Model validation for a shrouded rotor-stator system with superposed cooling and static protuberances

This paper analyses numerical and experimental data gathered from a shrouded rotor-stator wheelspace supplied with a radial outflow of cooling air introduced along its central axis. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) investigations into plain disc, roughened disc, roughened stater and stater protrusions were carried out and the results compared to previously gathered experimental data in order to validate the CFD code and improve confidence in its ability to model the given situations. Comparisons of cooling air flow enthalpy rises, torques required to drive the disc and one-sided moment coefficients for the disc have been made between the experimental and the computational models and agreement was obtained across the range of nondimensional numbers analysed. For the plain disc analyses this agreement was within 2% to 15% and was from 6% to 20% for the static protrusions on the stater. Results for the roughness on the rotor models corresponded closely with the experimental findings of previous authors. It was also confirmed that increasing roughness on the rotor increased moment coefficient and that increasing roughness from hydrodynamically smooth up to a roughness ratio of 1125 (corresponding to a roughness height of 0.2 mm) caused a doubling of torque at all rotational and throughflow Reynolds numbers. The same magnitude of roughness on stator was also found to double the torque experienced by the stationary casing but this only corresponded to a 5% increase in disc moment coefficient.