scholarly journals Design and Evaluation of a Single Passage Test Model to Obtain Turbine Airfoil Film Cooling Effectiveness Data

Author(s):  
Frederick A. Buck ◽  
Chander Prakash

A single passage test model has been designed to simulate the mainstream aerodynamics between two adjacent turbine airfoils and to measure the film cooling effectiveness from coolant injection on the pressure and suction sides of the airfoils. Film cooling tests were run on the model using a gas concentration/mass transfer technique with a foreign gas as the coolant to match density ratio. Aspects of the design and test are discussed including the use of a two-dimensional inviscid flow analysis to design boundary layer bleeds upstream of the pressure- and suction-side airfoil surfaces. Results of two- and three-dimensional viscous flow analyses that were used to evaluate various design features including inlet bellmouth, boundary layer bleeds, adjustable tailboards and model backpressure are presented. Aerodynamic and film cooling effectiveness test measurements made with the model will show that the model flow field can be controlled to match results from a previous thermal cascade test.

Author(s):  
Martin Schneider ◽  
Sacha Parneix ◽  
Jens von Wolfersdorf

In the present study the effect of approach boundary layer conditions on film cooling effectiveness superposition for pressure side fan shaped holes on a first stage vane is investigated. More particularly, the effect of showerhead cooling on the film effectiveness of downstream pressure side rows is addressed. The experimental test facility used is a continuously running , two passage, linear cascade wind tunnel equipped with a central vane and contoured side walls. Main stream stagnation conditions and pressure measurements on the vane external surface were taken to determine the isentropic Mach number distribution. The turbulence level generated with a bar grid is around 15%. Film cooling effectiveness has been determined with the narrow banded thermochromic liquid crystal steady state technique. Mainstream as well as coolant flow could be heated to shift the iso-temperature contours across the vane. Carbon dioxide was used as coolant gas to better match the density ratio in the experimental facility to engine conditions. The test model is a research vane equipped with four rows of cylindrical holes showerhead and three rows of fan shaped holes along the pressure side at typical inclination angles to the surface. The study incorporates single row blowing with the following row approach conditions: 1) no showerhead injection, 2) boundary layer trip, 3) isothermal showerhead blowing, and multi-row blowing with and without showerhead blowing. The results are used to investigate the applicability of the single row results superposition approach for multiple-row injection. Simulating the appropriate aerodynamic conditions during individual row measurements improves the superposition prediction in comparison to the multi-row results.


Author(s):  
Lesley M. Wright ◽  
Stephen T. McClain ◽  
Charles P. Brown ◽  
Weston V. Harmon

A novel, double hole film cooling configuration is investigated as an alternative to traditional cylindrical and fanshaped, laidback holes. This experimental investigation utilizes a Stereo-Particle Image Velocimetry (S-PIV) to quantitatively assess the ability of the proposed, double hole geometry to weaken or mitigate the counter-rotating vortices formed within the jet structure. The three-dimensional flow field measurements are combined with surface film cooling effectiveness measurements obtained using Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP). The double hole geometry consists of two compound angle holes. The inclination of each hole is θ = 35°, and the compound angle of the holes is β = ± 45° (with the holes angled toward one another). The simple angle cylindrical and shaped holes both have an inclination angle of θ = 35°. The blowing ratio is varied from M = 0.5 to 1.5 for all three film cooling geometries while the density ratio is maintained at DR = 1.0. Time averaged velocity distributions are obtained for both the mainstream and coolant flows at five streamwise planes across the fluid domain (x/d = −4, 0, 1, 5, and 10). These transverse velocity distributions are combined with the detailed film cooling effectiveness distributions on the surface to evaluate the proposed double hole configuration (compared to the traditional hole designs). The fanshaped, laidback geometry effectively reduces the strength of the kidney-shaped vortices within the structure of the jet (over the entire range of blowing ratios considered). The three-dimensional velocity field measurements indicate the secondary flows formed from the double hole geometry strengthen in the plane perpendicular to the mainstream flow. At the exit of the double hole geometry, the streamwise momentum of the jets is reduced (compared to the single, cylindrical hole), and the geometry offers improved film cooling coverage. However, moving downstream in the steamwise direction, the two jets form a single jet, and the counter-rotating vortices are comparable to those formed within the jet from a single, cylindrical hole. These strong secondary flows lift the coolant off the surface, and the film cooling coverage offered by the double hole geometry is reduced.


Author(s):  
Shang-Feng Yang ◽  
Je-Chin Han ◽  
Alexander MirzaMoghadam ◽  
Ardeshir Riahi

This paper studies the effect of transonic flow velocity on local film cooling effectiveness distribution of turbine vane suction side, experimentally. A conduction-free Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) method is used to determine the local film cooling effectiveness. Tests were performed in a five-vane annular cascade at Texas A&M Turbomachinery laboratory blow-down flow loop facility. The exit Mach numbers are controlled to be 0.7, 0.9, and 1.1, from subsonic to transonic flow conditions. Three foreign gases N2, CO2 and Argon/SF6 mixture are selected to study the effects of three coolant-to-mainstream density ratios, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 on film cooling. Four averaged coolant blowing ratios in the range, 0.7, 1.0, 1.3 and 1.6 are investigated. The test vane features 3 rows of radial-angle cylindrical holes around the leading edge, and 2 rows of compound-angle shaped holes on the suction side. Results suggest that the PSP technique is capable of producing clear and detailed film cooling effectiveness contours at transonic condition. The effects of coolant to mainstream blowing ratio, density ratio, and exit Mach number on the vane suction-surface film cooling distribution are obtained, and the consequence results are presented and explained in this investigation.


Author(s):  
D. Granser ◽  
T. Schulenberg

After compressor discharge air has initially been used to cool the heat shields of the hot gas inlet casing, it can subsequently be employed for film cooling of the first-stage vane shrouds. Since the flow field near these shrouds is three-dimensional, the film cooling effectiveness cannot be predicted correctly by common two-dimensional codes. The secondary flow transports the film from the pressure side to the suction side where it can even climb up the airfoil to cool its trailing section. Such film cooling effectiveness was first investigated experimentally in a linear vane cascade at atmospheric pressure. The temperatures and static pressure levels at the adiabatic shrouds, as well as the temperature measurements within the vane cascade, are reported for different cooling film blowing rates. In addition, the secondary flow was analysed numerically using a partially-parabolic computer code for 3D viscous flows. It involves mutual interaction of the boundary layer with the mainstream. The secondary flow can also be modelled with this algorithm, which requires less numerical effort than solving the fully 3D elliptic flow equations. The numerical results of the experiment and numerical predictions are compared. In addition, the application of these results to a high-temperature gas turbine is presented.


Author(s):  
Mohamed Qenawy ◽  
Wenwu Zhou ◽  
Han Chen ◽  
Hongyi Shao ◽  
Di Peng ◽  
...  

Abstract The adiabatic film cooling effectiveness behind a single row of circular holes fed by internal crossflow was measured by fast-response pressure-sensitive paint technique. During the experiment, the coolant flow was discharged from the coolant holes via either plenum or crossflow channel. The test model has a row of circular holes with 3D spacing, 6.5D entry length, and 35° inclination angle. Two blowing ratios (M = 0.40 and 0.80) were tested with a density ratio of 0.97. A numerical steady-state RANS simulation, using SST k-ω and Realizable k-ε turbulence models, was conducted to understand the internal crossflow behaviors. The unsteadiness caused by the flow structures (counter-rotating vortex pair (CRVP) and horseshoe vortex) was quantified by the root mean square and the cross-correlations. In addition, the proper orthogonal decomposition was used to identify the large-scale unsteady coherent structures and their contributions. The fluctuations of the crossflow feed were asymmetric, which were significantly weaker compared with the plenum case. The CRVP, as the most significant coherent structures, were demonstrated to play the main role in the unsteadiness of the crossflow feed.


Author(s):  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Yifei Li ◽  
Xiutao Bian ◽  
Xin Yuan

The lean combustion chamber of low NOx emission engines has a short distance between combustion outlet and nozzle guide vanes (NGVs), with strong swirlers located upstream of the turbine inlet to from steady circulation in the combustion region. Although the lean combustion design benefits emission control, it complicates the turbine’s aerodynamics and heat transfer. The strong swirling flow will influence the near-wall flow field where film cooling acts. This research investigates the influence of inlet swirl on the film cooling of cascades. The test cascades are a 1.95 scale model based on the GE-E3 profile, with an inlet Mach number of 0.1 and Reynolds number of 1.48 × 105. Film cooling effectiveness is measured with pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) technology, with nitrogen simulating coolant at a density ratio of near to 1.0. Two neighboring passages are investigated simultaneously, so that pressure and suction side the film cooling effectiveness can be compared. The inlet swirl is produced by a swirler placed upstream, near the inlet, with five positions along the pitchwise direction. These are as follows: blade 1 aligned, passage 1–2 aligned, blade 2 aligned, passage 2–3 aligned and blade 3 aligned. According to the experimental results, the near-hub region is strongly influenced by inlet swirl, where the averaged film cooling effectiveness can differ by up to 12% between the neighboring blades. At the spanwise location Z/Span = 0.7, when the inlet swirl is moved from blade 1 aligned (position 5) to blade 2 aligned (position 3), the film cooling effectiveness in a small area near the endwall can change by up to 100%.


Author(s):  
Akhilesh P. Rallabandi ◽  
Shiou-Jiuan Li ◽  
Je-Chin Han

The effect of an unsteady stator wake (simulated by wake rods mounted on a spoke wheel wake generator) on the modeled rotor blade is studied using the Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP) mass transfer analogy method. Emphasis of the current study is on the mid-span region of the blade. The flow is in the low Mach number (incompressible) regime. The suction (convex) side has simple angled cylindrical film-cooling holes; the pressure (concave) side has compound angled cylindrical film cooling holes. The blade also has radial shower-head leading edge film cooling holes. Strouhal numbers studied range from 0 to 0.36; the exit Reynolds Number based on the axial chord is 530,000. Blowing ratios range from 0.5 to 2.0 on the suction side; 0.5 to 4.0 on the pressure side. Density ratios studied range from 1.0 to 2.5, to simulate actual engine conditions. The convex suction surface experiences film-cooling jet lift-off at higher blowing ratios, resulting in low effectiveness values. The film coolant is found to reattach downstream on the concave pressure surface, increasing effectiveness at higher blowing ratios. Results show deterioration in film cooling effectiveness due to increased local turbulence caused by the unsteady wake, especially on the suction side. Results also show a monotonic increase in film-cooling effectiveness on increasing the coolant to mainstream density ratio.


2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scot K. Waye ◽  
David G. Bogard

Adiabatic film cooling effectiveness of axial holes embedded within a transverse trench on the suction side of a turbine vane was investigated. High-resolution two-dimensional data obtained from infrared thermography and corrected for local conduction provided spatial adiabatic effectiveness data. Flow parameters of blowing ratio, density ratio, and turbulence intensity were independently varied. In addition to a baseline geometry, nine trench configurations were tested, all with a depth of 1∕2 hole diameter, with varying widths, and with perpendicular and inclined trench walls. A perpendicular trench wall at the very downstream edge of the coolant hole was found to be the key trench characteristic that yielded much improved adiabatic effectiveness performance. This configuration increased adiabatic effectiveness up to 100% near the hole and 40% downstream. All other trench configurations had little effect on the adiabatic effectiveness. Thermal field measurements confirmed that the improved adiabatic effectiveness that occurred for a narrow trench with perpendicular walls was due to a lateral spreading of the coolant and reduced coolant jet separation. The cooling levels exhibited by these particular geometries are comparable to shaped holes, but much easier and cheaper to manufacture.


2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akhilesh P. Rallabandi ◽  
Shiou-Jiuan Li ◽  
Je-Chin Han

The effect of an unsteady stator wake (simulated by wake rods mounted on a spoke-wheel wake generator) on the modeled rotor blade is studied using the pressure sensitive paint (PSP) mass-transfer analogy method. Emphasis of the current study is on the midspan region of the blade. The flow is in the low Mach number (incompressible) regime. The suction (convex) side has simple angled cylindrical film-cooling holes; the pressure (concave) side has compound angled cylindrical film-cooling holes. The blade also has radial shower-head leading edge film-cooling holes. Strouhal numbers studied range from 0 to 0.36; the exit Reynolds number based on the axial chord is 530,000. Blowing ratios range from 0.5 to 2.0 on the suction side and 0.5 to 4.0 on the pressure side. Density ratios studied range from 1.0 to 2.5, to simulate actual engine conditions. The convex suction surface experiences film-cooling jet lift-off at higher blowing ratios, resulting in low effectiveness values. The film coolant is found to reattach downstream on the concave pressure surface, increasing effectiveness at higher blowing ratios. Results show deterioration in film-cooling effectiveness due to increased local turbulence caused by the unsteady wake, especially on the suction side. Results also show a monotonic increase in film-cooling effectiveness on increasing the coolant to mainstream density ratio.


Author(s):  
Kevin Liu ◽  
Shang-Feng Yang ◽  
Je-Chin Han

Adiabatic film-cooling effectiveness is examined systematically on a typical high pressure turbine blade by varying three critical flow parameters: coolant blowing ratio, coolant-to-mainstream density ratio, and freestream turbulence intensity. Three average coolant blowing ratios 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0; three coolant density ratios 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0; two turbulence intensities 4.2% and 10.5%, are chosen for this study. Conduction-free pressure sensitive paint (PSP) technique is used to measure film-cooling effectiveness. Three foreign gases — N2 for low density, CO2 for medium density, and a mixture of SF6 and Argon for high density are selected to study the effect of coolant density. The test blade features 45° compound-angle shaped holes on the suction side and pressure side, and 3 rows of 30° radial-angle cylindrical holes around the leading edge region. The inlet and the exit Mach number are 0.27 and 0.44, respectively. Reynolds number based on the exit velocity and blade axial chord length is 750,000. Results reveal that the PSP is a powerful technique capable of producing clear and detailed film effectiveness contours with diverse foreign gases. As blowing ratio exceeds the optimum value, it induces more mixing of coolant and mainstream. Thus film-cooling effectiveness reduces. Greater coolant-to-mainstream density ratio results in lower coolant-to-mainstream momentum and prevents coolant to lift-off; as a result, film-cooling increases. Higher freestream turbulence causes effectiveness to drop everywhere except in the region downstream of suction side. Results are also correlated with momentum flux ratio and compared with previous studies. It shows that compound shaped hole has the greatest optimum momentum flux ratio, and then followed by axial shaped hole, compound cylindrical hole, and axial cylindrical hole.


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