The Computation of Adjacent Blade-Row Effects in a 1.5-Stage Axial Flow Turbine

Abstract

This paper deals with the numerical simulation of flow through a 1.5-stage axial flow turbine. The three-row configuration has been experimentally investigated at the University of Aachen where measurements behind the first vane, the first stage, and the full configuration were taken. These measurements allow single blade row computations, to the measured boundary conditions taken from complete engine experiments, or full multistage simulations. The results are openly available inside the framework of ERCOFTAC 1996. There are two separate but interrelated parts to the paper. First, two significantly different Navier–Stokes codes are used to predict the flow around the first vane and the first rotor, both running in isolation. This is used to engender confidence in the code that is subsequently used to model the multiple blade-row tests; the other code is currently only suitable for a single blade row. Second, the 1.5-stage results are compared to the experimental data and promote discussion of surrounding blade row effects on multistage solutions.