Supercomputer Applications in Gas Turbine Flowfield Simulation

Abstract

The numerical simulation of the unsteady, three-dimen sional, viscous flow in a gas turbine stage is considered. Results from a three-dimensional, time-accurate Navier- Stokes simulation of rotor-stator interaction in an axial turbine stage are presented. The present study uses a fine grid in the spanwise direction to better resolve the complex three-dimensional flowfield, and complements earlier reported coarse-grid calculations. Several different features of the flowfield are analyzed and compared to earlier calculations and to experimental data wherever possible. Computer animation techniques are used to visualize various unsteady, three-dimensional features of the flow. The results demonstrate the capabilities of cur rent computing hardware in obtaining accurate simula tions of unsteady flows in turbomachines.