Flow and ingestion in a turbine disc cavity under rotationally-dominated conditions

Authors

Anna Bru Revert - Rolls-Royce plc
Paul Beard - University of Oxford
John Chew - University of Surrey

Abstract

An investigation of hot gas ingestion driven by the disc pumping effect in a chute seal was conducted at the Oxford Rotor Facility. Measurements of mean pressures, unsteady pressures and gas concentration have been logged and analysed under different operating conditions. The sensitivity of mean cavity pressure coefficient, frequency spectra of the unsteady pressures and sealing effectiveness to changing conditions of purge flow, annulus flow, rotor disc speed and seal clearance has been studied. The steady pressures revealed the development of two vortices induced by the sharp change in geometry of the stator wall. The increased shear at the interface between these two vortices strengthened the unsteady activity at this location. The addition of mainstream flow improved the sealing capability of the chute seal under certain operating conditions and excited further frequencies indicating complex interaction between annulus and purge flows.