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In order to control the thermo-mechanical stresses that large heavy-duty power generation turbines have to face nowadays in their frequent operational transients, the analysis of the heat transfer between main flow, secondary air systems and structural components has to consider multi-physics coupled interactions, and has to be carried out with a whole engine modelling approach, simulating the entire machine in the real operating conditions. This is fundamental to guarantee a reliable assessment of life timing consumption and optimize clearances and temperature picks, through an efficient secondary air system design. It is here proposed a comprehensive description of modelling features and assumptions needed for the transient thermo-mechanical characterization of the whole engine through the application of a FEM-fluid network coupling methodology developed in collaboration with Ansaldo Energia and based on the open source code CalculiX®. In the present work the transient thermal modelling capability of the procedure will be verified through its application to a real whole engine geometry under a realistic transient cycle, comparing results with those of a reference FEM code.

To ensure a passable life span of gas turbine hot gas path components the measurement of metal surface temperature is paramount. Experimental analyses on internally cooled devices are often performed on simplified or scaled up geometries, which reduces the applicability of the results to the actual real hardware. A more reliable estimation of cooling performance could be obtained if the real engine component is directly studied. To achieve this goal, an experimental campaign is performed to investigate the internal heat transfer distribution of an industrial blade, cooled by means of an internal U-shaped channel. During the experiment the blade is heated to a known temperature, then a coolant is introduced through the internal channel to induce a thermal transient, during which the external surface temperature is measured with the help of an infrared camera. Then a transient thermal finite element simulation is performed with the same boundary and inlet conditions of the experiment. Based on the output of the simulation, the internal heat transfer distribution is updated until convergence between simulation output external temperature and the experimental temperature is achieved. In order to start the iterative procedure, a first attempt estimation of the internal heat transfer distribution is obtained with a lumped thermal capacitance model approach. Different experiments were performed with different mass flow rates and the results are compared with available literature data. The obtained results allow to observe detailed heat transfer phenomena, strongly bound to the relevant features of the actual real cooling system.

Simple analytical models can be employed to estimate the leakage mass flow rate from labyrinth seals, resulting in a quick procedure, well suited for the early design process. Different formulas were proposed by many authors during the past decades and most of them employ a carry-over factor and a flow coefficient to predict the mass flow rate across the clearance area. The present work aims to compare the analytical prediction with the results of an experimental campaign. The experimental results were retrieved from a dedicated test rig for both a straight-through and a stepped labyrinth seal. Hence, for each seal, the effect of the clearance size, the Reynolds number and the pressure ratio has been investigated. Starting from the experimental required inputs, six different correlations are considered, with both direct and indirect methods. The results are shown as a function of pressure ratio and clearance gap. Despite some differences in the comparison, and most of the used correlation underestimate the measured mass flow rate, some general trends and guidelines can be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]