Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Secondary Flow Structures in an Annular Low Pressure Turbine Cascade Under Periodic Wake Impact—Part 1: Experimental Results

Experimental studies have been conducted on a modified T106 low pressure turbine (LPT) profile in an annular 1.5 stage axial turbine rig at the Chair of Thermal Turbomachines and Aeroengines, Ruhr-Universität Bochum. The rig setup allows the highly resolved measurement of unsteady wake–stator flow interaction in both space and time. Incoming wakes are generated by a variable-speed driven rotor equipped with cylindrical bars. In the present paper, an experimental approach to the investigation of unsteady phenomena is proposed. Time-averaged and instantaneous measurement data from 2D flow field traverses at the stator exit are provided for the analysis of the periodically unsteady vortex formation, displacement, and suppression. Additional time-accurate blade pressure data are used to study the relationship between the flow structures downstream of the stator row and the immediate intermittent wake impact on the blades. Bar wake kinematics is also discussed in relation to the observations.