Tip Clearance Effects on Inlet Hot Streaks Migration Characteristics in Low Pressure Stage of a Vaneless Counter-Rotating Turbine

In this paper, three-dimensional multiblade row unsteady Navier-Stokes simulations at a hot streak temperature ratio of 2.0 have been performed to reveal the effects of rotor tip clearance on the inlet hot streak migration characteristics in low pressure stage of a Vaneless Counter-Rotating Turbine. The hot streak is circular in shape with a diameter equal to 25% of the high pressure turbine stator span. The hot streak center is located at 50% of the span and the leading edge of the high pressure turbine stator. The tip clearance size studied in this paper is 2.0mm(2.59% high pressure turbine rotor height, and 2.09% low pressure turbine rotor height). The numerical results show that the hot streak is not mixed out by the time it reaches the exit of high pressure turbine rotor. The separation of colder and hotter fluid is observed at the inlet of low pressure turbine rotor. Most of hotter fluid migrates towards the rotor pressure surface, and only little hotter fluid migrates to the rotor suction surface when it convects into the low pressure turbine rotor. And the hotter fluid migrated to the tip region of the high pressure turbine rotor impinges on the leading edge of the low pressure turbine rotor after it goes through the high pressure turbine rotor. The migration of the hotter fluid directly results in very high heat load at the leading edge of the low pressure turbine rotor. The migration characteristics of the hot streak in the low pressure turbine rotor are dominated by the combined effects of secondary flow and leakage flow at the tip clearance. The leakage flow trends to drive the hotter fluid towards the blade tip on the pressure surface and to the hub on the suction surface, even partial hotter fluid near the pressure surface is also driven to the rotor suction surface through the tip clearance. Compared with the case without rotor tip clearance, the heat load of the low pressure turbine rotor is intensified due to the effects of the leakage flow. And the numerical results also indicate that the leakage flow effect trends to increase the low pressure turbine rotor outlet temperature at the tip region.