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Unsteady surface signature of a pulsed vortex generator jet

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Abstract

Porous pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) is employed as a visualization technique for unsteady flow features on a low-pressure turbine blade. Recognizing that the measurement of high-frequency pressure fluctuations in unsteady flows—especially in turbomachinery—has proven to be difficult, recent advancements in the development of porous PSP have enabled the high-resolution measurement of pressure fields with frequency content of at least 20 kHz. In this work, PSP is applied to an L1A low-pressure turbine blade section (Re = 20,000 based on axial chord) to visualize the surface dynamics of a vortex generator jet (VGJ) pulsed at 10.6 Hz with nitrogen gas. Intensity-based, time-resolved PSP measurements reveal the development and the surface structure of the VGJ as well as the spanwise variation in the blowing profile.

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Abbreviations

B :

Blowing ratio, B = U jet/U inlet, measured in quiescent conditions

C x :

Blade axial chord, 0.143 m

d :

Diameter of cylindrical jet exit orifice, 2.6 mm

Ioff/Ion:

Emitted light intensity ratio between wind-off and wind-on images

Re c :

Reynolds number based on axial chord, U inlet C x/ν

T :

VGJ pulsing period (ms)

t :

Instantaneous time (ms)

U inlet :

Cascade inlet velocity magnitude (m/s)

U jet :

Jet exit velocity magnitude (m/s)

Δt :

Phase delay (ms)

λ :

Excitation light wavelength (nm)

ν :

Kinematic viscosity of air (m2/s)

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Jeffrey Bons, Dr. Matthew Bloxham, Kyle Gompertz, and Jonathon Pluim at The Ohio State University Aeronautical and Astronautical Research Laboratories for assistance in the use of their low-speed cascade facility and L1A blade section. K. J. Disotell acknowledges the support of a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Defense.

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Correspondence to James W. Gregory.

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Disotell, K.J., Gregory, J.W. Unsteady surface signature of a pulsed vortex generator jet. J Vis 14, 121–127 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12650-011-0080-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12650-011-0080-3

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