Flow Separation and Heat Transfer in Shear Flow Around a Wall-Mounted Obstacle

Author(s):  
S. Mahapatra ◽  
S. Bhattacharyya

Flow structure and surface heat transfer around a single small obstacle of rectangular cross-section mounted on a smooth plane surface are investigated. The obstacle is considered to be submerged in the viscous layer so that the far field flow may be viewed as uniform shear. The obstacle is considered to be at a temperature higher than that of the surrounding fluid and the flat surface is insulated. The unsteady Navier-Stokes equations and heat transport equation are solved numerically through a finite volume method on a staggered grid system. Solutions are obtained over a range of Reynolds number Re, which is based on the obstacle height and the incident uniform shear and Grashof number Gr. An investigation of the influence of buoyancy on the upstream and downstream flow separation from the obstacle and the interaction of the separation with the thermal field is also made. Numerical results reveal that in absence of the buoyancy force, the recirculating eddy upstream of the obstacle elongates with increasing Re. It is found that the buoyancy effect reduces the size of the upstream eddy when Re ≤ 200 with Gr (which is a measure of buoyancy) equal to 100. At an increased value of buoyancy force, Gr = 104, the upstream separation zone shifts further close to the obstacle. It is also found that the downstream separation length (which increases with increasing Re) further increases with increasing Gr as long as Re ≤ 200. Buoyancy effects on the flow are not prominent when Re is above 200. The surface heat transfer is quite high at the protruding corners and it increases with increase in Re. Increase of Grashof number produces an increment on surface heat transfer.

Author(s):  
T. I.-P. Shih ◽  
Y.-L. Lin

Computations, based on the ensemble-averaged compressible Navier-Stokes equations closed by the shear-stress transport (SST) turbulence model, were performed to investigate the effects of leading-edge airfoil fillet and inlet-swirl angle on the flow and heat transfer in a turbine-nozzle guide vane. Three fillet configurations were simulated: no fillet (baseline), a fillet whose thickness fades on the airfoil, and a fillet whose thickness fades on the endwall. For both fillets, the maximum height above the endwall is positioned along the stagnation zone/line on the airfoil under the condition of no swirl. For each configuration, three inlet swirls were investigated: no swirl (baseline) and two linearly varying swirl angle from one endwall to the other (+30° to −30° and −30° to +30°). Results obtained show that both leading-edge fillet and inlet swirl can reduce aerodynamic loss and surface heat transfer. For the conditions of this study, the difference in stagnation pressure from the nozzle’s inlet to its exit were reduced by more than 40% with swirl or with fillet without swirl. Surface heat transfer was reduced by more than 10% on the airfoil and by more than 30% on the endwalls. When there is swirl, leading-edge fillets became less effective in reducing aerodynamic loss and surface heat transfer, because the fillets were not optimized for swirl angles imposed. Since the intensity and size of the cross flow were found to increase instead of decrease by inlet swirl and by the type of fillet geometries investigated, the results of this study indicate that the mechanisms responsible for aerodynamic loss and surface heat transfer are more complex than just the intensity and the magnitude of the secondary flows. This study shows their location and interaction with the main flow to be more important, and this could be exploited for positive results.


Author(s):  
T. I.-P. Shih ◽  
S. Na ◽  
M. Chyu

Flow aligned blockers are proposed to minimize the entrainment of hot gases underneath film-cooling jets by the counter-rotating vortices within the jets. Computations, based on the ensemble-averaged Navier-Stokes equations closed by the realizable k-ε turbulence model, were used to assess the usefulness of rectangular prisms as blockers in increasing film-cooling adiabatic effectiveness without unduly increasing surface heat transfer and pressure loss. The Taguchi’s design of experiment method was used to investigate the effects of the height of the blocker (0.2D, 0.4D, 0.8D), the thickness of the blocker (D/20, D/10, D/5), and the spacing between the pair of blockers (0.8D, 1.0D, 1.2D), where D is the diameter of the film-cooling hole. The effects of blowing ratio (0.37, 0.5, 0.65) were also studied. Results obtained show that blockers can greatly increase film-cooling effectiveness. By using rectangular prisms as blockers, the laterally averaged adiabatic effectiveness at 15D downstream of the film-cooling hole is as high as that at 1D downstream. The surface heat transfer was found to increase slightly near the leading edge of the prisms, but reduced elsewhere from reduced temperature gradients that resulted from reduced hot gas entrainment. However, pressure loss was found to increase somewhat because of the flat rectangular leading edge, which can be made more streamlined.


Author(s):  
S. Na ◽  
T. I.-P. Shih

A new design concept is presented to increase the adiabatic effectiveness of film cooling jets without unduly increasing surface heat transfer and pressure loss. Instead of shaping the film-cooling hole at its downstream end as is done for shaped holes, this study proposes a geometry modification upstream of the film-cooling hole to modify the approaching boundary-layer flow and its interaction with the film-cooling jet. Computations, based on the ensemble-averaged Navier-Stokes equations closed by the realizable k-ε turbulence model, were used to examine the usefulness of making the surface just upstream of the film-cooling hole into a ramp with backward-facing step. The effects of the following parameters were investigated: angle of the ramp (8.5°, 10°, 14°), distance between the backward-facing step of the ramp and the film-cooling hole (0.5D, D), and blowing ratio (0.36, 0.49, 0.56, 0.98). Results obtained show that an upstream ramp with a backward-facing step can greatly increase film-cooling adiabatic effectiveness. The laterally averaged adiabatic effectiveness with ramp can be two or more times higher than without the ramp. Also, the ramp increases the surface area that each film-cooling jet protects. However, using the ramp does increase drag. The increase in surface heat transfer was found to be minimal.


2003 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. I-P. Shih ◽  
Y.-L. Lin

Computations, based on the ensemble-averaged compressible Navier-Stokes equations closed by the shear-stress transport (SST) turbulence model, were performed to investigate the effects of leading-edge airfoil fillet and inlet-swirl angle on the flow and heat transfer in a turbine-nozzle guide vane. Three fillet configurations were simulated: no fillet (baseline), a fillet whose thickness fades on the airfoil, and a fillet whose thickness fades on the endwall. For both fillets, the maximum height above the endwall is positioned along the stagnation zone/line on the airfoil under the condition of no swirl. For each configuration, three inlet swirls were investigated: no swirl (baseline) and two linearly varying swirl angle from one endwall to the other (+30 to −30 deg and −30 to +30 deg). Results obtained show that both leading-edge fillet and inlet swirl can reduce aerodynamic loss and surface heat transfer. For the conditions of this study, the difference in stagnation pressure from the nozzle’s inlet to its exit were reduced by more than 40% with swirl or with fillet without swirl. Surface heat transfer was reduced by more than 10% on the airfoil and by more than 30% on the endwalls. When there is swirl, leading-edge fillets became less effective in reducing aerodynamic loss and surface heat transfer, because the fillets were not optimized for swirl angles imposed. Since the intensity and size of the cross flow were found to increase instead of decrease by inlet swirl and by the type of fillet geometries investigated, the results of this study indicate that the mechanisms responsible for aerodynamic loss and surface heat transfer are more complex than just the intensity and the magnitude of the secondary flows. This study shows their location and interaction with the main flow to be more important, and this could be exploited for positive results.


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