Effect of Axial Spacing between the Components on the Performance of a Counter Rotating Turbine

Abstract

Counter Rotating Turbine (CRT) is an axial turbine with a nozzle followed by a rotor and another rotor that rotates in the opposite direction of the first one. Axial spacing between blade rows plays major role in its performance. Present work involves computationally studying the performance and flow field of CRT with axial spacing of 10, 30 and 70% for different mass flow rates. The turbine components are modeled for all the three spacing. Velocity, pressure, entropy and Mach number distributions across turbine stage are analyzed. Effect of spacing on losses and performance in case of stage, Rotor1 and Rotor2 are elaborated. Results confirm that an optimum axial spacing between turbine components can be obtained for the improved performance of CRT.