Effect of Airfoil Clocking on Noise of LP Turbines: Part II — Modal Structure Analysis

Abstract

The clocking effect on noise is investigated experimentally in a multistage turbine high speed rig. It consists in a three stages state of the art Low Pressure Turbine (LPT). The work is a continuation of a first part in which efficiency and noise are addressed together for the same test [1]. Due to the large amount of data acquired in the experiment, noise results presented in [1] are based on averaged Sound Pressure Level (SPL) at the exit. The present paper goes beyond that analysis and aims to get the modal structure and its sensitivity to clocking. Noise measurements are taken ‘in-duct’ immediately downstream the LPT by a continuously and slowly rotating device denominated Noise Measurement Module (NMM). Previous experimental studies [2] [3] demonstrate this as an effective way of characterizing the LPT noise source in an engine, provided that the necessary hot to cold conversions and propagation effects are included. The rotation of the NMM allows the identification of the spinning modes responsible of the tone noise. The axial dependence acquired by the different sensors along the duct gives the radial structure of the spinning modes. The modal decomposition allows the estimation of the acoustic energy, which is the proper magnitude for observing the clocking dependence. The data reduction process from time history signals to the acoustic power estimation is described in detail. Special attention is paid on the applicability limits and uncertainty analysis. Results from the first part [1] suggest that efficiency is weakly affected by clocking whereas noticeable influence of some tone noise is observed. The acoustic power and modal structure dependence of the same tones observed in [1] will allow the comprehension of the noise clocking mechanisms in future. Although this is out of the scope, results suggest some physical explanation described here.