Performance analysis of air-cooled turbine based on source terms method

Abstract Investigating turbine blade cooling and blade tip clearance leakage is crucial for reducing turbine losses and enhancing overall engine performance. Therefore, this paper uses the E3 two-stage high-pressure turbine as a case and employs the source term method to model the film cooling configuration, validating its efficacy and examining the performance parameters and flow field characteristics of air-cooled turbines under varying blade tip clearances. The outcomes demonstrate that the source term approach accurately forecasts the comprehensive performance parameters of air-cooled turbines, with blade tip clearance height predominantly impacting turbine performance in high-velocity regions. For small blade tip clearance, air-cooled turbines exhibit diminished efficiency with a decreasing expansion ratio in high-velocity regions, but they demonstrate an inverse behavior in low-velocity regions. Conversely, under conditions of larger blade tip clearances, the cooling effectiveness of air-cooled turbines is more pronounced in regions characterized by low expansion ratios and low speeds.