Endwall Geometry Research Articles

A three-dimensional inverse method based on moving no-slip boundary for profiled end wall design

How to utilize existing flow control mechanisms to make profiled end wall design more flexible, efficient, and physical is a meaningful challenge. This study presents a three-dimensional inverse method for profiled end wall design to achieve the application of flow control mechanisms. The predetermined pressure distribution on the end wall is reached by modifying the end wall geometry during flow field calculation. A motion velocity model is derived from the normal momentum equation of the moving no-slip boundary to modify the end wall geometry. A Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver based on the Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure Linked Equations (SIMPLE) algorithm is adopted to simulate the flow field. Based on the mechanism understanding obtained through numerical optimization results, this study adopts the inverse method to redesign an optimized end wall in a compressor cascade. The results indicate that the redesigned end wall exhibits better loss reduction, reducing the overall total pressure loss by 5.5%, whereas the optimized end wall reduces it by 3%. The inverse method allows the imposition of desired influences on the end wall flow without constructing a database, making it highly flexible, efficient, and physical.

Static pressure redistribution mechanism of non-axisymmetric endwall based on radial equilibrium

Non-axisymmetric endwall contouring has been proved to be an effective flow control technique in turbomachinery. Several different flow control mechanisms and qualitative design strategies have been proposed. The endwall contouring mechanism based on the flow governing equations is significant for exploring the quantitative design strategies of the non-axisymmetric endwall contouring. In this paper, the static pressure redistribution mechanism of endwall contouring was explained based on the radial equilibrium equation. A quantified expression of the static pressure redistribution mechanism was proposed. Compressor cascades were simulated using an experimentally validated numerical method to validate the static pressure redistribution mechanism. A geometric parameter named meridional curvature (Cme) is defined to quantify the concave and convex features of the endwall. Results indicate that the contoured endwall changes the streamline curvature, inducing a centrifugal acceleration. Consequently, the radial pressure gradient is reformed to maintain the radial equilibrium. The convex endwall represented by positive Cme increases the radial pressure gradient, decreasing the endwall static pressure, while the concave endwall represented by negative Cme increases the endwall static pressure. The Cme helps to establish the quantified relation between the change in the endwall radial pressure gradient and the endwall geometry. Besides, there is a great correlation between the distributions of the Cme and the change in the endwall static pressure. It can be concluded that the parameter Cme can be considered as a significant parameter to parameterize the endwall surface and to explore the quantitative design strategies of the non-axisymmetric endwall contouring.

A numerical investigation of inter-carriage gap configurations on the aerodynamic performance of a wind-tunnel train model

The influence of different inter-carriage gap configurations, including end wall geometries (3 cases) and gap spacings (0, 5, 8, 10, 15, 20, and 30 mm), on the aerodynamic characteristics of a wind-tunnel train was investigated. The shear stress transport (SST) k- ω turbulence model was employed to determine the airflow features of the train at Re = 2.25 × 106. For validation, the numerical drag force and pressure distributions on the streamlined heads were compared with the experimental benchmark of wind tunnel experiment. The numerical data show that substantial variations in the flow fields, pressure distributions and aerodynamic forces are observed between the trains with and without gap spacings, no matter which configuration is employed. As the gap spacing increases, the airflow along train body rushes into the gap easily, causing the formation of vortices at the gap between the internal and external windshields. The decreasing restriction of flow in the gap also contributes to the pressure differences on the end walls. With the increase of gap spacings, the pressure on both of the first and second inter-carriage gaps is decreased, and it on the first one is a little higher than that on the second at each gap spacing. The end wall geometry affects the flow structures around the train, especially in the region below half-height of the train. This results in a difference in the boundary layer thicknesses and drag contribution in all cases. The discrepancy of end wall geometry causes a substantial variation in the aerodynamic drag between different cases. As gap spacing increases, the aerodynamic drag of the head car decreases, while those of the middle and rear cars increase significantly. When the three cases are compared, the discrepancy of the total aerodynamic drag of Case 1 is the smallest when compared to the base case with a minimum of 0.03% at 10 mm gap spacing and followed by 0.05% at 8 mm. Therefore, to determine the aerodynamic forces for high-speed trains with fully enclosed inter-carriage configuration in wind tunnel test, having a high comparative value as the actual trains, the end wall geometry in Case 1 is recommended with a gap spacing of 10 mm or 8 mm.

The Investigation of a New End Wall Contouring Method for Axial Compressors

To further control corner separation in high-load axial compressors, this study proposes a new end wall contouring method. It defines multiple standard “surface units” with particular flow control effects and then applies a linear combination, finally forming the geometry of the end wall surface. Based on design experiences, three different end wall contouring cases are generated and calculated on a high-load compressor cascade in the first step. The results show that the new method achieves a clear and intuitive influence on the end wall geometry, with a proper number of design variables, and can effectively combine variables with the development of secondary flow. In the second step, the new method was applied to an axial compressor, with an improvement in the design variables. Although the end wall contouring only improved the efficiency of the compressor stage on the right part of its operating map, the experimental results of the flow field show that the corner separation and end wall loss are suppressed at multiple inflow conditions. The results thus verified the practical effect of the newly developed end wall contouring method.

Numerical Investigation into a New Method of Non-Axisymmetric End Wall Contouring for Axial Compressors

To deal with corner separation in high-load axial compressors, this paper proposes a new end wall contouring method aimed at controlling the end wall secondary flow in more than one local area, generating a geometry with fewer control variables that is applicable for multiple working conditions. The new method defines more than one surface unit function, with different effects on end wall secondary flow. Then, the geometry of these surface unit functions will be superposed to generate the end wall contouring, to combine their flow control effects. After applying the new method to a bi-objective optimization design process, with 15 design variables aimed at minimizing the loss of cascade at 0° and 4° incidence, the optimal design reduces the total pressure loss of the high-load cascade by 5% under the former incidence and by 3% under the latter. The most effective design rule is constructing an end wall surface with the rising suction side and sinking pressure side in the blade channel, while locally raising the SS corner with a gentle upstream slope. According to the analysis, the design variables of the new method show an intuitive influence on the variation of end wall geometry and the movement of secondary flow. The corner separation has been effectively suppressed, with fewer control variables than before. It, thus, indicates the advantage of the newly developed end wall contouring method compared with previous studies.

Effect of profiled endwall on heat transfer under different turbulence intensitie

The efficiency of the gas turbine engine has been enhanced by improving aerodynamic performance and reducing heat load through control of secondary vortices according to the first-stage vane endwall configurations. In this study, the heat transfer features of flat and profiled endwalls were investigated under different turbulence intensities. Experiments were conducted under a fixed turbine-vane exit Reynolds number of 300,000 and Mach number of 0.15 on both geometries. The test specimen was scaled up 3.23 times based on the actual gas turbine vane geometry. The profiled endwall configuration was optimized considering the combustor outlet/exit geometry. Five control points were set for the vane geometry, and the minimum aerodynamic loss at the vane exit plane was determined as an objective function. As the turbulence intensity is increased, the heat transfer is increased on both endwall geometries. However, the intensity of the horseshoe vortex was significantly reduced with the profiled endwall compared with the flat endwall. Consequently, the area-averaged Sherwood number on the profiled endwall was about 25.8% (under the low turbulence intensity) and 19% (under the high turbulence intensity) lower than those of a flat endwall case, respectively.

Effective strategy of non-axisymmetric endwall contouring in a linear compressor cascade

The corner separation and the related secondary flow have great impact on the compressor performance, and non-axisymmetric endwall contouring is proved effective in improving compressor efficiency. The aim of the study is to improve the compressor performance by two local endwall contouring strategies at the design and off-design conditions. The endwall is parameterized and the Bezier curve is used to loft the endwall surface. The design of the contoured endwall is based on a multi-point optimization method to minimize the aerodynamic pressure loss. In order to identify the influence of the contoured endwall, a detailed flow analysis is conducted on four effective contoured endwall designs. The selected endwall geometries exhibit great control ability on the corner separation and significantly reduce the pressure loss at the two operating conditions. The directional concave near the leading edge can induce strong streamwise pressure gradient and accelerate the endwall flow, greatly reducing the cross-passage pressure gradient. The convex structures near the concave edge and at the outlet can block the cross-flow and prevent the interaction between the cross-flow and the suction corner flow. The benefit of the contoured endwall is mainly due to the re-distributed endwall static pressure and blocking of the cross-flow movement. In terms of the control effect, the shape of the concave also matters and better control effect is observed on the deep and wide concave. The flow will be guided by the concave, and the best suppression on corner separation is observed on the concave which follows the suction side. The results also indicate that the relief of the hub corner separation slightly increases the shroud pressure loss.

Aerodynamic performance of profiled endwalls with upstream slot purge flow in a linear turbine cascade having pressure side separation

In aeroengines, purge flow directly fed from the compressor (which bypasses the combustor) is introduced through the disk space between blade rows to prevent the hot ingress. Higher quantity of purge gas fed through the wheel space can provide additional thermal protection to the passage endwall and blade surfaces. However, the interaction of purge flow with the mainstream flow leads to higher secondary losses. Secondary losses inside a turbine blade passage can be reduced effectively by endwall contouring. This paper presents computational investigation on the influence of non-axisymmetric endwall contouring over endwall secondary flow modification in the presence of purge flow with the pressure side bubble (PSB). The experimental analysis was conducted for the base case without purge and base case with purge (BCP) configurations having flat endwalls. The total pressure loss coefficient and exit yaw angle deviation were measured with the help of a five-hole pressure probe. Static pressure distribution over the blade midspan was obtained by 16 channel Scanivalve. Aerodynamic performances of three different profiled endwalls are numerically analyzed and are compared against the BCP configuration. The effects of different contoured endwall geometries on endwall static pressure distribution and secondary kinetic energy were also discussed. Analysis shows that in the first contoured endwall configuration (EC1), the formation of stagnation zones at a contour valley close to the suction surface causes the exit total pressure loss coefficient to increase. The shifting of the contour valley near to the pressure surface (EC2 configuration) has resulted in local acceleration of the diverted pressure side leg of the horseshoe vortex over the hump toward the end of the passage. In the third configuration (EC3 configuration), reduced valley depth and optimum hump height have effectively redistributed the endwall pitchwise pressure gradient. The increased static pressure coefficient at the endwall near to the pressure surface has eliminated the PSB formation. In addition, computational results of unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes simulations are obtained for analyzing transient behavior of PSB, with more emphasis on its migration on the pressure surface and transport across the blade passage. The additional work done by the mainstream fluid to transport the low momentum PSB fluid has caused higher aerodynamic penalty at the blade exit region. In this viewpoint, the implementation of contoured endwalls has shown beneficial effects by eliminating the PSB and related secondary vortices. At 27% of axial chord downstream of the blade trailing edge, a 4.1% reduction in the total pressure loss coefficient was achieved with endwall contouring.

Probabilistic Finite Element Analysis of Cooled High-Pressure Turbine Blades—Part A: Holistic Description of Manufacturing Variability

Abstract Modern high-pressure turbine (HPT) blade design stands out due to its high complexity comprising three-dimensional blade features, multipassage cooling system (MPCS), and film cooling to allow for progressive thermodynamic process parameters. During the last decade, probabilistic design approaches have become increasingly important in turbomachinery to incorporate uncertainties such as geometric variations caused by manufacturing scatter and deterioration. Within this scope, the first part of this two-part article introduces parametric models for cooled turbine blades that enable probabilistic finite element (FE) analysis taking geometric variability into account to aim at sensitivity and robustness evaluation. The statistical database is represented by a population of more than 400 blades whose external geometry is captured by optical measurement techniques and 34 blades that are digitized by computed tomography (CT) to record the internal geometry and the associated variability, respectively. Based on these data, parametric models for airfoil, profiled endwall (PEW), wedge surface (WSF), and MPCS are presented. The parametric airfoil model that is based on the traditional profile theory is briefly described. In this regard, a methodology is presented that enables to adapt this airfoil model to a given population of blades by means of Monte Carlo-based optimization. The endwall variability of hub and shroud are parametrized by radial offsets that are applied to the respective median endwall geometry. WSFs are analytically represented by planes. Variations of the MPCS are quantified based on the radial distribution of cooling passage centroids. Thus, an individual MPCS can be replicated by applying adapted displacement functions to the core passage centroids. For each feature that is considered within this study, the accuracy of the parametric model is discussed with respect to the variability that is present in the investigated blade population and the measurement uncertainty. Within the scope of the second part of this article, the parametric models are used for a comprehensive statistical analysis to reveal the parameter correlation structure and probability density functions (PDFs). This is required for the subsequent probabilistic finite element analysis involving real geometry effects.

Thermal power plant upgrade via a rotating detonation combustor and retrofitted turbine with optimized endwalls

In the past decade, pressure gain combustion research has promised over 10 percentage-points of increase in power plant thermal efficiency. Alas, to realize such potential gain, one must effectively couple the turbine with the detonation combustor, whose exhaust conditions differ substantially from current state of the art gas turbines. This paper presents a modeling approach that enables a superior thermodynamic cycle with a rotating detonation combustor and a retrofitted gas turbine by including a diffuser downstream of the combustor and by contouring the turbine endwall, while preserving the airfoil geometry. We propose a multi-step optimization strategy, parametrizing the endwall geometry with a few control points, without altering the airfoil geometry, and with the stage turbine efficiency as objective function. In a first step the turbine performance is assessed with steady inlet conditions by solving the steady three-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations. In a second step, the inlet conditions are unsteady, as predicted from a detonation combustor and a diffuser, and three-dimensional full unsteady simulations are performed with an unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes solver. By altering the vane endwall, the steady optimization yielded an efficiency increase of 12% relative to the baseline, while the unsteady optimization resulted in 21% increase compared to the datum turbine. Finally, a full engine analysis demonstrated the superiority of pressure gain combustion which included a realistic thermodynamic cycle of the combustor, the diffuser and the optimized turbine components.

Non-Axisymmetric Shroud Profiled Endwall Optimization of an Embedded Stator and Experimental Investigation

Turbomachinery has been widely used in the energy systems as an energy conversion device, such as gas turbine and aero-engine. The losses in the turbomachinery, especially in the multi-stage conditions, restrict the energy conversion efficiency and corresponding fuel economy. Previous studies show that non-axisymmetric endwall could be used to decrease the losses in compressors, but the real effects in the rig tests are usually inconsistent with the numerical simulation. In this paper, a shroud profiled endwall optimization method with the strategy of local loss as the objective function is proposed, aiming at reducing the tip loss of an embedded stator under the operating point. The traditional total loss coefficient and four local loss functions are studied to investigate how the objective functions influence the optimization results. Three optimized endwall geometries are tested in the embedded test platform. It showed that the strategy of loss coefficient above 90% span as the objective function was best at decreasing the stator loss in the tip region as well as the whole span. Under this strategy, the loss above 90% span was suppressed by 48.17% and the loss of the whole span decreased 9.27%, which proved the PEW optimization design method with the strategy of local loss as the objective function is potential.

A Geometry Generation Framework for Contoured Endwalls

Abstract The mainstream, or primary, flow in a gas turbine annulus is characteristically two-dimensional over the midspan region of the blading, where the radial flow is almost negligible. Contrastingly, the flow in the endwall and tip regions of the blading is highly three-dimensional (3D), characterized by boundary layer effects, secondary flow features, and interaction with cooling flows. Engine designers employ geometric contouring of the endwall region in order to reduce secondary flow effects and subsequently minimize their contribution to aerodynamic loss. Such is the geometric variation of vane and blade profiles—which has become a proprietary art form—the specification of an effective endwall geometry is equally unique to each blade row. Endwall design methods, which are often directly coupled to aerodynamic optimizers, are widely developed to assist with the generation of contoured surfaces. Most of these construction methods are limited to the blade row under investigation, while few demonstrate the controllability required to offer a universal platform for endwall design. This paper presents a geometry generation framework (GGF) for the generation of contoured endwalls. The framework employs an adaptable meshing strategy, capable of being applied to any vane or blade, and a versatile function-based approach to defining the endwall shape. The flexibility of this novel approach is demonstrated by recreating a selection of endwalls from the literature, which were selected for their wide range of contouring approaches.

The Effect of Aspect Ratio on Compressor Performance

Abstract The optimum aspect ratio at which maximum efficiency occurs is relatively low, typically between 1 and 1.5. At these aspect ratios, inaccuracies inherently exist in the decomposition of the flow field into freestream and endwall components due to the absence of a discernible freestream. In this paper, a unique approach is taken: a “linear repeating stage” concept is used in conjunction with a novel way of defining the freestream flow. Through this approach, physically accurate decomposition of the flow field for aspect ratios as low as ∼0.5 can be achieved. This ability to accurately decompose the flow leads to several key findings. First, the endwall flow is found to be dependent on static pressure rise coefficient and endwall geometry, but independent of the aspect ratio. Second, the commonly accepted relationship that endwall loss coefficient varies inversely with the aspect ratio is shown to be physically inaccurate. Instead, a new term, which the authors refer to as the “effective aspect ratio,” should replace the term “aspect ratio.” Moreover, not doing so can result in efficiency errors of ∼0.6% at low aspect ratios. Finally, there exists a low aspect ratio limit below which the two endwall flows interact causing a large separation to occur along the span. From these findings, a low-order model is developed to model the effect of varying aspect ratio on compressor performance. The last section of the paper uses this low-order model and a simple analytical model to show that to a first order, the optimum aspect ratio is just a function of the loss generated by the endwalls at zero clearance and the rate of change in profile loss due to blade thickness. This means that once the endwall configuration has been selected, i.e., cantilever or shroud, the blade thickness sets the optimum aspect ratio.

Comprehensive Geometric Description of Manufacturing Scatter of High-Pressure Turbine Nozzle Guide Vanes for Probabilistic CFD Analysis

The increasing demands on jet engines require progressive thermodynamic process parameters, which typically lead to higher aerothermal loadings and accordingly to designs with high complexity. State-of-the-art high-pressure turbine (HPT) nozzle guide vane (NGV) design involves vane profiles with three-dimensional features including a high amount of film cooling and profiled endwalls (PEWs). Typically, the specific mass flow, also called capacity, which governs the engine's operation, is set by the HPT NGV. Hence, geometric variations due to manufacturing scatter of the HPT NGV's passage can affect relevant aerodynamic quantities and the entire engine behavior. Within the traditional deterministic design approach, the influences of those geometric variations are covered by conservative assumptions and engineering experience. This paper addresses the consideration of variability due to the manufacturing of HPT NGVs through probabilistic CFD investigations. To establish a statistical database, 80 HPT NGVs are digitized with a high precision optical 3D scanning system to record the outer geometry. The vane profiles are parametrized by a section-based approach. For this purpose, traditional profile theory is combined with a novel method that enables the description of NGV profile variability taking the particular leading edge (LE) shape into account. Furthermore, the geometric variability of PEWs is incorporated by means of principle component analysis (PCA). On this basis, a probabilistic system assessment including a sensitivity analysis in terms of capacity and total pressure loss coefficient is realized. Sampling-based methods are applied to conduct a variety of 3D CFD simulations for a typical population of profile and endwall geometries. This probabilistic investigation using realistic input parameter distributions and correlations contributes to a robust NGV design in terms of relevant aerodynamic quantities.

Thermal Management of a Transonic Turbine: Leakage Flow and Endwall Contouring Effects

Comparison of heat transfer performance of a nonaxisymmetric contoured endwall to a planar baseline endwall in the presence of leakage flow through a stator-rotor rim seal interface is reported in this paper. Heat transfer experiments were performed on a high turning turbine airfoil passage at a transonic exit Mach number at different leakages to mainstream mass flow ratios. The contoured endwall geometry was optimized for secondary flow aerodynamic losses. Transient infrared thermography was used to measure the endwall surface temperature. Simultaneous calculation of the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and adiabatic cooling effectiveness (ETA) was performed assuming one-dimensional semi-infinite transient conduction. Results show nominal reduction in the area-averaged HTC but significantly higher coolant film coverage using the contoured endwall compared to baseline endwall at different levels of coolant MFR. Interestingly, significant reduction in the area-averaged heat transfer coefficient was observed for cases without coolant flow in the presence of a purge slot when compared with a solid cascade without any cooling features. The backward-facing step seemed to have a first-order impact on endwall heat transfer coefficient distribution compared to coolant blowing cases. The contoured endwall also showed major improvement in net heat flux reduction (combining the effects of the HTC and ETA) especially near the suction side of the platform.

The sensitivity of 3D separations in multi-stage compressors

Abstract One of the most important questions facing a compressor designer is how accurately their computational code predicts the size of 3D corner separations. This is because the size of the 3D corner separation sets the compressors off-design performance and blockage and therefore it’s operating range. The aim of this paper is to determine how two types of modelling fidelities limit the accuracy of the prediction of 3D corner separations. The first modelling fidelity is the accuracy with which the flow within a blade passage is modelled (endwall geometry modelling, shroud modelling and the boundary layer transition modelling). The second modelling fidelity is the accuracy of modelling in the multi-blade row environment (multi-stage repeating stage boundary layer modelling and the local skew endwall boundary layer modelling). The first part of the paper shows that when the compressor studied has its original “design intent” geometry (defined as 1% shroud clearance and a hydraulically smooth blade surface) the size of the 3D corner separation is relatively insensitive to the modelling fidelities within the blade row but is highly sensitive to modelling fidelity in the multi-blade row environment. This explains the inability of 3D CFD to predict multistage matching. The second part of the paper shows that when the compressor has its “end of life” geometry (defined as 3% shroud clearance and surface roughness measured from an engine blade at 4,000 cycles) the size of the 3D corner separation suddenly becomes highly sensitivity to modelling fidelities within an individual blade row. This finding is of significant importance to designers because it shows that current computational codes are not able to predict end of life performance.

Numerical Investigation of Secondary Flow and Loss Development in a Low-Pressure Turbine Cascade with Divergent Endwalls

Secondary flow and loss development in the T106Div-EIZ low-pressure turbine cascade are investigated utilizing (U)RANS simulations in cases with and without periodically incoming wakes at M a 2 t h = 0 . 59 and R e 2 t h = 2 × 10 5 . The predictions are compared to experimental data presented by Kirik and Niehuis (2015). The axial mid-span and overall loss development in the T106Div-EIZ and the T106A-EIZ in the steady case are analyzed regarding the effects caused by the different loading distributions and by the divergent endwall geometry. Furthermore, the entropy generation is analyzed in the T106Div-EIZ with periodically incoming wakes in several axial positions of interest and compared to the undisturbed steady case. It is found that in the front-loaded T106Div-EIZ, the incoming wakes cause a premature endwall loss production in the front part of the passage, resulting in a lower intensity of the secondary flow downstream of the passage and a redistribution of the loss generation components.

Simulation of Multistage Compressor at Off-Design Conditions

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been widely used for compressor design, yet the prediction of performance and stage matching for multistage, high-speed machines remains challenging. This paper presents the authors' effort to improve the reliability of CFD in multistage compressor simulations. The endwall features (e.g., blade filet and shape of the platform edge) are meshed with minimal approximations. Turbulence models with linear and nonlinear eddy viscosity models are assessed. The nonlinear eddy viscosity model predicts a higher production of turbulent kinetic energy in the passages, especially close to the endwall region. This results in a more accurate prediction of the choked mass flow and the shape of total pressure profiles close to the hub. The nonlinear viscosity model generally shows an improvement on its linear counterparts based on the comparisons with the rig data. For geometrical details, truncated filet leads to thicker boundary layer on the filet and reduced mass flow and efficiency. Shroud cavities are found to be essential to predict the right blockage and the flow details close to the hub. At the part speed, the computations without the shroud cavities fail to predict the major flow features in the passage, and this leads to inaccurate predictions of mass flow and shapes of the compressor characteristic. The paper demonstrates that an accurate representation of the endwall geometry and an effective turbulence model, together with a good quality and sufficiently refined grid, result in a credible prediction of compressor matching and performance with steady-state mixing planes.

Heat Transfer Performance of a Transonic Turbine Blade Passage in the Presence of Leakage Flow Through Upstream Slot and Mateface Gap With Endwall Contouring

Comparison of heat transfer performance of a nonaxisymmetric contoured endwall to a planar baseline endwall in the presence of leakage flow through stator–rotor rim seal interface and mateface gap is reported in this paper. Heat transfer experiments were performed on a high turning turbine airfoil passage at Virginia Tech's transonic blow down cascade facility under design conditions for two leakage flow configurations—(1) mateface blowing only, (2) simultaneous coolant injection from the upstream slot and mateface gap. Coolant to mainstream mass flow ratios (MFRs) were 0.35% for mateface blowing only, whereas for combination blowing, a 1.0% MFR was chosen from upstream slot and 0.35% MFR from mateface. A common source of coolant supply to the upstream slot and mateface plenum made sure the coolant temperatures were identical at both upstream slot and mateface gap at the injection location. The contoured endwall geometry was generated to minimize secondary aerodynamic losses. Transient infrared thermography technique was used to measure endwall surface temperature and a linear regression method was developed for simultaneous calculation of heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and adiabatic cooling effectiveness, assuming a one-dimensional (1D) semi-infinite transient conduction. Results indicate reduction in local hot spot regions near suction side as well as area averaged HTC using the contoured endwall compared to baseline endwall for all coolant blowing cases. Contoured geometry also shows better coolant coverage further along the passage. Detailed interpretation of the heat transfer results along with near endwall flow physics has also been discussed.

Experimental and Computational Study of the Effect of Momentum-Flux Ratio on High-Pressure Nozzle Guide Vane Endwall Cooling Systems

High-pressure (HP) nozzle guide vane (NGV) endwalls are often characterized by highly three-dimensional (3D) flows. The flow structure depends on the incoming boundary layer state (inlet total pressure profile) and the (static) pressure gradients within the vane passage. In many engine applications, this can lead to strong secondary flows. The prediction and design of optimized endwall film cooling systems is therefore challenging and is a topic of current research interest. A detailed experimental investigation of the film effectiveness distribution on an engine-realistic endwall geometry is presented in this paper. The film cooling system was a fairly conventional axisymmetric double-row configuration. The study was performed on a large-scale, low-speed wind tunnel using infrared (IR) thermography. Adiabatic film effectiveness distributions were measured using IR cameras, and tests were performed across a wide range of coolant-to-mainstream momentum-flux and mass flow ratios (MFRs). Complex interactions between coolant film and vane secondary flows are presented and discussed. A particular feature of interest is the suppression of secondary flows (and associated improved adiabatic film effectiveness) beyond a critical momentum flux ratio. Jet liftoff effects are also observed and discussed in the context of sensitivity to local momentum flux ratio. Full coverage experimental results are also compared to 3D, steady-state computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. This paper provides insights into the effects of momentum flux ratio in establishing similarity between cascade conditions and engine conditions and gives design guidelines for engine designers in relation to minimum endwall cooling momentum flux requirements to suppress endwall secondary flows.