Abstract
A better understanding of the flow inside the multi-stage turbomachines will be very useful to both the designer and operator. The numerical calculation for single blade row has been well established with the time marching computation of the Navier-Stokes equations. But there will exist much more difficulties for the multi-blade rows due to the rotor-stator interaction. The major problems are related to the unsteady flow which will inevitably exist in the blade passages due to the different rotating speed and possible the different in blade number. A method is presented for simulating various turbine blade rows in single-stage environment. A solver has been developed for studying the complex flow analysis of ‘proposed high pressure turbine’ (HPT) using quasi-3-D Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (Q3D RNS) equations. The code achieves good quality solutions quickly even with relatively coarse mesh sizes. The work is first validated both with UTRC's and Zeschky and Gallus' subsonic turbine test cases covering inlet boundary conditions and Reynolds-averaged values. A H-type grid is adopted as it is easy to generate and can readily extend to 3D application. When rows are closely spaced, there can be a strong interaction which will impact the aerodynamic, thermal and structural performance of the blade.