W A R N E R L .

S T E W A R T
W A R R E N J . W M T N E Y
R O B E R T Y . W O N G
L ewis R esearch Cent er, N A S A ,
Cl evel and, O hi o
This paper presents the results of a number of investigations concerned with the bound-
ary-layer characteristics of turbomachine blade rows and their relation to the over-all
blade loss. I t is demonstrated how the over-all blade loss can be obtained from the
momentum boundary-layer thickness. The momentum boundary-layer thickness is
in turn shown to be correlated by flow Reynolds number and total blade surface diffusion.
By assuming Zweifel's form of blade-loading diagram the total blade surface diffusion
parameter can be determined as a function of blade solidity and reaction across the
blade row. Thus, this type of loss analysis enables an approximate predetermination
of the over-all blade row loss as derived from fundamental boundary-layer concepts.
I n addition, it shows the effect on over-all blade loss of varying such design features
as solidity and reaction.
I n t r o d u c t i o n
THE BASIC BOUNDARY-LAYER char act er i st i cs of
t ur bomachi ne bl ade r ows have consi der abl e i mpor t ance because
t he vi scous l osses ar e gener at ed i n t he boundar y l ayer s of the
bl ade sur faces and end wal l s. T hus, when consi der i ng a sub-
soni c t ur bi ne oper at i ng at i ts desi gn poi nt , or poi nt of hi ghest
effi ci ency, t he maj or sour ce of l oss t hat l i mi t s thi s effi ci ency is
the boundar y- l ayer l oss. T he N A S A over t he past f ew year s
has conduct ed a number of i nvest i gat i ons, bot h anal yt i cal and
exper i ment al , i n or der to bet t er under st and t he boundar y- l ayer
phenomena occur r i ng i n bl ade r ows. T hi s i nf or mat i on i s of use
to t he desi gner i n or der t o pr oper l y al l ow f or t he di spl acement
thi ckness i n si zi ng f l ow passages and i n pr edet er mi ni ng t he effi -
ci ency of a t ur bi ne.
T hi s paper pr esent s t he r esul ts of these i nvest i gat i ons and
shows how t he basi c boundar y- l ayer quant i t i es can be r el ated to
t he over -al l bl ade l oss. T hi s i s done by first consi der i ng t he
moment um l oss for an i sol ated ai r foi l and t r ansf or mi ng thi s l oss
i nt o a t ot al - moment um- l oss par amet er f or a cascade i ncl udi ng
Contr i buted by the Hydr aul i c Di vi si on and presented at the
Annual Meeti ng, Atl anti c Ci ty, N. J ., November 29- December 4,
1959, of T H E AME RI CAN SOCI E TY OF ME C HANI C AL E NGI NE E RS.
NOTE: Statements and opi ni ons advanced in paper s are to be
under stood as i ndi vi dual expressi ons of thei r author s and not those of
the Soci ety. Manuscr i pt recei ved at A S M E Headquar ter s, Apri l S,
1959. Paper No. 59A-23.
the ef f ect of the end wal l s and the ef f ect of mi xi ng t o uni f or m fl ow
condi t i ons downst r eam of t he bl ade r ow. T he moment um- l oss
par amet er can then be used t o obt ai n a ki net i c-ener gy l oss f or
t he bl ade r ow, whi ch i s an i ndi cat i on of t he effi ci ency of t he
bl ade r ow. F i nal l y, t he over -al l bl ade l oss is devel oped f r om t he
basi c boundar y- l ayer moment um l oss as a f unct i on of bl ade sur -
f ace di ffusi on, r eact i on, and sol i di ty. T he ef f ect of Reynol ds
number i s al so di scussed.
A i r f oi l B o u n d ar y - L ay er Char ac t er i s t i c s
T he defi ni t i ve equat i ons of t he var i ous boundar y- l aj 'er t hi ck-
nesses and t he r el ati onshi ps among t hem ar e devel oped i n r ef er -
ence [1 ]' f or compr essi bl e flow. T he quant i t i es t hat wi l l be used
her ei n ar e t he di spl acement t hi ckness 5, moment um t hi ckness 0,
f or m f act or I I , and ener gy f act or E. T h e f or m f act or i s t he r at i o
of t ot al di spl acement t hi ckness to t ot al moment um thi ckness,
and t he ener gy f act or i s t he r ati o of t ot al ener gy t hi ckness t o
t ot al moment um thi ckness. F i g. 1 shows a typical ai r foi l and
i ts boundar y- l ayer gr owt h as wel l as an al gebr ai c descr i pt i on of
the boundar y- l ayer quant i t i es. T he f act or s H and E wer e de-
r i ved i n r efer ence [1] as f unct i ons of M ach number and the
si mpl e power vel oci t y pr ofi l e exponent n. T hi s t ype of vel oci t y
pr ofi l e i s commonl y assumed f or t ur bul ent boundar y l ayer , and
ful l y devel oped t ur bul ent boundar y l ayer i s gener al l y assumed
1
Number s in br ackets desi gnate Refer ences at end of paper.
- N o m en c l at u r e-
.4 = ar ea, sq f t
(J = aspect r ati o, h/ c
c = chor d, f t
D = di ffusi on f act or
E = ki net i c-ener gy f act or
e = ki neti c-ener gj r -I oss coeffi ci ent
H = f or m f act or
h = bl ade hei ght, f t
I = mean camber l engt h, f t
M = M ach number
m = moment um- l oss coeffi ci ent
n = exponent used for t ur bul ent -f l ow
si mpl e power vel oci t y pr ofi l e
p = absol ut e pr essur e, l b/ sq ft.
R r eact i on
R e = R emol ds number
s = spaci ng, f t
t = t r ai l i ng-edgc thi ckness, f t
V = vel oci t y, f t / sec
a = flow angl e measur ed f r om axi al di -
r ect i on, deg
as t = st agger angl e measur ed f r om axi al
di r ecti on, deg
5 = di spl acement thi ckness, f t
6 = moment um thi ckness, f t
cr = sol i di ty, c/ s
ip ki net i c-ener gy thi ckness, f t
Subscripts:
b = base Reynol ds number
eff = ef f ect i ve
fs = f r ee-st r eam
p = pr essur e sur f ace
s = suct i on sur face
t = t ot al
0 = bl ade ent r ance
1 = bl ade tr ai l i ng edge
2 = aft er mi xi ng
2d = t wo- di mensi onal
3d = t hr ee-di mensi onal
Superscript:
' = absol ut e total state
5 8 8 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 0 Tr a n s a c t i o n s o f t h e A Si V i E
Copyright 1960 by ASME
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t " t
Fi g. 1 A i r f oi l and bou ndar y - l ay er par am et er s
to pr evai l i n t ur bomachi ne bl ade r ows. T he var i at i ons of H and
E ar e shown i n F i gs, 2 and 3. T he poi nt s on t he cur ve ar e exper i -
ment al dat a f r om r ef er ence [2 ].
T h e f or m f act or i n F i g. 2 i ncr eases wi t h M ach number and has
a sl i ght var i at i on wi t h t he vel oci t y pr ofi l e exponent n. I n F i g. 3
the ener gy f act or i s even l ess af f ect ed by t he vel oci t y pr ofi l e ex-
ponent and vi r t ual l y unaf f ect ed by M ach number . T he r ange
of 7i used i n t he figures i ncl udes t hat gener al l y encount er ed i n
t ur bul ent boundar y l ayer . E xcel l ent agr eement was obt ai ned
bet ween t he exper i ment al r esul ts of r ef er ence [2] and t hose cal -
cul ated f or a si mpl e power vel oci t y pr ofi l e havi ng an exponent
n of ' A- T hus, by assumi ng a vel oci t y pr ofi l e exponent of
1
/t , t he
f act or s H and E can be det er mi ned wi t h r easonabl e accur acy i f
the bl ade- out l et M ach number i s k nown. T he si gni fi cance of
thi s wi l l become appar ent i n the f ol l owi ng secti ons.
B o u n d ar y - L ay er Char ac t er i s t i c s R el ai ed t o B l ade R o w L osses
I n t ur bomachi ner y t he ai r foi l s ar e spaced ar ound an annul us
to f or m an annul ar cascade. I t i s of i nt er est to det er mi ne t he
l oss as a f r act i on of t he moment um or ener gy of the i deal or f r ee-
st r eam fl ow. T he f r act i on of t he moment um l oss (see F i g. 4) can
be expr essed as
TOl
(s cos t 8, 8P)
m i =
I c cos Cti
t + 8,
S COS
1 -
Fi g. 2 Var i at i on i n bou ndar y - l ay er f or m f act or wi t h M ach nu m ber and
vel oci t y prof i l e exponent
2. 6
2. 2
1.0
C AL C UL AT E D FOR S I MP L E P OWE R
VE L OC I T Y P R OF I L E
E XP E R I ME NT AL P OI NT S OBT AI NE D
AT B L A DE O U T L E T (RE F 2)
T he numer at or 6, r epr esents a l engt h whi ch, when mul t i pl i ed by
t he f r ee-st r eam moment um, yi el ds t he l oss or def i ci ency of mo-
ment um i n t he boundar y l ayer . T he denomi nat or (s cos ai t
8S 8P) i s a l engt h r epr esent i ng t he i deal moment um of t he
act ual wei ght flow. T hus, t he t er m vh r epr esents t he f r act i on of
moment um l oss based on t he act ual wei ght flow. T he expr essi on
for mi may al so be wr i t t en i n t er ms of dj l , whi ch i s t he common
way of nondi mensi onal i zi ng t he moment um boundar y- l ayer
t hi ckness of ai r foi l s, as
0. I a
0 . 4 .8 1.2
F R E E - S T R E A M MA C H NO. . M f $
Fi g. 3 Var i at i on i n bou ndar y - l ay er energy f act or wi t h M ach nu m ber
and vel oci t y prof i l e exponent
bl ade r ows wher ei n t he bl ades have i nfi ni te l ength. I n a cascade,
however , ther e ar e end wal l s t hat al so have boundar y- l ayer
l osses t hat ar e appr eci abl e. T he l oss on t he end wal l s can be as-
sumed t o be equal t o t he aver age l oss occur r i ng on t he bl ade sur -
faces. T her ef or e, t he f act or t o cor r ect f or t he end wal l s can be
expr essed as t he ar ea r at i o:
^.bladc + A wall
i4blade
B y r efer r i ng t o F i g. 5 t he wet t ed sur face ar ea of t he bl ades per
passage can be appr oxi mat ed as
2 c
2

T he wet t ed sur face of t he wal l ar ea can be appr oxi mat ed by

2es cos aat
T hus,
2c
2
(3. + 2cs cos as t cos as t
Am/ AU ^ TTTT; = L +
T he ki net i c-ener gy l oss can be obt ai ned by appl yi ng t he f act or
E , or si mpl y by
ei = mi E
si nce E mer el y r el ates ener gy thi ckness t o moment um t hi ckness
and t he der i vat i on of ej woul d be anal ogous t o that of i i . T her e-
f or e, by usi ng F i g. 3, ei can be obt ai ned as
ei = 1.8 m-i
T he f or egoi ng di scussi on has, i n effect , consi der ed t he l oss of
T her ef or e,
2c
2
e
TI.3D _ E YD _ ^ COS GAT
nh,id ei,2d c
(7
T he effi cacy of t he l oss assumpt i ons and end wal l ar ea appr oxi ma-
t i ons i s shown i n F i g. 6, whi ch i s t aken f r om r efer ence [3]. T he
t wo poi nt s r epr esent t he total -pr essur e l oss comput ed f r om ci r -
cumf er ent i al sur veys t aken at many r adi i spaced acr oss t he bl ade
span f or t he t wo i ndi cat ed bl ade-out l et M ach number s. T he sol i d
l i ne r epr esent s t he t ot al -pr essur e l oss as a f unct i on of M ach
C A L C U L A T E D F OR S I MP L E P OWE R
V E L OC I T Y P R OF I L E
E XP E R I ME NT AL P OI NT S OBTAI NE D
AT B L A DE O U T L E T (RE F 2)
.4 .6 .8 1.0
F R E E - S T R E A M MAC H NO. , M,
J o u r n a l o f Ba s i c En g i n e e r i n g S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 0 / 5 8 9
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m, =
I C COS a,
t
Fi g. 5 R el at i on of end wal l ar ea to bl ade su rf ace ar ea
o
f
t o <
1
t o en
o
_J UJ
Q:
5 =>
o t o - o
CL CO
Q.
UJ
CM
LU CZ Q.
O Q_
< 1
-J _J
CD <
O
S E CT I O N S UR VE Y S
A N N UL A R S UR VE Y S
l.OOi
.2
B L A DE
.4
OUT L E T
.6
F R E E
. 8 1.0
S T R E AM MAC H NO. .
Is, I
t- a.
< uj
a. z
1.3
z M
< " 1.2
1
UJ
^ <
a tx 1.0
z 1-
t_ _
i COS a,
X
.2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 1.2
B L A DE - O U T L E T MAC H N 0 . . M f s ,
Fi g. 7 E f f ect of m i xi ng losses on over - al l bl ade r ow loss
1.4-
KI NETI C ENERGY LOSS _ . s
e
l " I DEAL KI NETI C ENERGY
m
l
Fi g. 4 B ou ndar y - l ay er par am et er s as appl i ed to a t wo- di m ensi onal
cascade
<
h-
o
() . 0.
' ' ' S TA TO
( X )
\ t /prtTni
003
S TATOR
I NCI DOI NG
MI XI NG
::
:.
007
TWO
DI ME NS I ONAL
I NC L UDI NG :
:
;i; WA L L
Fi g. 6 Com par i son of bl ade r ow loss t ot al - pr essu r e rat i o as com pu t ed
f r om m ean- sect i on su rvey s wi t h t hat obt ai ned f r om com pl et e annu l ar
su r vey s
number as comput ed f r om one ci r cumf er ent i al sur vey at t he mean
r adi us l ocati on and t he af or ement i oned end wal l l oss cor r ect i ons.
Al t hough t he excel l ent agr eement t hat can be not ed i n F i g. 6
cannot be r epr esent ed as a gener al resul t., i t does l end str ength
t o t he cont ent i on t hat thi s i s a r easonabl e met hod for i ncl udi ng
t he ef f ect of t he bl ade end wal l l osses.
T he di scussi on t hus fai has consi der ed the l oss occur r i ng up
t o t he stati on cor r espondi ng to t he tr ai l i ng edge ol t he bl ade.
Si nce t he flow at thi s poi nt i s not uni f or m, i t i s al so necessar y
to consi der t he mi xi ng l oss t hat occur s downst r eam of t he
bl ade r ow. T he pr ocedur e t o eval uat e thi s l oss i s gi ven i n
r efer ence [1]. T hi s mi xi ng l oss i s a f unct i on of t he bl ade angl e
Q'I, vel oci t y pr ofi l e exponent n, t ot al moment um t hi ckness 8
bl ade spaci ng s, bl ade bl ockage f act or l/ (s cos a?i), and t he bl ade-
out l et M ach number . T her ef or e, if t he vel oci t }' pr ofi l e exponent
i s assumed t o be '/?> t he onl y unk nown f or a gi ven bl ade r ow
woul d be d2. F i g. 7 shows t he var i at i on of mi xi ng l oss wi t h
M ach number f or a gi ven bl ade r ow wi t h t wo val ues of bl ockage
f act or . T he or di nat e e2/ei i s t he r ati o of t he over -al l l oss i ncl ud-
i ng mi xi ng t o t he l oss measur ed at t he tr ai l i ng edge. Because
ther e ar e f our var i abl es affect i ng thi s r ati o i n addi t i on t o M ach
number , a gener al st at ement cannot be made f r om t he r esul ts
BE F ORE MI XI NG
Fi g. 8 B r eakdown of loss f or t ransoni c t u r bi ne bl adi ng to show ef f ects of
:
end wal l s and m i xi ng
shown i n the figure. H owever , usi ng t he r esul ts of addi t i onal
cal cul at i ons coul d show t hat t he mi ni mum mi xi ng l oss (zer o
t r ai l i ng-edge thi ckness) was on t he or der of 0.10 f or a wi de r ange
of moment um- l oss thi ckness, bl ade angl e, and bl ade-out l et
M ach number . F ur t her mor e, t he l oss i ncr eases mar kedl y (F i g.
7) as t r ai l i ng-edge t hi ckness i s i ncr eased f r om zer o t o some pr ac-
ti cal finite val ue. T her ef or e, i t can be concl uded t hat t he mi xi ng
i s of si gni fi cant magni t ude and shoul d be consi der ed i n det er mi n-
i ng t he over -al l bl ade l oss. A br eak down of t he over -al l bl ade
l osses i s shown f or a si ngl e-stage t r ansoni c t ur bi ne i n F i g. 8. T he
t wo-di mensi onal cascade l oss compr i ses about 0.55 of t he total
ki net i c-ener gy l oss, and t he end wal l s and mi xi ng account f or
0.25 and 0.20, r espect i vel y. T he st at or moment um- t hi ckness
r ati o {0,/l ) was det er mi ned f r om sur vey s t o be 0.003. T he r ot or
ef f ect i ve moment um thi ckness {d,/l = 0.007) was det er mi ned
f r om t he stator l oss and t he over -al l t ur bi ne per f or mance as
descr i bed i n r efer ence [4],
I n summar y, i t can be sai d t hat t he ki net i c-ener gy l oss of a
bl ade r ow consi sts of t he t wo- di mensi onal cascade l oss, t he end
wal l l oss, and t he mi xi ng l oss that occur s downst r eam of the
bl ade tr ai l i ng edge. B y usi ng t he assumpt i on of a si mpl e power
vel oci t y pr ofi l e havi ng a '/? exponent , common i n t ur bul ent -
boundar y- l ayer pr act i ce, t he thr ee component s of l oss and thus
t he over -al l ki net i c-ener gy l oss of t he bl ade r ow can be eval uat ed
i n t er ms of one quant i t y, namel y, 6,/l , t he moment um- t hi ckness
r ati o.
Cor r el at i on of M o m e n t u m T h i c k n es s W i t h D i f f u s i on and
R eac t i on
T he pr evi ous sect i on has i ndi cat ed t he i mpor t ance of t he
moment um- t hi ckness r ati o 6,/l i n det er mi ni ng t he over -al l bl ade
l oss. I t woul d t her ef or e be desi r abl e t o be abl e t o est i mat e mo-
ment um thi ckness by a si mpl e and easy met hod. A cor r el at i on
of moment um t hi ckness wi t h total di ffusi on par amet er D, has
5 9 0 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 0 Tr a n s a c t i o n s o f t h e A Si V i E
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. 020
"
0 LOW SPEED CASCADE

0 TRANSONIC ROTORS
w 0 TRANSONIC ST A TOR
,
. 0 16
0
0
<
V,
"

< v,
0 , ' 1- V;

. 012
Vo vp
O.
V
'1--
w Vo
0
Z D
,
-::
a
u,
0

. 008
0
"
O. OO}
0 0
,
T
1_1.4 D. 0
0
,
2' 000
0
z
q,0
w
0
,
0 0
0
,
.
TOTAL BLADE OIFFUSIO N. 0 , ' Os t Op
Fi g. 9 Correlation of momentum thickness wit h total blade s urfoc e
difJuslon

R
Vo
,. --
v,
w
u
I Vo
<



0
" .


z
v,
wo
0 - .4
<

m


0
< 2
0
1.0
REACTION
Fi g. 10 Variation of blade surfac e total diffus ion with reaction
becn established (refs. Ul and (5]) :lud is shown in Fig. 9. The
l otlll diffusion pnrametcr is the sum of lhe suclion nnd IwesSlI re-
surface difTusiou pnrnmeters (D. + Dp), whieh can best be de-
scri bed by t he inset sketch of Fig. 9. This shows suction find
prcsslire-Sll l' facc velocities plot ted agai nst blnde chord. The
sllction and pressure-surfacc tiitlusions firc defi ned as
D, 1 (V, / v,)
Dp (l'p/ l'o)
These data were obt.nincd for a Reynolds numbcr of t he order of
300,000. The equal.ion of t he curve corrclal,ing the data is
0,/1 0.003
1 - lAD,
The momentum thickness increases slightly with t he lot.nl ditl"u-
sinn "p to n. difTusion value of :tbout. O.-1 j above t his value I,hc
momentum t hickness increases sharply with increasing diO"tt-
sioll . ThcrcfOl'c, it. would appear advisable to mni nl.ain t he
diO"tnsioli below 0.4 or 0.-15 in I he design procedure in order lo
avoid Inrge blnde losses.
The tot.fl. l diffusion parameter DI can be relnted to t he rcnction
(defined as RL = 1 - 1'0/ 1'1) by applying Zweifel's form of blade-
loading diagram (ref. IGJ). Zweifel's fonn (obt ained assuming
incompressible loss-free Iwo-dimclI!-lional Row hnviug a constant
axial velocity) reprcscnts :lS t.he maximum loading n rectangular-
sllal)cd diagmm ",Ikere t ile SllCliOl I f\ lld pressure-surface velocit ies
: II'C const-ant wHb n...xial chord. The suction-surfnce vclocit,y is
eqllnl to t he bladc-out.let velocity, :md the pressure-surfnre vcloc-
it,), is zcro. The blnde-Ioading cocfficient as described by Zweifel
is then the rat.io of t he netllnl blade loading to that of the ideal
Journal 01 Basic Engineering
. 020r-
"
w

w
E
.Ot6
<
" <


.012

w
Z D

u,
.008

,



z
. 004
w
,
0
,
1.0
REAC TI ON
Fig , 11 Variation of mome ntum-t hickness paranleter with reaction
. 020
0
,
"


w
,
. 016
<
"
20"

.012
-50" 1
D \:--... 1 0' 60
w_
z- I., . . 55"
-':.

i -
00.
..
-60" 1
t 45
,
,/" 1-45"
,

z
00'

, . 40" '" I GO"
,
1'60
0
, '50
,
0

SOLIDI TV. v ' .f
Fig. 12 Variation of mome ntum-thic kness parameter with solidity for
several blade configurations
forlll. Zweifel rccommends a coefficiCl lt of O.S us being representa-
tive of optimuill solidi ty. Herein the loading coefri cient is ob-
tained by maintaining the ,cct.allgular form of loading diagram
and adjusting the prcssure-smfnce velocity to the proper value.
In this mfinller, total diO'usion pnr:llneter call be simply related
to bhtde reaction. This relation is shown in Fig. 10. The dif-
f lI sion parameter is seen to vnry from 0.55 at impulse condit ions
to 0 at n react,ion value of 0.55. The negative values of diffusioll,
hetween rellctions of 0.55 and l.O, indicate thnt the pressure-
surface velocity over the An.t portion of the curve (see inset, Fig.
9) is higher t.han the blade-inlet velocity. The diffusion parame-
ter ill crenses rapidly wit. h negntive reaction. This occurs be-
ca use the di fl' usion incrcases on t he suction surface as well as the
pressu re surface. In Fig. 11 the relation of Figs. !) and 10 nre
combined to show momentum t hickness 6
1
/1. directly us It fUllction
of rencl-ion. The moment um t hickness increnses rapidly at nega-
t.i ve values of re:l.ct,ion nnd varies smoothly between reactions of
o and 1. 0. The reaction vaill c of 1.0 impl ics an inlet velocity
negligibly small compared with the outlet velocity. This figure
shows the desirability of utili zi ng reaction across the blade row
:md illust.rates why impulse conditions a,'e usuall y specified as 3.
lower limit OJ) reaction.
In Fig. 12 the momentum-thickness parameter O,lt is presented
as a function of solidity (0- = cis) for n. number of blade eOIl-
figurat ions. These eUl"ves \\'e"e obl.lIined by lIsing Zweifel' s form
of blade loading diagram and allowing the blade-Ionding coef-
fici ent. to vary. t herehy obtaining a I"fUlge of diffusion for eMh
blade configurntion. The diffusion value was then used to de-
terminc the momelltllm-t.hickncss pammeter by t.he rehltionship
of Fig. 9. The curves have Ule same genoml characterist.ic in
S E P TE M E R I 9 6 0 I 591
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S OL I DI T Y , o- -T-
Fi g. 13 Var i at i on of bl ade r ow ener gy loss wi t h sol i di t y f or sever al
bl ade conf i gu rat i ons
t hat the moment um- t hi ckness par amet er i ncr eases sl i ghtl y wi t h
decr easi ng sol i di ty unti l some cr i ti cal val ue of sol i di t y i s at t ai ned
and t he moment um- t hi ckness par amet er i ncr eases shar pl y if
sol i di ty goes bel ow thi s val ue. T hese cur ves r epr esent a var i a-
ti on i n t he bl ade-l oadi ng coeffi ci ent i n or der t o cover a r ange of
sol i di ty f or a gi ven bl ade conf i gur at i on. T he moment um- t hi ck -
ness par amet er 6,/l i s not i ndi cat i ve of t he bl ade r ow l oss on a
per cent age basi s. T her ef or e, t he l oss of t hese bl ade conf i gur a-
ti ons i s shown i n F i g. 13 i n the f or m of t he ki net i c-ener gy l oss
ei . H er e i t can be seen t hat each bl ade r ow conf i gur at i on has a
sol i di ty val ue at whi ch t he l oss ex i s a mi ni mum. F or val ues
of sol i di ty l ar ger than t he mi ni mum l oss val ue, t he bl ade r ow l oss
i ncr eases sl owl y. T hi s i s because t he ef f ect of i ncr eased bl ade
sur face ar ea i s somewhat l ar ger t han t he ef f ect of decr eased
moment um thi ckness per bl ade. F or val ues of sol i di t y bel ow
t he opt i mum, t he shar p i ncr ease i n bl ade r ow l oss i s due t o the
cor r espondi ng i ncr ease i n moment um boundar y- l ayer thi ckness,
and thi s ef f ect gr eat l y over - shadows t hat of r educed bl ade sur face
ar ea. T hus, t he mi ni mum- l oss sol i di t y r epr esents an opt i mum
compr omi se bet ween moment um t hi ckness 8,/l and bl ade sur face
ar ea. T he bl ade-l oadi ng coeffi ci ent cor r espondi ng t o t he mi ni -
mum l oss sol i di ty was of t he or der of
2
A .
I t has been shown f r om flat-plate dat a t hat t ur bul ent - bound-
ar y-l ayer l osses var y i nver sel y as t he ' / 5 power of t he flow
Reynol ds number . T he r el ati on, shown gr aphi cal l y i n F i g. 14,
has been cor r obor at ed by t he exper i ment al r esul ts obt ai ned
f r om si ngl e-stage and mul t i st age compr essor i nvest i gat i ons and
f r om t ur bi ne tests. T hi s cor r el at i on i s of use i n est i mat i ng l osses
for oper ati onal condi t i ons t hat have not been i nvest i gat ed exper i -
' i . 2 . 5 1 2
R E Y N O L DS NO. N O R MA L I ZE D BY B A S E V A L U E
Fi g. 14 Var i at i on of m om ent u m - l oss par am et er wi t h R ey nol ds nu m ber
ment al l y. T hus, over -al l effi ci ency can be det er mi ned f or oper a-
ti on i n an unknown r egi on of Reynol ds number f r om t he r el a-
ti on of boundar y- l ayer moment um thi ckness wi t h Reynol ds
number and the r el ati on of bl ade l oss wi t h moment um boundar y-
l ayer thi ckness.
T he r esul ts i n F i g. 13 i l l ustr ate how t he basi c boundar y- l ayer
concept s cul mi nat e i n a bl ade-l oss sol i di t y cur ve. T he l evel of
opt i mum sol i di ty shown mi ght be somewhat quest i onabl e due to
t he assumpt i ons i n Zwei f el 's met hod and t o t he di ffi cul ty of defi n-
i ng t he moment um l oss-di ffusi on cur ve (F i g. 9) i n t he hi gh di f -
fusi on r egi on. I t i s fel t t hat the t r ends ar e val uabl e i n under -
st andi ng the effects of the boundar y- l ayer l oss and t he physi cal
char acter i sti cs of the bl adi ng on the over - al l bl ade l oss.
R ef er en c es
1 War ner L . Stewart, "Anal ysi s of Two-Di mensi onal Compr es-
si bl e-F l ow L oss Characteri sti cs Downstr eam of Turbomac-hi ne Bl ade
Rows i n Ter ms of Basi c Boundar y-L ayer Char acter i sti cs," N A C A T N
3515,1955.
2 War r en J . Whi tney, War ner L . Stewar t, and J ames W. Mi ser ,
"E xper i mental I nvesti gati on of Tur bi ne Stator -Bl ade-Outl et Bound-
ar y-L ayer Characteri sti cs and a Compar i son Wi t h Theor eti cal Re-
sul ts," N A C A R M E 55K 24, 1956.
3 War ner L . Stewart, War r en J . Whi tney, and Rober t Y . Wong,
"Use of Mean-Secti on Boundar y-L ayer Par ameter s i n Pr edi cti ng
Thr ee-Di mensi onal Tur bi ne Stator L osses," N A C A R M E 55L 12a,
1956.
4 War ner L . Stewar t, War r en J . Whi t ney, and J ames W. Mi ser,
"Use of E ffecti ve Moment um Thi ckness i n Descr i bi ng Tur bi ne Rot or -
Bl ade L osses," N A C A R M E 56B29, 1956.
5 J ames C. Dunavant and J ohn R. E r wi n, "I nvesti gati on of a
Rel ated Seri es of Tur bi ne-Bl ade Profi l es i n Cascade," N A C A T N
3802, 1956. (Supersedes N A C A R M L 53G15.)
6 O. Zwei fel , "Opt i mum Bl ade Pi tch for Tur bomaehi nes Wi th
Speci al Refer ence to Bl ades of Gr eat Cur vat ur e," The Engi neers'
Di gest, vol . 7, November , 1946. pp. 358-360; cont., vol . 7, December ,
1946, pp. .381-383.
5 9 2 / S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 0 Tr a n s a c t i o n s o f t h e A Si V i E
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