Effects of Rotation on Heat Transfer for a Single Row Jet Impingement Array With Crossflow

Abstract

The effects of the Coriolis force are investigated in rotating internal serpentine coolant channels in turbine blades. For complex flow in rotating channels, detailed measurements of the heat transfer over the channel surface will greatly enhance the blade designers’ ability to predict hot spots so coolant may be distributed more effectively. The present study uses a novel transient liquid crystal technique to measure heat transfer in a rotating, radially outward channel with impingement jets. A simple case with a single row of constant pitch impinging jets with the crossflow effect is presented to demonstrate the novel liquid crystal technique and document the baseline effects for this type of geometry. The present study examines the differences in heat transfer distributions due to variations in jet Rotation number, Roj, and jet orifice-to-target surface distance (H/dj = 1,2, and 3). Colder air, below room temperature, is passed through a room temperature test section to cause a color change in the liquid crystals. This ensures that buoyancy is acting in a similar direction as in actual turbine blades where walls are hotter than the coolant fluid. Three parameters were controlled in the testing: jet coolant-to-wall temperature ratio, average jet Reynolds number, Rej, and average jet Rotation number, Roj. Results show, such as serpentine channels, the trailing side experiences an increase in heat transfer and the leading side experiences a decrease for all jet channel height-to-jet diameter ratios (H/dj). At a jet channel height-to-jet diameter ratio of 1, the crossflow from upstream spent jets greatly affects impingement heat transfer behavior in the channel. For H/dj = 2 and 3, the effects of the crossflow are not as prevalent as H/dj = 1: however, it still plays a detrimental role. The stationary case shows that heat transfer increases with higher H/dj values, so that H/dj = 3 has the highest results of the three examined. However, during rotation the H/dj = 2 case shows the highest heat transfer values for both the leading and trailing sides. The Coriolis force may have a considerable effect on the developing length of the potential core, affecting the resulting heat transfer on the target surface.