Unsteady flow over disc turbine blades

Measurements are presented of the mean and turbulence structure of the trailing vortices produced over disc turbine blades in stirred vessels. The results were obtained by ensemble-averaging the velocities measured by laser-Doppler anemometry over intervals of one degree of revolution and are compared with results obtained by ensemble-averaging over the whole 360 deg cycle. A vortical pattern was permanently present up to 20 degrees behind each blade, and was subjected to an erratic motion due to the formation of a whirlpool type of vortex in the free surface of the water. The velocities in the vortices were of the order of 0.25 of the blade tip velocity, V(tip). The measured kinetic energy of turbulence reached maxima of 0.19 V(tip)squared and the fluctuating quantities measured indicated that strong anisotropy prevails in the impeller stream. Comparison of turbulence results with those obtained by sampling over the whole 360 degrees of revolution shows that the former can be overestimated by as much as four times.