Blade scale effects of tip leakage

Abstract

The effects of blade-tip leakage in a turbine are investigated by modeling the stage as an incomplete actuator disk. It is found that the spanwise flow redistribution due to the gap is such as to produce a uniform unloading of the blades, despite the very concentrated leakage. Partial lift retention at the blade tip is accounted for based on a leakage jet-free stream collision model which successfully predicts the roll-up of the leakage flow. The predicted efficiency loss due to the gap correlates well with experimental data.