Investigations on the Splitter Structure to Improve the Aerodynamic Performance of Gas Turbine Exhaust Diffuser at Different Swirl Angles

To weaken the flow separation in the exhaust diffuser under real operating conditions and increase the static pressure recovery coefficient of the exhaust diffuser, an exhaust diffuser structure with splitters was proposed. Based on verifying the reliability of the numerical method, the paper numerically explores the influence of the height and width of the splitter on the aerodynamic performance of the exhaust diffuser under three different inlet swirl angles by solving three-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS). The results show that the introduction of the splitter structure into the exhaust diffuser can effectively suppress the separation vortex near the strut, improve the flow state at the exhaust diffuser outlet, and further increase the static pressure recovery coefficient of the exhaust diffuser. The optimal splitter structure can be obtained by comparing the effects of the splitter height and width on the static pressure recovery performance of the exhaust diffuser under different inlet swirl angles. When the inlet swirl angles are 16 degs, 28 degs, and 38 degs, compared with the original exhaust diffuser without splitters, the optimal splitter structure can increase the static pressure recovery coefficient of the exhaust diffuser by 0.036, 0.096, and 0.146, respectively, with a relative increase of 7.3%, 34.2%, and 76.2%. The introduction of the splitter structure helps to improve the aerodynamic performance of the exhaust diffuser.