Film-cooling Holes Research Articles

Effect of Flow Parameter Variations on Full Coverage Film-Cooling Effectiveness for a Gas Turbine Blade

The effect of film-cooling holes placed along the span of a fully cooled high pressure turbine blade in a stationary, linear cascade on film-cooling effectiveness is studied using the pressure sensitive paint technique. The effect of showerhead injection at the leading edge and the presence of compound angled, diffusing holes on the pressure and suction sides are also examined. Six rows of compound angled shaped film-cooling holes are provided on the pressure side while four such rows are provided on the suction side of the blade. The holes have a laidback and fan-shaped diffusing cross-section. Another three rows of cylindrical holes are drilled at a typical angle on the leading edge to capture the effect of showerhead film coolant injection. The film-cooling hole arrangement simulates a typical film cooled blade design used in Stage 1 rotor blades for gas turbines used for power generation. An optimal target blowing ratio is defined for each film hole row, and tests are performed for 100%, 150%, and 200% of this target value. Tests are performed for inlet Mach numbers of 0.36 and 0.45 with corresponding exit Mach numbers of 0.51 and 0.68, respectively. The flow remains subsonic in the throat region for both Mach numbers. The corresponding freestream Reynolds numbers, based on the axial chord length and the exit velocity, are 1.3×106 and 1.74×106, respectively. Freestream turbulence intensity level at the cascade inlet is 6%. The results show that varying blowing ratios can have a significant impact on film-cooling effectiveness distribution. Large spanwise variations in effectiveness distributions are also observed. Similar distributions were observed for both Mach numbers.

Simulations of Multiphase Particle Deposition on Endwall Film-Cooling

Demand for clean energy has increased motivation to design gas turbines capable of burning alternative fuels such as coal derived synthesis gas (syngas). One challenge associated with burning coal derived syngas is that trace amounts of particulate matter in the fuel and air can deposit on turbine hardware reducing the effectiveness of film-cooling. For the current study, a method was developed to dynamically simulate multiphase particle deposition through injection of a low melting temperature wax. The method was developed so the effects of deposition on endwall film-cooling could be quantified using a large scale vane cascade in a low speed wind tunnel. A microcrystalline wax was injected into the mainstream flow using atomizing spray nozzles to simulate both solid and molten particulate matter in a turbine gas path. Infrared thermography was used to quantify cooling effectiveness with and without deposition at various locations on a film-cooled endwall. Measured results indicated reductions in adiabatic effectiveness by as much as 30% whereby the reduction was highly dependent on the location of the film-cooling holes relative to the vane.

Effect of Upstream Step on Flat Plate Film-Cooling Effectiveness Using PSP

The effect of a step positioned upstream of a row of film-cooling holes on the film-cooling effectiveness is studied systematically using the steady state pressure sensitive paint technique. The upstream step effect is studied on four separate hole geometries: simple angled (axial angle of 30 deg) and compound angled (axial angle of 30 deg and compound angle of 45 deg) and cylindrical and fan-shaped film-cooling holes. Each plate considered has seven holes, each hole 4 mm in diameter. The plates with cylindrical holes have a spacing of 3 diameters (12 mm) between the centers of two consecutive holes while the fan-shaped holes have a spacing of 3.75 diameters (15 mm). Three different step heights (12.5%d, 25%d, and 37.5%d) are studied. The effect of the width of the step is also studied; the distance of the step upstream of the hole and the positioning of the step downstream of the film-cooling hole. Four separate blowing ratios are reported for all tests: M=0.3, M=0.6, M=1.0, and M=1.5. All studies have been conducted with a mainstream of 25 m/s velocity at an ambient temperature of 22°C. Results indicate an increase in film-cooling effectiveness in the region near the hole due to the upstream step for all the plates considered. This increase due to the step is found to be most significant in the case of compound angled cylindrical holes and least significant in the case of simple angled fan-shaped holes.

Effect of Density Ratio on Flat Plate Film Cooling With Shaped Holes Using PSP

Detailed film-cooling effectiveness distributions are obtained on a flat plate using the pressure sensitive paint (PSP) technique. The applicability of the PSP technique is expanded to include a coolant-to-mainstream density ratio of 1.4. The effect of density ratio on the film-cooling effectiveness is coupled with varying blowing ratio (M=0.25–2.0), freestream turbulence intensity (Tu=1–12.5%), and film hole geometry. The effectiveness distributions are obtained on three separate flat plates containing either simple angle, cylindrical holes, simple angle, fanshaped holes (α=10 deg), or simple angle, laidback, fanshaped holes (α=10 deg and γ=10 deg). In all three cases, the film-cooling holes are angled at θ=35 deg from the mainstream flow. Using the PSP technique, the combined effects of blowing ratio, turbulence intensity, and density ratio are captured for each film-cooling geometry. The detailed film-cooling effectiveness distributions, for cylindrical holes, clearly show that the effectiveness at the lowest blowing ratio is enhanced at the lower density ratio (DR=1). However, as the blowing ratio increases, a transition occurs, leading to increased effectiveness with the elevated density ratio (DR=1.4). In addition, the PSP technique captures an upstream shift of the coolant jet reattachment point as the density ratio increases or the turbulence intensity increases (at moderate blowing ratios for cylindrical holes). With the decreased momentum of the shaped film-cooling holes, the greatest film-cooling effectiveness is obtained at the lower density ratio (DR=1.0) over the entire range of blowing ratios considered. In all cases, as the freestream turbulence intensity increases, the film effectiveness decreases; this effect is reduced as the blowing ratio increases for all three film hole configurations.

Effect of Particle Size and Trench Configuration on Deposition From Fine Coal Flyash near Film Cooling Holes

Particulate deposition experiments were performed in a turbine accelerated deposition facility to examine the effects of flyash particle size and trench configuration on deposits near film cooling holes. Deposition on two bare metal Inconel coupons was studied, with hole spacings (s/d) of 3.4 and 4.5. Two sizes of sub-bituminous coal ash particles were used, with mass mean diameter of 4 and 13 μm, respectively. The effect of a cooling trench at the exit of the cooling holes was also examined in this deposition facility. Experiments were performed at different angles of impaction. Particles were accelerated to a combustor exit flow Mach number of 0.25 and heated to 1183 °C before impinging on a target coupon. The particle loading in the 1-h tests was 160 ppmw. Blowing ratios were varied in these experiments from 0 to 4.0. Particle surface temperature maps were measured using two-color pyrometry based on RGB signals from a camera. Deposits generated from finer particles were observed to stick to the surface more tenaciously than larger particles. The capture efficiency measured for the small particles was lower than for the larger particles, especially at low blowing ratios. However, the finer particles exhibited a greater variation in deposition pattern as a function of hole spacing than seen with larger particles. The effect of trench configuration on deposition was examined by performing deposition tests with and without the trench for the same hole spacing and blowing ratio. The effects of trench configuration on capture efficiency, deposition pattern, and surface topography are reported. Deposition experiments at impingement angles from 45° to 15° showed changes in both deposit thickness and temperature. The trench increased cooling effectiveness, but did not change the particulate collection efficiency because the trench acted as a particulate collector.

Flow Field Investigation in a Trapezoidal Duct with Swirl Flow Induced by Impingement Jets

An enlarged model of trapezoidal duct near the leading-edge in the blade is built up. The effects of impingement jets, swirl flow, cross flow and effusion flow are considered. Experiments are performed to measure flow fields in this confined passage and exit holes on one of its side walls. Cross flow and effusion flow are induced in the channel by the outflow of side exit hole (SEH) and film cooling hole (FCH), which are oriented on one end wall and bottom wall of the passage. Detailed flow structures are measured for two impingement angles of 35° and 45° with 6 combinations of outflow ratios. Results show that the small jets impinge the target wall effectively while the large jets contribute to inducing and impelling a strong counter-clockwise vortex in the upper part of the passage. Cross flow plays a dominate role for the flow structures in the passage and exit holes. It deflects jets, enhances swirl and deteriorates side exit conditions. Impingement angle is another significant factor for the flow characteristics. Its effect reveals more evidently with cross flow. Within the present test conditions, the mass flow rates and outflow positions of FCHs have no distinct effect on the main flow structures.

Study on the Thermal and Flow Fields of Shaped Film-Cooling Holes

Study on the Thermal and Flow Fields of Shaped Film-Cooling Holes

A Method for Identifying and Visualizing Foreign Particle Motion Using Time-Resolved Particle Tracking Velocimetry

Gas turbines for aircraft are designed for operation with a clean inlet air flow. This ideal operational condition is often violated during take-off and landing, where the probability of particle ingestion is high, with sand and dirt being the most commonly observed foreign particles. Current research on particle ingestion has identified several mechanisms that contribute to performance degradation in the turbine: erosion of internal and external surfaces, and flow blockages of film-cooling holes and internal cooling passages. The focus of the study given in this paper is to present a method that identifies the motion of foreign particles within an internal ribbed passage. The method uses a high-resolution, flow field interrogation method known as time-resolved digital particle image velocimetry (TRDPIV). Observations from the two-phase flows showed that particle collisions occurred more frequently on the upstream surface of the ribs, especially in the inlet region. Results from these collisions included substantial particle breakup, and a particle rebounding phenomenon between the upper and lower walls. Comparisons are made to large eddy simulation predicted particle trajectories indicating some agreement, as well as phenomena that are not predicted due to the inherent assumption of the modeling.

A Film-Cooling Correlation for Shaped Holes on a Flat-Plate Surface

A common method of optimizing coolant performance in gas turbine engines is through the use of shaped film-cooling holes. Despite widespread use of shaped holes, existing correlations for predicting performance are limited to narrow ranges of parameters. This study extends the prediction capability for shaped holes through the development of a physics-based empirical correlation for predicting laterally averaged film-cooling effectiveness on a flat-plate downstream of a row of shaped film-cooling holes. Existing data were used to determine the physical relationship between film-cooling effectiveness and several parameters, including blowing ratio, hole coverage ratio, area ratio, and hole spacing. Those relationships were then incorporated into the skeleton form of an empirical correlation, using results from the literature to determine coefficients for the correlation. Predictions from the current correlation, as well as existing shaped-hole correlations and a cylindrical hole correlation, were compared with the existing experimental data. Results show that the current physics-based correlation yields a significant improvement in predictive capability, by expanding the valid parameter range and improving agreement with experimental data. Particularly significant is the inclusion of higher blowing ratio conditions (up to M=2.5) into the current correlation, whereas the existing correlations worked adequately only at lower blowing ratios (M≈0.5).

Multi-objective Optimization of a Laidback Fan Shaped Film-Cooling Hole Using Evolutionary Algorithm

Laidback fan shaped film-cooling hole is formulated numerically and optimized with the help of three-dimensional numerical analysis, surrogate methods, and the multi-objective evolutionary algorithm. As Pareto optimal front produces a set of optimal solutions, the trends of objective functions with design variables are predicted by hybrid multi-objective evolutionary algorithm. The problem is defined by four geometric design variables, the injection angle of the hole, the lateral expansion angle of the diffuser, the forward expansion angle of the hole, and the ratio of the length to the diameter of the hole, to maximize the film-cooling effectiveness compromising with the aerodynamic loss. The objective function values are numerically evaluated through Reynolds- averaged Navier-Stokes analysis at the designs that are selected through the Latin hypercube sampling method. Using these numerical simulation results, the Response Surface Approximation model are constructed for each objective function and a hybrid multi-objective evolutionary algorithm is applied to obtain the Pareto optimal front. The clustered points from Pareto optimal front were evaluated by flow analysis. These designs give enhanced objective function values in comparison with the experimental designs.

Investigation of Sand Blocking Within Impingement and Film-Cooling Holes

Gas turbines are not generally designed for operation with a particle laden inlet flow but, in fact, are commonly operated in unclean environments resulting in dirt, sand, and other debris ingestion. In addition to the negative effects within the main gas path, for aeroengines these particles are pulled into the coolant system where they can clog cooling passages and erode internal surfaces. Unlike previous research that focused on deposition and erosion within the main gas path, this study evaluated blocking in a double wall liner whereby both impingement and film-cooling holes were simulated. Double wall liners are commonly used in the combustor and turbine for combined internal and external cooling of metal components. Specifically, sand blockages were evaluated through comparisons of measured flowrates for a particular pressure ratio across the liner. Four liner geometries were tested whereby the coolant hole size and orientation were varied in test coupons. At ambient temperature, blocking was shown to be a function of the impingement flow area. A significant rise in blocking was observed as sand and metal temperatures were increased. The overlap between the impingement and film-cooling holes was also found to have a significant effect.

Thermal Analysis in a Film Cooling Hole with Thermal Barrier Coating

F ILMcooling and thermal barrier coatings (TBC) arewidely used cooling techniques, especially in a gas turbine, which are used to protect a material surface exposed to a high-temperature environment. Increasing the turbine inlet temperature causes the thermal expansion mismatch between the TBC and the substrate, which generates high thermal stresses and thereby TBC delamination as noted in previous reports [1,2]. In addition, TBC delamination has caused thermal cracks on the sides of film cooling holes because temperature difference between regions with and without TBC increased, as reported by the Electric Power Research Institute [3]. Furthermore, the flow temperature on the TBC surface is varied by introducing secondary cooling flow from film cooling holes. Thus, the local thermal loads on the TBC surfacewithfilm cooling holes are different from convectional cooling system. However, most previous studies [4–11] of TBC delamination have mainly focused on a convectional cooling system without a film cooling hole, and have also investigated the effects of thermal cycles and thermally grown oxide (TGO) on TBC delamination. To design hot components such as combustors, vanes, and blades andtopredict their lifetimeandsafety, it isnecessarytoestimateproper TBC thickness as well as to study the thermal cycles in a film cooling systemunderanappropriatethermalenvironment.ThinTBCresults in higher metal temperature, whereas thick TBC results in higher TBC temperature,whichcanbethesourceoftheTBCfailure.Therefore, the objective of the present paper is to determine the tolerable TBC thicknessateachmainhotflowtemperaturewithafilmcoolingsystem of normal injection. For the calculation, we conduct thermal analysis using numericalmethods [12] and experimental heat transfer data in a nondimensional form (Nusselt numberNu) from the previous studies [13,14]. The test materials of TBC and substrate are yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coating and IN738-superalloy, respectively. As results, we present maximum temperature and maximum debonding stressvaluesat theedgeof coolingholes asa functionof twovariables, that is, thickness of TBC and temperature of main flow. This work helps to design actual TBC systems and to understand mechanics of interface segregation between TBC and substrate.

Film-Cooling Flowfields With Trenched Holes on an Endwall

The leading edge region along the endwall of a stator vane experiences high heat transfer rates resulting from the formation of horseshoe vortices. Typical gas turbine endwall designs include a leakage slot at the combustor-turbine interface as well as film-cooling holes. Past studies have documented the formation of a horseshoe vortex at the leading edge of a vane, but few studies have documented the flowfield in the presence of an interface slot and film-cooling jets. In this paper, a series of flowfield measurements is evaluated at the leading edge with configurations including a baseline with neither film-cooling holes nor an upstream slot, a row of film-cooling holes and an interface slot, and a row of film-cooling holes in a trench and an interface slot. The results indicated the formation of a second vortex present for the case with film-cooling holes and a slot relative to the baseline study. In addition, turbulence intensity levels as high as 50% were measured at the leading edge with film-cooling holes and a slot compared with the 30% measured for the baseline study. A trench was shown to provide improved overall cooling relative to the no trench configuration as more of the coolant stayed attached to the endwall surface with the trench.

Turbine Blade Platform Film Cooling With Typical Stator-Rotor Purge Flow and Discrete-Hole Film Cooling

This paper is focused on the effect of film-hole configurations on platform film cooling. The platform is cooled by purge flow from a simulated stator-rotor seal combined with discrete-hole film cooling within the blade passage. The cylindrical holes and laidback fan-shaped holes are assessed in terms of film-cooling effectiveness and total pressure loss. Lined up with the freestream streamwise direction, the film holes are arranged on the platform with two different layouts. In one layout, the film-cooling holes are divided into two rows and more concentrated on the pressure side of the passage. In the other layout, the film-cooling holes are divided into four rows and loosely distributed on the platform. Four film-cooling hole configurations are investigated totally. Testing was done in a five-blade cascade with medium high Mach number condition (0.27 and 0.44 at the inlet and the exit, respectively). The detailed film-cooling effectiveness distributions on the platform were obtained using pressure sensitive paint technique. Results show that the combined cooling scheme (slot purge flow cooling combined with discrete-hole film cooling) is able to provide full film coverage on the platform. The shaped holes present higher film-cooling effectiveness and wider film coverage than the cylindrical holes, particularly at higher blowing ratios. The hole layout affects the local film-cooling effectiveness. The shaped holes also show the advantage over the cylindrical holes with lower total pressure loss.

Effect of Inlet Flow Angle on Gas Turbine Blade Tip Film Cooling

The influence of incidence angle on film-cooling effectiveness is studied for a cutback squealer blade tip. Three incidence angles are investigated −0 deg at design condition and ±5 deg at off-design conditions. Based on mass transfer analogy, the film-cooling effectiveness is measured with pressure sensitive paint techniques. The film-cooling effectiveness distribution on the pressure side near tip region, squealer cavity floor, and squealer rim tip is presented for the three incidence angles at varying blowing ratios. The average blowing ratio is controlled to be 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0. One row of shaped holes is provided along the pressure side just below the tip; two rows of cylindrical film-cooling holes are arranged on the blade tip in such a way that one row is offset to the suction side profile and the other row is along the camber line. The pressure side squealer rim wall is cut near the trailing edge to allow the accumulated coolant in the cavity to escape and cool the tip trailing edge. The internal coolant-supply passages of the squealer tipped blade are modeled similar to those in the GE-E3 rotor blade. Test is done in a five-blade linear cascade in a blow-down facility with a tip gap clearance of 1.5% of the blade span. The Mach number and turbulence intensity level at the cascade inlet were 0.23 and 9.7%, respectively. It is observed that the incidence angle affects the coolant jet direction on the pressure side near tip region and the blade tip. The film-cooling effectiveness distribution is also altered. The peak of laterally averaged effectiveness is shifted upstream or downstream depending on the off-design incidence angle. The film cooling effectiveness inside the tip cavity can increase by 25% with the positive incidence angle. However, in general, the overall area-averaged film-cooling effectiveness is not significantly changed by the incidence angles in the range of study.

Optimization of a Cylindrical Film Cooling Hole using Surrogate Modeling

Optimization of a cylindrical film-cooling hole has been performed by surrogate modeling approach using three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes analysis. SST model has been employed as a turbulence closure model for the analysis of turbulent convective heat transfer. Spatially-averaged film-cooling effectiveness has been maximized for optimization. For two design variables, the ratio of length to the diameter of the hole and ejection angle, 12 experimental points are selected by Latin hypercube sampling. Performances of three basic surrogate models and three weighted average surrogate models have been evaluated. Among the surrogate models tested, the Kriging model predicts the optimum point with the highest objective function value calculated by Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes analysis, which gives a 3.6% improvement of the spatially-averaged film-cooling effectiveness in comparison to the reference geometry. The objective function is more sensitive to the ejection angle than the ratio of length to diameter of the hole.

Bump and Trench Modifications to Film-Cooling Holes at the Vane-Endwall Junction

The endwall of a first-stage vane experiences high heat transfer and low adiabatic effectiveness levels because of high turbine operating temperatures and formation of leading edge vortices. These vortices lift the coolant off the endwall and pull the hot mainstream gases toward it. The region of focus for this study is the vane-endwall junction region near the stagnation location where cooling is very difficult. Two different film-cooling hole modifications, namely, trenches and bumps, were evaluated to improve the cooling in the leading edge region. This study uses a large-scale turbine vane cascade with a single row of axial film-cooling holes at the leading edge of the vane endwall. Individual hole trenches and row trenches were placed along the complete row of film-cooling holes. Two-dimensional semi-elliptically shaped bumps were also evaluated by placing the bumps upstream and downstream of the film-cooling row. Tests were carried out for different trench depths and bump heights under varying blowing ratios. The results indicated that a row trench placed along the row of film-cooling holes showed a greater enhancement in adiabatic effectiveness levels when compared to individual hole trenches and bumps. All geometries considered produced an overall improvement to adiabatic effectiveness levels.

Effects of Deposits on Film Cooling of a Vane Endwall Along the Pressure Side

Film cooling is influenced by surface roughness and depositions that occur from contaminants present in the hot gas path, whether that film cooling occurs on the vane itself or on the endwalls associated with the vanes. Secondary flows in the endwall region also affect the film-cooling performance along the endwall. An experimental investigation was conducted to study the effect of surface deposition on film cooling along the pressure side of a first-stage turbine vane endwall. A large-scale wind tunnel with a turbine vane cascade was used to perform the experiments. The vane endwall was cooled by an array of film-cooling holes along the pressure side of the airfoil. Deposits having a semielliptical shape were placed along the pressure side to simulate individual row and multiple row depositions. Results indicated that the deposits lowered the average adiabatic effectiveness levels downstream of the film-cooling rows by deflecting the coolant jets toward the vane endwall junction on the pressure side. Results also indicated that there was a steady decrease in adiabatic effectiveness levels with a sequential increase in the number of rows with the deposits.

A Novel Antivortex Turbine Film-Cooling Hole Concept

A novel turbine film-cooling hole shape has been conceived and designed at NASA Glenn Research Center. This “antivortex” design is unique in that it requires only easily machinable round holes, unlike shaped film-cooling holes and other advanced concepts. The hole design is intended to counteract the detrimental vorticity associated with standard circular cross-section film-cooling holes. This vorticity typically entrains hot freestream gas and is associated with jet separation from the turbine blade surface. The antivortex film-cooling hole concept has been modeled computationally for a single row of 30 deg angled holes on a flat surface using the 3D Navier–Stokes solver GLENN-HT. A blowing ratio of 1.0 and density ratios of 1.05 and 2.0 are studied. Both film effectiveness and heat transfer coefficient values are computed and compared to standard round hole cases for the same blowing rates. A net heat flux reduction is also determined using both the film effectiveness and heat transfer coefficient values to ascertain the overall effectiveness of the concept. An improvement in film effectiveness of about 0.2 and in net heat flux reduction of about 0.2 is demonstrated for the antivortex concept compared to the standard round hole for both blowing ratios. Detailed flow visualization shows that as expected, the design counteracts the detrimental vorticity of the round hole flow, allowing it to remain attached to the surface.

A Comparison of Cylindrical and Fan-Shaped Film-Cooling Holes on a Vane Endwall at Low and High Freestream Turbulence Levels

Fan-shaped film-cooling holes have been shown to provide superior cooling performance to cylindrical holes along flat plates and turbine airfoils over a large range of different conditions. Benefits of fan-shaped holes include less required cooling air for the same performance, increased part lifetime, and fewer required holes. The major drawback, however, is increased manufacturing cost and manufacturing difficulty, particularly for the vane platform region. To this point, there have only been extremely limited comparisons between cylindrical and shaped holes on a turbine endwall at either low or high freestream turbulence conditions. This study presents film-cooling effectiveness measurements on an endwall surface in a large-scale, low-speed, two-passage, linear vane cascade. Results showed that film-cooling effectiveness decreased with increasing blowing rate for the cylindrical holes, indicating jet liftoff. However, the fan-shaped passage showed increased film-cooling effectiveness with increasing blowing ratio. Overall, fan-shaped holes increased film-cooling effectiveness by an average of 75% over cylindrical holes for constant cooling flow.