Influence of Vanes and Blades on Ingress in Axial Rim Seal for Turbine Stages

Hot gas ingestion refers to the phenomenon of mainstream hot gas flowing into the space cavity of a turbine wheel.Previous studies have found that mainstream annulus pressure distribution plays an important role in hot gas ingestion,but due to its complexity,the mechanism of the interaction between mainstream flow and hot gas ingestion remains unclear.This paper adopts the URANS method,and three sealing flow rates are considered,named C_(w)=0,C_(w)=500,and C_(w)=5000.The time-averaged annulus pressure distribution shows that an increase in the sealing flow decreases the pressure value,and the effects of the sealing flow on the pressure distribution of the leading edge of the blade are much more influential than that of the trailing edge of the vane.The unsteady pressure time-space distribution in the annulus indicates that a time-space tilted distribution of pressure at the rim exits when the sealing flow exists.This phenomenon is mainly due to the strong feedback mechanism of the sealing flow to the annulus pressure field.A comparison of the pressure and mean radial velocity distribution of the mainstream shows that the ingestion mainly occurs on the blade side,where the pressure is lower than on the vane side.The flow characteristics at the wheel rim are analyzed with a sealing flow rate C_(w)=5000,and under these conditions,both pressure-induced ingestion and ingestion caused by a passage vortex can be inferred.The three-dimensional and inertial effects of the mainstream at the wheel rim lead to the generation of separation vortices on the blade side,and the presence of separation vortices leads to ingestion along the blade side.At the same time,pressure on the blade side will cause the fluid to have a radial inward flow tendency,which will promote the formation of separation vortices,leading to more serious ingestion in the high-pressure region on the blade side.The blade pressure field can be more significant than the vane trailing pressure field in the rim seal ingestion,and it contributes some explanations to the open question:the effect of blade on ingestion.

Effects of Sealing Flow Supply Configuration with Holes on Sealing Effectiveness of Turbine Rim Seal

This paper proposes a new-designed rim seal configuration with sealing holes based on the conventional radial rim seal,and presents a numerical comparison of the sealing performance between the conventional sealing flow supply configuration and the new sealing flow supply configuration with holes at different sealing flow rates.The sealing effectiveness and unsteady flow yields at the rim seal are numerically simulated by using the URANS method and SST turbulent model from ANSYS CFX.The influence of the new sealing flow supply configuration on the sealing effectiveness at different sealing flow rates is determined.The effectiveness of different sealing flow rates in the conventional rim seal is also studied.As to the conventional rim seal,the increase in the sealing flow rate reduces the degree of gas ingestion induced by the effect of mainstream ingress at the rim clearance,while the unsteady flow characteristics are enhanced,and the number and amplitude of the low-frequency signals increase.The position of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities vortex structures is left by the increased sealing flow rate,and its strength is suppressed.Compared with the conventional rim seal configuration,the new sealing flow supply configuration with holes could reduce the sealing efficiency by 5.06%at most at sealing flow distribution m_(1):m_(2)=3:1 when Cw=2000,and improve the sealing efficiency by 11.71%at most at sealing flow distribution m_(1):m_(2)=1:1 when Cw=7500.It shows that the lateral jet from the holes induces a larger-scale Kelvin-Helmholtz vortex structure at Cw=2000,thus the sealing efficiency in the wheel space is also reduced.However,the size of the Kelvin-Helmholtz vortex structures is significantly suppressed by the new sealing flow supply configuration at Cw=7500,which is beneficial to improving the sealing effectiveness of the conventional rim seal.

Flow mechanism between purge flow and mainstream in different turbine rim seal configurations

The rim seal is used to prevent mainstream ingestion to the gap between the vane of a turbine and its blade. In this article, the dolphin lip with a hook configuration and a large seal cavity with hook structures are designed based on the high-pressure turbine datum single shark lip rim seal configuration. The sealing effect and parameters of the flow field are measured by an experiment method and a numerical simulation is used to explain the mechanism. For three configurations,the effect of the leakage slot vortex on the efficiency of the seal and the influence of leakage vortex,generated by the interaction between purge flow and mainstream flow, are discussed in depth. The result shows that the reverse vortex formed by the dolphin lip rim seal with hook structure will increase the sealing efficiency. The seal configuration with a large cavity improves sealing efficiency to a greater extent than the datum structure. At different purge flow rates and with unequal seal structures, the purge flow produces three types of leakage vortices in the passage. Besides, the seal configuration with dolphin lip produces a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the interface of the purge and the mainstream flows at a low purge flow rate to induce new leakage vortex branches in the passage of the blade.

Theoretical modelling of hot gas ingestion through turbine rim seals

The rim seals of gas turbines are used to prevent or reduce the ingestion of hot mainstream gas into the wheel-space between the turbine rotor and its adjacent stationary casing.The ingestion is caused by local pressure differences between the mainstream and the wheel-space;ingress usually occurs where the mainstream pressure is higher than that in the wheel-space and egress occurs where it is lower.Sealing air,which is supplied to the wheel-space,flows through the seal clearance and joins the mainstream flow.Too much sealing air is inefficient;too little can lead to disastrous consequences.The nozzle guide vanes create three-dimensional(3D)variations in the distribution of pressure in the mainstream annulus and the turbine blades create unsteady effects.Computational fluid dynamics(CFD)is both time-consuming and expensive for these 3D unsteady flows,and engine designers tend to use correlations or simple models to predict ingress.This paper describes the application of simple‘orifice models’,the analytical solutions of which can be used to calculate the sealing effectiveness of turbine rim seals.The solutions agree well with available data for externally-induced ingress,where the effects of rotation are negligible,for rotationally-induced ingress,where the effects of the external flow are small,and for combined ingress,where the effects of both external flow and rotation are significant.

Influence of Secondary Sealing Flow on Performance of Turbine Axial Rim Seals

Purge flow is of great importance in cooling turbine disks and sealing rotor-stator disc cavity to reduce hot gas ingestion in gas turbines.The amount of cooling air extracted from the compressor is crucial to engine efficiency.Excessive sealing air will cause not only a reduction in work transfer but also an increase in aerodynamic losses caused by the mixing of main and sealing flow.In order to simplify rim seal structure while ensuring high sealing efficiency,the current paper optimizes the flow path of the secondary air system and presents a new rim seal structure with auxiliary sealing holes transporting a certain amount of secondary sealing flow.The new structure was compared with the conventional counterpart using validated CFD methods,showing that the additional secondary sealing flow is possible to improve sealing efficiency in disk cavity.The current paper investigates the secondary sealing flow with and without swirl(the angle of auxiliary sealing hole inclination is 0°and 45°respectively),while maintaining the total amount of the sealing flow,flowrate ratio of sealing air(main sealing flow rate versus secondary sealing flow rate=1:1,2:1,3:1,4:1),found that both two parameters have essential impacts on sealing efficiency.The relationship between these two parameters and sealing efficiency was obtained,and it provides a new philosophy for the design of rim seal in gas turbines.

Aerodynamic and heat transfer performances of a highly loaded transonic turbine rotor with upstream generic rim seal cavity

In turbine disk cavity,rim seals are fitted between the stator and its adjacent rotor disk.A coolant air injected through the turbine disk cavity to prevent the ingress of mainstream hot gases.The purpose of this paper is to investigate numerically the effect of the upstream purge flow on the aero and thermal performances of a high pressure turbine rotor.The investigations are conducted on a generic rim seal cavity inspired from a realistic turbofan engine.Four purge fractions(PF)equal to 0.2%,0.5%,1.0%and 1.5%of the mainstream are considered.The simulations are done by solving the three-dimensional Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes and energy transport equations.The results include the effect of the PF on the cooling effectiveness,the sealing effectiveness,the secondary flows with losses and the heat transfer behavior,within the cavity and across the rotor passage.The low PF of 0.2%provided a low cooling effectiveness,a moderate sealing effectiveness and minimum losses.The high PF of 1.5%gave a high cooling effectiveness,a best sealing effectiveness and maximum losses.The medium PF of 1.0%supplied a compromise between the aerodynamic and thermal design needs with good cooling and sealing efficiencies and a tolerable level of losses.

燃气透平轮缘密封流动特性和气动性能

轮缘密封是二次空气系统的重要组成部分,能有效抑制燃气入侵盘腔,但过量的封严冷气进入主流会显著影响透平气动性能。采用数值求解三维非定常雷诺时均纳维斯托克斯(URANS)方程组和剪切应力传输(SST)k-ω湍流模型的方法研究了燃气透平轮缘密封流动特性和气动性能。数值模拟得到的轮缘密封封严效率与实验数据吻合良好,验证了数值计算方法的可靠性。研究了3种封严冷气量下的透平轮缘密封的封严效率和气动性能,分析了透平静动盘腔的流场结构和燃气入侵与冷气出流特性。仿真结果表明:在所研究的3种封严冷气流量下,轮缘密封内腔完全封严,较小的封严冷气流量能使末级透平轮缘密封达到较高封严效率;在最小冷气流量时外腔动盘面平均封严效率比静盘面高4.4%。对于末级透平,主流周向压力不均匀分布导致的外环诱导入侵占主导,且动叶前缘附近压力场对燃气入侵的影响大于静叶尾迹压力场。封严冷气质量流量比每增大1.0%,透平级总总效率降低约1.0%,相对动盘壁面封严效率的影响,封严冷气流量对动叶气动性能的影响更大;出流冷气的流动方向相对主流在切向上滞后,使掺混气流以负攻角冲击动叶吸力面前缘,吸力面前缘压力增大。该工作可为轮缘密封流动特性及其对透平级气动性能影响的研究提供参考。

1.5级燃气透平轮缘密封非定常流动特征和封严效率的数值研究

为探究燃气轮机透平轮缘密封燃气入侵机理和非定常封严效率演变特性,针对某型燃气轮机透平第一级和第二级静叶(1.5级)自主设计了轮缘密封结构,通过数值求解三维unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes(URANS)方程组和SST k-ω湍流模型,研究了实际运行工况下燃气透平轮缘密封非定常封严效率和流动特征。结果表明:4种不同冷气流量下,前后盘腔密封齿以下区域均被完全封严;前盘腔受燃气入侵影响较大,冷气流量最大时外腔静盘面上平均封严效率仅为后盘腔的48.2%。盘腔内封严效率和轮缘密封间隙内流场受主流非轴对称周向压力分布和Kelvin-Helmholtz(K-H)不稳定性涡共同影响,前盘腔出口附近非轴对称周向压力和轮缘间隙内K-H不稳定性旋涡强度均显著大于后盘腔,轮缘间隙处最大入侵流量约为后盘腔的2.5倍;与K-H不稳定性涡相比,后盘腔外腔内存在的与不稳定性涡相干的两个涡旋和非轴对称周向压力分布对封严效率和流场的影响更为显著。前后盘腔内存在多个旋涡,旋涡大小和位置不断变化,改变对入侵燃气和封严冷气的流动阻力,进而影响盘腔内封严效率和流动形态。

涡轮盘腔燃气入侵及间隙剪切涡特性分析

为揭示转-静相互作用下的非定常燃气入侵机理及轮缘大尺度涡结构的产生机制,对带有轴向封严结构的1.5级高压涡轮装置进行三维非定常数值模拟,结合实验结果和盘腔内的经典流动理论对数值方法进行了验证。研究结果表明:转子前缘压力势场是造成旋转燃气入侵的主导因素。轮缘间隙内的间隙剪切涡是构成轮缘三维非定常流动的主要原因,其强度受到入侵燃气和出流冷气的径向速度、切向速度梯度以及上游边界层共同影响;间隙剪切涡周向方向的旋转有利于加快入侵燃气从动盘侧迁移至静盘侧,缩小动、静盘封严效率差异,当封严流量从0.5%降低到0.25%时,盘腔出口动静盘侧封严效率差值增大175%;间隙剪切涡与旋转泵效应的相互作用对于主流高温燃气在径向方向入侵盘腔具有抑制作用;由燃气入侵机制和间隙涡特性可以得出:文中盘腔出口设置在更靠近转子前缘位置对于提升轮缘密封性能具有正向意义。

凸起形状对轮缘封严结构燃气入侵的影响

为了研究轮缘封严附近凸起的形状对封严效率的影响,采用测量二氧化碳体积分数、腔内压力的实验方法,研究了几种典型的凸起形状对封严效率、腔内压力、腔内流场和无量纲最小封严流量的影响,目的是获得最佳的凸起形状。结果表明,凸起形状的变化对腔内的静压影响不大,封严环附近的静压变化几乎可以忽略不计。而总压和封严效率将随着凸起形状的变化而不同。安装凸起会整体提升腔内的旋流比。当凸起形状为六面体时,腔内的总压和封严效率最大,其无量纲最小封严流量相比于光滑盘平均减少了32%。

轮缘密封影响下的动叶通道内非定常流动研究

为了研究涡轮转静盘腔间轮缘封严结构对下游动叶通道内流动的影响,对无封严结构、无封严气流及采用不同封严流量时涡轮动叶通道内流场分布和气动损失进行了数值模拟。结果表明:封严腔出口位置气流受静叶与动叶相对位置变化的影响呈现较强的非定常特性,变化与动叶运动周期保持一致。动叶入口位置非定常波动受到封严气流与前缘势场共同作用,封严气流引起周向、径向速度变化的同时也造成了强烈的非定常效应。动叶通道内封严气流引起的端区气流偏转改变了前缘马蹄涡滞止点位置,增强了马蹄涡压力面分支,动叶吸力面一侧剪切诱导涡改变了轮毂通道涡的形成机制和吸力面侧相对低压区的位置。

带有轮缘密封的涡轮动叶轮毂端壁造型

为通过主动端壁控制技术减弱轮缘密封流对主流通道的影响,基于轮毂端壁静压对高压涡轮动叶端壁非轴对称端壁造型,分析了转静间隙密封流与主流相互作用及端壁造型后损失减弱的效果。结果表明:非轴对称端壁造型后密封流对主流通道的堵塞减弱,主流质量流量增加,合理控制端壁造型幅值能够提升涡轮级工作效率;靠近动叶前缘向上凸起的端壁造型增加了轮缘密封腔出口位置的径向压力梯度,增大了燃气入侵与密封出流的强度;主动端壁控制技术降低了主流通道内的横向压力梯度和轮毂二次流结构径向位置,减弱了由密封流引起的二次流损失;密封流质量流量比为1.2%时,造型幅值为5%和8%模型二次流动能分别减少了1.18%和3.76%。

轴流涡轮转子下游多边界盘腔燃气入侵数值研究

研究涡轮燃气入侵对发动机性能和可靠性具有重要意义,但现有研究多集中于动叶上游盘腔,需要深化对动叶下游盘腔燃气入侵问题的研究。以某高压涡轮及其下游二次空气系统为研究对象,采用三维定常数值模拟探究了适用于转子下游多边界盘腔燃气入侵仿真方法,分析了不同压比下封严流量和燃气入侵特性,并研究了盘腔内部流动机理。结果表明:采用压力边界条件的仿真结果更符合多边界盘腔流动现实。各封严流量随盘腔进口压力增加而增大,但梯度逐渐减小,轮缘封严达到最小流量后基本呈线性变化,而盘腔内部封严流量趋于稳定。在阻止主流入侵的最小封严流量附近,轮缘封严压力分布难以判断主流是否入侵盘腔内部,而轮缘封严齿间流体温度是判断主流燃气入侵盘腔内部的重要参数。

涡轮轮缘密封封严效率的数值研究

采用三维RANS方程组和SST湍流模型研究了涡轮轮缘密封的封严效率。以实验用模型透平航空发动机涡轮轮缘密封为对象,计算了轮缘密封封严效率,计算结果与实验结果吻合良好,从而验证了数值方法的可靠性。在8种冷却气流流量下,研究了3种不同动静叶轴向距离和轮缘密封轴向位置的封严效率的变化特性,结果表明:在所研究的轮缘密封结构下,随着动静叶轴向距离的增大,主流入侵流量降低,封严效率升高;动静叶轴向距离一定时,轮缘密封轴向位置越靠近静叶,则主流入侵流量越大,封严效率越低。

涡轮轮缘密封非定常主流入侵特性的数值研究

采用附加示踪变量的方法,通过数值求解URANS和SST紊流模型的方法研究了轮缘密封非定常燃气入侵特性和封严效率,计算了不同冷气量下定常和非定常时均径向轮缘密封的封严效率,并与实验值进行了比较,验证了非定常数值方法研究轮缘密封燃气入侵特性的有效性,对比分析了径向和径向-轴向轮缘密封中等冷气量下定常和非定常的燃气入侵特性。结果表明:静叶尾迹和动叶前缘附近的压力势场的非定常干涉效应及盘腔中非定常的压力分布会强化主流燃气入侵;相比非定常计算,定常分析会低估轮缘密封的燃气入侵量及燃气入侵对盘腔流场的影响;相比径向轮缘密封,径向-轴向轮缘密封可以显著提高涡轮盘腔的封严效率。

结构参数对轮缘密封封严特性影响的数值研究

采用Ansys-CFX软件数值求解三维RANS方程和SST湍流模型,研究了涡轮轴向轮缘密封几何结构参数对其封严特性的影响,并对数值计算得到的轴向轮缘密封的封严效率与试验数据进行了对比,分析了动静间距和密封间隙尺寸对轮缘密封燃气入侵和封严效率的影响.结果表明:数值计算得到的封严效率与实验值吻合良好,验证了所用数值方法的可靠性;主流周向压力不对称分布会导致周向不同位置分别呈现出流和入侵;对于轴向轮缘密封,当动叶远离盘腔时,主流周向压差减小,主流入侵减少,封严效率升高,当密封间隙增大时,主流入侵增加,封严效率降低.

浮盘密封圈的原油挥发及结构优化的研究

根据我国大型浮顶储罐的特点,分析浮盘密封圈内油气的形成和集聚过程,总结浮盘密封圈在运行中出现的问题;指出密封圈内的油气挥发是气液相动态平衡的过程,当前浮盘密封圈的主要缺陷是密封圈内油气空间较大和在运行中无法保证有效密封;消除密封圈内原油的气液相界面是抑制密封圈内原油挥发的根本,减少风、气温变化等外界因素对密封圈内原油挥发的影响是降低密封圈内油气浓度的关键;消除密封圈内部的油气空间、消除密封圈内可能存在的放电点、增强密封结构的稳定性是密封圈结构优化的主要途径。

大型浮顶油罐密封圈火灾泡沫灭火试验

针对大型浮顶油罐浮盘低液位运行时罐壁式泡沫灭火系统可能存在的不足,在10万m3外浮顶储罐上开展了泡沫系统冷喷试验,并采用不同泡沫在不同供给强度下开展了30m长密封圈火灾泡沫系统灭火模拟试验。试验过程测定了罐顶喷射系统的发泡倍数、25%析液时间、泡沫在堰板内的流动速度、燃烧液面的蔓延速度以及泡沫堰板外的损失量等,分析浮盘低液位条件下现有泡沫喷射系统扑救密封圈火灾的有效性,并提出改进建议。结果表明:泡沫混合液规定供给强度条件下,3%型水成膜泡沫和6%型氟蛋白泡沫均可以有效控火;泡沫混合液供给强度下降28%后在燃烧液面的蔓延速度降低60%。建议大型浮顶油罐区选取优质泡沫并保证泡沫灭火系统有效的供给强度和连续供给时间。

大型浮顶储罐灭火系统的研究

介绍了大型浮顶储罐密封圈火灾的特点,分析了罐壁式泡沫灭火系统在运行中暴露的不足和浮盘边缘式泡沫灭火系统的优势,并介绍了国外典型的灭火系统。指出在灭火性能方面浮盘边缘式泡沫灭火系统优于罐壁式泡沫灭火系统,但其系统可靠性尚需提高。建议加强国产浮盘边缘式泡沫灭火系统的研发,并尽快全面开展针对大型浮顶储罐全表面积火灾的消防技术研究。

涡轮蜂窝面径向轮缘密封封严性能的数值研究

采用附加示踪变量方法,数值求解三维Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes（URA-NS）方程和SST紊流模型,研究了典型光滑面径向轮缘密封和新设计的蜂窝面径向轮缘密封的封严性能.数值计算了光滑面轮缘密封的封严效率.数值结果与实验数据吻合一致,验证了所发展数值方法的有效性.计算了三种封严冷气量下蜂窝面和光滑面径向轮缘密封的封严效率,分析对比了两种轮缘密封的封严性能和流场特性.研究结果表明：新设计的蜂窝面径向轮缘密封的封严效率相比于光滑面结构在相同冷气量下提高52%~67%.在径向内齿上开设蜂窝孔结构会增加流动阻力,抑制入侵燃气进入涡轮盘腔,有效地提高了轮缘密封的封严性能.