Redesign of Blade Flow Rig for Enhanced Air Flow Experiments
Open Access
- Author:
- Sharma, Esha
- Area of Honors:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Karen Ann Thole, Thesis Supervisor
Margaret Louise Byron, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Turbine blade
Gas turbine
Engineering design
Blade flow rig
Airflow
Pressure
Redesign
Mass flow - Abstract:
- The turbine blade operates in a gas turbine engine under high inlet temperatures, which improves engine efficiency but requires the blade to maintain integrity and durability during operation. Moreover, the measurement of airflow through blades in gas turbines is a pivotal process that precedes their operational deployment. Achieving an accurate airflow measurement validates that the manufacturing of the airfoil internal channels and film cooling holes are within their design tolerance and checks for defects in the passages that can block the flow and impede blade cooling. As a result, the experimental setup and measurement techniques are required to be accurate to ensure the durability of the turbine. The Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine (START) Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University uses a benchtop blade flow rig that measures airflow over a range of pressure ratios to assess the flow performance of turbine blades prior to their cooling effectiveness evaluation. The airflow testing process must be efficient and precise to maintain testing schedules and ensure an accurate characterization of each blade’s flow capabilities and part-to-part variation. The purpose of this study is to redesign the blade flow rig and overcome the limitations in an existing facility, enhancing the rig's capability to accurately measure blade flow performance while ensuring the integrity of blade surface coatings. The redesign focuses on improving the rig’s fixture, which secures the blade in an airtight gasket, as well as increasing modularity to accommodate different blade root designs. During this study, lab personnel were engaged to ensure that the rig's enhancements were both theoretically sound and practically viable. After considering the technical specifications that meet the lab's needs, key improvements were made to the redesign, and prototyping was conducted. Upon completing the redesign, baseline testing was conducted as a benchmark for the new rig's performance. The testing involved comparing repeat tests of the new rig design with the measurements taken with the old version of the blade flow rig using the same airfoil. Furthermore, a thorough evaluation that involves an uncertainty analysis was conducted to demonstrate the redesign's effectiveness and the measurement's accuracy. The uncertainty values reflect the accuracy of the instrumentation used and the repeatability of testing results between trials of the new rig’s flow compared with the old rig. Ultimately, this study illustrates engineering innovations by following the design process to make critical improvements on experimental air flow measurements in the development and maintenance of gas turbine blades.