The Fluid Dynamics of a Shrouded Disk System With a Radial Outflow of Coolant

This paper describes an experimental study of an air-cooled gas turbine disk using the model of a disk rotating near a shrouded stator. Measurements of pressure distribution, frictional moment, and the cooling air flow necessary to prevent the ingress of hot gases over the turbine disk are described for a range of rotational speeds, mass flow rates, and different geometries. The pressure distribution is shown to be calculable by the superposition of the pressure drop due to the shroud and the unshrouded distribution. Moment coefficients are shown to increase with increasing mass flow rate and decreasing shroud clearance, but are little affected by the rotor/stator gap. Applying Reynolds analogy to the moment coefficients, it is estimated that heat transfer from the rotor will be controlled primarily by rate of radial cooling flow at low rotational Reynolds numbers, and will be governed primarily by Reynolds number at large rotational speeds.