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.