Effect of Hot Streak on Aerothermal Performance of High Pressure Turbine Guide Vane under Different Swirl Intensities

Abstract

In advanced civil aero-engine, the gas exiting combustor typically features hot streak (HS) and swirl that affect the aerothermal performances of the high pressure (HP) nozzle guide vane (NGV). The purpose of this paper is to study the influences of HS on HP NGV aerothermal behaviors under swirl with various intensities. The numerical investigations were conducted on the first NGV of GE-E3 HP turbine. Four swirl intensities (|SN| = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75) and two swirl orientations (positive and negative) were considered. The result indicates that the relative strengths between the swirl and its induced radial pressure gradient dominate the flow patterns on vane surfaces. Thus, the diverse streamlines distributions appear on the surfaces and the dominated factor on each surface does not vary with swirl intensity. The swirl redistributes the cold and hot fluid and thus generates the relatively hot oblique strip and cold region at the upstream of vane. The heat load on the vane that is not directly impinged by HS is dictated by the radial migration of the fluids originating from the regions aforementioned at |SN| = 0.25 and 0.50. However, at |SN| = 0.75, the transverse movement of HS due to the intense swirl causes additional thermal load. The heat load on the vane that faces HS is mainly determined by the radial migration of HS. The swirl alters the heat transfer distribution on vane surfaces remarkably. With positive swirl, the heat transfer coefficients at the lower span of suction side and pressure side are enhanced and weakened respectively. As expected, the opposite trends are observed in the negative swirl case. Swirl also affects boundary layer transition, and then affecting heat transfer. Positive and negative swirls both advance the transition on the suction side of vane directly impinged by the swirl, and with the increase of swirl intensity, transition onset shifts toward upstream.