See

discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: http://www.researchgate.net/publication/267504509

Reduced-Order Through-Flow Design Code for

Highly Loaded, Cooled Axial Turbines
CONFERENCE PAPER JUNE 2013
DOI: 10.1115/GT2013-95469

CITATION

DOWNLOADS

VIEWS

52

48

3 AUTHORS, INCLUDING:
Majed Sammak

Magnus Genrup

Lund University

Lund University

7 PUBLICATIONS 16 CITATIONS

31 PUBLICATIONS 75 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

SEE PROFILE

Available from: Majed Sammak

Retrieved on: 23 June 2015

Proceedings of ASME Turbo Expo 2013: Turbine Technical Conference and Exposition
GT2013
June 3-7, 2013, San Antonio, Texas, USA

GT2013-95469

REDUCED-ORDER THROUGH-FLOW DESIGN CODE FOR HIGHLY LOADED,

COOLED AXIAL TURBINES
Majed Sammak
Div. of Thermal Power
Engineering
Dept. of Energy sciences
Lund University
SE-221 00 LUND, Sweden
Tel: +46 76 236 3637
majed.sammak@energy.lth.se

Marcus Thern
Div. of Thermal Power
Engineering
Dept. of Energy sciences
Lund University
SE-221 00 LUND, Sweden
Tel: +46 222 41 12
marcus.thern@energy.lth.se

Magnus Genrup
Div. of Thermal Power
Engineering
Dept. of Energy sciences
Lund University
SE-221 00 LUND, Sweden
Tel: +46 222 92 77
magnus.genrup@energy.lth.se

ABSTRACT
The development of advanced computational fluid dynamic
codes for turbine design does not substitute the importance of
mean-line codes. Turbine design involves mean-line design,
through-flow design, airfoil design, and finally 3D viscous
modeling. The preliminary mean-line design continues to play
an important role in early design stages. The aim of this paper
was to present the methodology of mean-line designing of axial
turbines and to discuss the computational methods and
procedures used. The paper presents the Lund University Axial
Turbine mean-line code (LUAX-T). LUAX-T is a reducedorder through-flow tool that is capable of designing highly
loaded, cooled axial turbines. The stage computation consists of
three iteration loops cooling, entropy, and geometry iteration
loop. The stage convergence method depends on whether the
stage is part of the compressor turbine (CT) or power turbine
(PT) stages, final CT stage, or final PT stage. LUAX-T was
developed to design axial single-and twin-shaft turbines, and
various working fluid and fuel compositions can be specified.
LUAX-T uses the modified Ainley and Mathieson loss model,
with the cooling computation based on the m*-model. Turbine
geometries were established by applying various geometry
correlations and methods. The validation was performed
against a test turbine that was part of a European turbine
development program. LUAX-T validated the axial PT of the
test turbine, which consisted of two stages with rotational speed
13000 rpm. LUAX-T showed good agreement with the
available performance data on the test turbine. The paper
presented also the mean-line design of an axial cooled twinshaft turbine. Design parameters were kept within limits of
current practice. The total turbine power was 109 MW, of
which the CT power was 55 MW. The CT was designed with
two stages with a rotational speed of 9500 rpm, while the PT
had two stages with a rotational speed of 6200 rpm. The total

cooling mass flow was calculated to 31 kg/s, which

corresponds to 23 % of compressor inlet mass flow. LUAX-T
proved capable of designing uncooled and cooled turbines.
Keywords: mean-line, turbine design,
methodology, design loops, LUAX-T.

cooled

turbines,

NOMENCLATURE
A
Area [m2]
B
Axial chord [m]
C
Absolute velocity [m/s]
Ca
Axial velocity [m/s]
Cm
Meridional velocity [m/s]
Cr
Radial velocity [m/s]
Cu
Tangential velocity [m/s]
CC
Combustion chamber
CFD
Computational fluid dynamic
Cp
Specific heat ratio [kJ/kgK]
CP
Pressure recovery coefficient [-]
CT
Compressor turbine
f
Fuel-to-air ratio
h, H
Enthalpy [kJ/kg]
HONC, h/c
Aspect ratio [-]
HONB
Axial aspect ratio [-]
HTC
Heat transfer coefficient [W/m2K]
I
Rothalpy [kJ/kg]
LUAX-T
Lund University Axial Turbine
M
Mach number [-]
m
Mass flow [kg/s]
m*
Dimensionless mass flow [-]
N
Rotational speed [rpm]
OTDF
Overall temperature distribution
factor

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 10/15/2014 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

Copyright 2013 by ASME

p
PR
P.S
PT
Q
r
RTDF
S
SONB
SONC
S.S

Pressure [bar]
Pressure ratio [-]
Pressure side
Power turbine
Tuning factor
Radius [m]
Radial temperature distribution factor
Pitch [m]
Spacing-to-axial chord [-]
Spacing-to-chord [-]
Suction side

T
TEONO
TIT
TONC
U
V
Wpump
W
YP
YS
YTE
YCL
YF
Z

Temperature [C or K]
Trailing edge thickness-to-chord [-]
Turbine inlet temperature [C]
Thickness-to- chord [-]
Blade speed [m/s]
Velocity [m/s]
Pump work [kW]
Relative velocity [m/s]
Profile losses [-]
Secondary losses [-]
Trailing edge losses [-]
Clearance losses [-]
Film losses [-]
Zweifel number [-]

Greek symbols
rad
Heat transfer coefficient by radiation [kJ/kgK]

Lean angle [degree]

Cooling effectiveness [-]

Ratio of specific heat [-]

Efficiency [%]

Stream line angle [degree]

c
coolant injection angle [degree]

Flow coefficient [-]

Stage loading coefficient [-]

Reaction degree [-]

Density [kg/m3]
Subscripts
a
b
c
c,in
c,out
in
f
g
mix
o
out
p
rel
rtr
s

Air
Blade
Coolant
Coolant in
Coolant out
Inlet
Fuel
Gas
Mixing
Total
Outlet
Pressure
Relative
Rotor
Static

str
sw
th
TT
TS

Stator
Swirl
Throat
Total-to-total
Total-to-static

INTRODUCTION
Efficient turbine design comprises preliminary mean-line
design, through-flow design, airfoil design and 3D viscous
modeling. Despite development of advanced computational
fluid dynamic (CFD) codes, mean-line design continues to be
an important tool in designing turbines. Mean-line design is
essentially applied during the early stages of turbine design
when geometries, velocities and angles are not known. The
mean-line design assumes that there is a mean streamline along
the turbine and that the flow conditions on the streamline are
representative of the entire turbine. In mean-line design, the
major turbine geometries such as blade radius, blade height and
inlet and outlet blade angles are determined. In this stage, the
turbine annulus and chord, spacing and shape of the blade are
also established. Turbine design is an iterative process and it is
common to shift from through-flow or airfoil design stage back
to the preliminary mean-line design. The mean-line design
requires that many factors be considered and weighed against
each other to achieve a competitive turbine design. Cooling is
an important factor in turbine design and must be considered in
the early stages. Cooling affects not only the entropy generation
in the turbine but also the generated turbine geometry. Some
commercial codes are available for calculating and performing
turbine mean-line design [1-4] but not all of them consider
cooling during the design process. Mean-line design
methodology is not commonly discussed in the literature,
although many papers review the methods and correlations
used in axial turbine design [5-7]. The present paper discussed
the one-dimensional mean-line design methodology for axial
turbines. The developed numerical model was based on the
conservation of mass, momentum and energy. The paper
presented also the Lund University Axial Turbine mean-line
code (LUAX-T). LUAX-T was developed to calculate singleand twin-shaft turbines. Various working fluids and fuel
compositions can be also specified in LUAX-T. Cooling was
estimated at the beginning of the turbine computation, thereby
incorporating its influence in the turbine design.
METHOD
LUAX-T calculations comprise of two main calculation
procedures, stage convergence calculations and stage design
calculations, (Figure 1). In the stage convergence calculations
the stage convergence method is determined depending on the
stage location in the turbine. Stage design calculations contain
stator and rotor calculations. Figure 1 showed LUAX-T
calculations structure where turbine design parameters are
specified prior to computation. These parameters are number of
stages, rotational speed, turbine inlet conditions and other
design parameters. Furthermore in the case of twin-shaft
turbines; the compressor turbine power must be specified.

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 10/15/2014 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

Copyright 2013 by ASME

Calculations proceed then to stage convergence calculations

and stage design calculations.
Start

defined as the actual pressure rise in the diffuser to the

isentropic pressure rise, (Equation 1). In the case of hot-end
drive turbines CP is around 0.65 while in cold-end drive
turbines CP is around 0.8 [8, 9].
p2

p1
Total
Stages

Yes

No

CP

k 1
2

k 1
M21

End
TurbineStage
StageCalculations
Yes

To,Po,m,Cm

FirstStage

No

InletConditions

InletConditions
Stage

Stator

Rotor

Figure 2. Stage convergence routines.

Figure 1. Calculations process.

Stage convergence calculations

The calculation starts by identifying the turbine stage in order
to choose the convergence loop. The convergent procedures
were divided into three; depending on the turbine stage
(Figure 2). Turbine stages are part of the compressor turbine
(CT)1 or power turbine (PT)2, final CT stage or final PT stage.
Stage convergence begins with flow coefficient () loop
convergence where, during this loop, the stator outlet angle is
adjusted. If the stage is part of the CT or PT, the stage is
converged when stage loading coefficient () convergence is
reached. The initial value of the stage loading coefficient () is
specified and the () loop converged by adjusting the rotor
outlet pressure. The final CT stage is converged by adjusting
the rotor outlet pressure until the calculated CT power matches
the specified CT power. The final PT stage is converged when
the calculated PT diffuser pressure matches the specified outlet
diffuser pressure. The diffuser pressure is calculated by
defining the pressure recovery coefficient (CP). The CP is
1
2

Compressor turbine is the high pressure turbine.

Power turbine is the low pressure turbine.

Stage design calculations

The turbine stage in LUAX-T was divided into several
calculation stations. This structure provides flexibility in
transferring data between stations and also provides stability in
calculation. Each computed stage consists of stator and rotor
station. The stator calculation stations are stator inlet (1), stator
outlet prior to stator cooling mixing (2), and stator outlet after
stator cooling mixing (2mix). The rotor stations are rotor inlet
(2gap), rotor outlet prior to rotor blade cooling mixing (3), rotor
outlet after mixing rotor blade cooling (3mix), and next-stage
stator inlet after mixing of rotor disc cooling (3gap). These
calculation stations are presented in Figure 3. Stations 2 and
2mix and also stations 3 and 3mix are physically the same
station in the turbine. They are treated differently in the model
to take into account the changes in thermodynamic properties
and geometries due to cooling mixing. By defining the first
stage stator inlet conditions, the stator inlet static properties,
geometries, velocities and angles are computed. Inlet conditions
are total inlet temperature, total inlet pressure, mass flow and
meridional velocity. The first stage stator inlet properties are
therefore defined and the computations forced to the later
turbine stages. The computation of stator and rotor are similar,
but the rotor inlet properties have to be converted to the relative
coordinate system.

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 10/15/2014 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

Copyright 2013 by ASME

Figure 3. Turbine calculation stations.

The coordination is then transferred back to the stationary

system prior to the next stage. Stage calculation comprises
three main iterations loop, cooling, entropy and geometry loop.
Placing the cooling iteration loop as the outer loop provides
stability to the computation. Outer cooling loop has the
advantage of including cooling in the stage design. The
calculations start by computing the required cooling mass flow.
Aerodynamic losses are calculated in the entropy loop and
stage geometry is computed in the geometry loop. The stage
thermodynamic properties are adjusted later, after coolant
mixing. Once the thermodynamic properties and geometries of
the turbine stages are defined, the overall turbine performance
is determined. Figure 4 shows the calculation process in the
stator and rotor.
Stator calculation: Stator calculation is started by defining the
stator outlet pressure or the stage reaction degree (). In the
cooling iteration loop, the initial value of stator cooling is
specified or estimated by defining a value for cooling efficiency
and overall temperature distribution factor (OTDF). Once the
cooling mass flow and cooling conditions are identified, the
power loss due to heat transfer from gas to coolant is defined
(station 2 in Figure 3). Bear in mind that after cooling the blade
the coolant will be ejected outside the blade and mix with the
gas flow. Thus mixing conditions has to be calculated with
preserving mass and energy balance. The entropy iteration loop
is started by defining an initial value for total entropy losses.
The stator outlet conditions, area and velocities are hence
defined. The stator geometry calculations are performed in the
geometry iteration loop. In the geometry loop, the stator outlet
hub radius is specified, after which the stator outlet tip radius,
stator height, hub-to-tip ratio and stator axial chord are
computed. Stator hub and tip hade angle are also calculated.
Then, specification of stator gap length and rotor hub radius
will provide rotor tip radius, rotor height, rotor hade angles,
rotor axial chord, rotor aspect ratio and rotor outlet hub radius.
Eventually the stator stream line angle () is determined. A
new value of stator tip radius is calculated and computations
are repeated until geometry iteration loop convergence is
reached. Additional geometries are calculated prior to
calculating stator aerodynamic losses. These geometries are
stagger angle, solidity (S/c), Zweifel number, number of blades
and other geometry relations. Once the aerodynamic losses are
calculated a new value for stator outlet entropy is computed.

Figure 4. Stage calculations.

The computations are repeated until the entropy iteration loop

reaches convergence. The cooling mass flow should then be
recalculated because the stator geometry is completely defined.
If the estimated stator mass flow differs from the calculated
value, the calculations must be repeated until the cooling mass
flow iteration loop converges. The next step in stator
calculations is to determine the conditions after cooling mixing
(station 2mix in Figure 3). The cooling flow is extracted from
the compressor at different pressures. The extracted cooling
mass flow causes power losses, but the coolant is injected to the
main gas stream after cooling the blades. The stator outlet mass
flow should therefore be corrected after cooling mixing. The
stator total enthalpy after mixing is determined from mass and
energy conservation. In order to calculate the other mixing
conditions, either mixing pressure or density is specified. In the
case of estimating the mixing static pressure, the mixing mass
flow calculates a new value of mixing pressure. A relationship
between pressure and mass flow is established through the
conservation of mass and momentum (Equation 2).
m
m
. M
1
2
p C

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 10/15/2014 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

Copyright 2013 by ASME

A new value for coolant mass flow is calculated from mass

conservation, so a new value of mixing static pressure is
obtained. If the calculated mixing static pressure differs from
the estimated value, calculations are repeated until convergence
is reached. If, on the other hand, the mixing density is
estimated, the meridional velocity is computed from the
continuity equation, enabling coolant mass flow to be defined.
The computation then proceeds in the same way to the mixing
pressure iteration loop. Stator total conditions are identified
after mixing. Prior to the rotor inlet, the main gas flow passes
through an axial gap (station 2gap in Figure 3). At the axial
gap, the duct area changes because of rotor disk cooling
injection and cavity purge. The stator outlet conditions
therefore differ from the rotor inlet conditions. Main gas mass
flow, rotor inlet conditions and rotor inlet area have to be
adjusted due to rotor disk cooling. The rotor inlet conditions are
then calculated by repeating cooling mixing iteration loop.
Rotor calculations: The stator gap outlet conditions are the
rotor inlet conditions (station 3 in Figure 3). Prior to rotor
calculations, the gas conditions are converted to the relative
coordinate system. Rotor inlet relative velocities, relative flow
angles and relative total conditions are computed. Rotor inlet
rothalpy (I) is also determined. The rothalpy is constant across
the rotor and defined in Equation 3.
w
U
1
3
I h
h
C
UC
2
2
2
The rotor outlet area is computed using the rotor relative inlet
properties. The AN2 is then calculated and compared with
maximum specified AN2. AN2 is defined as annulus area of
rotor blade multiplied by rotational speed squared. AN2 is
proportional to the blade root stress at a given rotor hub radius.
If the calculated AN2 exceeds the maximum defined limit, the
rotor tip radius should be reduced to obtain the maximum AN2.
The rotor calculations are similar to the stator, where cooling;
entropy and geometry loops should converge for a completed
rotor design (Figure 4). The rotor cooling mass flow is
estimated after defining the radial temperature distribution
factor (RTDF) and cooling efficiency. The rotor coolant
involves a large radius change where it is injected at low radius
and then pumped radially outward on the rotor. The coolant is
passed through pre-swirl nozzles (swirl generator) in the blade
root to swirl the coolant so that coolant temperature reduction is
obtained. Converting velocities to the relative coordination
system will promote coolant temperature reduction and less
coolant will be pumped. The stage power also decreases due to
pump work required to overcome the coolant radius change
(Equation 4).
W

m U

Entropy iteration loop begins with estimating total entropy

change over rotor. Once rotor outlet pressure is defined, the
rotor outlet conditions, velocities and angles are computed.
Like the stator calculations, the rotor geometry is calculated
later. Geometry ratios and total rotor aerodynamic losses are

finally computed before calculating a new value for rotor outlet

entropy. Following a new value of cooling mass flow is
calculated and checked with the estimated value. Prior to
calculating main gas flow conditions after cooling mixing
(station 3mix in Figure 3), relative conditions and velocities
should be converted to the stationary coordinate system. The
main gas flow conditions at the rotor gap are calculated in the
same way as for the stator gap (station 3gap in Figure 3). The
rotor gap outlet conditions are the inlet conditions for the next
stage.
Throat calculations: Throat conditions at stator and rotor are
also calculated. The maximum gas mass flow occurs at the
throat when this is choked and so the throat Mach number is
unity. In order to calculate throat conditions, entropy generation
from the blade leading edge to the throat and rothalpy are used.
The losses from leading edge to throat are assumed to be 20 %
to 30% of total blade losses. The pressure at throat is calculated
from Equation 5. Throat computation is an iterative process
since the speed of sound at the throat is a function of gas
composition.
p ,
p

After designing the stage the calculations proceed to the next

stage where the downstream stages of the turbine obtain their
inlet conditions from the upstream stages. Once the
thermodynamic and aerodynamic properties of the entire
turbine stages are computed, turbine performance can be
calculated. Performance parameters such as stage work, loading
coefficient, flow coefficient, and reaction degrees are
calculated.
Reduced-order through-flow: The span-wise variation of
flow properties (reaction degree, static pressure, flow angle,
etc.) and velocity triangle closure are calculated with the
method by Dejc and Trojanovskij [10]. It is important to
introduce limitations for hub reaction at the initial design since
it affects several design parameters. In the Dejc and
Trojanovskij original reference, there are three factors K1, K2
and K3 taking into account the effects due to stream line
curvature, lean and end-wall hade, respectively. The stream line
curvature is hard to calculate in a one-dimensional calculation.
The radius of curvature is therefore set to infinity in this work.
Dejc and Trojanovskij introduced a tuning factor (Q) and
provide some recommendations as a function of hub-to-tip
ratio. The current version of the code uses Equation 6 for the
case of a straight vane (1=const.).
C
C

C
1

C
r

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 10/15/2014 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

Copyright 2013 by ASME

Equation 6 is written in the original tangential angle reference

plane. The second part of the exponent is the effect due to lean
angle (). The method by Dejc and Trojanovskij does not
replace the conventional through-flow approach. However it
introduces a convenient way of introducing three-dimensional
effects into the one-dimensional calculations, hence the name
reduced order through-flow.
Thermodynamic properties
The composition of the main gas stream is changed after
cooling mixing. The fuel-to-air ratio is used to compute the new
composition of the main gas flow. The fuel-to-air ratio (f) is
defined as the ratio of the mass of fuel and mass of air present
during combustion (Equation 7).
m
m

Geometry calculation
The turbine calculations are based on a cylindrical polar
coordinate system with axial, tangential and radial axes [11].
Axial velocity (Ca), radial velocity (Cr), tangential velocity
(Cu), meridional velocity (Cm), absolute velocity (C) and
absolute velocity projection on the axial plane are shown in
Figure 6. The velocity relationships are derived from velocity
triangles and are used later in the geometry calculations
(Equation 9).
C

C cos

C tan, C

cos
C cos

cos

sin

cos

sin

cos

cos

sin

A new value for fuel-to-air ratio has to be derived after cooling

mixing in order to calculate a new gas flow composition. Figure
5 shows the fuel-to-air ratio after cooling mixing. The new fuelto-air ratio after cooling mixing is derived in Equation 8.

f
m

a
m

c
m

in
m

out
m

Figure 5. Fuel-to-air ratio.

Figure 6.Turbine coordinate system.

The main gas flow properties are based on a semi-perfect gas

state model. The gas specific heat capacity is temperature
dependent, which gives good calculation accuracy. Using real
gases with pressure dependence of specific heat capacity will
introduce more complexity to the equations of state, with little
improvement in accuracy. The state model is based on the
NASA SP-273 polynomials. It uses a set of Cp(T) coefficients
that have been empirically developed by NASA. The
coefficients work over the temperature range from 223 K to
5000 K and are divided into two groups, the first group for
calculations below 1000 K and the second for calculations from
1000 K to 5000 K. The module uses 273.15 K as reference
temperature and 1.01325 bar as reference pressure. The
LUAX-T mean-line code also makes it possible to change main
gas composition, so turbines with different working fluid and
different cooling composition can be modeled. Such turbines
are oxy-fuel turbines with CO2 as working fluid, humid
turbines with high air water content, and turbines with steam
cooling.

LUAX-T geometry calculations are based on continuity

equation and geometry relation models. The blade axial aspect
ratio (h/c) is calculated by polynomials developed by Abianc
[12], (Figure 7). The blade aspect ratio is a function of blade
hub-to-tip ratio and whether the blade is stator or rotor.
Moustapha et al. [13, 14] state that blade inlet angle and design
incidence (i) are functions of inlet and outlet flow angles. Hade
angle, taper angle and stream line angle () are also calculated.
The hade angle is the inclination of the gas channel at hub and
tip in both stator and rotor, and taper angle is the vertical
inclination of the blade profile (Figure 8). Designing the blade
with some taper angle is common practice to ease the stresses
in the blade root. The streamline angle () is the angle between
the meridional (Cm) and axial velocity (Ca) and determined
from Equation 10 [15]. The factor 0.8 takes into account the
gap between the stator and rotor.
tan

r
B

r
B

0.8

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 10/15/2014 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

10

Copyright 2013 by ASME

14
Stator
Rotor

Axial aspect ratio [-]

12

10

0
0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Hub-to-tip ratio [-]

Figure 7. Axial aspect ratio as function of hub-to-tip ratio.

DC-KO-MK model presented new correlations for the profile

(Yp) and secondary losses (YS) at off-design conditions. The
model was significantly more successful than the original
Ainley and Mathieson model because it includes correlations
for all the components of loss, and for both design and offdesign conditions. More recently, the profile and secondary
losses in AM-DC-KO-MK have been further developed by
Benner et al. [18, 19]. The present paper employed the Bennermodified loss model of AM-DC-KO-MK. The calculated
secondary losses showed good agreement with secondary losses
calculated by Denton, which correspond to the original Ainley
and Mathieson secondary losses multiplied by 0.375 [20].
Trailing edge losses (YTE) were calculated by model developed
by Kacker and Okupuu [16, 21]. The clearance loss (YCL)
model differs between shrouded and unshrouded blades.
Dunham and Came modified the original Ainley and Mathieson
expression for calculating clearance losses in shrouded blades
[7, 13]. In the case of unshrouded blades, Kacker and Okapuu
considered a relationship for calculating clearance losses [13,
16]. Film losses (YF) occur due to turbine cooling. The coolant
flow is injected to the main gas stream and causes aerodynamic
mixing losses. Film cooling is implemented in the first stage
where blades are exposed to very high temperatures. The
mixing model is based on Hartsels mixing loss model [22].
Hartsel mixing employs a two-dimensional mixing model
where the coolant and main stream are mixed under a constant
static pressure. The Hartsel mixing loss is presented in
Equation 11.
M

Figure 8. Stream line angles.

The stagger angle is a function of blade inlet and outlet angles

and is calculated using polynomials developed by Kacker and
Okupuu [16]. According to Mamaev [17], the pitch-to-chord
ratio (S/c) or solidity is function of exit Mach number, inlet
and exit flow angles and trailing edge thickness. The number of
blades is determined eventually from the calculated (S/c).
Addressing losses in the turbine requires identifying a number
of geometry relations. Ainley et al. [5] developed a model for
calculating opening-to-pitch ratio. The model states that
opening-to-pitch ratio (O/S) is function of gas flow inlet and
outlet angle, exit Mach number and whether the blade is
shrouded. Thickness-to-chord ratio (t/c) is calculated on the
other hand using a model developed by Kacker et al.[16].
Loss calculations
The most widely-used method for predicting losses in axial
turbines is the modified method developed originally by Ainley
and Mathieson (AM) [5]. AM models has been modified by
Dunham and Came (DC) [6, 7, 13], Kacker and Okapuu (KO)
[13, 16] and Moustapha and Kacker (MK) [13, 14] . The AM-

cos ]

11

Hartsel mixing losses are a function of the square of gas flow

Mach number, the coolant mass flow fraction, the ratio of
coolant and gas temperature and coolant and gas velocity
(Figure 9).

Figure 9. Hartsel mixing model.

The total losses Ytot are therefore:

Y

12

Film losses along the blade profile are calculated via a generic
rectangular velocity distribution around the blade. The velocity
distribution was developed by Denton [23, 24] to generate

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 10/15/2014 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

Copyright 2013 by ASME

blade loss coefficient. Figure 10 shows the generic velocity

distributions for first rotor.
800

Velocity distribution [m/s]

700

Cooling calculation
The turbine cooling mass flow is computed from the m*-model.
Holland [25] and Barry [26] presented the m*-model, which was
originally based on the standard blade approach adopted by
Hall [27]. The m*-model identified the main factors affecting
the blade cooling. The m*-model described the heat transfer
from the hot gases through the blade metal toward the coolant.
The cooling model was defined by employing three
dimensionless parameters.

S.S
600
500
400
300
200

P.S

100
0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

constant area. The calculated total mass flow is compared to the

obtained total mass flow from mass balance. If the obtained
total mass flow differs the mixing pressure is recalculated and
calculations are repeated until convergence reached.

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Axial Chord [-]

Figure 10. Generic velocity distributions for turbine blades, rotor

1.

The coolant is injected to the outside of the blade through holes

in the surface of the blade and in the trailing edge. The trailing
edge mixing model of two streams is implemented. The model
assumes mixing under constant area and pressure. The
calculation of mixed out conditions obtained from conservation
of mass, momentum and energy [24], (Figure 11).

Cooling effectiveness () can be considered as dimensionless

blade temperature. Cooling effectiveness is a measure of the
amount of cooling required to maintain a particular metal
temperature [13], (Equation 16).

The total enthalpy of the mixed flow was calculated from the
energy balance over the selected control volume:

m H

m H

13

The momentum and impulse equations are:

C
C

m C
,

m C

14

16

T,
T

T,
T,

17

Dimensionless mass flow (m is a measure of the coolant mass

flow. It is defined as the ratio of potential of cooling fluid
extraction to the potential of mainstream heating [13],
(Equation 18).

Figure 11. Trailing edge mixing model.

T
T

Cooling efficiency ( ) is a measure of coolant utilization. It is

defined as the ratio between the actual heat removed from the
hot gases to the maximum heat that could be removed [13],
(Equation 17).

T
T

15

The mixing process is an iterative process since the mixing

pressure is unknown. Mixing density is calculated from the
estimated mixing pressure and mixing static enthalpy
(Equation 13). The mixing mass flow is calculated from the
continuity equation since the mixing process takes place under

m C
HTC A

18

The entry turbine gas temperature profile has a temperature

peak at the middle of the profile and lower temperatures at tip
and hub. In order to account for temperature profile, the overall
temperature distribution factor (OTDF) and the radial
temperature distribution factor (RTDF) are used. The OTDF is
used to design the stator while RTDF is used for rotor design.
The OTDF and RTDF are defined as the ratio of the difference
between the gas peak and mean temperature to the combustor
temperature rise. Hence the gas peak temperature is calculated
at the first stage stator and rotor. The temperature distribution
factor works well for first turbine stage but at the entry to the
next stage the radial temperature profile become flatter. The
OTDF is set to 0.1 while the RTDF is set to 0.05 [8].

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 10/15/2014 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

Copyright 2013 by ASME

VALIDATION AND RESULTS

A test turbine was chosen for LUAX-T validation. The turbine
chosen was part of a European turbine development program.
The test turbine was a non-aero derivative uncooled gas turbine
and was developed for industrial and marine application. It was
a twin-shaft gas turbine, where the CT was a radial turbine
while the PT was an axial turbine. LUAX-T validated the axial
PT of the test turbine, which consisted of two-stage rotations at
13000 rpm. The test turbine design specification is shown in
Table 1.

Table 5. Test turbine thermodynamic LUAX-T results, Stage 2.

Table 1.Test turbine design specification.

The thermodynamic results shown are total and static

temperatures and pressure, relative total temperature and
pressure and Mach number. LUAX-T showed very good
correspondence with the thermodynamic data available from
the test PT. The annulus test turbine is presented in Figure 12.

min
TIT
PRTT
pin
Min

Performance data
kg/s
11.7

C
935
3.18
bar
3.45
0.193

To
Ts
To,rel
po
ps
po,rel
M

C
C

C
bar
bar
bar

Rotor in
935.00
877.60
882.90
3.36
2.61
2.67
0.63

C
bar
bar
bar
-

Stator in
830.90
825.10
2.03
1.97
0.20

Stator out
830.90
767.80
1.98
1.46
0.69

Rotor in
830.90
769.40
776.00
1.98
1.47
1.52
0.68

Rotor out
830.90
824.10
884.30
2.03
1.96
2.60
0.22

Rotor out
712.70
702.40
777.70
1.05
0.99
1.47
0.29

Table 4. Test turbine thermodynamic LUAX-T results, Stage 1.

To
Ts
To,rel
po
ps
po,rel
M

C
bar
bar
bar
-

Stator in
935.00
928.58
3.45
3.37
0.19

Stator out
935.00
874.57
3.41
2.71
0.60

Rotor in
935.00
876.67
882.93
3.40
2.72
2.79
0.59

Rotor in
817.31
752.28
758.74
2.05
1.57
1.61
0.65

Rotor out
676.04
663.22
761.05
1.08
1.02
1.55
0.30

0.3
0.28
0.26
0.24
0.22
0

Rotor out
817.31
809.23
885.28
2.10
2.03
2.71
0.23

0.02

0.04

0.06 0.08
0.1
Axial length [m]

0.12

0.14

0.16

Figure 12. Test turbine annulus PT.

Table 3. Test turbine thermodynamic conditions, Stage 2.

To
Ts
To,rel
po
ps
po,rel
M

Stator out
817.31
750.37
2.06
1.57
0.66

0.32

Radius [m]

Table 2. Test turbine thermodynamic conditions, Stage 1.

Stator out
935.00
875.90
3.36
2.59
0.64

C
bar
bar
bar
-

0.34

Tables 2 and 3 show the available thermodynamic conditions at

entry and exit of test PT stages. Tables 4 and 5 show the
simulated results from LUAX-T.
Stator in
935.00
928.90
3.45
3.36
0.20

Stator in
817.31
809.23
2.10
2.03
0.23

To
Ts
To,rel
po
ps
po,rel
M

The performance results from LUAX-T are shown in Table 6.

The total-to-total efficiency and total-to-static efficiency were
considered. The LUAX-T stage performance results showed
good correspondence with the tested turbine.
Table 6. Test turbine performance.

TS
TT

%
%

Stage 1
Test turbine LUAX-T
84.73
84.53
89.57
89.97

Stage 2
Test turbine LUAX-T
85
83.50
91.69
90.45

Cooled turbine
LUAX-T was used to design a conventional twin-shaft cooled
gas turbine. Due to lack of validation data from commercial
cooled gas turbines, design parameters were kept within
acceptable limits [8]. The total turbine power was 109 MW, of
which the CT power was 55 MW. The CT consisted of two
stages with rotational speed 9500 rpm. The PT was designed in
two stages with rotational speed 6200 rpm. The parametric data
is shown in Table 7.

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 10/15/2014 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

Copyright 2013 by ASME

Table 7. Twin-shaft cooled turbine inlet conditions.

kg/s

C
m/s

0.8

100
1400
23
90

0.7
0.6

Radius [m]

minlet
TIT
PRTT
Cm

Preliminary mean line of the twin-shaft turbine was calculated

and the results are shown in Tables 8, 9 and 10. Table 8 shows
the main geometric relationships. Solidity (S/C), hub-to-tip
ratio (rhub/rtip), aspect ratio (h/C) and Zwiefel number are shown
in Table 8.

0.4
0.3

Table 8. Gas turbine geometry relations.

CT
S/c
rhub/rtip
h/c
Z

Stage 1
0.93/0.82
0.84/0.84
0.98/1.5
0.81/0.87

Stage 3
0.91/0.81
0.72/0.69
1.8/2.8
0.84/0.78

Stage 4
0.76/0.63
0.64/0.62
3.0/3.9
0.82/0.77

The gas turbine performance is shown in Table 9. Stage loading

(), flow coefficient (), stage pressure ratio and reaction
degree were calculated. The cooled stages were the first two CT
stages while the PT stages remained uncooled. The cooling
effectiveness of the cooled turbine is shown in Table 9. The
total cooling mass flow was calculated to 31 kg/s, which
represented 23 % of compressor inlet mass flow.
Table 9. Gas turbine performance.

PR
p
/

Stage 1
1.35
0.34
1.95
0.39
58/46

CT
Stage 2
1.1
0.46
1.94
0.39
34/17

Stage 3
1.4
0.36
2.14
0.45
-

PT
Stage 4
1.36
0.46
2.6
0.45
-

The turbine profile (Yp), secondary (YS), clearing (YCL) and

trailing edge (YTE) losses were calculated and are shown in
Table 10. The first stage film losses (YF) are also shown in
Table 10
Table 10. Gas turbine losses.

YP
YS
YCL
YTE
YF
Ytotal

%
%
%
%
%
%

CT
Stage 1
2.83/3.26
2.47/2.73
0/6
0.55/0.82
0.82/0.72
6.7/13.6

0.2

PT
Stage 2
0.83/0.82
0.81/0.77
1.5/2.1
0.91/0.95

Stage 2
1.67/1.58
2.43/2.06
0/3.32
0.43/0.51
0/0
4.5/7.3

PT
Stage 3
Stage 4
2.82/3.45 2.88/2.23
1.83/1.48 1.49/1.24
0/4.87
0/3.00
0.26/0.48 0.30/0.42
0/0
0/0
4.9/10.29 4.67/6.96

The twin-shaft gas turbine annulus is shown in Figure 13.

0.5

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

Axial length [m]

Figure 13. Twin-shaft gas turbine annulus.

Results showed that LUAX-T can design uncooled as well as

cooled turbines. LUAX-T has been used to design oxy-fuel
turbines where the main working fluid consists of CO2 [28, 29],
Graz oxy-fuel turbine [30] and humid turbines [31].
Furthermore LUAX-T was used for parametric studies, as
described in Noor et al. [32].
CONCLUSION
The paper discussed the development of the Lund University
Axial Turbine mean-line code (LUAX-T). The code is a
reduced-order through-flow tool that can be used to design
highly loaded, cooled axial turbines. The aim of this paper was
to show the computational methods and procedures for meanline designing. The stage computation consists of three iteration
loops cooling, entropy and geometry loops. The stage
convergence varies according to whether the stage is part of a
CT or a PT, final CT stage or final PT stage. LUAX-T is
capable of design single- and twin-shaft turbines. Furthermore,
different working fluids and fuel compositions can be specified
in LUAX-T. LUAX-T validations were performed against a test
turbine that was a part of a European turbine development
program. The chosen test turbine was a twin-shaft gas turbine
where its CT is a radial turbine while the PT is an axial turbine.
The validation was performed on the PT, which consisted of
two-stage rotations at 13000 rpm. LUAX-T showed good
correspondence with available performance data from the test
PT. In the paper, the mean-line design for an axial twin-shaft
turbine was also presented. Design parameters were kept within
acceptable practice limits. The total turbine power was
109 MW, of which the CT power was 55 MW. The CT was
designed with two stages at a rotational speed of 9500 rpm,
while the PT had two stages with a rotational speed of
6200 rpm. The total cooling mass flow was calculated to
31 kg/s, the equivalent of 23 % of compressor inlet mass flow.
LUAX-T proved capable of designing uncooled and cooled
turbines. LUAX-T was also used to design oxy-fuel and humid
turbines.

10

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 10/15/2014 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

Copyright 2013 by ASME

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research has been funded by the Swedish Energy Agency,
Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB, Volvo Aero
Corporation and the Royal Institute of Technology through the
Swedish research program TURBOPOWER. The support of
which is gratefully acknowledged.
The development of LUAX-T would not been possible without
the work done by David Olsson, Jonas Svensson and Bjrn
Nyberg.
REFERENCES
[1] Dubitsky, O., Wiedermann, A., Nakano, T., Perera, J., 2003,
"The reduced order through-flow modeling of axial
turbomachinery," International gas turbine congress.
[2] Japikse, D., 2009, "Turbomachinery Performance
Modeling," SAE World Congres.
[3] Moroz, L., Govorushchenko,Y., Pagur, P., 2006, "A
uniform approch to conceptual desgin of axial turbine/
compressor flow path," The future of gas turbine technology.
[4] Tournier, J. M., and El-Genk, M. S., 2010, "Axial flow
multi-stage turbine and compressor models," Energy
Conversion and Management, 51(1), pp. 16-29.
[5] Ainley, D. G., and Mathieson, G. C. R., 1951, "A Method of
Performance Estimation for Axial- Flow Turbines."
[6] Dunham, J., 1970, "A review of cascade data on secondary
losses in turbines," Mechanical engineering science, 12.
[7] Dunham, J., Came, P.M., 1970, "Improvements to the
Ainley-Mathieson method of turbine performance prediction,"
Engineering of power.
[8] Walsh, P., and Fletcher, P., 2004, Gas turbine performance,
Blackwell Science Inc.
[9] Cengel, Y., Boles, M., 2002, "Themodynamics: An
engineering approch."
[10] Dejc, M. E., Trojanovskij, B.M., 1973, "Untersuchung und
Berechnung axialer Turbinenstufen," VEB VERLAG
TECHNIK BERLIN.
[11] Dixon, S. L., 2005, Fluid mechanics, thermodynamics of
turbomachinery, Butterworth-Heinemann.
[12] Abianc, W. X., 1979, Theory of aero engines gas turbines.
[13] Moustapha, H., Zelesky, M. F., Baines, N. C., and Japikse,
D., 2003, Axial and radial turbines, Concepts NREC.
[14] Moustapha, S. H., Kacker, S. C., and Tremblay, B., 1990,
"Improved incidence losses prediction method for turbine
airfoils," Journal of Turbomachinery, 112(2), pp. 267-276.
[15] Bitterlich, W., Ausmeier,S., Lohmann,U., 2002,
Gasturbinen und Gasturbinenanlagen.
[16] Kacker, S. C., and Okapuu, U., 1982, "A Mean line
prediction method for axial flow turbine efficiency," Journal of
engineering for power, 104(1), pp. 111-119.
[17] Klebanov, A. G., and Mameav, B.I., 1969, "Optimal pitch
for a turbine blade cascade."
[18] Benner, M., Sjolander, SA; Moustapha, SH, 2006, "An
Empirical Prediction Method for Secondary Losses in
TurbinesPart I: A New Loss Breakdown Scheme and
Penetration
Depth
Correlation,"
The
Journal
of
Turbomachinery, 128(2), pp. 273 - 280.

[19] Benner, M. W., Sjolander, S. A., and Moustapha, S. H.,

1995, "Influence of leading-edge geometry on profile losses in
turbines at off-design incidence: experimental results and an
improved correlation," Proceedings of the International Gas
Turbine and Aeroengine
[20] Denton, J. D., 1993, "The 1993 IGTI Scholar Lecture:
Loss Mechanisms in Turbomachines," Journal of
Turbomachinery, 115(4), p. 621.
[21] Benner, M. W., Sjolander, S. A., and Moustapha, S. H.,
2006, "An empirical prediction method for secondary losses in
Turbines-part I: a new loss breakdown scheme and penetration
depth correlation," Transactions of the ASME. The Journal of
Turbomachinery, 128(2), pp. 273-280.
[22] Hartsel, J. E., 1972, "Prediction of effects of mass transfer
cooling on the blade row efficiency of turbine airfoils," AIAA
10th Aerospace science meeting.
[23] Denton, J. D., 1990, "Entropy Generation in
Turbomachinery Flows," Aerospace Technology Conference
and Exposition.
[24] Greitzer, E. M., Tan, C. S., Graf, M. B. , 2004, Internal
Flow: Concepts and Applications.
[25] Holland, M., and Thake, T., 1980, "Rotor blade cooling in
high pressure turbines," Journal of aircraft, 17, pp. 412-418.
[26] Barry, B., 1976, "The Aerodynamic Penalties Associated
with Turbine Blade Cooling," Rolls Royce.
[27] Halls, G. A., 1967, "Air Cooling of Turbine Blades and
Vanes: An account of the history and development of gas
turbine cooling," Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace
Technology, 39(8), pp. 4-14.
[28] Sammak, M., Thorbergsson, E., Grnstedt, T., Genrup, M.,
2012, "Conceptual mean-line design of single and twin-shaft
oxy-fuel gas turbine in a semi-closed oxy-fuel combustion
combined cycle " ASME paper, GT2012-69470, Copenhagen.
[29] Sammak, M., Jonshagen, K., Thern, M., Genrup, M.,
Thorbergsson, E., Grnstedt, T., and Dahlquist, A., 2011,
"Conceptual Design of A Mid-Sized Semi-Closed Oxy-Fuel
Combustion Combined Cycle," ASME paper, GT2011-46299,
Vancouver.
[30] Thorbergsson, E., Sammak, M., Gronstedt,T., Genrup,M.,
2012, "A comparative analysis of two competing mid-size oxyfuel combustion cycles," ASME Turbo Expo 2012, GT201269676.
[31] Nyberg, B., Thern,M., Genrup, M., 2012, "Aerodynamic
Analysis of a Humid Air Turbine Expander," ASME turbo
Expo 2012, GT2012-68996.
[32] Noor, H., Genrup,M., Fransson, T., 2012, "Selection of
one-dimensional design parameter 'Reaction degree' for 1st
stage of cooled gas turbine " ASME Turbo Expo 2012,
GT2012-69758.

11

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 10/15/2014 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

Copyright 2013 by ASME