On the Prediction of Unsteady Forces on Gas Turbine Blades: Part 1—Description of the Approach

Abstract

This article investigates the generation of unsteady forces on turbine blades due to potential-flow interaction and viscous-wake interaction from upstream blade rows. A computer program is used to calculate the unsteady forces on the rotor blades. Results are obtained by modeling the effects of the stator viscous wake and the stator potential-flow field on the rotor flow field. The results for one steady and one unsteady flow case are compared with known analytical and experimental data. The amplitudes for the two types of interaction are based on an analysis of available viscous wake data, on measurements of the potential-flow disturbance downstream of typical turbine stators, and on a parametric study of the effects of the amplitudes on the results of the unsteady forces generated on a typical turbine rotor cascade.