Development of Vortex Structures in a Turbine Stage Rotor Passage

The article analyses the formation and development of horseshoe vortices in a highpressure turbine stage rotor passage. Two turbine stages are examined: a standard performance stage, revealing regular performance characteristics and distributions of flow parameters, and a lowefficiency stage in which a large separation zone is observed in rotor passages. In the latter stage the interaction of the hub horseshoe vortex with the separation structures has been found to take a highly unsteady and periodic course and be a source of remarkable flow fluctuations.