Three Dimensional Characteristics of Turbulent Wakes Behind Rotors of Axial Flow Turbomachinery

Analytical and experimental investigations of the characteristics of three-dimensional turbulent wakes downstream of a turbomachinery rotor are reported in this paper. An approximate quasi-three-dimensional turbulent wake model for turbomachinery rotor is developed and compared with the cascade and isolated airfoil wake models. The rotor wake model is capable of predicting the decay of mean component of radial and streamwise velocities as a function of rotor geometry, speed of rotation, and the turbulence properties of the flow field. A rotation parameter based on similarity analysis is derived. The velocity profiles in both the radial and cylindrical planes are coupled together. Measurement of mean velocities (U¯n, U¯s, U¯r), turbulent intensities and stresses (un2¯, us2¯, ur2¯, usun¯, unur¯, usur¯) is carried out using a triple sensor hot wire probe in a stationary system at various axial and radial locations downstream of the rotor. Profiles of mean and turbulent quantities are obtained. Semi-theoretical expressions for the decay rates of the defect in mean velocity, turbulence intensity, and Reynolds stress (maximum values) with distance downstream of the rotor are derived. The experimental data on the rotor wake are compared with that of an isolated airfoil and cascade of airfoils. The investigation suggests that rotor wake decays much faster than the cascade or an isolated airfoil wake.