An experimental investigation of secondary flows and loss development downstream of a highly loaded low pressure turbine outlet guide vane cascade

This paper presents a detailed experimental investigation of the evolution of secondary flow field characteristics and losses at several measurement planes downstream of a highly loaded low pressure turbine/outlet guide vane (LPT/OGV). The experiments were carried out in a linear cascade at Chalmers in Sweden. Several realistic upstream incidences and turbulence intensities have been investigated for one Reynolds number. Downstream characteristics have been measured with a 5-hole pneumatic probe. This allows for the determination of the mean vortical structures, their development and their interactions. The passage vortex and the blade shed vorticity are clearly visible at different downstream positions. Their intensity is shown to be strongly dependent on the inlet flow angle. The turbulence level seems to play a role on both the mixing within, and between the structures. The measurements also show that the losses along the blade span are dependent on the development of these structures.