TIP LEAKAGE FLOWS IN TURBINES

Abstract

Mechanisms of formation of the tip leakage over shrouded and unshrouded rotor blades are described in the paper. The loss diagrams for these two types of leakage in a wide range of cascade inlet and outlet flow angles are also plotted. They are obtained in a theoretical way from a model of stream mixing with the help of simplifying assumptions concerning the load of the rotor profile. Results of numerical investigations based on a 3D RANS solver FlowER are also presented in the paper. They extend on the effects of geometrical and flow parameters of the cascade (stage or stage group) on the development of flow losses in the leakage-dominated region as well as on the interaction of tip leakage flow with secondary flows. The tip clearance size, the level of flow turning in the cascade, incidence angle and the effect of relative motion of the blades and endwall are considered here in the case of unshrouded free-tip blades. In the case of shrouded rotor blades the tip leakage mass flow rate and its direction on the re-entry to the blade -to blade passage. Since the tip leakage non-uniformities are hardly dissipated within the blade row where they originate, the interaction of the tip leakage with the flow in the downstream stator is considered. Some investigations also take into account the effect of relative motion of the stator and rotor blades.