Aerothermal Investigation of a Single Row Divergent Narrow Impingement Channel by Particle Image Velocimetry and Liquid Crystal Thermography

Integrally cast turbine airfoils with wall-integrated cooling cavities are greatly applicable in modern turbines providing enhanced heat exchange capabilities compared to conventional cooling passages. In such arrangements, narrow impingement channels can be formed where the generated crossflow is an important design parameter for the achievement of the desired cooling efficiency. In this study, a regulation of the generated crossflow for a narrow impingement channel consisting of a single row of five inline jets is obtained by varying the width of the channel in the streamwise direction. A divergent impingement channel is therefore investigated and compared to a uniform channel of the same open area ratio. Flow field and wall heat transfer experiments are carried out at engine representative Reynolds numbers using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and liquid crystal thermography (LCT). The PIV measurements are taken at planes normal to the target wall along the centerline for each individual jet, providing quantitative flow visualization of jet and crossflow interactions. The heat transfer distributions on the target plate of the channels are evaluated with transient techniques and a multilayer of liquid crystals (LCs). Effects of channel divergence are investigated combining both the heat transfer and flow field measurements. The applicability of existing heat transfer correlations for uniform jet arrays to divergent geometries is also discussed.

Experimental investigation of heat transfer and flow characteristics in various geometries of 2-pass internal cooling passages of gas turbine airfoils

Denis Chanteloup

An experimental investigation of the flow and heat transfer characteristics in internal coolant passages of gas turbine airfoils has been conducted. The PIV method was employed for the flow measurements. A stereoscopic PIV system was used and automated. The stereoscopic method allowed measuring the three velocity components in measurement planes. The system was capable of measuring 100 planes in each configuration. Each measurement plane was composed of 30*30 measurement points. The transient liquid crystal technique was adopted for the heat transfer measurements. Full surface Nusselt number distributions were obtained on all the five outer walls of the test models. The transient TLC technique was adapted in large-scale models of internal cooling channels. The gas temperature evolution in location and time was taken into account in the data processing. CFD simulations have been performed in the measured passage configurations. For the calculations, the unstructured flow solver FLUENT/UNS was employed. A test rig was designed and constructed for the experiments to meet the requirements of the intended investigation. For the present investigation, the test section was a large-scale model of a two-pass coolant passage with a sharp 180° bend. Four different coolant passage configurations were tested: A passage with 45° ribs (baseline configuration). A passage similar to the baseline configuration with extraction holes simulating film-cooling extraction. A passage with film-cooling extraction and a turning vane in the bend region. A passage with ribs 50% bigger than in the baseline configuration. This passage also had a turn region back wall angled at 30° to the incoming flow. The four configurations were tested at three Reynolds numbers (25,000, 50,000, 70,000 based on the hydraulic diameter). The configurations with extraction were tested at three extractions (30%, 40%, 50% of the inlet massflow). For the first time, the PIV and TLC techniques were employed simultaneously for a detailed investigation of the turbulent flow and heat transfer characteristics within internal coolant passages connected with 180° turns. The following conclusions can be drawn: 3D-streamlines were extracted from the flow measurements in the various cooling channels. The streamlines underlined the strong influence of both the ribs and the bend geometry on the creation of the secondary flow motion in the channels. The secondary flow motion dominates the heat transfer in the entire cooling channel. In the fully developed region, the rib-induced vortex governs the heat transfer distribution on the ribbed walls behind the ribs, and also on the sidewalls. In the bend region, the bend corner flow cells (with low streamwise velocity motion) deviate the bend incoming flow. They act as if the sharp bend geometry was modified. This geometry modification is very dependant on the studied configuration. The resulting heat transfer distribution is thus strongly configuration dependant. The regions of high heat transfer in the channels have been linked with high impinging flow regions. High gradients of mean impinging velocity components near the walls induce high heat transfer on the wall. In these regions, the Nusselt number showed a good correlation with the Reynolds normal stress corresponding to the impinging velocity. The configurations with extractions have the best thermal performances at all the tested Reynolds numbers. The variation of the extraction ratio does not modify substantially the thermal performances. CFD tools has benefited from the tremendous progress of computing power. 3D simulations of internal cooling configurations are now possible. CFD predictions have gained accuracy in such highly 3D flow problems. The predictions compared well with the measurements, with worst discrepancies of 25%.

EPFL2002

Application of the Transient Heater Foil Technique for Heat Transfer and Film Cooling Effectiveness Measurements on a Turbine Vane Endwall

Dominique Charbonnier, Magnus Jonsson, Peter Ott

The paper presents an application of the transient heater foil measurement technique using thermochromic liquid crystals (TLC) to endwall heat transfer and film cooling investigations in a transonic turbine vane cascade. The film cooling configuration consists of an upstream slot, representing the leakage flow area between the interface of the combustor and the turbine, and several rows of cylindrical and fan-shaped holes within the passage. With the transient method chosen, the heat transfer and adiabatic film cooling effectiveness distributions can be obtained simultaneously together with the local heat release within the heater foil. Therefore, the heat release in the foil is not required to be uniform, and the foil can contain discrete holes in the film cooling configuration. Some new developments are presented, which are directed towards improved application of the transient heater foil method for such a complex configuration. This includes tailoring the foil heat-release distribution towards the expected heat transfer patterns, supported by numerical Finite-Element computations and the use of a double-TLC mixture for improved time-wise TLC indications. Additionally, CFDsimulations were used to evaluate the recovery temperature distribution through the vane cascade without film cooling. The experiments were performed in the linear cascade facility at the EPFL-Lausanne. A compressor provides a continuous air flow at near-ambient temperature regulated with heat exchangers. Carbon dioxide is used as coolant in order to achieve engine-representative density ratio between coolant and main flow. Multiple experiments with the same main and coolant flow settings but varying heat flux levels and coolant injection temperatures have been performed and simultaneously analysed using nonlinear regression analysis. The time required between successive experiments to return to homogenous initial conditions, as required by the transient method, has been analysed using an analytical solution for heat-on-heat-off conditions. This permits the model assumption of onedimensional conduction within a semi-infinite wall with a heat releasing layer on the top. Example results for cases without cooling, with film cooling from rows of discrete holes and the addition of slot film cooling are used to illustrate the benefit of the new approaches for the investigated vane cascade.

American Soc Mechanical Engineers, Three Park Avenue, New York, Ny 10016-5990 Usa2008

Application of the Transient Heater Foil Technique for Heat Transfer and Film Cooling Effectiveness Measurements on a Turbine Vane Endwall

Dominique Charbonnier, Magnus Jonsson, Peter Ott

American Soc Mechanical Engineers, Three Park Avenue, New York, Ny 10016-5990 Usa2008

Experimental investigation of heat transfer and flow characteristics in various geometries of 2-pass internal cooling passages of gas turbine airfoils

Denis Chanteloup

EPFL2002

Aerothermal Investigation of a Single Row Divergent Narrow Impingement Channel by Particle Image Velocimetry and Liquid Crystal Thermography

Experimental investigation of heat transfer and flow characteristics in various geometries of 2-pass internal cooling passages of gas turbine airfoils

Performance of a Turbine Airfoil with Multiple Film Cooling Stations - Part I : Heat Transfer and Film Cooling Effectiveness

Application of the Transient Heater Foil Technique for Heat Transfer and Film Cooling Effectiveness Measurements on a Turbine Vane Endwall

Application of the Transient Heater Foil Technique for Heat Transfer and Film Cooling Effectiveness Measurements on a Turbine Vane Endwall

Performance of a Turbine Airfoil with Multiple Film Cooling Stations - Part I : Heat Transfer and Film Cooling Effectiveness

Experimental investigation of heat transfer and flow characteristics in various geometries of 2-pass internal cooling passages of gas turbine airfoils