Abstract
The current study proposes a new pre-swirler configuration with a splitter for gas turbines. The pre-swirl vane with low aspect ratio results in strong secondary flows and high endwall loss. The splitter concept is demonstrated to reduce aerodynamic loss and improve swirl ratio. The discharge coefficient and swirl ratio increase after the distance between the vane and the splitter is adjusted. Numerical simulations are conducted to validate the performance of the pre-swirler with a splitter. The total pressure loss at the exit of the pre-swirler is reduced by 14 % to 17 % when the splitter is installed. The exit yaw angle increases when the space between the upper vane and the splitter is reduced. Consequently, the increased exit yaw angle increases the tangential velocity at the exit of the pre-swirler and the swirl ratio of the pre-swirl system. A vane-type pre-swirler with splitter is recommended to improve the performance of the pre-swirl system.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J. A. Dixon, A. Dixon, A. G. Valencia, D. Coren, D. Eastwood and C. Long, Main annulus gas path interactions–turbine stator well heat transfer, Proc. of ASME Turbo Expo 2012, Denmark (2012) GT2012-68588, 1–12.
P. Lewis, Pre-swirl rotor-stator systems; flow and heat transfer, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Bath (2008).
Rolls-Royce, The Jet Engine, Fifth Ed., Rolls-Royce plc, Dervy, England (1986).
M. Wilson, R. Pilbrow and J. M. Owen, Flow and heat transfer in a pre-swirl rotor-stator system, J. Turbomach., 119 (2) (1997) 364–373.
H. Karabay, R. Pilbrow, M. Wilon and J. M. Owen, Performance of pre-swirl rotating-disk systems, ASME 1999 International Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress and Exhibition, USA (1999) V003T01A058; 11 pages.
M. Dittmann, T. Geis, V. Schramm, S. Kim and S. Wittig, Discharge coefficients of a preswirl system in secondary air systems, J. Turbomach., 124 (1) (2002) 119–124.
J. Chew, F. Ciampoli, N. Hills and T. Scanlon, Pre-swirled cooling air delivery system performance, ASME Turbo Expo 2005: Power for Land, Sea, and Air, Nevada, USA (2005) GT2005-68323, 1129–1137.
D. Weltersbach, D. Brillert and C. Cichon, Investigations of a pre-swirl cooling air flow system with data acquisition in the absolute and relative frame of reference, Proc. of 5th IASME/WSEAS Int. Conf. on Fluid Mech. Aerodyn., Greece (2007) 49–58.
C. Clark, G. Pullan and E. Curtis, Secondary flow control in low aspect ratio vane using splitters, Proc. of ASME Turbo Expo 2016, South Korea (2016) GT2016-56625, 1–15.
W.-C. Park and H. Higuchi, Numerical investigation of wake flow control by a splitter plate, J. Mech. Sci. Technol., 12 (1) (1997) 123–131.
ANSYS, CFX-Solver Theory Guide, Release 16.1, ANSYS Inc., Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, USA (2015).
F. R. Menter, Improved two-equation k-ω turbulence models for aerodynamic flows, NASA-TM-103975 (1992).
T. J. Barth and D. C. Jespersen, The design and application of upwind schemes on unstructured meshes, AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting 27th, Reno, Nevada, USA (1989) AIAA PAPER 89-0366.
J. Kim, Y. S. Kang, D. Kim, J. Lee, B. J. Cha and J. Cho, Optimization of a high pressure turbine blade tip cavity with conjugate heat transfer analysis, J. Mech. Sci. Technol., 30 (12) (2016) 5529–5538.
G. Pullan, J. Denton and M. Dunkley, An experimental and computational study of the formation of a streamwise shed vortex in a turbine stage, J. Turbomach., 125 (2) 291-297.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Recommended by Associate Editor Jungil Lee
Dongwha Kim is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea. Since 2006, he has been a part of the gas turbine development team at Doosan Heavy Industries Ltd., Korea. His major research topics are gas turbine secondary air system and cooling system design.
Jinsoo Cho is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea. He is in charge of the Applied Aerodynamics Laboratory. In 1988, he received a doctorate in philosophy from Purdue University, USA. His doctoral research topics are the steady/unsteady aerodynamic analysis of the aircraft, the propeller, and the ducted fan. He research focuses on aerodynamics and turbomachinery.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kim, D., Kim, J., Lee, H. et al. Effect of splitter location on the characteristics of a vane-type pre-swirl system. J Mech Sci Technol 31, 1267–1274 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-0225-y
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-017-0225-y