Effects of Inlet Swirl on Endwall Film Cooling in Neighboring Vane Passages

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

The distribution of film cooling effectiveness of endwall film-cooling holes is considered to be periodic between neighboring high pressure turbine passages in most cascade experiments. In reality, because of the difference in the number of combustors and vanes, the flow fields of neighboring passages are completely different. The secondary flow, especially the passage vortex, is dominated by the upstream inlet rotating flow whose relative flow direction is the reverse between the neighboring vane passages. Specifying the direction of rotation to simulate inlet swirl introduces new challenges in film-cooling design. The present experiment compares five groups of endwall film-cooling with anticlockwise rotating flows at inlet at different clocking positions, and the film-cooling effect is analyzed to investigate the effects of inlet rotating flow. The inlet flow condition of neighboring passages is simulated by switching the position of a swirler fan. Hence, different rotating inlet flow conditions in different positions are achieved. The GE-E3 airfoil was used in the cascade rig, with a scaled-up factor of 1.95. The inlet Reynolds number is 1.48 × 105 and the Mach number is 0.07. The effects of the blowing ratio and relative positions of the swirler are investigated in the experiment. Adiabatic film-cooling effectiveness is probed by using pressure-sensitive paint (PSP). The coolant is simulated by nitrogen with which a density ratio of around 1.0 can be achieved. Fan-shaped film-cooling holes are introduced into the endwall surface as well as trailing edge discharge holes. The cooling performance of the combustor-turbine gap leakage flow is not considered. Fan-shaped film-cooling holes are introduced into the endwall surface as well as upstream slot. The cooling performance of the combustor-turbine gap leakage flow is considered in this case. A Pair of nozzle guide vane (NGV) passages are investigated simultaneously by which the film cooling effectiveness can be compared for the same case at the endwall surface. The inlet rotating flow is simulated by an upstream swirler, with five relative positions along the pitchwise direction. According to the experimental results, the inlet rotating flow dominates the film cooling effectiveness distribution at the endwall. The averaged film cooling effectiveness changes substantially with the change in swirler position. The rotating flow at the endwall region mainly interacts with the main flow to modify incidence angle. The influence of the inlet rotating flow is more obvious at the upstream portion. Meanwhile the downstream portion is not as sensitive to rotating flow as the upstream portion.

Author(s):  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Xin Yuan

The distribution of film-cooling holes is considered to be the same between neighbouring high pressure turbine passages in most cascade experiments. Because of the difference in accounts of combustors and vanes, however, the flow fields of neighbouring passages are completely different. The secondary flow, especially the passage vortex, is dominated by the upstream inlet rotating flow whose relative flow direction is the reverse between the neighbouring vane passages. Specific rotating directions introduce new challenges in film-cooling design. The present experiment compares three groups of endwall film-cooling with anticlockwise rotating flow inlets at different clocking positions, and the film-cooling effect is analysed to investigate the effects of inlet rotating flow. The inlet flow condition of neighbouring passages is simulated by switching the position of the swirler by means of which rotating inlet flow conditions in different positions are achieved. The GE-E3 airfoil is used in the cascades, with a scaled-up factor of 2.2. The inlet Reynolds number is 3.5×105 and the Mach number is 0.1. The effects of the blowing ratio and relative positions of the swirler are investigated in the experiment. Adiabatic film-cooling effectiveness is probed by using pressure-sensitive painting (PSP). The coolant is simulated by nitrogen by which a density ratio of around 1.0 can be achieved. Fan-shaped film-cooling holes are introduced into the endwall surface as well as trailing edge discharge holes. The cooling performance of the combustor-turbine gap leakage flow is also considered simultaneously. Conclusions are as follows: (1) the anticlockwise direction of rotating flow influences the endwall film-cooling effectiveness, especially for the upstream part of the endwall which is mainly covered by the leakage flow; (2) the film-cooling effectiveness in the neighbouring passages differs depending on the position of the inlet rotating flow core; (3) the film-cooling performance at the downstream part of the endwall is partly influenced by the upstream rotating flow inlet as well.


Author(s):  
Andrew F. Chen ◽  
Chao-Cheng Shiau ◽  
Je-Chin Han

The combined effects of inlet purge flow and the slashface leakage flow on the film cooling effectiveness of a turbine blade platform were studied using the pressure sensitive paint (PSP) technique. Detailed film cooling effectiveness distributions on the endwall were obtained and analyzed. The inlet purge flow was generated by a row of equally-spaced cylindrical injection holes inside a single-tooth generic stator-rotor seal. In addition to the traditional 90 degree (radial outward) injection for the inlet purge flow, injection at a 45 degree angle was adopted to create a circumferential/azimuthal velocity component toward the suction side of the blades, which created a swirl ratio (SR) of 0.6. Discrete cylindrical film cooling holes were arranged to achieve an improved coverage on the endwall. Backward injection was attempted by placing backward injection holes near the pressure side leading edge portion. Slashface leakage flow was simulated by equally-spaced cylindrical injection holes inside a slot. Experiments were done in a five-blade linear cascade with an average turbulence intensity of 10.5%. The inlet and exit Mach numbers were 0.26 and 0.43, respectively. The inlet and exit mainstream Reynolds numbers based on the axial chord length of the blade were 475,000 and 720,000, respectively. The coolant-to-mainstream mass flow ratios (MFR) were varied from 0.5%, 0.75%, to 1% for the inlet purge flow. For the endwall film cooling holes and slashface leakage flow, blowing ratios (M) of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 were examined. Coolant-to-mainstream density ratios (DR) that range from 1.0 (close to low temperature experiments) to 1.5 (intermediate DR) and 2.0 (close to engine conditions) were also examined. The results provide the gas turbine engine designers a better insight into improved film cooling hole configurations as well as various parametric effects on endwall film cooling when the inlet (swirl) purge flow and slashface leakage flow were incorporated.


2016 ◽  
Vol 139 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew F Chen ◽  
Chao-Cheng Shiau ◽  
Je-Chin Han

The combined effects of inlet purge flow and the slashface leakage flow on the film cooling effectiveness of a turbine blade platform were studied using the pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) technique. Detailed film cooling effectiveness distributions on the endwall were obtained and analyzed. Discrete cylindrical film cooling holes were arranged to achieve an improved coverage on the endwall. Backward injection was attempted by placing backward injection holes near the pressure side leading edge portion. Experiments were done in a five-blade linear cascade with an average turbulence intensity of 10.5%. The inlet and exit Mach numbers were 0.26 and 0.43, respectively. The inlet and exit mainstream Reynolds numbers based on the axial chord length of the blade were 475,000 and 720,000, respectively. The coolant-to-mainstream mass flow ratios (MFR) were varied from 0.5% and 0.75% to 1% for the purge flow. For the endwall film cooling holes and slashface leakage flow, blowing ratios (M) of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 were examined. Coolant-to-mainstream density ratios (DR) that range from 1.0 (close to low temperature experiments) to 1.5 and 2.0 (close to engine conditions) were also examined. The results provide the gas turbine engine designers a better insight into improved film cooling hole configurations as well as various parametric effects on endwall film cooling when the inlet (swirl) purge flow and slashface leakage flow were incorporated.


2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale W. Fox ◽  
Fraser B. Jones ◽  
John W. McClintic ◽  
David G. Bogard ◽  
Thomas E. Dyson ◽  
...  

Most studies of turbine airfoil film cooling in laboratory test facilities have used relatively large plenums to feed flow into the coolant holes. However, a more realistic inlet condition for the film cooling holes is a relatively small channel. Previous studies have shown that the film cooling performance is significantly degraded when fed by perpendicular internal crossflow in a smooth channel. In this study, angled rib turbulators were installed in two geometric configurations inside the internal crossflow channel, at 45 deg and 135 deg, to assess the impact on film cooling effectiveness. Film cooling hole inlets were positioned in both prerib and postrib locations to test the effect of hole inlet position on film cooling performance. A test was performed independently varying channel velocity ratio and jet to mainstream velocity ratio. These results were compared to the film cooling performance of previously measured shaped holes fed by a smooth internal channel. The film cooling hole discharge coefficients and channel friction factors were also measured for both rib configurations with varying channel and inlet velocity ratios. Spatially averaged film cooling effectiveness is largely similar to the holes fed by the smooth internal crossflow channel, but hole-to-hole variation due to inlet position was observed.


1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Hale ◽  
M. W. Plesniak ◽  
S. Ramadhyani

The adiabatic, steady-state liquid crystal technique was used to measure surface adiabatic film cooling effectiveness values in the near-hole region X/D<10. A parametric study was conducted for a single row of short holes L/D⩽3 fed by a narrow plenum H/D=1. Film cooling effectiveness values are presented and compared for various L/D ratios (0.66 to 3.0), three different blowing ratios (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5), two different plenum feed configurations (co-flow and counterflow), and two different injection angles (35 and 90 deg). Injection hole geometry and plenum feed direction were found to affect short hole film cooling performance significantly. Under certain conditions, similar or improved coverage was achieved with 90 deg holes compared with 35 deg holes. This result has important implications for manufacturing of thin-walled film-cooled blades or vanes. [S0889-504X(00)00603-6]


Author(s):  
Sanga Lee ◽  
Dong-Ho Rhee ◽  
Kwanjung Yee

In spite of a myriad of researches on the optimal shape of film cooling holes, only a few attempts have been made to optimize the hole arrangement for film cooling so far. Moreover, although the general scale of film cooling hole is so small that manufacturing tolerance has substantial effects on the cooling performance of turbine, the researches on this issue are even scarcer. If it is possible to obtain optimal hole arrangement which not only improve the film cooling performance but also is robust to the manufacturing tolerance, then overall cooling performance of a turbine would become more reliable and useful from the practical point of view. To this end, the present study proposed a robust design optimization procedure which takes the manufacturing uncertainties into account. The procedure was subsequently applied to the film cooling holes on high pressure turbine nozzle pressure side to obtain the robust array shape under the uncertainty of the manufacturing tolerance. First, the array of the holes was parameterized by 5 design variables using the newly suggested shape functions, and 2 representative factors were considered for the manufacturing tolerance of the film cooling hole. Probabilistic process that consists of Kriging surrogate model and Monte Carlo Simulation with descriptive sampling method was coupled with the design optimization process using Genetic Algorithm. Through this, film cooling hole array which shows the high performance, yet robust to the manufacturing tolerance was obtained, and the effects of the manufacturing tolerance on the cooling performance was carefully investigated. As a result, the region where the film cooling effectiveness is noticeable, as well as the maximum width of the variation of the film cooling effectiveness were reduced through optimization, and it is also confirmed that the tolerance of the holes near the leading edge is more influential to the cooling performance because the film cooling effectiveness is more sensitive to the manufacturing tolerance of the leading edge than that of the trailing edge.


Author(s):  
Dong Ho Rhee ◽  
Youn Seok Lee ◽  
Young Bong Kim ◽  
Hyung Hee Cho

An experimental study has been conducted to measure the temperature fields and the local film cooling effectiveness for two and three staggered rows of the rectangular-shaped film cooling holes with various blowing rates. Three different cooling hole shapes such as a straight rectangular hole, a rectangular hole with laterally expanded exit and a circular hole are tested. The rectangular cross-section has the aspect ratio of 2 at the hole inlet with the hydraulic diameter of 10 mm. The area ratio of the exit to the hole inlet is 1.8 for the rectangular hole with expanded exit, which is similar to a two-dimensional slot. The holes are spaced 3d apart in the spanwise direction and 4d apart in the streamwise direction with a staggered arrangement. Temperature fields are acquired using a three-axis traversing system equipped with a thermocouple rake. A thermochromic liquid crystals technique is applied to determine adiabatic film cooling effectiveness values and heat transfer coefficients on the test surface. The results show that the rectangular-shaped holes provide better performance than the cylindrical holes because the penetration of coolant is reduced and the lateral spreading of coolant is promoted. For rows of film cooling holes, the film cooling performance decreases with increasing blowing rate. However, the difference of hole shapes and blowing rates for film cooling performance is reduced with increasing the row of cooling holes.


Author(s):  
Alok Dhungel ◽  
Yiping Lu ◽  
Wynn Phillips ◽  
Srinath V. Ekkad ◽  
James Heidmann

The primary focus of this paper is to study the film cooling performance for a row of cylindrical holes each supplemented with two symmetrical anti vortex holes which branch out from the main holes. The anti-vortex design was originally developed at NASA-Glenn Research Center by Dr. James Heidmann, co-author of this paper. This “anti-vortex” design is unique in that it requires only easily machinable round holes, unlike shaped film cooling holes and other advanced concepts. The hole design is intended to counteract the detrimental vorticity associated with standard circular cross-section film cooling holes. The geometry and orientation of the anti vortex holes greatly affect the cooling performance downstream, which is thoroughly investigated. By performing experiments at a single mainstream Reynolds number of 9683 based on the free stream velocity and film hole diameter at four different coolant-to-mainstream blowing ratio of 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 and using the transient IR thermography technique, detailed film cooling effectiveness and heat transfer coefficients are obtained simultaneously from a single test. When the anti vortex holes are nearer to the primary film cooling holes and are developing from the base of the primary holes, better film cooling is accomplished as compared to other anti vortex hole orientations. When the anti vortex holes are laid back in the upstream region, film cooling diminishes considerably. Although an enhancement in heat transfer coefficient is seen in cases with high film cooling effectiveness, the overall heat flux ratio as compared to standard cylindrical holes is much lower. Thus cases with anti vortex holes placed near the main holes certainly show promising results.


Author(s):  
C. A. Hale ◽  
M. W. Plesniak ◽  
S. Ramadhyani

The adiabatic, steady-state liquid crystal technique was used to measure surface adiabatic film cooling effectiveness values in the near-hole region (X / D < 10). A parametric study was conducted for a single row of short holes (L / D ≤ 3) fed by a narrow plenum (H / D = 1). Film cooling effectiveness values are presented and compared for various L / D ratios (0.66 to 3.0), three different blowing ratios (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5), two different plenum feed configurations (co-flow and counter flow), and two different injection angles (35° and 90°). Injection hole geometery and plenum feed direction were found to significantly affect short hole film cooling performance. Under certain conditions, comparable or improved coverage was achieved with 90° holes as with 35° holes. This result has important implications for manufacturing of thin-walled film-cooled blades or vanes.


Author(s):  
Dale W. Fox ◽  
Fraser B. Jones ◽  
John W. McClintic ◽  
David G. Bogard ◽  
Thomas E. Dyson ◽  
...  

Most studies of turbine airfoil film cooling in laboratory test facilities have used relatively large plenums to feed flow into the coolant holes. However, a more realistic inlet condition for the film cooling holes is a relatively small channel. Previous studies have shown that the film cooling performance is significantly degraded when fed by perpendicular internal crossflow in a smooth channel. In this study, angled rib turbulators were installed in two geometric configurations inside the internal crossflow channel, at 45° and 135°, to assess the impact on film cooling effectiveness. Film cooling hole inlets were positioned in both pre-rib and post-rib locations to test the effect of hole inlet position on film cooling performance. A test was performed independently varying channel velocity ratio and jet to mainstream velocity ratio. These results were compared to the film cooling performance of previously measured shaped holes fed by a smooth internal channel. The film cooling hole discharge coefficients and channel friction factors were also measured for both rib configurations with varying channel and inlet velocity ratios. Spatially-averaged film cooling effectiveness is largely similar to the holes fed by the smooth internal crossflow channel, but hole-to-hole variation due to inlet position was observed.


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