[In-Process Engine Casing Wall Thickness Measurement Project]

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Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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Abstract

This paper reports the measurements of time-resolved heat transfer rate and time-resolved static pressure that have been made on the over-tip casing of a transonic axial-flow engine casing operating at flow conditions that are representative of those found in modern gas engine casing engine casings. This data is discussed and analysed in the context of explaining the physical mechanisms that influence the casing heat flux. The physical size of the measurement domain was one nozzle guide vane-pitch and from -20% to +80% rotor axial chord. Additionally, measurements of the time-resolved adiabatic wall temperature are presented. The time-mean data from the same set of experiments is presented and discussed in Part I of this paper. The nozzle guide vane exit flow conditions in these experiments were a Mach number of 0.93 and a Reynolds number of 2.7 × 106 based on nozzle guide vane mid-height axial chord. The data reveal large temporal variations in heat transfer characteristics to the casing wall that are associated with blade-tip passing events and in particular the blade over-wall thickness flow. The highest instantaneous heat flux to the casing wall occurs within the blade-tip gap, and this has been found to be caused by a combination of increasing flow temperature and heat transfer coefficient. The time-resolved static pressure measurements have enabled a detailed understanding of the tip-leakage aerodynamics to be established, and the physical mechanisms influencing the casing heat load have been determined. In particular, this has focused on the role of the unsteady blade lift distribution that is produced by upstream vane effects. This has been seen to modulate the tip-leakage flow and cause subsequent variations in casing heat flux. The novel experimental techniques employed in these experiments have allowed the measurement of the time-resolved adiabatic wall temperature on the casing wall. These data clearly show the falling flow temperatures as work is extracted from the gas by the engine casing. Additionally, these temperature measurements have revealed that the absolute stagnation temperature within the tip-gap flow can be above the engine casing inlet total temperature, and indicates the presence of a work process that leads to high adiabatic wall temperatures as a blade-tip passes a point on the casing wall. It is shown that this phenomena can be explained by consideration of the flow vectors within the tip-gap, and that these in turn are related to the local blade loading distribution. The paper also assesses the relative importance of different time-varying phenomena to the casing heat load distribution. This analysis has indicated that up to ...