• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.606-616
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• 2003

A numerical analysis has been conducted in order to simulate the characteristics of complex flow through linear cascades of high performance turbine blade with/without tip clearance by using a pressure-correction based, generalized 3D incompressible Wavier-Stokes CFD code. The development and generation of horseshoe vortex, passage vortex, leakage vortex, tip vortex within tip clearance, etc. are clearly identified through the present simulation which uses the RNG k-$\varepsilon$ turbulent model with wall function method and a second-order linear upwind scheme for convective terms. The present simulation results are consistent with the generally known tendency that occurs in the blade passage and tip clearance. A 3D model for secondary and leakage flows through turbine cascades with/without tip clearance is also suggested from the present simulation results, including the effects of tip clearance height.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1113-1120
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• 1999

Leakage vortices fonned near the blade tip cause an increase of total pressure loss near the casing endwall region and as a result, the efficiency of rotor decreases. The reduction of rotor efficiency is related to the size of tip clearance. In this study, the three-dimensional flow fields in an axial flow rotor were calculated with varying tip clearance under various flow rates, and the numerical results were compared with experimental ones. The effects of tip clearance and the of attack on the leakage vortex and overall performance, and the los9 distributions were investigated through numerical calculations. In this study, tip leakage flow rate and total pressure loss due to the tip clearance were evaluated using numerical results and approximate equations were presented to evaluate the reduction of rotor efficiency due to the tip leakage flow.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.307-316
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• 2011

In order to clarify the features of tip leakage vortex near blade tip region in a half-ducted axial fan with large bellmouth, the experimental investigation was carried out using a 2-dimensional LDV system. Three sizes of tip clearance (TC) were tested: those sizes were 1mm (0.55% of blade chord length at blade tip), 2mm (1.11% of blade chord length at blade tip) and 4mm (2.22% of blade chord length at blade tip), and those were shown as TC=1mm, TC=2mm and TC=4mm, respectively. Fan characteristic tests and the velocity field measurements were done for each TC. Pressure - flow-rate characteristics and two-dimensional velocity vector maps were shown. The vortex trace and the vortex intensity distribution were also illustrated. As a result, a large difference on the pressure - flow-rate characteristics did not exist for three tip clearance sizes. In case of TC=4mm, the tip leakage vortex was outflow to downstream of rotor was not confirmed at the small and reference flow-rate conditions. Only at the large flow-rate condition, its outflow to downstream of rotor existed. In case of TC=2mm, overall vortex behaviors were almost the same ones in case of TC=4mm. However, the vortex trace inclined toward more tangential direction. In case of TC=1mm, the clear vortex was not observed for all flow-rate conditions.

• 유체기계공업학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.12a
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• pp.173-177
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• 2005

The heat/mass transfer characteristics on the plane tip surface of a high-turning first-stage turbine rotor blade has been investigated by employing the naphthalene sublimation technique. The heat/mass transfer coefficient is measured for four tip clearance height-to-chord ratios of h/c = 1.0%, 2.0%, 3.0%, and 4% at the Reynolds number of $2.09{\times}105$. The result shows that at lower h/c, there exists a strong flow separation/re-attachment process, which results in severe thermal load along the pressure-side comer. As h/c increases, the re-attachment is occurred further downstream of the pressure-side comer with lower thermal load. At higher h/c, a pair of vortices on the tip surface near the leading edge are found along the pressure-side and suction-side comers, and the pressure-side tip vortex have significant influence even on the mid-chord local heat transfer.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.8 no.1 s.28
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• pp.7-15
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• 2005

Tip clearance of centrifugal compressor affects the performance. Larger tip clearance results in lower efficiency. What really affects the performance is the running tip clearance, not the cold tip clearance. When the compressor is operating, blade strain and the pressure difference between impeller backplate and hub affects the running tip clearance. This paper describes measured running tip clearance and its effects on the performance of centrifugal compressor. Cold tip clearance before operation was 0.4 mm and running tip clearance varied from 0.86 mm to 0.25 mm with impeller exit pressure. As the pressure at impeller exit increases, the running tip clearance tends to decreases. The target running tip clearance for Compressor at $100\%$ speed was 0.3 mm, and it turned out to be exactly 0.30 mm from experiment.

• 유체기계공업학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.12a
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• pp.411-418
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• 2004

Tip clearance of centrifugal compressor affects the performance. Larger tip clearance results in lower efficiency. What really affects the performance is the running tip clearance, not the cold tip clearance. When the compressor is operating, blade strain and the pressure difference between impeller backplate and hub affects the running tip clearance. This paper describes measured running tip clearance and its effects on the performance of centrifugal compressor. Cold tip clearance before operation was 0.4 mm and running tip clearance varied from 0.86 mm to 0.25 mm with impeller exit pressure. As the pressure at impeller exit increases, the routing tip clearance tends to decreases. The target running tip clearance for compressor at $100\%$ speed was 0.3 mm and it turned out to be exactly 0.30 mm from experiment.

• 유체기계공업학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.12a
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• pp.273-278
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• 2002

The characteristics of tip vortex within a blade tip region were examined experimentally in various flow coefficients by the way of changing tip clearance and blade stagger angle in an axial Low Speed Research Compressor(LSRC). The objective was to identify the unsteady pressure distribution in the blade passage by ensemble average technique acquired from high-frequency response pressure transducers and the tip vortex by root mean square value(RMS value). Data were reduced statistically using phase-lock technique for detailed pressure distributions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.743-750
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• 2008

Asymmetric tip clearance in an axial compressor induces pressure and velocity redistributions along the circumferential direction in an axial compressor. This paper presents the mechanism of the flow redistribution due to the asymmetric tip clearance with a simple numerical modeling. The flow field of a rotor of an axial compressor is predicted when an asymmetric tip clearance occurs along the circumferential direction. The modeling results are supported by CFD results not only to validate the present modeling but also to investigate more detailed flow fields. Asymmetric tip clearance makes local flow area and resultant axial velocity vary along the circumferential direction. This flow redistribution 'seed' results in a different flow patterns according to the flow coefficient. Flow field redistribution patterns are largely dependent on the local tip clearance performance at low flow coefficients. However, the contribution of the main flow region becomes dominant while the tip clearance effect becomes weak as the flow coefficient increases. The flow field redistribution pattern becomes noticeably strong if a blockage effect is involved when the flow coefficient increases. The relative flow angle at the small clearance region decreases which result in a negative incidence angle at the high flow coefficient. It causes a recirculation region at the blade pressure surface which results in the flow blockage. It promotes the strength of the flow field redistribution at the rotor outlet. These flow pattern changes have an effect on the blade loading perturbations. The integration of blade loading perturbation from control volume analysis of the circumferential momentum leads to well-known Alford's force. Alford's force is always negative when the flow blockage effects are excluded. However when the flow blockage effect is incorporated into the modeling, main flow effects on the flow redistribution is also reflected on the Alford's force at the high flow coefficient. Alford's force steeply increases as the flow coefficient increases, because of the tip leakage suppression and strong flow redistribution. The predicted results are well agreed to CFD results by Kang and Kang(2006).

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.44 no.12
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• pp.1062-1070
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• 2016

The heat transfer and flow characteristics of gas turbine blade tip were investigated in this paper by using the conjugate heat transfer analysis. The rotor inlet boundary condition profile which was taken from the first stage nozzle outlet was used to analyse. The profile contained the velocity and temperature information. This study presents the influence of tip clearance about aerodynamic loss, heat transfer coefficient and film cooling effectiveness with the squealer tip designed blade model which tip clearance variation range from 1% to 2.5% of span. Results showed that the aerodynamic loss and the heat transfer coefficient were increased when the tip clearance was increased. Especially when the tip clearance was 2% of the span, the average heat transfer coefficient on the tip region was increased obviously. The film cooling effectiveness of tip region was increasing with decreasing of the tip clearance. There was high film cooling effectiveness at cavity and near tip hole region.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.23 no.9
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• pp.1106-1112
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• 1999

Substantial losses behind axial flow rotor are generated by the wake, various vortices in the hub region and the tip leakage vortex in the tip region. Particularly, the leakage vortex formed near blade tip is one of the main causes of the reduction of performance, generation of noise and aerodynamic vibration in downstream. In this study, the three-dimensional flow fields in an axial flow rotor were calculated with varying tip clearance under various flow rates, and the numerical results were compared with experimental ones. The numerical technique was based on SIMPLE algorithm using standard $k-{\varepsilon}$ model(WFM) and Launder & Sharma's Low Reynolds Number $k-{\varepsilon}$ model(LRN). Through calculations, the effects of tip clearance and attack angle on the 3-dimensional flow fileds behind a rotor and leakage flow/vortex were investigated. The presence of tip leakage vortex, loci of vortex center and its behavior behind the rotor for various tip clearances and attack angles was described well by calculation.