Effect of Blade Tip Geometry on Tip Flow and Heat Transfer for a Blade in a Low Speed Cascade

A comprehensive investigation of the effect of various tip sealing geometries is presented on the blade tip leakage flow and associated heat transfer of a scaled up HPT turbine blade in a low-speed wind tunnel facility. The linear cascade is made of four blades with the two corner blades acting as guides. The tip section of a HPT first stage rotor blade is used to fabricate the 2-D blade. The wind tunnel accommodates an 116° turn for the blade cascade. The mainstream Reynolds number based on the axial chord length at cascade exit is 4.83 × 105. The upstream wake effect is simulated with a spoked wheel wake generator placed upstream of the cascade. A turbulence grid placed even farther upstream generates the required free-stream turbulence of 4.8%. The center blade has a tip clearance gap of 1.5625% with respect to the blade span. Static pressure measurements are obtained on the blade surface and the shroud. The effect of crosswise trip strips to reduce leakage flow and associated heat transfer is investigated with strips placed along the leakage flow direction, against the leakage flow and along the chord. Cylindrical pin fins and pitch variation of strips over the tip surface are also investigated. Detailed heat transfer measurements are obtained using a steady state HSI-based liquid crystal technique. The effect of periodic unsteady wake effect is also investigated by varying the wake Strouhal number from 0. to 0.2, and to 0.4. Results show that the trip strips placed against the leakage flow produce the lowest heat transfer on the tips compared to all the other cases with a reduction between 10–15% compared to the plain tip. Results also show that the pitch of the strips has a small effect on the overall reduction. Cylindrical pins fins and strips along the leakage flow direction do not decrease the heat transfer coefficients and in some cases enhance the heat transfer coefficients by as much as 20%.

The Effect of Real Turbine Roughness With Pressure Gradient on Heat Transfer

Experimental measurements of heat transfer (St) are reported for low speed flow over scaled turbine roughness models at three different freestream pressure gradients: adverse, zero (nominally), and favorable. The roughness models were scaled from surface measurements taken on actual, in-service land-based turbine hardware and include samples of fuel deposits, TBC spallation, erosion, and pitting as well as a smooth control surface. All St measurements were made in a developing turbulent boundary layer at the same value of Reynolds number (Rex≅900,000). An integral boundary layer method used to estimate cf for the smooth wall cases allowed the calculation of the Reynolds analogy (2St/cf). Results indicate that for a smooth wall, Reynolds analogy varies appreciably with pressure gradient. Smooth surface heat transfer is considerably less sensitive to pressure gradients than skin friction. For the rough surfaces with adverse pressure gradient, St is less sensitive to roughness than with zero or favorable pressure gradient. Roughness-induced Stanton number increases at zero pressure gradient range from 16–44% (depending on roughness type), while increases with adverse pressure gradient are 7% less on average for the same roughness type. Hot-wire measurements show a corresponding drop in roughness-induced momentum deficit and streamwise turbulent kinetic energy generation in the adverse pressure gradient boundary layer compared with the other pressure gradient conditions. The combined effects of roughness and pressure gradient are different than their individual effects added together. Specifically, for adverse pressure gradient the combined effect on heat transfer is 9% less than that estimated by adding their separate effects. For favorable pressure gradient, the additive estimate is 6% lower than the result with combined effects. Identical measurements on a “simulated” roughness surface composed of cones in an ordered array show a behavior unlike that of the scaled “real” roughness models. St calculations made using a discrete-element roughness model show promising agreement with the experimental data. Predictions and data combine to underline the importance of accounting for pressure gradient and surface roughness effects simultaneously rather than independently for accurate performance calculations in turbines.

Development of a 2-D CFD Approach for Computing 3-D Honeycomb Labyrinth Leakage

A new approach for employing a 2-D CFD model to approximately compute a 3-D flow field such as that in a honeycomb labyrinth seal was developed. The advantage of this approach is that it greatly reduces the computer resource requirement needed to obtain a solution of the leakage for the 3-D flow through a honeycomb labyrinth. After the leakage through the stepped labyrinth seal was measured, it was used in numerically determining the value of one dimension (DTF1) of the simplified geometry 2-D approximate CFD model. Then the capability of the 2-D model approach was demonstrated by using it to compute the 3-D flow that had been measured at different operating conditions, and in some cases different distance to contact values. It was found that very close agreement with measurements was obtained in all cases, except for that of intermediate clearance and distance to contact for two sets of upstream and downstream pressure. The 2-D approach developed here offers interesting benefits relative to conventional algebraic-equation models, particularly for evaluating labyrinth geometries/operating conditions that are different from that of the data employed in developing the algebraic model.

Interactions of Film Cooling Rows: Effects of Hole Geometry and Row Spacing on the Cooling Performance Downstream of the Second Row of Holes

A comprehensive set of generic experiments is conducted to investigate the interaction of film cooling rows. Five different film cooling configurations are considered on a large scale basis each consisting of two rows of film cooling holes in staggered arrangement. The hole pitch to diameter ratio within each row is kept constant at P/D = 4. The spacing between the rows is either x/D = 10, 20, or 30. Fanshaped holes or simple cylindrical holes with an inclination angle of 30 deg. and a hole length of 6 hole diameters are used. With a hot gas Mach number of Mam = 0.3, an engine like density ratio of ρc/ρm = 1.75, and a freestream turbulence intensity of Tu = 5.1% are established. Operating conditions are varied in terms of blowing ratio for the upstream and, independently, the downstream row in the range 0.5<M<2.0. The results illustrate the importance of considering ejection into an already film cooled boundary layer. Adiabatic film cooling effectiveness and heat transfer coefficients are significantly increased. The decay of effectiveness with streamwise distance is much less pronounced downstream of the second row primarily due to pre-cooling of the boundary layer by the first row of holes. Additionally, a comparison of measured effectiveness data with predictions according to the widely used superposition model of Sellers [11] is given for two rows of fanshaped holes.

Heat Transfer and Friction in Channels With Very High Blockage 45° Staggered Turbulators

Heat transfer and friction coefficients have been measured within a rectangular passage of aspect ratio 0.4 containing 45-degree staggered turbulators of very high blockage. Using a constant pitch-to-height ratio of 10 for all geometries, turbulator height-to-channel hydraulic diameter ratios from 0.193 to 0.333 were investigated. This range of e/D creates actual channel blockage ratios e/H from 0.275 to 0.475, presenting significant flow area restrictions. A liquid crystal test technique is used to obtain both detailed heat transfer behavior on the surfaces between turbulators, as well as averaged fully developed heat transfer coefficients. Reynolds numbers from 20000 to 100000 were tested. Nusselt number enhancements of up to 3.6 were obtained over that of a smooth channel, with friction coefficient enhancements of as much as 65. In contrast to low-blockage turbulated channels, the 45-degree turbulated Nu is found to be lower than that at 90-degree orientation, given very similar e/D and e/H values.

Effect of Film Cooling on Low Temperature Hot Corrosion in a Coal Fired Gas Turbine

In recent times, the use of coal gas in gas turbines has gained a lot of interest, as coal is quite abundant as a primary source of energy. However, use of coal gas produces a few detrimental effects that need closer attention. This paper concentrates on one such effect, namely hot corrosion, where trace amounts of sulfur can cause corrosion (or sulfidation) of hot and exposed surfaces, thereby reducing the life of the material. In low temperature hot corrosion, which is the focus of this paper, transport of SO2 from the hot gas stream is the primary process that leads to a chain of events, ultimately causing hot corrosion. The corrosion rate depends on SO2 mass flux to the wall as well as wall surface temperature, both of which are affected in the presence of any film cooling. An analytical model is developed to describe the associated transport phenomena of both heat and mass in the presence of film cooling The model predicts how corrosion rates may be affected under operating conditions. It is found that although use of film cooling typically leads to lower corrosion rate, there are combinations of operating parameters under which corrosion rate can actually increase in the presence of film cooling.

Numerical Study of Flow and Heat Transfer on a Blade Tip With Different Leakage Reduction Strategies

Numerical calculations are performed to explore different strategies for reducing tip leakage flow and heat transfer on the GE-E3 High-Pressure-Turbine (HPT) rotor blade. The calculations are performed for a single blade with periodic conditions imposed along the two boundaries in the circumferential-pitch direction. Several leakage reduction strategies are considered, all for a tip-clearance of 1.5% of the blade span, a pressure ratio (ratio of inlet total pressure to exit static pressure) of 1.2, and an inlet turbulence level of 6.1%. The first set of leakage reduction strategies explored include different squealer tip configurations: pressure-side squealer, suction-side squealer, mean-camber line squealer, and pressure plus suction side squealers located either along the edges of the blade or moved inwards. The suction-side squealer is shown to have the lowest heat transfer coefficient distribution and the lowest leakage flow rates. Two tip-desensitization strategies are explored. The first strategy involves a pressure-side winglet shaped to be thickest at the location with the largest pressure difference across the blade. The second strategy involves adding inclined ribs on the blade tip with the ribs normal to the local flow direction. While both strategies lead to reduction in the leakage flow and tip heat transfer rates, the ribbed tip exhibits considerably lower heat transfer coefficients. In comparing the two desensitization schemes with the various squealer tip configurations, the suction side squealer still exhibits the lowest heat transfer coefficient and leakage flow rates.

Effect of Rotation on Heat Transfer in Narrow Rectangular Cooling Channels (AR = 8:1 and 4:1) With Pin-Fins

The effect of rotation on smooth narrow rectangular channels and narrow rectangular channels with pin-fins is investigated in this study. Pin-fins are commonly used in the narrow sections within the trailing edge of the turbine blade; the pin-fins act as turbulators to enhance internal cooling while providing structural support in this narrow section of the blade. The rectangular channel is oriented at 150° with respect to the plane of rotation, and the focus of the study involves narrow channels with aspect ratios of 4:1 and 8:1. The enhancement due to both conducting (copper) pin-fins and non-conducting (plexi-glass) pins is investigated. Due to the varying aspect ratio of the channel, the height-to-diameter ratio (hp/Dp) of the pins varies from two, for an aspect ratio of 4:1, to unity, for an aspect ratio of 8:1. A staggered array of pins with uniform streamwise and spanwise spacing (xp/Dp = sp/Dp = 2.0) is studied. With this array, 42 pin-fins are used, giving a projected surface density of 3.5 pins/in2 (0.543 pins/cm2), for the leading or trailing surfaces. The range of flow parameters include Reynolds number (ReDh = 5000–20000), rotation number (Ro = 0.0–0.302), and inlet coolant-to-wall density ratio (Δρ/ρ = 0.12). Heat transfer in a stationary pin-fin channel can be enhanced up to 3.8 times that of a smooth channel. Rotation enhances the heat transferred from the pin-fin channels 1.5 times that of the stationary pin-fin channels. Overall, rotation enhances the heat transfer from all surfaces in both the smooth and pin-fin channels. Finally, as the rotation number increases, spanwise variation increases in all channels.

Blade Tip Leakage Flow and Heat Transfer With Pressure-Side Winglet

A numerical study has been conducted to explore the effect of a pressure-side winglet on the flow and heat transfer over a blade tip. Calculations are performed for both a flat tip and a squealer tip. The winglet is in the form of a flat extension, and is shaped in the axial chord direction to have the maximum thickness at the chord location where the pressure difference is the largest between the pressure and suction sides. For the flat tip, the pressure side winglet exhibits a significant reduction in the leakage flow strength and an associated reduction in the aerodynamic loss. The low heat transfer coefficient “sweet-spot” region is larger with the pressure-side winglet, and lower heat transfer coefficients are also observed along the pressure side of the blade. The winglet reduces the average heat transfer coefficient by about 7%. In the presence of a squealer, the role of the winglet decreases significantly, and only a 0.5% reduction in the pressure ratio is achieved with the winglet with virtually no reduction in the average heat transfer coefficient.

Effect of Elevated Free-Stream Turbulence on Transitional Heat Transfer Over Dual-Scaled Rough Surfaces

The surface roughness over a serviced turbine airfoil is usually multi-scaled with varying features that are difficult to be universally characterized. However, it was previously discovered in low freestream turbulence conditions that the height of larger roughness produces separation and vortex shedding, which trigger early transition and exert a dominant effect on flow pattern and heat transfer. The geometry of the roughness and smaller roughness scales played secondary roles. This paper extends the previous study to elevated turbulence conditions with free-stream turbulence intensity ranging from 0.2–6.0 percent. A simplified test condition on a flat plate is conducted with two discrete regions having different surface roughness. The leading edge roughness is comprised of a sandpaper strip or a single cylinder. The downstream surface is either smooth or covered with sandpaper of grit sizes ranging from 100 ∼ 40 (Ra = 37 ∼ 119 μm). Hot wire measurements are conducted in the boundary layer to study the flow structure. The results of this study verify that the height of the largest-scale roughness triggers an earlier transition even under elevated turbulence conditions and exerts a more dominant effect on flow and heat transfer than does the geometry of the roughness. Heat transfer enhancements of about 30 ∼ 40 percent over the entire test surface are observed. The vortical motion, generated by the backward facing step at the joint of two roughness regions, is believed to significantly increase momentum transport across the boundary layer and bring the elevated turbulence from the freestream towards the wall. No such long-lasting heat transfer phenomenon is observed in low FSTI cases even though vortex shedding also exists in the low turbulence cases. The heat transfer enhancement decreases, instead of increases, as the downstream roughness height increases.