Heat Transfer in Internal Cooling Channels of Gas Turbine Blades: Buoyancy and Density Ratio Effects

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandana S. Saravani ◽  
Nicholas J. DiPasquale ◽  
Saman Beyhaghi ◽  
Ryoichi S. Amano

The present work investigates the effects of buoyancy and wall heating condition on the thermal performance of a rotating two-pass square channel with smooth walls. The U-bend channel has a square cross section with a hydraulic diameter of 5.08 cm (2 in.). The lengths of the first and second passes are 514 mm and 460 mm, respectively. The turbulent flow entered the channel with Reynolds numbers of up to 34,000. The rotational speed varied from 0 to 600 rpm with rotational numbers up to 0.75. For this study, two approaches were considered for tracking the buoyancy effect on heat transfer. In the first case, the density ratio was set constant, and the rotational speed was varied. In the second case, the density ratio was changed in the stationary case, and the effect of density ratio was discussed. The range of buoyancy number along the channel is 0–6. The objective was to investigate the impact of buoyancy forces on a broader range of rotation number (0–0.75) and buoyancy number scales (0–6), and their combined effects on heat transfer coefficient for a channel with an aspect ratio of 1 : 1. Results showed that increasing the density ratio increased the heat transfer ratio in both stationary and rotational cases. Furthermore, in rotational cases, buoyancy force effects were very significant. Increasing the rotation number induced more buoyancy forces, which led to an enhancement in heat transfer. The buoyancy effect was more visible in the turning region than any other region.

Author(s):  
Mandana S. Saravani ◽  
Saman Beyhaghi ◽  
Ryoichi S. Amano

The present work investigates the effects of buoyancy and density ratio on the thermal performance of a rotating two-pass square channel. The U-bend configuration with smooth walls is selected for this study. The channel has a square cross-section with a hydraulic diameter of 5.08 cm (2 inches). The lengths of the first and second passes are 514 mm and 460 mm, respectively. The turbulent flow enters the channel with Reynolds numbers of up to 34,000. The rotational speed varies from 0 to 600 rpm with the rotational numbers up to 0.75. For this study, two approaches are considered for tracking the buoyancy effect on heat transfer. In the first case, the density ratio is set constant, and the rotational speed is varied. In the second case, the density ratio is changed in the stationary case, and the effect of density ratio is discussed. The range of Buoyancy number along the channel is 0–6. The objective is to investigate the impact of Buoyancy forces on a broader range of rotation number (0–0.75) and Buoyancy number scales (0–6), and their combined effects on heat transfer coefficient for a channel with aspect ratio of 1:1. Several computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation are carried out for this study, and some of the results are validated against experimental data.


2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (4) ◽  
pp. 659-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Sleiti ◽  
J. S. Kapat

Prediction of flow field and heat transfer of high rotation numbers and density ratio flow in a square internal cooling channels of turbine blades with U-turn as tested by Wagner et al. (ASME J. Turbomach., 113, pp. 42–51, 1991) is the main focus of this study. Rotation, buoyancy, and strong curvature affect the flow within these channels. Due to the fact that RSM turbulence model can respond to the effects of rotation, streamline curvature and anisotropy without the need for explicit modeling, it is employed for this study as it showed improved prediction compared to isotropic two-equation models. The near wall region was modeled using enhanced wall treatment approach. The Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) was validated against available experimental data (which are primarily at low rotation and buoyancy numbers). The model was then used for cases with high rotation numbers (as much as 1.29) and high-density ratios (up to 0.4). Particular attention is given to how secondary flow, velocity and temperature profiles, turbulence intensity, and Nusselt number area affected by Coriolis and buoyancy/centrifugal forces caused by high levels of rotation and buoyancy in the immediate vicinity of the bend. The results showed that four-side-average Nu, similar to low Ro cases, increases linearly by increasing rotation number and, unlike low Ro cases, decreases slightly by increasing density ratio.


Author(s):  
A. K. Sleiti ◽  
J. S. Kapat

Prediction of flow field and heat transfer of high rotation numbers and density ratio flow in a square internal cooling channels of turbine blades with U-turn as tested by Wagner et. al (1991) is the main focus of this study. Rotation, buoyancy and strong curvature affect the flow within these channels. Due to the fact that RSM turbulence model can respond to the effects of rotation, streamline curvature and anisotropy without the need for explicit modeling, it is employed for this study as it showed improved prediction compared to isotropic two-equation models. The near wall region was modeled using enhanced wall treatment approach. RSM was validated against available experimental data (which are primarily at low rotation and buoyancy numbers). The model was then used for cases with high rotation numbers (as much as 1.29) and high-density ratios (up to 0.4). Particular attention is given to how secondary flow, velocity and temperature profiles, turbulence intensity and Nusselt number area affected by coriolis and buoyancy/centrifugal forces caused by high levels of rotation and buoyancy in the immediate vicinity of the bend. The results showed that 4-side-average Nu, similar to low Ro cases, increases linearly by increasing rotation number and, unlike low Ro cases, decreases slightly by increasing density ratio.


1991 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 346-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Taslim ◽  
L. A. Bondi ◽  
D. M. Kercher

Turbine blade cooling is imperative in advanced aircraft engines. The extremely hot gases that operate within the turbine section require turbine blades to be cooled by a complex cooling circuit. This cooling arrangement increases engine efficiency and ensures blade materials a longer creep life. One principle aspect of the circuit involves serpentine internal cooling passes throughout the core of the blade. Roughening the inside surfaces of these cooling passages with turbulence promoters provides enhanced heat transfer rates from the surface. The purpose of this investigation was to study the effect of rotation, aspect ratio, and turbulator roughness on heat transfer in these rib-roughened passages. The investigation was performed in an orthogonally rotating setup to simulate the actual rotation of the cooling passages. Single-pass channels, roughened on two opposite walls, with turbulators positioned at 45 deg angle to the flow, in a criss-cross arrangement, were studied throughout this experiment. The ribs were arranged such that their pitch-to-height ratio remained at a constant value of 10. An aspect ratio of unity was investigated under three different rib blockage ratios (turbulator height/channel hydraulic diameter) of 0.1333, 0.25, and 0.3333. A channel with an aspect ratio of 2 was also investigated for a blockage ratio of 0.25. Air was flown radially outward over a Reynolds number range of 15,000 to 50,000. The rotation number was varied from 0 to 0.3. Stationary and rotating cases of identical geometries were compared. Results indicated that rotational effects are more pronounced in turbulated passages of high aspect and low blockage ratios for which a steady increase in heat transfer coefficient is observed on the trailing side as rotation number increases while the heat transfer coefficient on the leading side shows a steady decrease with rotation number. However, the all-smooth-wall classical pattern of heat transfer coefficient variation on the leading and trailing sides is not followed for smaller aspect ratios and high blockage ratios when the relative artificial roughness is high.


Author(s):  
Thantup Nontula ◽  
Natthaporn Kaewchoothong ◽  
Wacharin Kaew-apichai ◽  
Chayut Nuntadusit

Jet impingement has been applied for internal cooling in gas turbine blades. In this study, heat transfer characteristics of impinging jets from a row of circular orifices were investigated inside a flow channel with rotations. The Reynolds number (Re) based on the jet mean velocity was fixed at 6,700. Whereas, the rotation number (Ro) of a channel was varied from 0 to 0.0099. The jet-to-impingement distance ratio (L/Dj) and jet pitch ratio (P/Dj) were respective 2 and 4, Dj is a jet diameter of 5 mm. The thermochromic liquid crystals (TLCs) technique was used to measure the heat transfer coefficient distributions on an impingement surface. The results show that heat transfer enhancement on a jet impingement surface depended on the effects of crossflow and Coriolis force. The local Nusselt number at X/Dj?20 on the leading side (LS) was higher than on the trailing side (TS) while heat transfer on the LS at 20?X/Dj?40 gained the lowest, compared to on the TS. The average Nusselt number ratios ( ) on the TS at Ro = 0.0049 gave higher than on the LS of around 2.17%. On the other hand, the on the TS at Ro = 0.0099 was less than the LS of about 0.08%.


Author(s):  
Min Ren ◽  
Xueying Li ◽  
Jing Ren ◽  
Hongde Jiang

Effect of rotation on turbine blade internal cooling is an important factor in gas turbine cooling systems. To obtain the distribution of the heat transfer and the flow field in a rotating cooling channel, a series of computational simulations using the realizable k-ε model are utilized. The channel Reynolds number based on the channel diameter is 25000. The rotation number ranges from 0 to 0.20. The investigated density ratio Δρ/ρ ranges from 0.05 to 0.33 and the range of radius-to-passage hydraulic diameter r/D is from 10 to 40. The results show that the heat transfer on the trailing side shows an overall augmentation while that on the leading side decreases in the cooling channel. When the channel is stationary, the density ratio has little effect on the thermal performance. And for the rotating channel, the heat transfer on the trailing side and leading side both increases when the density ratio increases. The heat transfer both on the trailing side and leading side decreases when the radius-to-passage hydraulic diameter (r/D) increase. And the radius has a greater effect when the rotation number is higher.


Author(s):  
Ignacio Mayo ◽  
Tony Arts ◽  
Nicolas Van de Wyer

The present paper addresses the detailed heat transfer pattern in a two-pass rotating internal cooling channel model, with a square cross section and equipped with triangular ribs on one of its walls. The turn region consists of a smooth high curvature U-bend that generates a complex flow field and wall heat transfer. The investigation is based on Liquid Crystal Thermography (LCT) measurements in a rotating facility at Reynolds numbers varying from 20,000 to 60,000, and a maximum rotation number equal to 0.20. For these experimental conditions, the centripetal buoyancy effects are negligible. The channel is rotated around an axis perpendicular to the main flow direction in clockwise and counter-clockwise senses, in order to observe the impact of cyclonic and anti-cyclonic behavior on the heat transfer in both legs. The objective of the present study is two-fold: firstly, it aims to understand the flow physics and heat transfer phenomena at different regimes. Secondly, the detailed heat transfer measurements are intended to be a reference set for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) validation. The measurements obtained in the first leg have been compared with previous experimental data in channels with square ribs and radially outward flow, showing a similar behavior in terms of heat transfer distribution and overall dependency on the rotation number. In the second leg, the heat transfer distribution is more complex. The heat transfer distribution is not symmetric, and high gradients are present in the span-wise direction. Nevertheless, the dependency of the heat transfer to increasing rotation shows a trend similar to the one observed in the first pass. The combined effects of rib-induced secondary flows stabilization/destabilization by rotation, Coriolis-induced stream-wise vortices and high streamline curvature on the heat transfer distribution are analyzed in the paper.


Author(s):  
M. E. Taslim ◽  
L. A. Bondi ◽  
D. M. Kercher

Turbine blade cooling is imperative in advanced aircraft engines. The extremely hot gases that operate within the turbine section require turbine blades to be cooled by a complex cooling circuit. This cooling arrangement increases engine efficiency and ensures blade materials a longer creep life. One principle aspect of the circuit involves serpentine internal cooling passes throughout the core of the blade. Roughening the inside surfaces of these cooling passages with turbulence promoters provides enhanced heat transfer rates from the surface. The purpose of this investigation was to study the effects of rotation, aspect ratio, and turbulator roughness on heat transfer in these rib-roughened passage. The investigation was performed in an orthogonally rotating setup to simulate the actual rotation of the cooling passages. Single pass channels, roughened on two opposite walls, with turbulators positioned at a 45° angle to the flow, in a criss-cross arrangement, were studied throughout this experiment. The ribs were arranged such that their pitch-to-height ratio remained at a constant value of 10. An aspect ratio of unity was investigated under three different rib blockage ratios (turbulator height/channel hydraulic diameter) of 0.1333, 0.25, and 0.3333. A channel with an aspect ratio of 2 was also investigated for a blockage ratio of 0.25. Air was flown radially outward over a Reynolds number range of 15000 to 50000. Rotation number was varied from 0 to 0.3. Stationary and rotating cases of identical geometries were compared. Results indicate that rotational effects are more pronounced in turbulated passages of high aspect and low blockage ratios for which a steady increase in heat transfer coefficient is observed on the trailing side as rotation number increases while the heat transfer coefficient on the leading side shows a steady decrease with rotation number. However, the all-smooth-wall classical pattern of heat transfer coefficient variation on the leading and trailing sides is not followed for smaller aspect ratios and high blockage ratios when the relative artificial roughness is high.


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