Gas Turbine Research Unit
The Bath Gas Turbine Research Unit (GTRU) investigates the theoretical, computational and experimental modelling of heat transfer and fluid flow inside air cooled gas turbines.
Generally such research has been undertaken using turbine-based rigs running close to engine-operating conditions. Our approach is to conduct more fundamental work to measure, to compute and, most importantly, to understand the flow and heat transfer using generic, fully-instrumented experiments specifically designed for
optical access and for thermal-imaging techniques.
The understanding obtained from these fundamental investigations assists the interpretation of results obtained for more specific engine conditions and geometries, and this in turn informs their design.
Industry links
The GTRU has international links with Siemens Fossil Power Generation (USA), Siemens Oil & Gas (USA), Siemens AG (Germany) and locally with Siemens UK.
Our research is also been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Expertise
- Theoretical Modelling: flow near rotating compressor and turbine discs, rotating cavities, rotor-stator systems, heat transfer, flow in gas turbine secondary air systems.
- Experimental Modelling: the design of many rigs to simulate conditions inside gas turbines. To include: hot gas ingestion, buoyancy induced flow, pre-swirl cooling delivery to rotors, mainstream gas-path interaction, rotating cavities.
- Computational Modelling: application and validation of in-house and commercial codes to the flow and heat transfer in generic models of gas-turbine internal cooling air systems.
Further details
| Title | Researchers | Supervisors | Collaborators and sponsors |
| Heat transfer in a high pressure gas-turbine | GeonHwan Cho | Professor Gary Lock and Dr Mike Wilson | Siemens/University of Bath |
| Modelling and computation of flow through gas turbine rim seals | Isobel Mear | Professor Gary Lock and Dr Mike Wilson | Siemens/EPSRC |
| Experimental measurements of ingestion in a 1.5 stage gas turbine | Xiaohan Wang | Dr Carl Sangan and Professor Gary Lock | University Scholarship |
| Computational prediction of rim-seal ingestion for industrial gas turbines | Roy Teuber | Professor Gary Lock and Dr Mike Wilson | KTP/Siemens |
| 3D steady-state computational study of ingestion through gas turbine rim seals | Yogesh Lalwani | Professor Gary Lock and Dr Mike Wilson | Siemens |
| Measurement of ingestion through gas turbine rim seals | James Scobie | Professor Gary Lock and Dr Mike Wilson | Siemens/EPSRC |
| Study of gas turbine ingress using computational fluid dynamics | Le Wang | Professor Gary Lock and Dr Mike Wilson | |
| Heat transfer studies on a gas turbine rig using thermochromic liquid crystals | Helmey Ramdhaney and Mohd Saiah | Dr Kevin Robinson and Professor Gary Lock | University Scholarship |
