Experimental Investigation on the Heat Transfer of a Leading Edge Impingement Cooling System for Low Pressure Turbine Vanes

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro de la Calzada ◽  
Jose Javier Alvarez

Impingement cooling through jet holes is a very attractive cooling system for heat rejection at high heat loaded areas as the leading edge of turbine vanes. Although some correlations and tools are available to dimension such systems, the variety and complexity of the flow features present in those systems still require experimental validation of real engine designs. Among the experimental techniques possible to be used, transient liquid crystal method offers good resolution as well as sufficient accuracy. Under this investigation, an impingement cooling system for the leading edge of a contrarotating power turbine (PT) representative of a small turboshaft engine was investigated experimentally. The PT vane features a very thin leading edge with high curvature and side channels rapidly turning backward. Constraints on cooling flow consumption and distribution led to a leading edge configuration with two rows of staggered jets. This particular configuration was experimentally investigated for three different Reynolds numbers around the design point by using a transient liquid crystal technique, which allows the measurement of surface distribution of heat transfer coefficient at the area of interest. Heat transfer results are presented in terms of surface distributions, impingement rows stagnation line local distributions, streamwise distributions along planes over the impingement stagnation points, span averaged streamwise local distributions, and surface averaged values. These results are then compared with available correlations from existing literature showing good matching for both maximum and averaged values. The results are also used as baseline data to discuss some of the flow features that can have effect on the heat transfer on this particular configuration.

Author(s):  
Jose Javier Alvarez ◽  
Pedro de la Calzada ◽  
Gregory Krulic

An impingement cooling system for the leading edge of a contra-rotating Power Turbine (PT) representative of a small turboshaft engine was investigated experimentally as well as numerically. The PT vane features a very thin leading edge with high curvature and side channels rapidly facing backwards. Constraints on cooling flow consumption and distribution led to a leading edge (LE) configuration with two rows of staggered jets. This particular configuration was experimentally investigated for three different Reynolds numbers around the design point by using a transient liquid crystal technique. Heat transfer results are presented in terms of surface distributions, impingement rows stagnation line local distributions, streamwise distributions along planes over the impingement stagnation points, span averaged streamwise local distributions and surface averaged values, and then compared to available correlations from existing literature. In order to investigate the flow features of this kind of configuration in more detail, a CFD investigation was also conducted. Results from CFD simulations were compared to the experimental data and then used to discuss in detail the main flow features driving the surface heat transfer.


Author(s):  
Karsten Kusterer ◽  
Gang Lin ◽  
Takao Sugimoto ◽  
Dieter Bohn ◽  
Ryozo Tanaka ◽  
...  

The Double Swirl Chambers (DSC) cooling technology, which has been introduced and developed by the authors, has the potential to be a promising cooling technology for further increase of gas turbine inlet temperature and thus improvement of the thermal efficiency. The DSC cooling technology establishes a significant enhancement of the local internal heat transfer due to the generation of two anti-rotating swirls. The reattachment of the swirl flows with the maximum velocity at the center of the chamber leads to a linear impingement effect on the internal surface of the blade leading edge nearby the stagnation line of gas turbine blade. Due to the existence of two swirls both the suction side and the pressure side of the blade near the leading edge can be very well cooled. In this work, several advanced DSC cooling configurations with a row of cooling air inlet holes have been investigated. Compared with the standard DSC cooling configuration the advanced ones have more suitable cross section profiles, which enables better accordance with the real blade leading edge profile. At the same time these configurations are also easier to be manufactured in a real blade. These new cooling configurations have been numerically compared with the state of the art leading edge impingement cooling configuration. With the same configuration of cooling air supply and boundary conditions the advanced DSC cooling presents 22–26% improvement of overall heat transfer and 3–4% lower total pressure drop. Along the stagnation line the new cooling configuration can generate twice the heat flux than the standard impingement cooling channel. The influence of spent flow in the impinging position and impingement heat transfer value is in the new cooling configurations much smaller, which leads to a much more uniform heat transfer distribution along the chamber axial direction.


2000 ◽  
Vol 123 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changmin Son ◽  
David Gillespie ◽  
Peter Ireland ◽  
Geoffrey M. Dailey

A study of a large-scale model of an engine representative impingement cooling system has been performed. A series of tests were carried out to characterize the behavior of the system fully. These included cold flow diagnostic tests to determine the pressure loss and the static pressure distribution, and flow visualization to assess surface shear. The surface shear stress pattern provided by multiple stripes of colored paint applied to the target surface yielded important information on the near-wall flow features far from the jet axis. The row solved flow and pressure distributions are compared to industry standard predictions. Heat transfer tests using the transient liquid crystal technique were also conducted using coatings comprised of a mixture of three thermochromic liquid crystals. Analysis of the thermochromic liquid crystal data was enhanced by recent developments in image processing. In addition, an energy balance analysis of signals from fast-response thermocouples for air temperature measurement was applied to verify the levels of heat transfer coefficients on surfaces not coated with the temperature-sensitive liquid crystal.


Author(s):  
Changmin Son ◽  
David Gillespie ◽  
Peter Ireland ◽  
Geoffrey M. Dailey

A study of a large-scale model of an engine representative impingement cooling system has been performed. A series of tests have been carried out to fully characterise the behaviour of the system. These include cold flow diagnostic tests to determine the pressure loss and the static pressure distribution, and flow visualisation to assess surface shear. The surface shear stress pattern provided by multiple stripes of coloured paint applied to the target surface yielded important information on the near wall flow features far from the jet axis. The row solved flow and pressure distributions are compared to industry standard predictions. Heat transfer tests using the transient liquid crystal technique were also conducted using coatings comprised of a mixture of three thermochromic liquid crystals. Analysis of the thermochromic liquid crystal data was enhanced by recent developments in image processing. In addition, an energy balance approach to analysing signals from fast response thermocouples for air temperature measurement was applied to verify the levels of heat transfer coefficients on surfaces not coated with the temperature sensitive liquid crystal.


Author(s):  
Ashutosh Kumar Yadav ◽  
Parantak Sharma ◽  
Avadhesh Kumar Sharma ◽  
Mayank Modak ◽  
Vishal Nirgude ◽  
...  

Impinging jet cooling technique has been widely used extensively in various industrial processes, namely, cooling and drying of films and papers, processing of metals and glasses, cooling of gas turbine blades and most recently cooling of various components of electronic devices. Due to high heat removal rate the jet impingement cooling of the hot surfaces is being used in nuclear industries. During the loss of coolant accidents (LOCA) in nuclear power plant, an emergency core cooling system (ECCS) cool the cluster of clad tubes using consisting of fuel rods. Controlled cooling, as an important procedure of thermal-mechanical control processing technology, is helpful to improve the microstructure and mechanical properties of steel. In industries for heat transfer efficiency and homogeneous cooling performance which usually requires a jet impingement with improved heat transfer capacity and controllability. It provides better cooling in comparison to air. Rapid quenching by water jet, sometimes, may lead to formation of cracks and poor ductility to the quenched surface. Spray and mist jet impingement offers an alternative method to uncontrolled rapid cooling, particularly in steel and electronics industries. Mist jet impingement cooling of downward facing hot surface has not been extensively studied in the literature. The present experimental study analyzes the heat transfer characteristics a 0.15mm thick hot horizontal stainless steel (SS-304) foil using Internal mixing full cone (spray angle 20 deg) mist nozzle from the bottom side. Experiments have been performed for the varied range of water pressure (0.7–4.0 bar) and air pressure (0.4–5.8 bar). The effect of water and air inlet pressures, on the surface heat flux has been examined in this study. The maximum surface heat flux is achieved at stagnation point and is not affected by the change in nozzle to plate distance, Air and Water flow rates.


Author(s):  
Thomas E. Dyson ◽  
Dave G. Bogard ◽  
Justin D. Piggush ◽  
Atul Kohli

Overall effectiveness, φ, for a simulated turbine blade leading edge was experimentally measured using a model constructed with a relatively high conductivity material selected so that the Biot number of the model matched engine conditions. The model incorporated three rows of cylindrical holes with the center row positioned on the stagnation line. Internally the model used an impingement cooling configuration. Overall effectiveness was measured for pitch variation from 7.6d to 9.6d for blowing ratios ranging from 0.5 to 3.0, and angle of attack from −7.7° to +7.7°. Performance was evaluated for operation with a constant overall mass flow rate of coolant. Consequently when increasing the pitch, the blowing ratio was increased proportionally. The increased blowing ratio resulted in increased impingement cooling internally and increased convective cooling through the holes. The increased internal and convective cooling compensated, to a degree, for the decreased coolant coverage with increased pitch. Performance was evaluated in terms of laterally averaged φ, but also in terms of the minimum φ. The minimum φ evaluation revealed localized hot spots which are arguably more critical to turbine blade durability than the laterally averaged results. For small increases in pitch there was negligible decrease in performance.


2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. C. W. Ling ◽  
Peter T. Ireland ◽  
Lynne Turner

New techniques for processing transient liquid crystal heat transfer experiment have been developed. The methods are able to measure detailed local heat transfer coefficient and adiabatic wall temperature in a three temperature system from a single transient test using the full intensity history recorded. Transient liquid crystal processing methods invariably assume that lateral conduction is negligible and so the heat conduction process can be considered one-dimensional into the substrate. However, in regions with high temperature variation such as immediately downstream of a film-cooling hole, it is found that lateral conduction can become significant. For this reason, a procedure which allows for conduction in three dimensions was developed by the authors. The paper is the first report of a means of correcting data from the transient heat transfer liquid crystal experiments for the effects of significant lateral conduction. The technique was applied to a film cooling system as an example and a detailed uncertainty analysis performed.


Author(s):  
Duccio Griffini ◽  
Massimiliano Insinna ◽  
Simone Salvadori ◽  
Francesco Martelli

A high-pressure vane equipped with a realistic film-cooling configuration has been studied. The vane is characterized by the presence of multiple rows of fan-shaped holes along pressure and suction side while the leading edge is protected by a showerhead system of cylindrical holes. Steady three-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations have been performed. A preliminary grid sensitivity analysis with uniform inlet flow has been used to quantify the effect of spatial discretization. Turbulence model has been assessed in comparison with available experimental data. The effects of the relative alignment between combustion chamber and high-pressure vanes are then investigated considering realistic inflow conditions in terms of hot spot and swirl. The inlet profiles used are derived from the EU-funded project TATEF2. Two different clocking positions are considered: the first one where hot spot and swirl core are aligned with passage and the second one where they are aligned with the leading edge. Comparisons between metal temperature distributions obtained from conjugate heat transfer simulations are performed evidencing the role of swirl in determining both the hot streak trajectory within the passage and the coolant redistribution. The leading edge aligned configuration is resulted to be the most problematic in terms of thermal load, leading to increased average and local vane temperature peaks on both suction side and pressure side with respect to the passage aligned case. A strong sensitivity of both injected coolant mass flow and heat removed by heat sink effect has also been highlighted for the showerhead cooling system.


2012 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Imran Qureshi ◽  
Andy D. Smith ◽  
Thomas Povey

Modern lean burn combustors now employ aggressive swirlers to enhance fuel-air mixing and improve flame stability. The flow at combustor exit can therefore have high residual swirl. A good deal of research concerning the flow within the combustor is available in open literature. The impact of swirl on the aerodynamic and heat transfer characteristics of an HP turbine stage is not well understood, however. A combustor swirl simulator has been designed and commissioned in the Oxford Turbine Research Facility (OTRF), previously located at QinetiQ, Farnborough UK. The swirl simulator is capable of generating an engine-representative combustor exit swirl pattern. At the turbine inlet plane, yaw and pitch angles of over ±40 deg have been simulated. The turbine research facility used for the study is an engine scale, short duration, rotating transonic turbine, in which the nondimensional parameters for aerodynamics and heat transfer are matched to engine conditions. The research turbine was the unshrouded MT1 design. By design, the center of the vortex from the swirl simulator can be clocked to any circumferential position with respect to HP vane, and the vortex-to-vane count ratio is 1:2. For the current investigation, the clocking position was such that the vortex center was aligned with the vane leading edge (every second vane). Both the aligned vane and the adjacent vane were characterized. This paper presents measurements of HP vane surface and end wall heat transfer for the two vane positions. The results are compared with measurements conducted without swirl. The vane surface pressure distributions are also presented. The experimental measurements are compared with full-stage three-dimensional unsteady numerical predictions obtained using the Rolls Royce in-house code Hydra. The aerodynamic and heat transfer characterization presented in this paper is the first of its kind, and it is hoped to give some insight into the significant changes in the vane flow and heat transfer that occur in the current generation of low NOx combustors. The findings not only have implications for the vane aerodynamic design, but also for the cooling system design.


Author(s):  
Brian M. Holley ◽  
Lee S. Langston

The flow near the leading edge stagnation-line of a plane turbine cascade airfoil is analyzed using measurements, analytical modeling, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. New measurements of skin friction and pressure indicate that the aerodynamics of the leading edge are well described by an exact analytical solution for stagnation-point or Hiemenz flow. The skin friction measurements indicate the extent over which the analytical model applies. Based on measurements from an earlier study, the highest heat transfer levels occur along the leading edge stagnation-line. The same parameters that characterize Hiemenz flow also characterize a stagnation-point potential flow, which is used to accurately predict the heat transfer levels along the stagnation-line. CFD analysis indicates that pressure predictions are better than skin friction predictions for characterizing the analytical modeling that is used for more accurate heat transfer evaluation. This provides an approach for predicting the peak heat transfer coefficient in a cascade based only upon surface static pressure calculations.


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