside the hub cavity reveal clear cavity modes, which show a strong dependency on the injected amount of rim seal purge flow. The numerical predictions provide information on the origin of these modes and relate them to pronounced ingestion spots around the circumference. The unsteady probe measurements at the rim seal interface show that the signature of the hub cavity induced modes migrates into the main annulus flow up to 30% blade span. Based on that, an aerodynamic loss mechanism has been found, showing that the benefit in loss reduction by decreasing the rim seal purge flow rate is weakened by the presence of turbine hub cavity modes.