scholarly journals Oscillator Fin as a Novel Heat Transfer Augmentation Device for Gas Turbine Cooling Applications

Author(s):  
Oguz Uzol ◽  
Cengiz Camci

A new concept for enhanced turbulent transport of heat in internal coolant passages of gas turbine blades is introduced. The new heat transfer augmentation component called “oscillator fin” is based on an unsteady flow system using the interaction of multiple unsteady jets and wakes generated downstream of a fluidic oscillator. Incompressible, unsteady and two dimensional solutions of Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations are obtained both for an oscillator fin and for an equivalent cylindrical pin fin and the results are compared. Preliminary results show that a significant increase in the turbulent kinetic energy level occur in the wake region of the oscillator fin with respect to the cylinder with similar level of aerodynamic penalty. The new concept does not require additional components or power to sustain its oscillations and its manufacturing is as easy as a conventional pin fin. The present study makes use of an unsteady numerical simulation of mass, momentum, turbulent kinetic energy and dissipation rate conservation equations for flow visualization downstream of the new oscillator fin and an equivalent cylinder. Relative enhancements of turbulent kinetic energy and comparisons of the total pressure field from transient simulations qualitatively suggest that the oscillator fin has excellent potential in enhancing local heat transfer in internal cooling passages without significant aerodynamic penalty.

2010 ◽  
Vol 133 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Schüler ◽  
Frank Zehnder ◽  
Bernhard Weigand ◽  
Jens von Wolfersdorf ◽  
Sven Olaf Neumann

Gas turbine blades are usually cooled by using ribbed serpentine internal cooling passages, which are fed by extracted compressor air. The individual straight ducts are connected by sharp 180 deg bends. The integration of turning vanes in the bend region lets one expect a significant reduction in pressure loss while keeping the heat transfer levels high. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the influence of different turning vane configurations on pressure loss and local heat transfer distribution. The investigations were conducted in a rectangular two-pass channel connected by a 180 deg sharp turn with a channel height-to-width ratio of H/W=2. The channel was equipped with 45 deg skewed ribs in a parallel arrangement with e/dh=0.1 and P/e=10. The tip-to-web distance was kept constant at Wel/W=1. Spatially resolved heat transfer distributions were obtained using the transient thermochromic liquid crystal technique. Furthermore static pressure measurements were conducted in order to determine the influence of turning vane configurations on pressure loss. Additionally, the configurations were investigated numerically by solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations using the finite-volume solver FLUENT. The numerical grids were generated by the hybrid grid generator CENTAUR. Three different turbulence models were considered: the realizable k-ε model with two-layer wall treatment, the k-ω-SST model, and the v2-f turbulence model. The results showed a significant influence of the turning vane configuration on pressure loss and heat transfer in the bend region and the outlet pass. While using an appropriate turning vane configuration, pressure loss was reduced by about 25%, keeping the heat transfer at nearly the same level in the bend region. An inappropriate configuration led to an increase in pressure loss while the heat transfer was reduced in the bend region and outlet pass.


Author(s):  
Frank Zehnder ◽  
Marco Schu¨ler ◽  
Bernhard Weigand ◽  
Jens von Wolfersdorf ◽  
Sven Olaf Neumann

Gas turbine blades are usually cooled by using ribbed serpentine internal cooling passages which are fed by extracted compressor air. The individual straight ducts are connected by sharp 180° bends. The integration of turning vanes in the bend region lets one expect a significant reduction in pressure loss while keeping heat transfer levels high. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the influence of different turning vane configurations on pressure loss and local heat transfer distribution. The investigations were conducted in a rectangular two-pass channel connected by a 180° sharp turn with a channel height-to-width ratio of H/W = 2. The channel was equipped with 45° skewed ribs in a parallel arrangement with e/dh = 0.1 and P/e = 10. The tip-to-web distance was kept constant at Wel/W = 1. Spatially resolved heat transfer distributions were obtained using the transient thermochromic liquid crystal technique. Furthermore static pressure measurements were conducted in order to determine the influence of turning vane configurations on pressure loss. Additionally, the configurations were investigated numerically by solving the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations (RANS method) using the Finite-Volume solver FLUENT. The numerical grids were generated by the hybrid grid generator CENTAUR. Three different turbulence models were considered: the realizable k-ε model with two-layer wall treatment, the k-ω-SST model, and the v2-f turbulence model. The results showed a significant influence of the turning vane configuration on pressure loss and heat transfer in the bend region and the outlet pass. While using an appropriate turning vane configuration pressure loss was reduced by about 25% keeping the heat transfer at nearly the same level in the bend region. An inappropriate configuration led to an increase in pressure loss while heat transfer was reduced in the bend region and outlet pass.


Author(s):  
Michael E. Lyall ◽  
Alan A. Thrift ◽  
Atul Kohli ◽  
Karen A. Thole

The performance of many engineering devices from power electronics to gas turbines is limited by thermal management. Heat transfer augmentation in internal flows is commonly achieved through the use of pin fins, which increase both surface area and turbulence. The present research is focused on internal cooling of turbine airfoils using a single row of circular pin fins that is oriented perpendicular to the flow. Low aspect ratio pin fins were studied whereby the channel height to pin diameter was unity. A number of spanwise spacings were investigated for a Reynolds number range between 5000 to 30,000. Both pressure drop and spatially-resolved heat transfer measurements were taken. The heat transfer measurements were made on the endwall of the pin fin array using infrared thermography and on the pin surface using discrete thermocouples. The results show that the heat transfer augmentation relative to open channel flow is the highest for smallest spanwise spacings and lowest Reynolds numbers. The results also indicate that the pin fin heat transfer is higher than the endwall heat transfer.


Author(s):  
Chung-Chu Chen ◽  
Tong-Miin Liou

Laser-Doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements are presented of turbulent flow in a two-pass square-sectioned duct simulating the coolant passages employed in gas turbine blades under rotating and non-rotating conditions. For all cases studied, the Reynolds number characterized by duct hydraulic diameter (Dh) and bulk mean velocity (Ub) was fixed at 1 × 104. The rotating case had a range of rotation number (Ro = ΩDh/Ub) from 0 to 0.2. It is found that both the skewness of streamwise mean velocity and magnitude of secondary-flow velocity increase linearly, and the magnitude of turbulence intensity level increases non-linearly with increasing Ro. As Ro is increased, the curvature induced symmetric Dean vortices in the turn for Ro = 0 is gradually dominated by a single vortex most of which impinges directly on the outer part of leading wall. The high turbulent kinetic energy is closely related to the dominant vortex prevailing inside the 180-deg sharp turn. For the first time, the measured flow characteristics account for the reported spanwise heat transfer distributions in the rotating channels, especially the high heat transfer enhancement on the leading wall in the turn. For both rotating and non-rotating cases, the direction and strength of the secondary flow with respect to the wall are the most important fluid dynamic factors affecting local heat transfer distributions inside a 180-deg sharp turn. The role of the turbulent kinetic energy in affecting the overall enhancement of heat transfer is well addressed.


Author(s):  
Sourabh Kumar ◽  
R. S. Amano

Improvements in the thermal efficiency of a gas turbine can be obtained by operating it at high inlet temperatures. This high inlet temperature develops high thermal stresses on the turbine blades in addition to improving the performance. Cooling methodologies are implemented inside the blades to withstand those high temperatures. Four different combinations of broken 60° V ribs in cooling channel are considered. The research work investigates and compares numerically and experimentally, internal cooling of channels with broken V ribs. Local heat transfer in a square duct roughened with 60° V broken ribs is investigated for three different Reynolds numbers. Aspect ratio of the channel is taken to be 1:1. The pitch of the rib is considered to be 10 times the width of the rib, which is 0.0635 m. The square cross section of the channel is 0.508 × 0.508 m2 with 0.6096 m length. This study provides information about the best configuration of a broken V rib in a cooling channel.


Author(s):  
Karthik Krishnaswamy ◽  
◽  
Srikanth Salyan ◽  

The performance of a gas turbine during the service life can be enhanced by cooling the turbine blades efficiently. The objective of this study is to achieve high thermohydraulic performance (THP) inside a cooling passage of a turbine blade having aspect ratio (AR) 1:5 by using discrete W and V-shaped ribs. Hydraulic diameter (Dh) of the cooling passage is 50 mm. Ribs are positioned facing downstream with angle-of-attack (α) of 30° and 45° for discrete W-ribs and discerte V-ribs respectively. The rib profiles with rib height to hydraulic diameter ratio (e/Dh) or blockage ratio 0.06 and pitch (P) 36 mm are tested for Reynolds number (Re) range 30000-75000. Analysis reveals that, area averaged Nusselt numbers of the rib profiles are comparable, with maximum difference of 6% at Re 30000, which is within the limits of uncertainty. Variation of local heat transfer coefficients along the stream exhibited a saw tooth profile, with discrete W-ribs exhibiting higher variations. Along spanwise direction, discrete V-ribs showed larger variations. Maximum variation in local heat transfer coefficients is estimated to be 25%. For experimented Re range, friction loss for discrete W-ribs is higher than discrete-V ribs. Rib profiles exhibited superior heat transfer capabilities. The best Nu/Nuo achieved for discrete Vribs is 3.4 and discrete W-ribs is 3.6. In view of superior heat transfer capabilities, ribs can be deployed in cooling passages near the leading edge, where the temperatures are very high. The best THPo achieved is 3.2 for discrete V-ribs and 3 for discrete W-ribs at Re 30000. The ribs can also enhance the power-toweight ratio as they can produce high thermohydraulic performances for low blockage ratios.


Author(s):  
Arash Saidi ◽  
Bengt Sundén

Internal cooling channels are commonly used to reduce the thermal loads on the gas turbine blades to improve overall efficiency. In this study a numerical investigation has been carried out to provide a validated and consistent method to deal with the prediction of the fluid flow and the heat transfer of such channels with square cross sections. The rotation modified Navier-Stokes and energy equations together with a low-Re number version of the k-ε turbulence model are solved with appropriate boundary conditions. The solution procedure is based on a numerical method using a collocated grid, and the pressure-velocity coupling is handled by the SIMPLEC algorithm. The computations are performed with the assumption of fully developed periodic conditions. The calculations are carried out for smooth ducts with and without rotation and effects of rotation on the heat transfer are described. Similar numerical calculations have carried out for channels with rib-roughened walls. The obtained results are compared with available experimental data and empirical correlations for the heat transfer rate and the friction factor. Some details of the flow and heat transfer fields are also presented.


2003 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tong-Miin Liou ◽  
Chung-Chu Chen ◽  
Meng-Yu Chen

Laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements are presented of turbulent flow in a two-pass square-sectioned smooth duct simulating the coolant passages employed in gas turbine blades under rotating and nonrotating conditions. For all cases studied, the Reynolds number characterized by duct hydraulic diameter and bulk mean velocity was fixed at 1×104. The rotation number Ro was varied from 0 to 0.2. It is found that as Ro is increased, both the skewness (SK) of streamwise mean velocity and magnitude of secondary-flow velocity increase linearly, SK=2.3 Ro and U2+V2¯/Uh=2.3 Ro+0.4, and the magnitude of turbulence intensity level increases exponentially. As Ro is increased, the curvature induced symmetric Dean vortices in the turn for Ro=0 is gradually dominated by a single vortex most of which impinges directly on the outer part of leading wall. The high turbulent kinetic energy is closely related to the dominant vortex prevailing inside the 180-deg sharp turn. The size of separation bubble immediately after the turn is found to diminish to null as Ro is increased from 0 to 0.2. A simple correlation is developed between the bubble size and Ro. A critical range of Ro responsible for the switch of faster moving flow from near the outer wall to the inner wall is identified. For both rotating and nonrotating cases, the direction and strength of the secondary flow with respect to the wall are the most important fluid dynamic factors affecting local the heat transfer distributions inside a 180-deg sharp turn. The role of the turbulent kinetic energy in the overall enhancement of heat transfer is well addressed.


Author(s):  
Shinjan Ghosh ◽  
Jayanta S. Kapat

Abstract Gas Turbine blade cooling is an important topic of research, as a high turbine inlet temperature (TIT) essentially means an increase in efficiency of gas turbine cycles. Internal cooling channels in gas turbine blades are key to the cooling and prevention of thermal failure of the material. Serpentine channels are a common feature in internal blade cooling. Optimization methods are often employed in the design of blade internal cooling channels to improve heat-transfer and reduce pressure drop. Topology optimization uses a variable porosity approach to manipulate flow geometries by adding or removing material. Such a method has been employed in the current work to modify the geometric configuration of a serpentine channel to improve total heat transferred and reduce the pressure drop. An in-house OpenFOAM solver has been used to create non-traditional geometries from two generic designs. Geometry-1 is a 2-D serpentine passage with an inlet and 4 bleeding holes as outlets for ejection into the trailing edge. Geometry-2 is a 3-D serpentine passage with an aspect ratio of 3:1 and consists of two 180-degree bends. The inlet velocity for both the geometries was used as 20 m/s. The governing equations employ a “Brinkman porosity parameter” to account for the porous cells in the flow domain. Results have shown a change in shape of the channel walls to enhance heat-transfer in the passage. Additive manufacturing can be employed to make such unconventional shapes.


2007 ◽  
Vol 130 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan A. Sewall ◽  
Danesh K. Tafti

The problem of accurately predicting the flow and heat transfer in the ribbed internal cooling duct of a rotating gas turbine blade is addressed with the use of large eddy simulations (LES). Four calculations of the developing flow region of a rotating duct with ribs on opposite walls are used to study changes in the buoyancy parameter at a constant rotation rate. The Reynolds number is 20,000, the rotation number is 0.3, and the buoyancy parameter is varied between 0.00, 0.25, 0.45, and 0.65. Previous experimental studies have noted that leading wall heat transfer augmentation decreases as the buoyancy parameter increases with low buoyancy, but heat transfer then increases with high buoyancy. However, no consistent physical explanation has been given in the literature. The LES results from this study show that the initial decrease in augmentation with buoyancy is a result of larger separated regions at the leading wall. However, as the separated region spans the full pitch between ribs with an increase in buoyancy parameter, it leads to increased turbulence and increased entrainment of mainstream fluid, which is redirected toward the leading wall by the presence of a rib. The impinging mainstream fluid results in heat transfer augmentation in the region immediately upstream of a rib. The results obtained from this study are in very good agreement with previous experimental results.


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