Experimental data have shown that combustor temperature nonuniformities can lead to the excessive heating of first-stage rotor blades in turbines. This heating of the rotor blades can lead to thermal fatigue and degrade turbine performance. The results of recent studies have shown that variations in the circumferential location, or clocking, of the first-stage vane airfoils can be used to minimize the adverse effects of the hot streaks due to the hot fluid mixing with the cooler fluid contained in the vane wake. In addition, the effects of the hot streak/airfoil count ratio on the heating patterns of turbine airfoils have been quantified. In the present investigation, three-dimensional unsteady Navier–Stokes simulations have been performed for a single-stage high-pressure turbine geometry operating in high subsonic flow to study the effects of tip clearance on hot streak migration. Baseline simulations were initially performed without hot streaks to compare with the experimental data. Two simulations were then performed with a superimposed combustor hot streak; in the first the tip clearance was set at the experimental value, while in the second the rotor was allowed to scrape along the outer case (i.e., the limit as the tip clearance goes to zero). The predicted results for the baseline simulations show good agreement with the available experimental data. The simulations with the hot streak indicate that the tip clearance increases the radial spreading of the hot fluid, and increases the integrated rotor surface temperature compared to the case without tip clearance. [S0889-504X(00)02204-2]

1.
Krouthen
,
B.
, and
Giles
,
M. B.
,
1990
, “
Numerical Investigation of Hot Streaks in Turbines
,”
AIAAJ. Propul. Power
,
6
, No.
6
, pp.
769
776
.
2.
Rai
,
M. M.
, and
Dring
,
R. P.
,
1990
, “
Navier–Stokes Analysis of the Redistribution of Inlet Temperature Distortions in a Turbine
,”
AIAA J. Propul. Power
,
6
, pp.
276
282
.
3.
Takahashi, R. K., and Ni, R. H., 1990, “Unsteady Euler Analysis of the Redistribution of an Inlet Temperature Distortion in a Turbine,” AIAA Paper No. 90-2262.
4.
Takahashi, R. K., and Ni, R. H., 1991, “Unsteady Hot Streak Migration Through a 1-1/2 Stage Turbine,” AIAA Paper No. 91-3382.
5.
Dorney
,
D. J.
,
Davis
,
R. L.
,
Edwards
,
D. E.
, and
Madavan
,
N. K.
,
1992
, “
Unsteady Analysis of Hot Streak Migration in a Turbine Stage
,”
AIAA J. Propul. Power
,
8
, No.
2
, pp.
520
529
.
6.
Dorney
,
D. J.
, and
Davis
,
R. L.
,
1993
, “
Numerical Simulation of Turbine ’Hot Spot’ Alleviation Using Film Cooling
,”
AIAA J. Propul. Power
,
9
, No.
3
, pp.
329
336
.
7.
Dorney
,
D. J.
, and
Gundy-Burlet
,
K. L.
,
1996
, “
Hot Streak Clocking Effects in a 1-1/2 Stage Turbine
,”
AIAA J. Propul. Power
,
12
, No.
3
, pp.
619
620
.
8.
Gundy-Burlet
,
K. L.
, and
Dorney
,
D. J.
,
1997
, “
Influence of 3D Hot Streaks on Turbine Heat Transfer
,”
Int. J. Turbo Jet Eng.
,
14
, No.
3
, pp.
123
132
.
9.
Shang
,
T.
, and
Epstein
,
A. H.
,
1997
, “
Analysis of Hot Streak Effects on Turbine Rotor Heat Load
,”
ASME J. Turbomach.
,
119
, pp.
544
553
.
10.
Whitney, W. J., Stabe, R. G., and Moffitt, T. P., 1980, “Description of the Warm Core Turbine Facility and the Warm Annular Cascade Facility Recently Installed at NASA Lewis Research Center,” NASA TM 81562.
11.
Schwab, J. R., Stabe, R. G., and Whitney, W. J., 1983, “Analytical and Experimental Study of Flow Through an Axial Turbine Stage with a Nonuniform Inlet Radial Temperature Profile,” AIAA Paper No. 83-1175.
12.
Stabe, R. G., Whitney, W. J., and Moffitt, T. P., 1984, “Performance of a High-Work Low Aspect Ratio Turbine Tested with a Realistic Inlet Radial Temperature Profile,” AIAA Paper No. 84–1161.
13.
Baldwin, B. S., and Lomax, H., 1978, “Thin Layer Approximation and Algebraic Model for Separated Turbulent Flow,” AIAA Paper No. 78-257.
14.
Roe
,
P. L.
,
1981
, “
Approximate Riemann Solvers, Parameter Vectors, and Difference Schemes
,”
J. Comput. Phys.
,
43
, pp.
357
372
.
15.
Dorney
,
D. J.
, and
Schwab
,
J. R.
,
1995
, “
Unsteady Numerical Simulations of Radial Temperature Profile Redistribution in a Single-Stage Turbine
,”
ASME J. Turbomach.
,
118
, pp.
783
791
.
16.
Butler
,
T. L.
,
Sharma
,
O. P.
,
Joslyn
,
H. D.
, and
Dring
,
R. P.
,
1989
, “
Redistribution of an Inlet Temperature Distortion in an Axial Flow Turbine Stage
,”
AIAA J. Propul. Power
,
5
, pp.
64
71
.
You do not currently have access to this content.