EFFECT OF AXIAL GAP ON THE AERODYNAMICS OF 1 AND 1.5 STAGE TURBINES

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Research Scholar, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai, India.

2 Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai, India.

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Axial gap is one of the few important parameters that affect the performance of a
turbine. Present work involves the computational study in 1 and 1.5 stage turbines
with axial gaps of 15% and 50%. For each axial gap, investigation is done at three
flow coefficients; namely, 0.68, 0.78 and 0.96. The turbine components nozzle, rotor
and stator are modeled for both the axial gaps. Mid-span pressure distribution of the
rotor for the design configuration is compared with the experimental results and found
to be in good agreement. Total pressure, axial velocity, entropy and Mach number
distributions along with torque are analyzed for all the configurations. Results indicate
that the performance of the turbine is dependent on axial gap.

Keywords