In order to achieve high aerodynamic efficiency of a turbine stage, it is crucial to identify the source of aerodynamic losses and understand the associated loss generation mechanisms. This helps a turbine designer to maximize the performance of the turbine stage. It is well known that aerodynamic losses include profile, endwall, cooling/mixing loss, leakage, and trailing edge loss components. However, it is not a trivial task to separate one from the others because different loss sources occur concurrently and they interact with each other in a machine. Consequently, designers tend to rely on various empirical correlations to get an approximate estimate of each aerodynamic loss contribution. In this study, a systematic loss audit of an uncooled turbine stage has been undertaken by conducting a series of numerical experiments. By comparing entropy growth across the turbine stage, aerodynamic losses are broken down within the stator, rotor, and interblade row gap. Furthermore, losses across each blade row are broken down into profile, leakage, endwall, and trailing edge losses. The effect of unsteady interaction due to the relative motion of the stator and the rotor was also identified. For the examined turbine stage, trailing edge losses of the rotor were dominated, contributing to more than a third of the total aerodynamic loss. The profile loss across the stator and the rotor, unsteady loss between the stator and the rotor, and the stator endwall loss were also identified to be the significant loss sources for this turbine stage. The design implications of the findings are discussed.
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Research-Article
Loss Audit of a Turbine Stage
Thomas Vandeputte,
Thomas Vandeputte
GE Global Research,
Niskayuna, NY 12309
Niskayuna, NY 12309
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Hiteshkumar Mistry,
Hiteshkumar Mistry
GE Global Research,
Bangalore 560 006, India
Bangalore 560 006, India
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Jonathan Ong,
Jonathan Ong
GE Global Research,
Munich 85748, Germany
Munich 85748, Germany
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Alexander Stein
Alexander Stein
GE Power & Water,
Greenville, SC 29615
Greenville, SC 29615
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Sungho Yoon
Thomas Vandeputte
GE Global Research,
Niskayuna, NY 12309
Niskayuna, NY 12309
Hiteshkumar Mistry
GE Global Research,
Bangalore 560 006, India
Bangalore 560 006, India
Jonathan Ong
GE Global Research,
Munich 85748, Germany
Munich 85748, Germany
Alexander Stein
GE Power & Water,
Greenville, SC 29615
Greenville, SC 29615
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI) of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF TURBOMACHINERY. Manuscript received November 4, 2015; final manuscript received November 28, 2015; published online January 20, 2016. Editor: Kenneth C. Hall.
J. Turbomach. May 2016, 138(5): 051004 (9 pages)
Published Online: January 20, 2016
Article history
Received:
November 4, 2015
Revised:
November 28, 2015
Citation
Yoon, S., Vandeputte, T., Mistry, H., Ong, J., and Stein, A. (January 20, 2016). "Loss Audit of a Turbine Stage." ASME. J. Turbomach. May 2016; 138(5): 051004. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4032138
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