An investigation of tip leakage flow and its effects on loss production was performed on a large-scale linear turbine cascade having a tip gap measuring 2.1% of the blade height. The Reynolds number based on axial chord and cascade exit velocity was 4.5x10⁵. The experimental work began with a visualization study of the flow in and around the tip gap. The actual flow measurements consisted of two phases, the tip gap exit plane measurements for determination of the losses incurred within the tip gap, and the downstream measurements for determination of the overall cascade losses. The downstream measurements made 140% of an axial chord downstream of the blade leading edges show the development of the leakage flow and its associated losses. Numerical analyses of the data were used to evaluate various flow properties at both the tip gap exit plane and the downstream measurement plane. Using the measured downstream flow, a mixing analysis was performed to estimate the maximum loss of the cascade. Models of the flow were developed to explain and quantify the various factors contributing to the cascade's overall loss. At a particular downstream location, the additional loss due to tip leakage was found to be the sum of the measured loss at the tip gap exit plane and the amount of tip gap secondary kinetic energy which had been dissipated by that downstream location.

M.S.