An Experimental Investigation of an Anti-Vortex Film Cooling Geometry Under Low and High Turbulence Conditions

Abstract

In an attempt to abate the detrimental jet vorticity and lift-off effects at high blowing ratios, the objective of the present study is to investigate the impact of an anti-vortex film cooling hole design on the film cooling effectiveness and the secondary flow field. Furthermore, the influence of low and high turbulence levels is studied with Tu ≈ .0.7% and ≈ 10%, respectively. For the experiments infrared thermography and particle image velocimetry (PIV) are employed. The experiments are conducted in a subsonic wind tunnel at a Reynolds number of 11000 based on the film cooling hole diameter. A flat plate model with an array of three cylindrical primary holes with secondary offshoots to each side represents the anti-vortex geometry. The cylindrical hole arrangement with a diameter of 17.5 mm is inclined at 30° in streamwise direction, with the anti-vortex holes branching off from the primary hole base in a 21° angle. Information from a flat plate with six cylindrical holes of 17.5 mm in diameter inclined at 30 in streamwise direction is used as baseline for comparison. The primary hole spacing was 4.75 and 3 hole diameters, respectively. Results are presented for blowing ratios of 1 and 2 with a constant density ratio of 1.1. The PIV measurements are taken in two planes perpendicular to the flow direction to record the secondary flow structures. The results of the infrared thermography show a strong decrease in film cooling effectiveness as high turbulence levels occur, especially for low blowing ratios. For higher blowing ratios low and high turbulence levels have similar effects on film cooling effectiveness. A significant improvement in film cooling performance is displayed by the anti-vortex design over the standard circular hole arrangement for every blowing ratio. The effectiveness results reveal an improved lateral spreading of the coolant with coolant jets staying attached throughout the series of experiments. By remaining inside the boundary layer, the effects of a high turbulent freestream on film cooling performance is less. The PIV results unveil information of a new vortex pair on either side of the primary hole kidney vortex. Especially at high blowing ratios the results indicate, that the anti-vortex hole design promotes the interaction between the vortical structures, explaining the increased lateral film effectiveness results. The factor which lends to the superior performance and credibility of the studied anti-vortex design is that the results are obtained for 35% less mass flow than the baseline.