Unsteady Heat Transfer Measurements on a Rotating Gas Turbine Blade

Abstract

Heat transfer measurements made on the rotor blade of a full stage model turbine operating at engine representative conditions are presented. The measurement technique of mounting thin film heat transfer gauges on enamel coated turbine blades enables the heat transfer rate to be measured across a frequency range of d.c. to 100kHz. The output is amplified using electronic circuits housed inside the shaft before transmission through a slipring and digital signal processing routines are used to calculate the heat transfer rate. A calibration experiment in which the gauge is pulsed with a laser beam is described in detail. The results are compared with data from a previous two-dimensional simulation of wake-passing flow on the midheight section of the same blade. The mean heat transfer rate recorded in the two experiments shows reasonable agreement. Fluctuations in the unsteady heat transfer signal at NGV passing frequency are seen at the same locations in data from both experiments, however the magnitude of the fluctuations seen on the rotor are much smaller than those recorded in the two-dimensional simulation. Frequency spectra and correlation analysis of heat transfer traces recorded on the rotor are also presented.