Detailed Experimental Characterization of Heat Transfer Coefficient Over the Internal Cooling Passages of an Additive Manufactured Turbine Airfoil

This report describes the detailed experimental study to characterize the local heat transfer coefficient distribution over the internal cooling passages of a simplified generic airfoil. The airfoil is manufactured through additive manufacturing based on actual geometry and dimensions (1X scale model) of row one airfoil, applicable in large gas turbine system. At the mainbody section, the serpentine channel consists of three passages without any surface features or vortex generators. Both the leading edge and trailing edge sections are subjected to direct impingement. The trailing edge section is divided into three chambers, separated by two rows of blockages. This study employs the well-documented transient liquid crystal technique, where the local heat transfer coefficient on both pressure and suction sides is deduced. The experiments were performed at varying Reynolds number, ranging from approximately 31,000–63,000. The heat transfer distribution on the pressure side and suction side is largely comparable in the first and third pass, except for the second pass. Highest heat transfer occurs at the trailing edge region, which is ultimately dominated by impingement due to the presence of three rows of blockages. A cursory numerical calculation is performed using commercially available software, ANSYS CFX to obtain detailed flow field distribution within the airfoil, which explains the heat transfer behavior at each passage. The flow parameter results revealed that the pressure ratio is strongly proportional with increasing Reynolds number.