Parametric Optimization of the Aerodynamic Behavior of a Gas Turbine Blade : Influence of the Angle of Attack and the Reynolds Number

Abstract

This study performs a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis of turbulent flow around a gas turbine blade, investigating the effects of angle of attack  and Reynolds number Re on aerodynamic performance. The objective was to quantify their impact on the lift CL, drag CD, and pressure Cp coefficients. Simulations used ANSYS CFX with the SST  turbulence model and a refined mesh. Conditions spanned  to  and Re = 5000 to 500000, covering transitional to turbulent regimes. Both an isolated blade and a two-blade configuration were analyzed. Results show that  critically affects performance. CL increases until a stall angle near , then drops sharply due to flow separation, while CD rises continuously. The Re is significant below 20000 (transitional flow), where CL and CD vary considerably. Above this threshold (fully turbulent), their sensitivity diminishes. The two-blade setup revealed aerodynamic interactions, with the downstream blade altering the upstream blade's effective flow, modifying local pressure and performance. The blade design requires optimizing α to balance lift and drag, and must account for Re-dependent effects, especially in transitional flow. Inter-blade interactions are also non-negligible for cascade performance.