Numerical investigation of the interaction between upstream cavity purge flow and main flow in low aspect ratio turbine cascade

In modern gas turbines, rim seal located between the stator-disc and rotor-disc is used to prevent hot-gas ingestion into the inner stage-gap of high pressure turbine. However, the purge flow supplied to the cavity through the rim seal interacts with the main flow, producing additional aerodynamic loss due to the mixing process which plays a significant role in the formation, development and evolution of downstream secondary flow. In this paper, a set of cascade representative of low aspect ratio turbine is selected to numerically investigate the influence of upstream cavity purge flow on the hub secondary flow structure and aerodynamic loss. Cascade with/without upstream cavity and four different purge mass flow rates are all taken into account in this simulation. Then, a deep insight into the loss mechanism of interaction between purge flow and main flow is gained. The results show that the presence of cavity and purge flow has a significant impact on the main flow which not only changes the vortex structure in both the passage and upstream cavity, but also alters the cascade exit flow angle distribution along the spanwise. Moreover, aerodynamic loss in the cascade rises with the increase of purge flow rate while the sealing effect is also enhanced. Therefore, the effect of upstream cavity purge flow must be considered in the process of turbine aerodynamic design. What is more, it is necessary to minimize the purge flow rate in order to reduce aerodynamic loss on the premise of satisfying cooling requirements.