The Base Pressure and Loss of a Family of Four Turbine Blades

Abstract

Measurements of the effect of trailing edge geometry on the base pressure and loss of a family of four turbine cascades are presented. The measurements were made in the transonic range of Mach number from 0.8 to 1.2. It is found that, for blades with typical trailing edge thickness, the trailing edge loss is the major source of profile loss at these speeds and that the base pressure plays a dominant role in determining the loss. For blades with thick trailing edges an accurate prediction of base pressure is crucial to loss prediction. However, it is found that current methods of base pressure prediction are unable to give reliable predictions.