Design and Off-Design Optimisation of Highly Loaded Industrial Gas Turbine Stages

A European collaborative project to investigate the design of advanced industrial gas turbine stages (DAIGTS) has now completed 30 months of a 36-month programme of work. The objectives of the project were to investigate

• advanced aerodynamic analysis of industrial gas turbine stages,

• off-design performance characteristics,

• prediction of aero-mechanical behaviour.

This paper gives an overview of the technical progress made and includes a description of the rigs used in the study. Key results include the development of advanced CFD models to include cooling and real engine geometric features, off-design performance mapping of transonic industrial turbine stages and the development of a unique oscillating cascade rig.