3D flow past transonic turbine cascade SE 1050 — Experiment and numerical simulations

This paper is concerned with experimental and numerical research on 3D flow past prismatic turbine cascade SE1050 (known in QNET network as open test case SE1050). The primary goal was to assess the influence of the inlet velocity profile on the flow structures in the interblade channel and on the flow field parameters at the cascade exit and to compare these findings to results of numerical simulations. Investigations of 3D flow past the cascade with non-uniform inlet velocity profile were carried out both experimentally and numerically at subsonic (M2is = 0.8) and at transonic (M2is = 1.2) regime at design angle of incidence. Experimental data was obtained using a traversing device with a five-hole conical probe. Numerically, the 3D flow was simulated by open source code OpenFOAM and in-house code. Analyses of experimental data and CFD simulations have revealed the development of distinctive vortex structures resulting from non-uniform inlet velocity profile. Origin of these structures results in increased loss of kinetic energy and spanwise shift of kinetic energy loss coefficient distribution. Differences found between the subsonic and the transonic case confirm earlier findings available in the literature. Results of CFD and experiments agree reasonably well.