This study is concerned with the film cooling effectiveness of the flow issuing from the gap between the NGV and the transition duct on the NGV endwall, i.e. the purge slot. Different slot widths, positions and injection angles were examined in order to represent changes due to thermal expansion as well as design modifications. Apart from these geometric variations, different blowing ratios and density ratios were realized to investigate the effects of the interaction between secondary flow and film cooling effectiveness. The experimental tests were performed in a linear scale-1 cascade equipped with four highly loaded turbine vanes. The mainstream flow parameters were, with a Reynolds number of 300,000 and a Mach number (outlet) of 0.6, set to meet real engine conditions. The adiabatic film cooling effectiveness was determined by using the Pressure Sensitive Paint technique. In this context, nitrogen and carbon dioxide were used as tracer gases realizing two different density ratios DR = 1.0 and 1.6. The investigation was conducted for a broad range of blowing ratios with 0.25 < BR < 1.50. In combination with 10 geometry variations and the aforementioned blowing and density ratio variations 100 single operating points were investigated. For a better understanding of the coolant distribution, the secondary flows on the endwall were visualized by oil dye. The results provide a better insight into various parametric effects of gap variations on turbine vane endwall film cooling performance -- notably under realistic engine conditions.

The internal cooling passages of gas turbine blades mostly have varying aspect ratios from one passage to another. However, there are limited data available in the open literature that used a reduced cross section and aspect ratio (AR), after the tip turn. Therefore, the current study presents heat transfer and pressure drop of three different α = 45 deg profiled rib orientations, typical parallel (usual), reversed parallel (unusual), and crisscross patterns in a rotating two-pass rectangular channel with AR = 4:1 and 2:1 in the first radially outward flow and second radially inward flow passages, respectively. For each rib orientation, regional averaged heat transfer results are obtained for both the flow passages with the Reynolds number ranging from 10,000 to 70,000 for the first passage and 16,000 to 114,000 for the second passage with a rotational speed range of 0–400 rpm. This results in the highest rotation number of 0.39 and 0.16 for the first and second passage respectively. The effects of rib orientation, aspect ratio variation, 180-deg tip turn, and rotation number on the heat transfer and pressure drop will be addressed. According to the results, for usual, unusual and crisscross rib patterns, increasing rotation number causes the heat transfer to decrease on the leading surface and increase on the trailing surface for the first passage and vice versa for the second passage. The overall heat transfer enhancement of the usual and unusual rib patterns is higher than the crisscross one. In terms of the pressure losses, the crisscross rib pattern has the lowest and the usual rib pattern has the highest-pressure loss coefficients. When pressure loss and heat transfer enhancement are both taken into account together, the crisscross or unusual rib pattern might be an option to use in the internal cooling method. Therefore, the results can be useful for the turbine blade internal cooling design and heat transfer analysis.

In the near future, when designing and using Double Wall Airfoils, which will be manufactured by 3D printers, the positional relationship between the impingement cooling nozzle and the heat transfer enhancement ribs on the target plate naturally becomes more accurate. Taking these circumstances into account, an experimental study was conducted to enhance the heat transfer of the wall jet region of a round impingement jet cooling system. This was done by installing circular ribs or vortex generators (VGs) in the impingement cooling wall jet region. The local heat transfer coefficient was measured using the naphthalene sublimation method, which utilizes the analogy between heat and mass transfer. As a result, it was clarified that, within the ranges of geometries and Reynolds numbers at which the experiments were conducted, it is possible to improve the averaged Nusselt number Nu up to 21% for circular ribs and up to 51% for VGs.

The thermal performance of two V-type rib configurations is measured in a rotating, two-pass cooling channel. The coolant travels radially outward in the rectangular first pass (aspect ratio (AR—channel width:height) = 4:1) and radially inward in the second pass (AR = 2:1). Both the passages are oriented 90 deg to the direction of rotation. The leading surface (LS) and trailing surface (TS) of the channel are roughened with V-type ribs. The first V-shaped configuration has a narrow gap at the apex of the V. The configuration is modified by off-setting one leg of the V to create a staggered discrete, V-shaped configuration. The ribs are oriented 45 deg relative to the streamwise coolant direction. The heat transfer enhancement and frictional losses are measured with varying Reynolds and rotation numbers. The Reynolds number varies from 10,000 to 45,000 in the AR = 4:1 first pass; this corresponds to 16,000 to 73,500 in the AR = 2:1 second pass. The maximum rotation numbers are 0.39 and 0.16 in the first and second passes, respectively. The heat transfer enhancement on both the leading and trailing surfaces of the first pass of the 45 deg V-shaped channel is slightly reduced with rotation. In the second pass, the heat transfer increases on the leading surface, while it decreases on the trailing surface. The 45 deg staggered, discrete V-shaped ribs provide increased heat transfer and thermal performance compared to the traditional V-shaped and standard, 45 deg angled rib turbulators.

A realistic internal cooling system of a turbine blade includes both ribs and pin-fins inside the passages to enhance the heat transfer. However, the majority studies in the open literature assessing the heat transfer characteristics on a simplified cooling model by examining ribbed-roughen passages and pin-finned passage separately. This work presents the high-resolution heat transfer coefficients of a scaled realistic turbine blade internal cooling design. The cooling system, using a 3D-printed plastic material, consists of an S-shaped inlet, four serpentine passages (three U-bends) of variable aspect ratio, and the trailing edge ejection. Angled ribs are implemented inside the passages and the elongated fins and pins are used near the trailing edge. Two dust holes are realized on the blade tip, the injections are individually controlled to reflect the realistic coolant flowrate variation inside the entire internal cooling system. The tests are conducted at two Reynolds number, 45,000 and 60,000 based on the hydraulic diameter of the inlet passage. Transient heat transfer technique using thermochromic liquid crystal is applied to obtain the detailed heat transfer characteristic inside the cooling channel. The local and averaged Nusselt numbers are also compared with the correlations in the open literature. This paper provides gas turbine designers the difference of local heat transfer distributions between the realistic and simplified internal cooling designs.

This study features a rotating, blade-shaped, two-pass cooling channel with a variable aspect ratio (AR). Internal cooling passages of modern gas turbine blades closely follow the shape and contour of the airfoils. Therefore, the cross section and the orientation with respect to rotation varies for each cooling channel. The effect of passage orientation on the heat transfer and pressure loss is investigated by comparing to a planar channel design with a similar geometry. Following the blade cross section, the first pass of the serpentine channel is angled at 50 deg from the direction of rotation while the second pass has an orientation angle of 105 deg. The coolant flows radially outward in the first passage with an AR = 4:1. After a 180-deg tip turn, the coolant travels radially inward into the second passage with AR = 2:1. The copper plate method is applied to obtain the regionally averaged heat transfer coefficients on all the interior walls of the cooling channel. In addition to the smooth surface case, 45 deg angled ribs with a profiled cross section are also placed on the leading and trailing surfaces in both the passages. The ribs are placed such that P/e = 10 and e/H = 0.16. The Reynolds number varies from 10,000 to 45,000 in the first passage and 16,000 to 73,000 in the second passage. The rotational speed ranges from 0 to 400 rpm, which corresponds to maximum rotation numbers of 0.38 and 0.15 in the first and second passes, respectively. The blade-shaped feature affects the heat transfer and pressure loss in the cooling channels. In the second passage, the heat transfer on the outer wall and trailing surface is higher than the inner wall and leading surface due to flow impingement and the swirling motion induced by the blade-shaped tip turn. The rotational effect on the heat transfer and pressure loss is lower in the blade-shaped design than the planar design due to the feature of angled rotation. The tip wall heat transfer is significantly enhanced by rotation in this study. The overall heat transfer and pressure loss in this study is higher than the planar geometry due to the blade-shaped feature. The heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics from this study provide important information for the gas turbine blade internal cooling designs.