Heat Transfer Performance Optimization of Rectangular Channel with Truncated-root Ribs

Abstract

Cooling designs inside the gas turbine blades of aircraft engines are aimed to solve a problem that has existed since the very beginning of the aerospace industry. Since the working environment of turbine blades is extremely harsh when the temperature can rise to 2000K, which is considered a huge challenge for any materials. Therefore, cooling designs such as rib turbulators have always been researched and optimized for better heat transfer enhancement in the cooling mechanism of turbine blades. In this study, a geometric optimization of the rib turbulators inside a rectangular channel was performed with the aim to maximize heat transfer performance. This study investigated the effect of four rib configurations on the heat transfer efficiency of the channel, which include square, truncated-root, convergent truncated-root, and divergent truncated-root rib. Thereby, a module of coupling Python and OpenFOAM was developed to automatically perform the optimization of truncated-root rib design at Reynolds number of 37,000 with design variables are the upstream and downstream height with Powell optimization method. The aim is to figure out the point where the maximum heat transfer performance of the channel is achieved. The study presented in a specific, productive, and accurate way the factors that directly and indirectly affect the heat transfer performance of the channel, thereby giving the optimal results that the channel has the highest heat transfer performance of the presented designs. The results show that the highest heat transfer performance of the optimized design is 12.45% higher than the standard square ribs case.