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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Heparan sulfate promotes TRAIL-induced tumor cell apoptosis

TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) is a potent inducer of tumor cell apoptosis through TRAIL receptors. While it has been previously pursued as a potential anti-tumor therapy, the enthusiasm subsided due to unsuccessful clinical trials and the fact that many tumors are resistant to TRAIL. In this report, we identified heparan sulfate (HS) as an important regulator of TRAIL-induced apoptosis. TRAIL binds HS with high affinity (K D = 73 nM) and HS induces TRAIL to form higher-order oligomers. The HS-binding site of TRAIL is located at the N-terminus of soluble TRAIL, which includes three basic residues. Binding to cell surface HS plays an essential role in promoting the apoptotic activity of TRAIL in both breast cancer and myeloma cells, and this promoting effect can be blocked by heparin, which is commonly administered to cancer patients. We also quantified HS content in several lines of myeloma cells and found that the cell line showing the most resistance to TRAIL has the least expression of HS, which suggests that HS expression in tumor cells could play a role in regulating sensitivity towards TRAIL. We also discovered that death receptor 5 (DR5), TRAIL, and HS can form a ternary complex and that cell surface HS plays an active role in promoting TRAIL-induced cellular internalization of DR5. Combined, our study suggests that TRAIL-HS interactions could play multiple roles in regulating the apoptotic potency of TRAIL and might be an important point of consideration when designing future TRAIL-based anti-tumor therapy.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Demonstration of object location, classification, and characterization by developed deep learning dust ablation trail analysis code package using plasma jets

Based on deep learning, a Dust Ablation Trail Analysis (DATA) code package is developed to detect dust ablation trails in tokamaks, which is intended to analyze a large amount data of tokamak dusts. To validate and benchmark the DATA code package, 2440 plasma jet images are exploited for the training and test of the deep learning DATA code package, since plasma jets resemble the shape and size of dust ablation clouds in tokamaks. After being trained by 1920 plasma jet images, the DATA code package is able to locate 100% plasma jets, classify plasma jets with the accuracy of >99.9%, and output image skeleton information for classified plasma jets. The DATA code package trained by the plasma jet images is also used to analyze the dust ablation trails captured in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting (EAST) tokamak with the satisfactory performance, further verifying its applicability in the fusion dust ablation investigation. Based on its excellent performance presented here, it is demonstrated that our DATA code package is able to automatically identify and analyze dust ablation trails in tokamaks, which can be used for further detailed investigations, such as the three-dimensional reconstruction of dusts and their ablation trails.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Evaluating the Effect of Vane Trailing Edge Flow on Turbine Rim Sealing

Abstract Modern gas turbine development continues to move toward increased overall efficiency, driven in part by higher firing temperatures that point to a need for more cooling air to prevent catastrophic component failure. However, using additional cooling flow bled from the upstream compressor causes a corresponding detriment to overall efficiency. A primary candidate for cooling flow optimization is purge flow, which contributes to sealing the stator–rotor cavity and prevents ingestion of hot main gas path (MGP) flow into the wheelspace. Previous research has identified that the external main gas path flow physics play a significant role in driving rim seal ingestion. However, the potential impact of other cooling flow features on ingestion behavior, such as vane trailing edge (VTE) flow, is absent in the open literature. This paper presents experimental measurements of rim cavity cooling effectiveness collected from a one-stage turbine operating at engine-representative Reynolds and Mach numbers. Carbon dioxide (CO2) was used as a tracer gas in both the purge flow and vane trailing edge flow to investigate flow migration into and out of the wheelspace. Results show that the vane trailing edge flow does in fact migrate into the rim seal and that there is a superposition relationship between individual cooling flow contributions. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations using unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) were used to confirm VTE flow ingestion into the rim seal cavity. Radial and circumferential traverse surveys were performed to quantify cooling flow radial migration through the main gas path with and without vane trailing edge flow. The surveys confirmed that vane trailing edge flow is entrained into the wheelspace as purge flow is reduced. Local CO2 measurements also confirmed the presence of VTE flow deep in the wheelspace cavity.

Engineering↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mitigation of LEO Satellite Brightness and Trail Effects on the Rubin Observatory LSST

In this work, we report studies on the mitigation of optical effects of bright low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites on Vera C. Rubin Observatory and its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). These include options for pointing the telescope to avoid satellites, laboratory investigations of bright trails on the Rubin Observatory LSST camera sensors, algorithms for correcting image artifacts caused by bright trails, experiments on darkening SpaceX Starlink satellites, and ground-based follow-up observations. The original Starlink v0.9 satellites are g ~ 4.5 mag, and the initial experiment "DarkSat" is g ~ 6.1 mag. Future Starlink darkening plans may reach g ~ 7 mag, a brightness level that enables nonlinear image artifact correction to well below background noise. However, the satellite trails will still exist at a signal-to-noise ratio ~ 100, generating systematic errors that may impact data analysis and limit some science. For the Rubin Observatory 8.4 m mirror and a satellite at 550 km, the full width at half maximum of the trail is about 3'' as the result of an out-of-focus effect, which helps avoid saturation by decreasing the peak surface brightness of the trail. For 48,000 LEOsats of apparent magnitude 4.5, about 1% of pixels in LSST nautical twilight images would need to be masked.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Remove Welding Residual Stress for CFETR Vacuum Vessel by Trailing Ultrasonic Impact Treatment

The China fusion engineering test reactor (CFETR) vacuum vessel is welded by narrow gap TIG (NG-TIG) welding, and the welding residual stress of the CFETR vacuum vessel can be redistributed by trailing welding ultrasonic impact treatment. In order to investigate the feasibility of the residual stress removing scheme, and to obtain the optimal trailing ultrasonic impact treatment technological parameters in the process of removing welding residual stress, a welding model that similar to vacuum vessel welding seam is established by using ABAQUS software, a NG-TIG welding heat source subroutine which is written in FORTRAN language used to simulate NG-TIG welding. According to the welding simulation results, a trailing welding ultrasonic impact treatment model is established, and the effects of the impact pin number, the impact method, the impact pin diameter and the impact frequency on welding residual stress are studied. The results show that the longitudinal residual stress in welding seam and its adjacent area and the lateral residual stress in the whole region have been obviously decreased by different trailing welding ultrasonic impact processes, and have made the tensile stress in the welding seam and its adjacent area has been changed into compressive stress, which can provide theoretical guidance and reference for actual production.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Searching for Subsecond Stellar Variability with Wide-field Star Trails and Deep Learning

We present here a method that enables wide-field ground-based telescopes to scan the sky for subsecond stellar variability. The method has operational and image processing components. The operational component takes star trail images. Each trail serves as a light curve for its corresponding source and facilitates subexposure photometry. We train a deep neural network to identify stellar variability in wide-field star trail images. We use the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Photon Simulator to generate simulated star trail images and include transient bursts as a proxy for variability. The network identifies transient bursts on timescales down to 10 ms. We argue that there are multiple fields of astrophysics that can be advanced by the unique combination of time resolution and observing throughput that our method offers.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Distributed Aerodynamic Control using Active Trailing-Edge Flaps for Large Wind Turbines

This work presents a numerical framework to investigate distributed aerodynamic control devices for application in large wind turbines. Tool capabilities were extended to facilitate multiple aerodynamic polar tables. The airfoil aerodynamics characteristics were automatically determined, and blade-pitch, generator-torque, and trailing-edge-flap controllers were tuned in-the-loop according to a specific blade design. This automated workflow allows analysis and optimization of trailing-edge flaps, enabling codesign studies. Results targeted reductions of root-flap-bending moment derivatives. The applied trailing-edge-flap control reduced the standard deviation of root-flap-bending moments by more than 6% and benefit related parameters, e.g., reduce blade-tip deflections, by up to 8%. Because of varying thrust distributions along the blade span, different flap designs have nonlinear characteristics in terms of the control objective and show best performance when located at the radial position with maximum thrust. In general, larger flaps provide a greater influence to reduce the target control objective.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluating Dynamic Stall-Onset Criteria for Mixed and Trailing-Edge Stall

We evaluate two leading-edge-based dynamic stall-onset criteria (namely, the maximum magnitudes of the leading-edge suction parameter and the boundary enstrophy flux) for mixed and trailing-edge stall. These criteria have been shown to successfully predict the onset of leading-edge stall at Reynolds numbers of [Formula: see text], where the leading-edge suction drops abruptly. However, for mixed/trailing-edge stall, leading-edge suction tends to persist even when there is significant trailing-edge reversed flow and stall is underway, necessitating further investigation into the effectiveness of these criteria. Using wall-resolved large-eddy simulations and the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes method, we simulate one leading-edge stall and three mixed/trailing-edge stall cases at Reynolds numbers of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. We contrast the progression of flow features such as trailing-edge separation and vortex formation across different stall types and evaluate the stall-onset criteria relative to critical points in the flow. We find that the criteria nearly coincide with the instance of leading-edge suction collapse and are reached in advance of dynamic stall vortex formation and lift stall for all four cases. We conclude that the two criteria effectively signal dynamic stall onset in cases where the dynamic stall vortex plays a prominent role.

Engineering↗
DOE OSTI2018

Internal cooling system with converging-diverging exit slots in trailing edge cooling channel for an airfoil in a turbine engine

An airfoil (10) is disclosed for a gas turbine engine in which the airfoil (10) includes an internal cooling system (14) with one or more converging-diverging exit slots (20) configured to increase the effectiveness of the cooling system (14) at the trailing edge (34) of the airfoil (10) by increasing the contact of cooling fluids with internal surfaces (24, 30) of the pressure and suction sides (36, 38) of the airfoil (10). In at least one embodiment, the trailing edge cooling channel (18) may include one or more converging-diverging exit slots (20) to further pressurize the trailing edge cooling channel (18) and may be formed by a first and second ribs (80, 82) extending between an outer walls (13, 12) forming the pressure and suction sides (36, 38). The converging-diverging exit slot (20) may be formed from a first converging section (84) having an inlet (86) with a larger cross-sectional area than an outlet (88) and is formed from a second diverging section (90) having an inlet (92) with a smaller cross-sectional area than an outlet (94).

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Turbomachine blade trailing edge cooling circuit with turn passage having set of obstructions

A turbomachine blade, and a coupon for a turbomachine blade, are disclosed. The blade may include an airfoil body having a pressure side and a suction side connected by a leading edge and a trailing edge, a coolant feed passage defined in the airfoil body, and a coolant reuse passage defined in the airfoil body. The blade may also include a first cooling circuit defined in the airfoil body. The first cooling circuit may include a rearward passage extending toward the trailing edge from and fluidly coupled to the coolant feed passage, and a radially spreading return passage extending away from the trailing edge toward and fluidly coupled to the coolant reuse passage. The cooling circuit may also include a radially extending turn passage coupling the rearward passage and the radially spreading return passage. A first set of obstructions may be positioned in the radially extending turn passage.

Dyson, Thomas Earl↗
DOE OSTI2024

The trailing edge is everywhere: tree rings reveal the transient risk of extinction hidden inside climate envelope forecasts

Given the importance of climate in shaping species’ geographic distributions, climate change poses an existential threat to biodiversity. Climate envelope modeling, the predominant approach used to quantify this threat, presumes that individuals in populations respond to climate variability and change according to species-level responses inferred from spatial occurrence data—such that individuals at the cool edge of a species’ distribution should benefit from warming (the “leading edge”), whereas individuals at the warm edge should suffer (the “trailing edge”). Using 1,558 tree-ring time series of an aridland pine (Pinus edulis) collected at 977 locations across the species’ distribution, we found that trees everywhere grow less in warmer-than-average and drier-than-average years. Ubiquitous negative temperature sensitivity indicates that individuals across the entire distribution should suffer with warming—the entire distribution is a trailing edge. Species-level responses to spatial climate variation are opposite in sign to individual-scale responses to time-varying climate for approximately half the species’ distribution with respect to temperature and the majority of the species’ distribution with respect to precipitation. These findings, added to evidence from the literature for scale-dependent climate responses in hundreds of species, suggest that correlative, equilibrium-based range forecasts may fail to accurately represent how individuals in populations will be impacted by changing climate. A scale-dependent view of the impact of climate change on biodiversity highlights the transient risk of extinction hidden inside climate envelope forecasts and the importance of evolution in rescuing species from extinction whenever local climate variability and change exceeds individual-scale climate tolerances.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Soil Water Retention and Hydraulic Conductivity Data and Model at Trail Creek in Taylor River Watershed, Colorado 2024-2025

This data package includes soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity data and model fitting results from measurements of ex-situ soil samples and in-situ soil sensors near Trail Creek. Soil water retention curves (SWRC) characterize soil water content as a function of soil water potential. SWRC depends on soil texture and pore structure and can be used to describe the constraints on biogeochemical processes in terms of soil water availability. In this data package, the sample identification follows the format TR-X-Y, where TR refers to Trail Creek, X is the treatment block identifier, and Y is the location identifier. Specifically, TR-ASCC1 is the control treatment block under the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change (ASCC) project, and TR-ASCC2 is the clear-cut treatment block. TR-ASCC-EHSn is associated with ecohydrology sites under the East-Taylor Watershed Community Observatory Sites directory, and TR-ASCC-ERTn (upslope n=1) are ecohydrology sites along the electrical resistivity tomography transects. The sample and location information can be found in metadata.csv, and the data from the soil sensors will be included in a future data version when the observation period becomes sufficiently long for data analysis. Sampling and Measurements Each sample falls into one of the two sampling methods – (1) intact cores or (2) soil sensors – and one of the two measurement methods – (a) laboratory or (b) in-situ. The intact cores were measured using the laboratory methods, which include measurements of soil water potential (HYPROP & WP4C, METER), saturated (KSAT, METER) and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (HYPROP). The in-situ method uses a pair of co-located soil sensors to measure volumetric water content (TEROS12, METER) and soil water potential (TEROS21, METER), and the hydraulic conductivity was not measured. In comparison, the laboratory methods progress from full saturation to dry conditions, and the in-situ method includes both dry-to-wet and wet-to-dry cycles. The sampling and measurement methods for each sample can be found in metadata.csv, and more information about the measurements is detailed in the Methods section below. Models Retention and hydraulic conductivity data were fitted with four van-Genuchten-type models (specified by “model_name” column in the files): (1) traditional constrained van Genuchten model (“vG_constrained”), (2) traditional unconstrained van Genuchten model (“vG_unconstrained”), (3) PDI-variant of the constrained van Genuchten model (“vG_constrained_PDI”), and (4) PDI-variant of the unconstrained van Genuchten model (“vG_unconstrained_PDI”). The difference between the constrained (1: n) and the unconstrained (2: n, m) van Genuchten models is the number of pore-size distribution parameters in the model equations, giving the unconstrained model more degrees of freedom when fitting the data. Between the traditional and the PDI-variant models, model fitting differs the most at the dry end of the measurements. The traditional models allow infinite suction at the residual water content (water content does not drop below residual water content), and the PDI-variant models enforce a soil water potential value of pF=6.8 (~ -630 MPa) at oven-dryness (water content reaches 0). The inclusion of the van-Genuchten-type models is due to their common application. If other retention models are required, users can access the data in data.csv for further data fitting. More information about the models can be found in the Methods section below. Fitting Tasks The model fitting can be categorized into three levels of tasks (specified by “fitting_task” column in the files). Level 1 (“fit_retention”) only includes retention data fitting (the only level available for the in-situ method). Level 2 (“fit_retention_conductivity”) includes both retention and hydraulic conductivity data fitting, and the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks, a parameter of the hydraulic conductivity functions) is fixed by the measurements from KSAT. Level 3 (“fit_retention_conductivity_Ks”) also includes both retention and hydraulic conductivity data fitting, but Ks is a fitted parameter without the constraints from KSAT measurements. Among the same retention models (e.g. vG_constrained models of the same sample), level 1 should produce the best retention data fitting. Level 2 should have the highest misfit of the retention and hydraulic conductivity data, because the retention and hydraulic conductivity functions share common model parameters, and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (HYPROP) data fitting is subject to Ks measured independently by KSAT. Level 3 should have mid-level misfits of the retention and hydraulic conductivity data. While level 3 fits the hydraulic conductivity data better than level 2, the fitted Ks value might be unreasonable due to the lack of constraints at the wet end of the measurements. General recommendation when using this data package: (1) Choice of sampling methods: Intact cores might suffer from sample gaps that would lead to overestimation of Ks (sample gaps can be inferred from the “soil_sample_volume” column in metadata.csv when the value is < 249). In-situ method has higher uncertainty in characterizing the wet end of the SWRC because of sensor limitations and the difficulty in reaching full saturation under natural conditions. (2) Choice of fitting tasks: When only retention data is needed, level 1 (“fit_retention”) should be prioritized. When both retention and hydraulic conductivity data are needed, level 2 (“fit_retention_conductivity”) could be prioritized. (3) Choice of models: This could depend on what the downstream models call for. If no specific model is required, model misfit could be used as a ranking criterion. Model misfit values in terms of RMSE can be found in model_parameters.csv. The following files are included in this data package: (1) metadata.csv – This file includes the general information of each sample, including location (description, geocoordinates, elevation), sampling and measurements details (method, depth, time or period, volume, instruments), and soil physical properties (bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, only applicable to physical soil samples). (2) data.csv – This file includes soil water potential, volumetric water content, and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity data of each sample. Column “instrument” specifies the instrument (HYPROP, WP4C, or TEROS) used to perform the measurements. (3) model_fit.csv – This file includes soil water potential, volumetric water content, and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity fitted from the four models and three fitting tasks. Column “model_name” specifies the retention model used, and “fitting_task” specifies the level of data fitting. Missing values indicate that the variable does not apply to that fitting task. (4) model_parameters.csv – This file includes the fitted model parameters, model misfits, and conventional water content thresholds (field capacity and wilting point) from the four models and three fitting tasks. Column “model_name” specifies the retention model used, and “fitting_task” specifies the level of data fitting. Missing values indicate that the parameter does not apply to that model and/or that fitting task. (5) data_Ks.csv – This file includes the saturated hydraulic conductivity measurements from KSAT. (6) /figure/*.png – This folder includes three quick visualizations of the data, retention model fitting results and misfits, and hydraulic conductivity model fitting results, misfits, and parameters. The model fitting results are separated by samples and fitting tasks and colored by models. Zoom-in required. (7) /hyprop/*.bdhx – This folder includes proprietary hyprop files that require the free Labros SoilView-Analysis (METER) to open. Users can explore data fitting using other retention models (i.e. Brooks-Corey, Fredlund-Xing, Kosugi, bimodal models). Be aware that Ks value is pre-entered under “Fitting tab, Conductivity functions parameters” for level 2 fitting. If the value is lost, please refer to metadata.csv under “Ks” column. (8) Six file-level metadata that summarize file, header, column, and variable information of all files. This work was supported by the Watershed Function Science Focus Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > SOILS↗
DOE OSTI2026

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F CA-TVC Trail Valley Creek

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site CA-TVC Trail Valley Creek. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site CA-TVC Trail Valley Creek produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - Southern Arctic tundra site, erect-shrub tundra, tundra dominated by low shrubs <40 cm, continuous permafrost

Sonnentag, Oliver [Universite de Montreal, Departe↗
DOE OSTI2020

Endogenic and Exogenic Contributions to Visible-wavelength Spectra of Europa’s Trailing Hemisphere

The composition of Europa’s trailing hemisphere reflects the combined influences of endogenous geologic resurfacing and exogenous sulfur radiolysis. Using spatially resolved visible-wavelength spectra of Europa obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope, we map multiple spectral features across the trailing hemisphere and compare their geographies with the distributions of large-scale geology, magnetospheric bombardment, and surface color. Based on such comparisons, we interpret some aspects of our spectra as indicative of purely exogenous sulfur radiolysis products and other aspects as indicative of radiolysis products formed from a mixture of endogenous material and magnetospheric sulfur. The spatial distributions of two of the absorptions seen in our spectra—a widespread downturn toward the near-UV and a distinct feature at 530 nm—appear consistent with sulfur allotropes previously suggested from ground-based spectrophotometry. However, the geographies of two additional features—an absorption feature at 360 nm and the spectral slope at red wavelengths—are more consistent with endogenous material that has been altered by sulfur radiolysis. We suggest irradiated sulfate salts as potential candidates for this material, but we are unable to identify particular species with the available data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ceramic airfoil trailing end configuration

An airfoil includes an airfoil body that has a trailing edge region. The trailing edge region includes first and second monolithic ceramic exterior walls, a flow discharge passage between the first and second monolithic ceramic exterior walls, a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) liner at least a portion of which is disposed in the flow discharge passage between the first and second monolithic ceramic exterior walls, and an array of pedestals disposed in the flow discharge passage. Each of the flow guides bridges the CMC liner and at least one of the first and second monolithic ceramic exterior walls.

Kennedy, Matthew B.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Active attenuation of a trailing vortex inspired by a parabolized stability analysis

Designing effective control for complex three-dimensional flow fields proves to be non-trivial. Often, intuitive control strategies lead to suboptimal control. To navigate the control space, we use a linear parabolized stability analysis to guide the design of a control scheme for a trailing vortex flow field aft of a NACA0012 half-wing at an angle of attack $\unicode[STIX]{x1D6FC}=5^{\circ }$ and a chord-based Reynolds number $Re=1000$ . The stability results show that the unstable mode with the smallest growth rate (fifth wake mode) provides a pathway to excite a vortex instability, whereas the principal unstable mode does not. Inspired by this finding, we perform direct numerical simulations that excite each mode with body forces matching the shape function from the stability analysis. Furthermore, relative to the uncontrolled case, the controlled flows show increased attenuation of circulation and peak streamwise vorticity, with the fifth-mode-based control set-up outperforming the principal-mode-based set-up. From these results, we conclude that a rudimentary linear stability analysis can provide key insights into the underlying physics and help engineers design effective physics-based flow control strategies.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Influence of Vane Trailing Edge Flow on the Formation of Cavity Cells and Rim Sealing

Abstract Hot gas ingestion into the turbine rim seal cavity is an important concern for engine designers. To prevent ingestion, rim seals use high-pressure purge flow; however, the penalty is that excessive use of the purge flow decreases engine thermal efficiency. In this paper, a one-stage turbine operating at engine-representative conditions was used to study the effect of steady and time-resolved under-platform cavity temperatures and pressures across a range of coolant flowrates in the presence of vane trailing edge (VTE) flow. This study correlates time-resolved pressure with time-resolved temperature to identify primary frequencies driving ingestion. At certain flowrates, the time-resolved pressures are out of phase with the temperatures, indicating ingestion. Measurements from high-frequency response pressure sensors in the rim seal and vane platform were also used to determine rotational speed and quantity of large-scale structures (cells). In a parallel effort, a computational model using Unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) was applied to determine swirl ratio in the rim seal cavity and time-resolved rim sealing effectiveness. The experimental results confirm that at low purge flowrates, the VTE flow influences the unsteady flow field by decreasing pressure unsteadiness in the rim seal cavity. Results show an increase in purge flow increases the number of unsteady large-scale structures in the rim seal and decreases their rotational speed. However, VTE flow was shown to not significantly change the cell speed and count in the rim seal. Simulations point to the importance of the large-scale cell structures in influencing rim sealing unsteadiness, which is not captured in current rim sealing predictive models.

Engineering↗
DOE OSTI2022

Use of Multiple Tracer Gases to Quantify Vane Trailing Edge Flow Into Turbine Rim Seals

Abstract Overlapping features are commonly used as rim seals between stationary and rotating components in a turbine stage. These rim seals are used to prevent main gas path ingestion to the wheelspace cavity, which reduces the lifespan of critical engine components such as the turbine disk. In addition to the overlapping features, purge flow, diverted from the compressor, is injected into the rim cavity to act as an airflow sealing mechanism. Previous research identified that in addition to the purge flow in the rim cavity, cooling flow from the vane trailing edge (VTE) is ingested into the rim seal cavity carrying the potential to cool components in the wheelspace. These previous findings, however, were not able to distinctly separate purge from VTE cooling flows, which is the contribution of this paper based on uniquely using two different tracer gases. A one-stage test turbine operating at engine-relevant conditions and consisting of real engine hardware was used to validate and quantify the ingestion of the VTE flow by independently seeding the purge and VTE flows with two different tracer gases. Experimental results show the presence of VTE flow in the rim seal throughout all purge flowrates evaluated. Circumferential variation of VTE flow was also studied both experimentally and computationally using a computational fluid dynamics model. Results showed that ingested VTE flow can reduce the detrimental effect of hot gas ingestion particularly at higher purge flowrates.

Engineering↗