AT3E - AeroThermals for Enhanced Engine Exit

Important results from the project

GKN Aerospace has a leading market position on the turbine rear structures for commercial aeroengines. In order to stay ahead, improvements in technologies for more efficient products are needed. A promising technology is the Ultra-Efficient turbine structure which is a design optimized almost exclusively from an aerodynamic perspective. AT3E aims to contribute to the development of this technology by means of a detailed experimental aerodynamic and heat transfer investigation of such a design in a representative environment.

Expected long term effects

The project has produces the required experimental data for increasing the maturity of an Ultra-Efficient turbine structure to a TRL 4. The experimental data have also been used for validation of methods for prediction of heat loads during the flight cycle. The results have led to improved design tools and increased understanding of important flow phenomena which will allow us to improve the design of engine structures in general, including those in the front end of the engine.

Approach and implementation

A state-of-the-art design and an Ultra-Efficient turbine structure has been studied at the Chalmers LPT-OGV facility under different engine representative conditions. The flow has been mapped in detail using a variety of flow measurement techniques, and the convective heat transfer on the surfaces has been obtained using an IR-thermography based technique. The performance of the Ultra-Efficient design were then evaluated based on the measurements. Also using the experimental results, post-test CFD analysis and CFD validation has been performed.