Application of a Synthetic Jet to Control Boundary Layer Separation under Ultra-High-Lift Turbine Pressure Distribution

The transition and separation processes of the boundary layer developing on a flat plate under a prescribed adverse pressure gradient typical of Ultra-High-Lift low-pressure turbine profiles have been investigated, with and without the application of a synthetic jet (zero net mass flow rate jet). A mechanical piston has been adopted to produce an intermittent flow with zero net mass flow rate. The capability of the device to suppress or reduce the large laminar separation bubble occurring under steady inflow condition at low Reynolds numbers has been experimentally investigated by means of hot-wire measurements. Wall static pressure measurements complement the hot-wire time-resolved velocity results. The paper reports the investigations performed for both steady and controlled conditions. The active device is able to control the laminar separation bubble induced at low Reynolds number conditions by the strong adverse pressure gradient. An overall view of the time-dependent evolution of the controlled boundary layer is provided by the phase-locked ensemble averaging technique, triggered at the synthetic jet frequency. The separated flow transition process, which is detected for the uncontrolled condition, is modified by the synthetic jet in different ways during the blowing and suction phases. Overall, the phase-locked velocity distributions show a reduced separated flow region for the whole jet cycle as compared to the uncontrolled condition. The phase-locked distributions of the random unsteadiness allow the identification of vortical structures growing along the shear layer mainly during the blowing phase.     

The Effect of wake Turbulence Intensity on Transition in a Compressor Cascade

Direct numerical simulations of separating flow along a section at midspan of a low-pressure V103 compressor cascade with periodically incoming wakes were performed. By varying the strength of the wake, its influence on both boundary layer separation and bypass transition were examined. Due to the presence of small-scale three-dimensional fluctuations in the wakes, the flow along the pressure surface undergoes bypass transition. Only in the weak-wake case, the boundary layer reaches a nearly-separated state between impinging wakes. In all simulations, the flow along the suction surface was found to separate. In the simulation with the strong wakes, separation is intermittently suppressed as the periodically passing wakes managed to trigger turbulent spots upstream of the location of separation. As these turbulent spots convect downstream, they locally suppress separation.     

Analysis of DNS and LES of Flow in a Low Pressure Turbine Cascade with Incoming Wakes and Comparison with Experiments

The flow around a low-pressure turbine rotor blade with incoming periodic wakes is computed by means of DNS and LES. The latter adopts a dynamic sub-grid-scale model. The computed results are compared with time-averaged and instantaneous measured quantities. The simulation sreveal the presence of elongated flow structures, stemming from the incoming wake vorticity, which interact with the pressure side boundary layer. As the wake approaches the upstream half of the suction side, its vortical structures are stretched and align with the main flow, resulting in an impingement at virtually zero angle of attack. Periodically, in the absence of impinging wakes, the laminar suction side boundary layer separates in the adverse pressure gradient region. Flow in the laminar separation bubble is found to undergo transition via a Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. Subsequent impingement of the wake inhibits separation and thus promotes boundary layer reattachment. LES provides a fair reproduction of the DNS results both in terms of instantaneous, phase-averaged, and time-averaged flow fields with a considerable reduction in computational effort. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Coherent Structures Formation During Wake-Boundary Layer Interaction on a LP Turbine Blade

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements have been analyzed in order to characterize the dynamics of coherent structures (eddies and streaks) within the suction side boundary layer of a low pressure turbine cascade perturbed by impinging wakes. To this end, the instantaneous flow fields at low Reynolds number and elevated free-stream turbulence intensity level (simulating the real condition of the blade row within the engine) were investigated in two orthogonal planes (a blade-to-blade and a wall-parallel plane). Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) has been employed to filter the instantaneous flow maps allowing a better visualization of the structures involved in the transition process of the boundary layer. For the unsteady case properly selected POD modes have been also used to sort the instantaneous PIV images in the wake passage period. This procedure allows computing phase-averaged data and visualizing structures size and intensity in the different parts of the boundary layer during the different wake passage phases. The contributions to the whole shear stress due to the largest spanwise oriented scales at the leading and trailing boundaries of the wake-jet structures and those associated with streaky structures observed in the bulk of the wake are discussed. Instantaneous images in the wall-parallel plane are filtered with POD and they allow us to further highlight the occurrence of low and high speed traveling streaks (Klebanoff mode). The periodic advection along the suction side of the high turbulent content regions carried by the wakes anticipates both formation and sinuous instability of the streaks inside the boundary layer as compared with the steady case. The dynamics driving the breakdown of the streaks and the consequent formation of nuclei with high wall-normal vorticity have been found to be almost the same in the steady and the unsteady cases. Auto-correlation of the instantaneous images are also presented in order to highlight analogies and differences in the size and spacing of streaks in the two cases. These results are also compared with the available literature concerning simplified geometries (i.e flat plate) operating under steady inflow.     

Numerical Investigation of Unsteady Transitional Flows in Turbomachinery Components Based on a RANS Approach

This paper presents results of the numerical simulation of periodically unsteady flows with focus on turbomachinery applications. The unsteady CFD solver used for the simulations is based on the Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes equations. The numerical scheme applies an extended version of the Spalart–Allmaras one-equation turbulence model coupled with a transition correlation. The first example of validation consists of boundary layer flow with separation bubble on a flat plate, both under steady and periodically unsteady main flow conditions. The investigation includes a variation of the major parameters Strouhal number, amplitude, and Reynolds number. The second, more complex test case consists of the flow through a cascade of turbine blades which is influenced by wakes periodically passing over the cascade. The computations were carried out for two different blade loadings. The results of the numerical simulations are discussed and compared with experimental data in detail. Special emphasis is given to the investigation of boundary layers with regard to transition, separation and reattachment under the influence of main flow unsteadiness. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

激波与转捩边界层干扰非定常特性数值分析

激波与边界层干扰的非定常问题是高速飞行器气动设计中基础研究内容之一.以往研究主要针对层流和湍流干扰,在分离激波低频振荡及其内在机理方面存在着上游机制和下游机制两类截然不同的理论解释.分析激波与转捩边界层干扰下非定常运动现象有助于进一步加深理解边界层状态以及分离泡结构对低频振荡特性的影响规律,为揭示其产生机理指出新的方向.采用直接数值模拟方法对来流马赫数2.9,24?压缩拐角内激波与转捩边界层干扰下激波的非定常运动特性进行了数值分析.通过在拐角上游平板特定的流向位置添加吹吸扰动激发流动转捩,使得进入拐角的边界层处于转捩初期阶段.在验证了计算程序可靠性的基础上,详细分析了转捩干扰下激波运动的间歇性和振荡特征,着重研究了分离泡展向三维结构对激波振荡特性的影响规律,最后还初步探索了转捩干扰下激波低频振荡产生的物理机制.研究结果表明:分离激波的非定常运动仍存在强间歇性和低频振荡特征,其时间尺度约为上游无干扰区内脉动信号特征尺度的10倍量级;分离泡展向三维结构不会对分离激波的低频振荡特征产生实质影响.依据瞬态脉动流场的低通滤波结果,转捩干扰下激波低频振荡的诱因来源于拐角干扰区下游,与流场中分离泡的收缩/膨胀运动存在一定的关联.     

Experimental investigation on the wake interference among wind turbines sited in atmospheric boundary layer winds

We examined experimentally the effects of incom-ing surface wind on the turbine wake and the wake interfer-ence among upstream and downstream wind turbines sited in atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) winds. The experi-ment was conducted in a large-scale ABL wind tunnel with scaled wind turbine models mounted in different incom-ing surface winds simulating the ABL winds over typical offshore/onshore wind farms. Power outputs and dynamic loadings acting on the turbine models and the wake flow char-acteristics behind the turbine models were quantified. The results revealed that the incoming surface winds significantly affect the turbine wake characteristics and wake interference between the upstream and downstream turbines. The velocity deficits in the turbine wakes recover faster in the incoming surface winds with relatively high turbulence levels. Varia-tions of the power outputs and dynamic wind loadings acting on the downstream turbines sited in the wakes of upstream turbines are correlated well with the turbine wakes charac-teristics. At the same downstream locations, the downstream turbines have higher power outputs and experience greater static and fatigue loadings in the inflow with relatively high turbulence level, suggesting a smaller effect of wake inter-ference for the turbines sited in onshore wind farms.     

叶轮机内附面层流动与分离的某些研究进展

通过总结有关叶轮机内附面层的研究工作认为,周期性扫掠的上游尾迹改变了附面层的转捩方式,给附面层流动带来了强烈的非定常性,不同的尾迹强度和扫过频率决定了附面层内不同的时空结构; 此外,雷诺数、叶片负荷、表面粗糙度和来流条件等因素均能影响尾迹对附面层的非定常效应.随后总结了尾迹对附面层作用的机理, 并介绍了转捩模型的发展过程.最后提出了关于附面层研究方向的两个疑问,认为附面层分离后的复杂旋涡流场值得重点关注.      

Numerical simulation of unsteady blade row interactions induced by passing wakes

A numerical study of the unsteady phenomena resulting of periodic passing wakes is presented. An unsteady passing wake boundary condition is implemented in a three-dimensional Navier–Stokes code. Unsteady computations are performed to evaluate the capability of the code to simulate the rotor–stator interaction flow. The analysis of the flow structures shows the vortical disturbances and the migration of the incoming wakes through the blade passage. This physical analysis allows to separate the main origins of the losses.     

Large eddy simulations in low-pressure turbines: Effect of wakes at elevated free-stream turbulence

The transition of a separated shear layer over a flat plate, in the presence of periodic wakes and elevated free-stream turbulence (FST), is numerically investigated using Large Eddy Simulation (LES). The upper wall of the test section is inviscid and specifically contoured to impose a streamwise pressure distribution over the flat plate to simulate the suction surface of a low-pressure turbine (LPT) blade. Two different distributions representative of a ‘high-lift’ and an ‘ultra high-lift’ turbine blade are examined. Results obtained from the current LES compare favourably with the extensive experimental data previously obtained for these configurations. The LES results are then used to further investigate the flow physics involved in the transition process.In line with experimental experience, the benefit of wakes and FST obtained by suppressing the separation bubble, is more pronounced in ‘ultra high-lift’ design when compared to the ‘high-lift’ design. Stronger ‘Klebanoff streaks’ are formed in the presence of wakes when compared to the streaks due to FST alone. These streaks promoted much early transition. The weak Klebanoff streaks due to FST continued to trigger transition in between the wake passing cycles.The experimental inference regarding the origin of Klebanoff streaks at the leading edge has been confirmed by the current simulations. While the wake convects at local free-stream velocity, its impression in the boundary layer in the form of streaks convects much slowly. The ‘part-span’ Kelvin–Helmholtz structures, which were observed in the experiments when the wake passes over the separation bubble, are also captured. The non-phase averaged space-time plots manifest that reattachment is a localized process across the span unlike the impression of global reattachment portrayed by phase averaging.     

Surface pressure and heat transfer measurements in a turbine cascade with unsteady oncoming wakes

Unsteady surface pressure and heat transfer have been measured on a blade of a linear turbine cascade exposed to unsteady oncoming wakes generated by moving cylinders on a squirrel cage device. The Reynolds number and the Strouhal number corresponded to the values in a real turbomachine. The periodic components of pressure and heat transfer showed clear response to the unsteady wakes. However, the distribution along the blade surface of both pressure and heat transfer coefficient changed very little from phase to phase. The heat transfer results have shown that the boundary layer on the pressure side remained laminar for all cases, but that the boundary layers on the suction side became transitional under the wake disturbance. With increasing wake-passing frequency, the start of the transition moved forward. Increasing the wake-passing frequency resulted in a significant increase in heat transfer along the whole blade surface including the portions where the boundary layers were nominally laminar.     

Large Eddy Simulation of Wind Turbine Wakes

We present the coupling of a vortex particle-mesh method with immersed lifting lines for the Large Eddy Simulation of wind turbine wakes. The method relies on the Lagrangian discretization of the Navier–Stokes equations in vorticity-velocity formulation. Advection is handled by the particles while the mesh allows the evaluation of the differential operators and the use of fast Poisson solvers. We use a Fourier-based fast Poisson solver which simultaneously allows unbounded directions and inlet/outlet boundaries. The method also allows the feeding of a turbulent incoming flow. We apply this methodology to the study of large scale aerodynamics and wake behavior of tandem wind turbines. We analyze the generators performance, unsteady power, loads and aerodynamics they are subjected to. The average flow field of the wakes is also computed and turbulence statistics are extracted. In particular, we investigate the influence of the type of turbulent inflow used—precomputed or synthetic—, and study wake meandering.     

Velocity measurements of wake-induced unsteady flow in a linear turbine cascade

Extensive velocity measurements have been taken in a linear turbine cascade with unsteady oncoming wakes. The unsteady wakes were generated by moving cylinders on a squirrel cage device. The Reynolds number was 1.1 × 10⁵, and the Strouhal number varied from o to 7.36. The blade-to-blade flow and the boundary layers on the suction side were measured with a hot-wire anemometer. The results were obtained in ensemble-averaged form so that periodic unsteady processes can be studied. Of particular interest was the transition of the boundary layer. The boundary layer remained laminar in the case without wakes. The passing wakes caused transition, and the beginning of transition moves forward as the wake-passing frequency increases. Unlike in the flat plate study of Liu and Rodi (1991a) the boundary layer state hardly changed with time, although the turbulence level in the boundary layer showed clear periodic response to the passing wakes. The work reported here was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Technology through program TURBOTHERM under contract no. 0326501D. The authors should like to thank Mr. D. Bierwirth for his excellent technician work on this project, Dr. N. H. Cho for his help with the preparation of the plots and Mrs. R. Zschernitz for her expert typing of the text.     

Instability of the separated shear layer in flow past a cylinder: Forced excitation

The receptivity of the separated shear layer for Re = 300 flow past a cylinder is investigated by forced excitation via an unsteady inflow. In order to isolate the shear layer instability, a numerical experiment is set up that suppresses the primary wake instability. Computations are carried out for one half of the cylinder, in two dimensions. The flow past half a cylinder with steady inflow is found to be stable for Re = 300. However, an inlet flow with pulsatile perturbations, of amplitude 1% of the mean, results in the excitation of the shear layer mode. The frequency of the perturbation of the inlet flow determines the frequency associated with the shear layer vortices. For a certain range of forced frequencies the recirculation region undergoes a low‐frequency longitudinal contraction and expansion. An attempt is made to relate this instability to a global mode of the wake determined from a linear stability analysis. Interestingly, this phenomenon disappears when the outflow boundary of the computational domain is shifted sufficiently downstream. This study demonstrates the need of carefully investigating the effect of the location of outflow boundaries if the computational results indicate the presence of low‐frequency fluctuations. The effect of Re and amplitude of unsteadiness at the inlet are also presented. All computations have been carried out using a stabilized finite element formulation of the incompressible flow equations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Experimental Investigation of the Separated-Flow Transition Under High-Lift Turbine Blade Pressure Gradients

Laminar boundary layer separation, shear layer transition and reattachment have been experimentally investigated on a flat plate installed within a double contoured test section designed to produce an adverse pressure gradient typical of Ultra-High-Lift turbine profiles. Measurements have been performed for the Reynolds number range 70,000 < Re < 200,000, typical of real engine operation. Profile aerodynamic loadings as well as boundary layer velocity profiles have been measured to survey the separation and transition processes. Particle Image Velocimetry measurements allowed the visualization of vortical structures induced by the shear layer instability. Spectral analysis of hot-wire velocity data has been adopted to identify the characteristic frequencies of the phenomena. Distinct energy peaks, associated with the Kelvin–Helmholtz waves generated in the shear layer over the separation bubble, appear in the spectra. In particular the evolution along the shear layer of the energy contents at the characteristic frequencies of the phenomenon has been analyzed. Two frequency ranges have been identified in which the instability waves are amplified within the shear layer over the stagnation area. The inviscid Kelvin–Helmholtz instability is the main mechanism that drives transition, but it starts to be relevant only after that lower frequency oscillations are amplified and reach the saturation.     

Characteristic Regimes of Transitional Separation Bubbles in Unsteady Flow

This experimental investigation deals with transition phenomena of a separated boundary layer under unsteady inlet flow conditions. The main purpose of this investigation is to understand the influence of the rotor-stator interaction in turbomachinery on the subsequent, highly loaded boundary layer. The research project is divided into two phases. In the first phase, which has been completed recently, only the variation of mean velocity caused by upstream blades was simulated in the experiments while the free-stream turbulence intensity was retained at a constant low level. The experiments are carried out in an Eifel-type wind tunnel to investigate the laminar separated boundary layer of a flat plate under oscillating inlet conditions. The adverse pressure gradient, similar to that of turbomachines, is generated by the contoured upper wall. The unsteadiness is produced by a rotating flap located downstream of the test section. The reduced frequency, the amplitude and the mean Reynolds number are varied to simulate the conditions prevailing in turbomachines. In addition to the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability of the separated shear layer, a lower frequency instability was observed. This is frequently referred to as `free shear layer flapping' and results in two distinctly different ways of re-attachment, depending primarily on the Reynolds number. For low momentum thickness Reynolds numbers at the separation point, large-scale vortices locked to the frequency of the unsteady main flow are identified. They originate nearly at the top of the separation bubble and are ejected downstream. A fully turbulent boundary layer develops after these vortices mix out. For higher Reynolds numbers, transition is completed within a short length of the free shear layer and there-attachment region. The characteristic momentum thickness Reynolds number separating these two regimes in unsteady flow is about 125. The Strouhal number (reduced frequency) does not appear to have any significant effect. Based on the experimental results, this behaviour is discussed in some detail. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Vortex dynamics mechanisms of separated boundary layer in a highly loaded low pressure turbine cascade

This paper investigates the vortex dynamics in the suction-side boundary layer on an aero-engine low pressure turbine blade at two different Reynolds numbers at which short and long laminar separation bubbles occur. Different vortical patterns are observed and investigated through large eddy simulation (LES). The results show that at the higher Reynolds number, streamwise streaks exist upstream of separation line. These streaks initiate spanwise undulation in the form of vortex tubes, which roll-up and shed from the shear layer due to the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. The vortex tubes alternately pair together and eventually distort and break down to small-scale turbulence structures near the mean reattachment location and convect into a fully turbulent boundary layer. At the lower Reynolds number, streamwise streaks are strong and the separated flow is unable to reattach to the blade surface immediately after transition to turbulence. Therefore, bursting of short bubbles into long bubbles can occur, and vortex tubes have larger diameters and cover a part of the blade span. In this case vortex pairing does not occur and vortex shedding process is promoted mainly by flapping phenomenon. Moreover, the results of dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) analysis show a breathing motion as a source of unsteadiness in the separation location, which is accompanied by the flapping phenomenon.     

Numerical study on supersonic mixing and combustion with hydrogen injection upstream of a cavity flameholder

Characteristics of supersonic mixing and combustion with hydrogen injection upstream of a cavity flameholder are investigated numerically using hybrid RANS/LES (Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes/Large-Eddy Simulation) method. Two types of inflow boundary layer are considered. One is a laminar-like boundary layer with inflow thickness of $\delta_{\inf } = 0.0$ and the other is a turbulent boundary layer with inflow thickness of $\delta_{\inf } = 2.5\,{\text{mm}}$ . The hybrid RANS/LES method acts as a DES (Detached Eddy Simulation) model for the laminar-like inflow condition and a wall-modeled LES for the turbulent inflow condition where the recycling/rescaling method is adopted. Although the turbulent inflow seems to have just minor influences on the supersonic cavity flow without fuel injection, its effects on the mixing and combustion processes are great. It is found that the unsteady turbulent structures in upstream incoming boundary layer interact with the injection jet, resulting in fluctuations of the upstream recirculation region and bow shock, and induce quick dispersion of the hydrogen fuel jet, which enhances the mixing as well as subsequent combustion.     

Turbulence measurements in the inlet plane of a centrifugal compressor vaneless diffuser

Detailed flow measurements at the inlet of a centrifugal compressor vaneless diffuser are presented. The mean 3-d velocities and six Reynolds stress components tensor are used to determine the turbulence production terms which lead to total pressure loss. High levels of turbulence kinetic energy were observed in both the blade and passage wakes, but these were only associated with high Reynolds stresses in the blade wakes. For this reason the blade wakes mixed out rapidly, whereas the passage wake maintained its size, but was redistributed across the full length of the shroud wall. Peak levels of Reynolds stress occurred in regions of high velocity shear and streamline curvature which would tend to destabilize the shear gradient. Four regions in the flow are identified as potential sources of loss - the blade wake, the shear layers between passage wake and jet, the thickened hub boundary layer and the interaction region between the secondary flow within the blade wake and the passage vortex. The blade wakes generate most turbulence, with smaller contributions from the hub boundary layer and secondary flows, but no significant contribution is apparent from the passage wake shear layers.