Influence of Vane-Blade Spacing on Transonic Turbine Stage Aerodynamics: Part II—Time-Resolved Data and Analysis

This paper presents results of a combined experimental/computational investigation into the effects of vane–blade spacing on the unsteady aerodynamics of a transonic turbine stage. Time-resolved data were taken in a shock-tunnel facility in which the flow was generated with a short-duration source of heated and pressurized air. This data is compared with the results obtained from four unsteady Navier–Stokes solvers. The time-resolved flow for three axial spacings is examined. For each vane–blade spacing, the inlet conditions were nearly identical and the vane exit flow was transonic. Surface-mounted high-response pressure transducers at midspan were used to obtain the pressure measurements. The computed two-dimensional unsteady airfoil surface pressure predictions are compared with the Kulite pressure transducer measurements. The unsteady and axial spacing effects on loading and performance are examined. In general the numerical solutions compared very favorably with each other and with the experimental data. The overall predicted stage losses and efficiencies did not vary much with vane/blade axial spacing. The computations indicated that any increases in the blade relative total pressure loss were offset by a decrease in vane loss as the axial spacing was decreased. The decrease in predicted vane total pressure loss with decreased axial spacing was primarily due to a reduction in the wake mixing losses. The increase in predicted blade relative total pressure loss with a decrease in axial spacing was found to be mainly due to increased vane wake/blade interaction.