Flow Visualization and Measurement of Torque Converter Stator Blades Using a Laser Sheet Lighting Method and a Laser Doppler Velocimeter

A new experimental apparatus to visualize and measure the flow in the stator of a torque converter is proposed. A one-sided coaxial shaft constructed of an input shaft and an output shaft provides an open space inside the stator shaft for measurement. Through the window on the stator shaft, the flow in the stator can be directly observed. We also improved the laser sheet lighting method into the blade passage by using a mirror inside the blade.

By visualizing the flow with the laser sheet lighting method, we found that the flow around the leading edge has different separation regions along the blade span. Furthermore, by using a laser doppler velocimeter, velocity vectors and turbulence intensities were measured in three stator blades of different thicknesses with the same camber line. The thickness of the stator blades affects the flow patterns. Both the outlet flow rate and the average outlet flow angle show similar characteristics to the torque capacity coefficient when the stator blade thickness is altered. We have verified that the general flow characteristics are determined by the outlet flow rate, and are emphasized by the average outlet flow angle.