Large Eddy Simulation of Secondary Flows in an Ultra-High Lift Low Pressure Turbine Cascade at Various Inlet Incidences

Increasing the blade loading of a low pressure turbine blade decreases the number of blades, thus improving the aero-engine performance in terms of the weight and manufacture cost. Many studies focused on the blade-to-blade flow field of ultra-high lift low pressure turbines. The secondary flows of ultra-high lift low pressure turbines received much less attention. This paper investigates the secondary flows in an ultra-high lift low pressure turbine cascade T106C by large eddy simulation at a Reynolds number of 100,000. Both time-averaged and instantaneous flow fields of this ultrahigh lift low pressure turbine are presented. To understand the effects of the inlet angle, five incidences of -10 degrees, -5 degrees, 0, + 5 degrees and +10 degrees are investigated. The case at the design incidence is analyzed first. Detailed data is used to illustrate the how the fluids in boundary layers develops into secondary flows. Then, the cases with different inlet incidences are discussed. The aerodynamic performances are compared. The effect of blade loading on the vortex structures is investigated. The horseshoe vortex, passage vortex and the suction side corner vortex are very sensitive to the loading of the front part of the blade.