Particle image velocimetry measurement and computational fluid dynamic simulations of the unsteady flow within a rotating disk cavity

In this article a combined experimental and numerical investigation of the unsteady mixing flow of the ingestion gas and rim sealing air inside a rotating disk cavity was carried out. A new test rig was set up, and the experiments were conducted on a 1.5-stage turbine rotor disk and included pressure measurements. The flow structure of the mixing region of the ingestion gas and sealing air in cavity was measured using the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. To complement the experimental investigation and to aid in understanding the flow mechanism within the cavity, a three-dimensional (3D) unsteady computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis was undertaken. Both simulated and experimental results indicated that near the rotating disk, (i) a large amount of the ingestion gas will turn around and flow out the cavity due to the impact of the centrifugal force and the Coriolis force, (ii) a small amount of ingestion gas will mix transiently with the sealing air inside the cavity, whereas near the static disk, (iii) the ingestion gas will flow into the cavity along the static wall and mix with the sealing air.