TY - EJOU AU - Omri, Mohamed AU - Al-Turki, Yusuf AU - Alghamdi, Ahmed A. AU - Amnache, Amrid AU - Fréchette, Luc G. TI - Analysis of Flow Structure in Microturbine Operating at Low Reynolds Number T2 - Computers, Materials \& Continua PY - 2022 VL - 71 IS - 1 SN - 1546-2226 AB - In this paper, three-dimensional flows in laminar subsonic cascades at relatively low Reynolds numbers (Re < 2500) are presented, based on numerical calculations. The stator and rotor blade designs are those for a MEMS-based Rankine microturbine power-plant-on-a-chip with 109-micron chord blades. Blade passage calculations in 3D were done for different Reynolds numbers, tip clearances (from 0 to 20%) and incidences (0° to 15°) to determine the impact of aerodynamic conditions on the flow patterns. These conditions are applied to a blade passage for a stationary outer casing. The 3D blade passage without tip clearance indicates the presence of two large symmetric vortices due to the interaction between hub/casing boundary layers and the blade. Opening the tip clearance introduces the tip vortex, which tends to become dominant above a tip clearance of 10%. In addition to providing a description and understanding of the 3D flow in a MEMS microturbine, these results suggest the importance of considering 3D flows in the design of microturbomachinery, even though the geometry is dominantly 2D. KW - Microturbomachinery; turbine; vortex; internal flows; secondary flows DO - 10.32604/cmc.2022.021406