CFD analysis of low pressure turbine blade using vortex generator jets

With the trend toward higher bypass ratios in turbofans, demands are increasing for the low pressure turbines (LPT) that drive the large fan assemblies. Also, many military and civilian applications use the LPT to power an ever increasing applications of onboard communication, diagnostic, and service hardware. Aerodynamic efficiency is a major concern in today´s aerospace and aircraft industries. But the flow separation is one of the important factors that affect the aerodynamic efficiency. At very high altitudes the low Reynolds number flow through the low pressure turbine section of the gas turbine engine can drop below 25,000. At these low Reynolds numbers the flow is laminar and extremely susceptible to separation which can lead to increased losses and reduced lift. Small jets of air injected through the suction surface of the airfoil, called Vortex Generator Jets (VGJs), have been shown successful in suppressing separation and maintaining attached flow. We focused on designs of Low Pressure Turbine with the available L1A blade data to improve the performance of the aircraft, delay boundary layer separation and increase the lift forces and to analyze the performance of the turbine blade with vortex generator jet with the available fluent software. We conclude that flow separation can delayed by using vortex generator.