Film Effectiveness Measurements Research Articles

Experimental Investigation Into the Effect of a Ceramic Matrix Composite Surface on Film Cooling

Abstract Ceramic matrix composite (CMC) components enable high turbine entry temperatures, which can lead to improved efficiencies in gas turbines. Implementing film cooling over CMC components, similar to how it is employed for conventional metal components, can extend part life and push operating temperatures beyond the temperature capabilities of CMCs alone. However, CMCs have a unique surface topology that can influence film cooling performance. Often this topology takes the form of an irregular wavy pattern due to the weave of the fibers that make up the strengthening component of the composite. In this study, shaped 7–7–7 film cooling holes are embedded in a five-harness-satin weave pattern representative of a CMC, at two orientations of the pattern. Detailed adiabatic film effectiveness measurements are obtained in a wind tunnel using an infrared camera while near-wall flowfield measurements are obtained with a high-speed particle image velocimetry system. A range of blowing ratios between one and three are investigated at a density ratio of 1.5 and freestream turbulence intensities of 0.5% and 13%. Across the majority of the tested conditions, the CMC surfaces result in lower film cooling performance than a smooth surface. At a freestream turbulence intensity of 0.5%, the adiabatic film effectiveness is moderately insensitive to the blowing ratio for both weave orientations. The boundary layer over the CMC surfaces increases the mixing between the coolant and the mainstream through a combination of increased turbulence, reduced near-wall velocities, and a thicker boundary layer.

Method for Determining Adiabatic Film Effectiveness in Presence of Thermal Boundary Layer

Abstract In this paper, we present a new method for determining adiabatic film effectiveness in film cooling experiments with nonuniform inlet temperature distributions, in particular the situation of an inlet thermal boundary layer. This might arise in a quasi-steady experiment due to loss of heat from the mainstream flow to the inlet contraction walls, for example. In this situation, the thermal boundary layer would be time-varying. Adiabatic film effectiveness is generally normalized by the difference between mainstream and coolant gas temperatures. Most importantly, these temperatures are generally assumed to be spatially—and, possibly temporally—uniform at the system inlet. In experiments with nonuniform inlet temperature, the relevant hot gas temperature for a particular point of interest on a surface is not easily determined, being a complex function of both the inlet temperature profile and the flow field between the inlet and the point of interest. In this situation, adiabatic film effectiveness cannot be uniquely defined using conventional processing techniques. We solve this problem by introducing the concept of equivalent mainstream effectiveness, a nondimensional temperature for the mainstream that can be used to represent the thermal boundary layer profile at the inlet plane, or the effective temperature of the mainstream gas—which we refer to as the equivalent mainstream temperature—entrained into the mixing layer affecting the wall temperature at a particular point of interest. By using data from two or more time instants during an experiment, we simultaneously solve for equivalent mainstream effectiveness and true adiabatic film effectiveness, that is, the adiabatic film effectiveness that we would measure in an experiment with both steady and uniform inlet temperature. This is an important transformation because the true adiabatic effectiveness has a clear physical interpretation and is a more transportable quantity between systems (comparisons between different experiments, between experiment and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), etc.). The proposed method is experimentally demonstrated using full-surface infrared (IR) thermography measurements of a cooled rotor blade platform, operated in a transonic linear cascade facility at matched engine conditions. Film effectiveness measurements processed in the conventional way suffer from inlet thermal boundary layer effects, rendering them both time-varying (as heat is released to the walls of the tunnel) and, in certain regions, nonphysical in magnitude. The proposed technique renders the same data insensitive to time, and everywhere within physically reasonable limits. By demonstrating independence to the particular (time-varying) inlet temperature profile, we demonstrate the advantages of the proposed technique.

Influence of instability modes on cooling performance in hypersonic boundary layer with slot injection

A combined numerical-experimental investigation is presented with focus on the effects of boundary-layer instabilities and transition on the wall cooling performance in a Mach 5 low-enthalpy flow over a flat plate, with coolant injection achieved through a row of slots. The numerical study has been performed through direct numerical simulation (DNS) of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations, and is supported by results from linear stability analysis (LST) for the considered boundary layer. The experiments have been conducted in the High Density Tunnel (HDT) of the Oxford Thermofluids Institute, and include several blowing ratio conditions of injected air for the same freestream conditions. Surface heat transfer and pressure measurements, film effectiveness measurements, and Schlieren images are presented. The analysis links the wall cooling performance to the growth of imposed unstable boundary layer modes. Results indicate that 2D and 3D unstable modes, pertaining to the class of first instability modes, exist in the laminar boundary layer, and that imposition of these modes at different amplitudes leads to different states of the boundary layer, which we refer to as a perturbed state and a transitional state for medium and high amplitude respectively. As confirmed by comparison with experimental data, the perturbed and transitional states of the boundary layer significantly affect the wall cooling performance, providing an increase of the wall heat flux that results in a reduction of the beneficial effects of cooling.

Experimental and Computational Methods for the Evaluation of Double-Wall, Effusion Cooling Systems

Abstract Further improvements in gas turbine efficiency can be sought through more advanced cooling systems—such as the double-wall, effusion system—which provide high cooling effectiveness with low coolant utilization. The double-wall system, as described here, comprises two walls: one with a regular array of impingement holes and the other with a closely packed, regular array of film holes (characteristic of effusion systems). These walls are mechanically and thermally connected via a bank of pedestals which increase coolant wetted area and turbulent flow features. However, a lack of data exists in the open literature on these systems. This study presents a novel experimental heat transfer facility designed with the intent of investigating flat plate versions of such double-wall geometries. Key features of the facility are presented including the use of recirculation to increase the mainstream-to-coolant temperature ratio and the use of infrared thermography to obtain thermal measurements. Some rig commissioning characteristics are also provided which demonstrate well-conditioned, uniform flow. Both coolant and mainstream Reynolds numbers are matched to engine conditions, with the Biot number within around 15% of engine conditions. The facility is used to assess the cooling performance of four double-wall effusion geometries which incorporate various geometrical features. Both overall effectiveness and film effectiveness measurements are presented at a range of coolant mass flows with conclusions drawn as to preferable features from a cooling perspective. The results from a fully conjugate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the facility are presented which utilized boundary conditions obtained during experimental runs. Additionally, a computationally efficient decoupled conjugate method developed previously by the authors was adapted to assess the experimental geometries with the results comparing favorably.

Adiabatic Effectiveness on High-Pressure Turbine Nozzle Guide Vanes Under Realistic Swirling Conditions

In modern lean-burn aero-engine combustors, highly swirling flow structures are adopted to control the fuel-air mixing and to provide the correct flame stabilization mechanisms. Aggressive swirl fields and high turbulence intensities are hence expected in the combustor-turbine interface. Moreover, to maximize the engine cycle efficiency, an accurate design of the high-pressure nozzle cooling system must be pursued: in a film-cooled nozzle, the air taken from last compressor stages is ejected through discrete holes drilled on vane surfaces to provide a cold layer between hot gases and turbine components. In this context, the interactions between the swirling combustor outflow and the vane film cooling flows play a major role in the definition of a well-performing cooling scheme, demanding for experimental campaigns at representative flow conditions. An annular three-sector combustor simulator with fully cooled high-pressure vanes has been designed and installed at THT Lab of University of Florence. The test rig is equipped with three axial swirlers, effusion-cooled liners, and six film-cooled high-pressure vanes passages, for a vortex-to-vane count ratio of 1:2. The relative clocking position between swirlers and vanes has been chosen in order to have the leading edge of the central airfoil aligned with the central swirler. In this experimental work, adiabatic film effectiveness measurements have been carried out in the central sector vanes, in order to characterize the film-cooling performance under swirling inflow conditions. The pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) technique, based on heat and mass transfer analogy, has been exploited to catch highly detailed 2D distributions. Carbon dioxide has been used as coolant in order to reach a coolant-to-mainstream density ratio of 1.5. Turbulence and five-hole probe measurements at inlet/outlet of the cascade have been carried out as well, in order to highlight the characteristics of the flow field passing through the cascade and to provide precise boundary conditions. Results have shown a relevant effect of the swirling mainflow on the film cooling behavior. Differences have been found between the central airfoil and the adjacent ones, both in terms of leading edge stagnation point position and of pressure and suction side film coverage characteristics.

The Effects of Combustor Cooling Features on Nozzle Guide Vane Film Cooling Experiments

Abstract Recent advances in experimental methods have allowed researchers to study nozzle guide vane (NGV) film cooling in the presence of combustor dilution ports and endwall films. The dilution injection creates nonuniformities in temperature, velocity, and turbulence, and an understanding of the vane film cooling performance is complicated by competing influences. In this study, dilution port temperature profiles have been measured in the absence of vane film cooling and compared to film effectiveness measurements in the presence of both films and dilution, illustrating the effects of the dilution port turbulence on film cooling performance. It is found that dilution port injection can create significant effectiveness benefits at the difficult-to-cool vane stagnation region due to the more turbulent hot mainstream enhancing the mixing of film coolant jets that have left the airfoil surface. Also explored are the implications of endwall film cooling for infrared (IR) vane surface temperature measurements. The reduced endwall temperatures reduce the thermal emissions from this surface, so reducing the amount of extraneous radiation reflected from the vane surface where measurements are being made. The results of a detailed calibration show that the maximum local film effectiveness measurement error could be up to 0.05 if this effect were to go unaccounted for.

The effect of effusion holes inclination angle on the adiabatic film cooling effectiveness in a three-sector gas turbine combustor rig with a realistic swirling flow

The introduction of Lean Burn concept as basic Low-NOx scheme for future aero-engines is heavily affecting the aero-thermal design of combustors. A great amount of air is admitted through the injection system with relevant swirl components, producing very complex flow structures (recirculations, vortex breakdown) for flame stabilization. As a consequence a reduced quantity of air is available for liner cooling, pushing the adoption of high effectiveness cooling schemes. Effusion cooling represents one of the first choices due to its low weight and a relatively easy manufacturability. Liner metal temperature is kept low by the combined protective effect of coolant film, heat removal inside holes and an improved cold-side convection. In lean burn systems the evolution of film protection can be heavily influenced by the swirl flow interaction with combustor walls.The subject of this work is to investigate the effects of the realistic flow field of a lean burn injector on the adiabatic film cooling effectiveness on an effusion cooled combustor liner. A dedicated three-sector rig was designed with the aim of measuring film effectiveness with Pressure Sensitive Paint technique. Three effusion cooling geometries with different inclination angles were tested at various levels of pressure drops across the perforation, resulting in different blowing ratio values. It was also taken into consideration several flow rate levels of starter film realized by spent dome cooling air, injected through a dedicated plain slot. The analysis of film effectiveness measurements were supported by flow field investigation in the near wall region carried out by means of Particle Image Velocimetry.Results pointed out the relevant impact of combustor flow field on the adiabatic film cooling effectiveness as well as a significant role of the inclination angle, recommending a careful revision of standard design practices based on one dimensional flow assumption and suggesting possible holes arrangement optimization.

The Effects of Vane Showerhead Injection Angle and Film Compound Angle on Nozzle Endwall Cooling (Phantom Cooling)

The effects of airfoil showerhead (SH) injection angle and film-cooling hole compound angle on nozzle endwall cooling (second order film-cooling effects, also called "phantom cooling") were experimentally investigated in a scaled linear cascade. The test cascade was built based on a typical industrial gas turbine nozzle vane. Endwall surface phantom cooling film effectiveness measurements were made using a computerized pressure sensitive paint (PSP) technique. Nitrogen gas was used to simulate cooling flow as well as a tracer gas to indicate oxygen concentration such that film effectiveness can be obtained by the mass transfer analogy. Two separate nozzle test models were fabricated, which have the same number and size of film-cooling holes but different configurations. One had a SH angle of 45 deg and no compound angles on the pressure and suction side (SS) film holes. The other had a 30 deg SH angle and 30 deg compound angles on the pressure and SS film-cooling holes. Nitrogen gas (cooling air) was fed through nozzle vanes, and measurements were conducted on the endwall surface between the two airfoils where no direct film cooling was applied. Six cooling mass flow ratios (MFRs, blowing ratios) were studied, and local (phantom) film effectiveness distributions were measured. Film effectiveness distributions were pitchwise averaged for comparison. Phantom cooling on the endwall by the SS film injections was found to be insignificant, but phantom cooling on the endwall by the pressure side (PS) airfoil film injections noticeably helped the endwall cooling (phantom cooling) and was a strong function of the MFR. It was concluded that reducing the SH angle and introducing a compound angle on the PS injections would enhance the endwall surface phantom cooling, particularly for a higher MFR.

Effect of Pulsed Film Cooling on Leading Edge Film Effectiveness

Detailed film effectiveness measurements have been made on a cylindrical leading edge surface for steady and pulsating flows. The film hole is off centered by 21.5 deg from the centerline and angled 20 deg to the surface and 90 deg from the streamwise direction. Two jet-to-cross-flow velocity ratios have been considered: VR=1 and 2, which correspond to blowing ratios of 1 and 2, respectively. The pulsating frequency is 10 Hz and the duty cycle is 50%. Comparisons between film effectiveness with a pulsating film and a continuous film show that for the same blowing ratio, the effectiveness of the film drops by a factor of 2 when the flow is pulsed. Hotwire measurements are made to characterize the pulsating velocity waveform at the exit of the film exit and verify the integrity of the pulse. The variation in the measured surface adiabatic wall temperature over the pulsing duration is very small, suggesting a large thermal inertia that keeps the wall surface largely unaffected by the time scale of the pulsations; this holds true for both blowing ratios tested.

Film Effectiveness Measurements on the Pressure Surface of a Transonic Airfoil

This paper presents steady-state film effectiveness measurements for two rows of compound-angle round holes on the pressure surface of a modern, highly cambered, transonic airfoil. A single-passage model was used to simulate the idealized two-dimensional flowpath between rotor blades in a modern transonic turbine. This setup offered a simpler construction than a linear cascade, yet produced an equivalent flow condition. Validated high-accuracy (±0.2°C) surface-temperature measurements were performed using wideband thermochromic liquid crystals, allowing direct measurement of the adiabatic cooled-wall temperature. The peak Mach number along the pressure surface was 1.5 and maximum turbulence intensity was 30%. To simulate the effect of temperature gradients on coolant behavior, carbon dioxide and air were used as the injectant. The data indicate that jet blowoff appears to occur at blowing rates that are significantly higher than previously observed. Furthermore, the data suggest that increasing injectant density only improves effectiveness when the coolant jets are attached to the surface. It was observed that at high turbulence levels, the attached coolant jets degrade faster and jet blowoff is suppressed as blowing rates are increased.

Film Cooling Measurements for Cratered Cylindrical Inclined Holes

Film cooling performance is studied for cylindrical holes embedded in craters. Different crater geometries are considered for a typical crater depth. Cratered holes may occur when blades are coated with thermal barrier coating layers by masking the hole area during thermal barrier coating (TBC) spraying, resulting in a hole surrounded by a TBC layer. The film performance and behavior is expected to be different for the cratered holes compared to standard cylindrical holes. Detailed heat transfer coefficient and film effectiveness measurements are obtained simultaneously using a single test transient IR thermography technique. The study is performed at a single mainstream Reynolds number based on freestream velocity and film-hole diameter of 11,000 at four different coolant-to-mainstream blowing ratios of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0. The results show that film cooling effectiveness is slightly enhanced by cratering of holes, but a substantial increase in heat transfer enhancement negates the benefits of higher film effectiveness. Three different crater geometries are studied and compared to a base line flush cylindrical hole, a trenched hole, and a typical diffuser shaped hole. Computational fluid dynamics simulation using FLUENT was also performed to determine the jet-mainstream interactions associated with the experimental surface measurements.

Effect of Trench Width and Depth on Film Cooling From Cylindrical Holes Embedded in Trenches

The present study is an experimental investigation of film cooling from cylindrical holes embedded in transverse trenches. Different trench depths are considered with two trench widths. Trench holes can occur when blades are coated with thermal barrier coating (TBC) layers. The film-hole performance and behavior will be different for the trench holes compared to standard cylindrical holes that are flush with the surface. The trench width and depth depend on the mask region and the thickness of the TBC layer. Detailed heat transfer coefficient and film effectiveness measurements are obtained simultaneously using a single test transient IR thermography technique. The study is performed at a single mainstream Reynolds number based on freestream velocity and film-hole diameter of 11,000 at four different coolant-to-mainstream blowing ratios of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0. The results show that film effectiveness is greatly enhanced by the trenching due to the improved two-dimensional nature of the film and lateral spreading. The detailed heat transfer coefficient and film effectiveness contours provide a clear understanding of the jet-mainstream interactions for different hole orientations. Computational fluid dynamics simulation using FLUENT was also performed to determine the jet-mainstream interactions to better understand the surface heat transfer coefficient and film effectiveness distributions.

Aerodynamic and Heat Flux Measurements in a Single-Stage Fully Cooled Turbine—Part I: Experimental Approach

This paper describes the experimental approach utilized to perform experiments using a fully cooled rotating turbine stage to obtain film effectiveness measurements. Significant changes to the previous experimental apparatus were implemented to meet the experimental objectives. The modifications include the development of a synchronized blowdown facility to provide cooling gas to the turbine stage, installation of a heat exchanger capable of generating a uniform or patterned inlet temperature profile, novel utilization of temperature and pressure instrumentation, and development of robust double-sided heat flux gauges. With these modifications, time-averaged and time-accurate measurements of temperature, pressure, surface heat flux, and film effectiveness can be made over a wide range of operational parameters, duplicating the nondimensional parameters necessary to simulate engine conditions. Data from low Reynolds number experiments are presented to demonstrate that all appropriate scaling parameters can be satisfied and that the new components have operated correctly. Along with airfoil surface heat transfer and pressure data, temperature and pressure data from inside the coolant plenums of the vane and rotating blade airfoils are presented. Pressure measurements obtained inside the vane and blade plenum chambers illustrate passing of the wakes and shocks as a result of vane/blade interaction. Part II of this paper (Haldeman, C. W., Mathison, R. M., Dunn, M. G., Southworth, S. A., Harral, J. W., and Heltland, G., 2008, ASME J. Turbomach., 130(2), p. 021016) presents data from the low Reynolds number cooling experiments and compares these measurements to CFD predictions generated using the Numeca FINE/Turbo package at multiple spans on the vanes and blades.

Turbine blade showerhead film cooling: Influence of hole angle and shaping

Detailed film cooling measurements are presented on a turbine blade leading edge model with three rows of showerhead holes. Experiments are run at a mainstream Reynolds number of 19,500 based on cylindrical leading edge diameter. One row of holes is located on the stagnation line and the other two rows are located at 615° on either side of the stagnation line. The three rows have compound angle holes angled 90° in the flow direction, 30° along the spanwise direction, and the two holes on either side of the stagnation row have and additional angle of 0°, 30°, and 45° in the transverse direction. The effect of hole shaping of the 30° and 45° holes is also considered. Detailed heat transfer coefficient and film effectiveness measurements are obtained using a transient infrared thermography technique. The results are compared to determine the advantages of shaping the compound angle for rows of holes off stagnation row. Results show that, the additional compound angle in the transverse direction for the two rows adjacent to the stagnation row provide significantly higher film effectiveness than the typical leading edge holes with only two angles. Results also show that, the shaping of showerhead holes provides higher film effectiveness than just adding an additional compound angle in the transverse direction and significantly higher effectiveness than the baseline typical leading edge geometry. Heat transfer coefficients are higher as the spanwise angle for this study is larger than typical leading edge geometries with an angle of 30° compared to 20° for other studies.

Experimental investigation of film cooling effectiveness for slots of various exit geometries

A parametric study was conducted to experimentally determine the effects slot exit geometries have on film effectiveness (ijy) for several injection angles (a = 0.0, 5.0, 8.5, 11.5, and 15.0 deg). Such slot geometries are typically used on the pressure side trailing edge of jet engine turbine airfoils, providing cooling film to protect the trailing edge, which is often a life limiting area. Four different slot lip thickness to height ratios (tls = 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.25) and three different slot width to height ratios (w/s = 2, 5, and 17) were tested over a blowing ratio (M = (pU)c/(pU)h) range of 0 to 1.3. All geometries were tested at a constant density ratio (pc/ph) of 1.4. Slot surface film effectiveness measurements were made over a range of downstream surface distance to slot height ratios (x/s) of 0 to 15. Five different density ratios (pclph = 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6), spanning the typical engine operating range, were tested for one geometry to determine the effect of density ratio on film effectiveness. Correlations are shown for film effectiveness (rjf) in terms of the nondimensionalized downstream distance (x/Ms). The results show that: a) ij/is highly sensitive to tls, but not significantly sensitive to either w/s or pclph and b) an optimum injection angle equal to 8.5 deg exists for xlMs values less than 60.

Multihole Cooling Film Effectiveness and Heat Transfer

Adiabatic film effectiveness and heat transfer measurements with injection of secondary air through arrays of holes in a flat plate into a turbulent boundary layer are presented. Measurements were taken both within and downstream of the multihole pattern for different hole pitch-to-diameter ratios and blowing rates. The hole configurations considered were regular patterns of staggered holes. The holes were angled 30 deg to the plate’s surface and 45 deg to the mainstream. A comparison between the measured adiabatic film effectiveness and a model based on the superposition of point heat sinks is made.