Experimental Flow Analysis in a Modern Turbine Rear Structure with 3D Polygonal Shroud Under Realistic Flow Conditions

Paper in proceeding, 2021

Continuous advancement of the existing design of turbine rear structure (TRS) leads to new challenges in terms of aerodynamic efficiency. This work presents experimental aero studies of the effect of the 3D polygonal shroud in the TRS comprising several types of guide vanes representative of a modern TRS: regular vanes, thickened vanes, and vanes with a mount bump. The experiments were performed in an engine-realistic facility for a fixed Reynolds number, 350000, and three operation points based on a low-pressure turbine (LPT) exit swirl angle. The current study shows that the thickened vane handles the on-design and off-design conditions with good aerodynamic performance. It is observed that a shroud bump significantly affects the pressure losses because of the additional vorticity region created from the bump itself, and it has an upstream influence on the outlet flow from the LPT.

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