The flow at the combustor turbine interface of power generation gas turbines with can combustors is characterized by high and nonuniform turbulence levels, lengthscales, and residual swirl. These complexities have a significant impact on the first vanes aerothermal performance and lead to challenges for an effective turbine design. To date, this design philosophy mostly assumed steady flow and thus largely disregards the intrinsic unsteadiness. This paper investigates the steady and unsteady effects of the combustor flow with swirl on the turbines first vanes. Experimental measurements are conducted on a high-speed linear cascade that comprises two can combustors and four nozzle guide vanes (NGVs). The experimental results are supported by a large eddy simulation (LES) performed with the inhouse computational fluid dynamics (CFD) flow solver TBLOCK. The study reveals the highly unsteady nature of the flow in the first vane and its effect on the heat transfer. A persistent flow structure of concentrated vorticity is observed. It wraps around the unshielded vane's leading edge (LE) at midspan and periodically oscillates in spanwise direction due to the interaction of the residual low-pressure swirl core and the vane's potential field. Moreover, the transient behavior of the horseshoe-vortex system due to large fluctuations in incidence is demonstrated.
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April 2017
Research-Article
Investigation of Unsteady Flow Phenomena in First Vane Caused by Combustor Flow With Swirl
Simon Jacobi,
Simon Jacobi
Osney Thermo-Fluids Laboratory,
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
e-mail: simon.jacobi@eng.ox.ac.uk
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
e-mail: simon.jacobi@eng.ox.ac.uk
Search for other works by this author on:
Cosimo Mazzoni,
Cosimo Mazzoni
Osney Thermo-Fluids Laboratory,
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
Search for other works by this author on:
Budimir Rosic,
Budimir Rosic
Osney Thermo-Fluids Laboratory,
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
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Krishan Chana
Krishan Chana
Whittle Laboratory,
Department of Engineering,
Cambridge University,
Cambridge CB3 0DY, UK
Department of Engineering,
Cambridge University,
Cambridge CB3 0DY, UK
Search for other works by this author on:
Simon Jacobi
Osney Thermo-Fluids Laboratory,
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
e-mail: simon.jacobi@eng.ox.ac.uk
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
e-mail: simon.jacobi@eng.ox.ac.uk
Cosimo Mazzoni
Osney Thermo-Fluids Laboratory,
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
Budimir Rosic
Osney Thermo-Fluids Laboratory,
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
Department of Engineering Science,
University of Oxford,
Oxford OX2 0ES, UK
Krishan Chana
Whittle Laboratory,
Department of Engineering,
Cambridge University,
Cambridge CB3 0DY, UK
Department of Engineering,
Cambridge University,
Cambridge CB3 0DY, UK
Contributed by the International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY. Manuscript received July 22, 2016; final manuscript received October 22, 2016; published online January 10, 2017. Editor: Kenneth Hall.
J. Turbomach. Apr 2017, 139(4): 041006 (12 pages)
Published Online: January 10, 2017
Article history
Received:
July 22, 2016
Revised:
October 22, 2016
Citation
Jacobi, S., Mazzoni, C., Rosic, B., and Chana, K. (January 10, 2017). "Investigation of Unsteady Flow Phenomena in First Vane Caused by Combustor Flow With Swirl." ASME. J. Turbomach. April 2017; 139(4): 041006. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4035073
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