Unsteady Interaction Between Purge Flow and Secondary Flow in High-Lift Low-Pressure Turbine

Abstract

The coupling effect between the complex vortex system and the rim purge flow in the endwall region of a high-lift low-pressure turbine (LPT) will significantly influence the evolution of secondary flow and the corresponding losses. This article focused on the unsteady interaction mechanism between the rim purge flow and the secondary flow inside the high-lift LPT under the periodic wake passing. The large eddy simulation (LES) method was used to reveal the influence mechanism of rim purge flow, rotor–stator cavity interaction, and unsteady wakes on the secondary flow. Detailed experimental measurement was carried out for the flow field of high-lift LPT under the influences of static purge flow. The results showed that the rim purge flow significantly increased the overturning and underturning downstream of the endwall region, resulting in aggravating secondary loss. The rotating-rim increased the difference of the circumferential velocity between the mainstream and the purge flow, aggravating the Kelvin–Helmholtz (K–H) instability, inducing the K–H vortex structure with stronger energy amplitude, and further increasing the endwall flow loss. The incoming wakes weakened the energy amplitude of the K–H vortex at the rim purge outlet, and thinned the thickness of the low-energy fluid at the blade leading edge. In addition, the interaction between the wakes and the secondary vortices further suppressed the development of the secondary flow. Nevertheless, the incoming wakes caused additional mixing losses and made a negative impact on the overall aerodynamic performance of the high-lift LPT.