Session: 32-09 Novel Turbines

Submission Number: 178573

Comparison of Experimental Measurements to Steady and Unsteady Simulations of the BEARCAT High-Pressure Turbine 

In the world of CFD calculations, experimental measurements have always been a high-fidelity basis to validate numerical models. The test rig BEARCAT has been designed to provide an experimental database on a real helicopter engine, using innovative measurement techniques in very extreme conditions inside a very heavily instrumented machine. It provides access to insert probes into the flow and measure radial profiles and 2D maps at several sections of the combustion chamber and high-pressure two-stage turbine. Five-hole probes and thermocouples were used to extract pressure, velocity vector and temperature fields.

RANS and URANS simulations were carried out on the first stage of the turbine at the same operating point as in the experiments. The phase-lag approach was used for the unsteady simulation. The technological effects, such as air injections and purges, were considered in the simulation as boundary conditions following an Injection Region Model (IRM).

Five-hole probe and thermocouple measurements served as inlet boundary conditions upstream of the nozzle guide vane (NGV). Thermocouple measurements in the inter-row passage were used for the comparison with the simulations.

The numerical results show good agreement with experiments. These results allow a better understanding of the migration of hot gas in high-pressure turbine in real engine conditions.

More work is expected in the future to better treat experimental measurements and to increase the precision of the simulations

Presenting Author: Alain El Khoury Safran SA

Presenting Author Biography: I am a research engineer in combustion chamber and turbine of the test rig BEARCAT. I have a double degree in mechanical engineering from the Lebanese University and in aerospace engineering from ISAE SUPAERO in France.

I am passionate in the field of aeronautical propulsion and turbomachinery and I specialize in axial turbines. My work revolves around a full-engine test rig called BEARCAT developed by Safran where I treat experimental measurements and improve CFD models for turbine flow modeling.

Authors:

Alain El Khoury Safran SA
Mohamed Amine Chemak Safran SA
Jean-Louis Champion-Reaud Safran SA