Hot-film Measurements Research Articles

Hypersonic Stability and Breakdown Measurements on the AFRL/AFOSR BOLT II Flight Geometry

The Air Force Research Laboratory/Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFRL/AFOSR) introduced the Boundary Layer Turbulence (BOLT II) flight experiment to further the understanding and modeling of a hypersonic turbulent boundary layer on a geometry that features concave surfaces with swept leading edges. In support of the flight experiment, this paper identifies and documents the transition instabilities and quantifies the breakdown to turbulence on a 25%-scale BOLT II model in hypersonic flow. Experiments were conducted in the conventional Actively Controlled Expansion wind tunnel facility and the Mach 6 Quiet Tunnel located at the Texas A&M University National Aerothermochemistry and Hypersonics Laboratory. Global surface heating was viewed using infrared thermography with on-surface measurements made using high-frequency Kulite and PCB Piezotronics surface pressure transducers. Modal growth was observed among the sensors both upstream and downstream of the model. Off-surface measurements were made in the mixed-mode region utilizing constant-temperature hot-film anemometry in the Mach 6 Quiet Tunnel. Comparisons were made to the Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) results from the University of Minnesota. Amplified content was observed between f=53 and 75 kHz in the root-mean-square voltage fluctuations of the hot-film measurements.

Experimental closed-loop flow separation control: Data- and phenomenological-driven approaches

Flow control aims at modifying a natural flow state to reach an other flow state considered as advantageous. In this paper, active feedback flow separation control is investigated with two different closed-loop control strategies, involving a reference signal tracking architecture. Firstly, a data-driven control law, leading to a linear (integral) controller is employed. Secondly, a phenomenological/model-driven approach, leading to a non-linear positive (integral) control strategy is investigated. While the former benefits of a tuning simplicity, the latter prevents undesirable effects and formally guarantees closed-loop stability. Both control approaches were validated through wind tunnel experiments of flow separation control over a movable NACA 4412 plain flap. These control laws were designed with respect to hot-film measurements, performed over the flap for different deflection angles. Both control approaches proved efficient in avoiding flow separation. The main contribution of this work stands in providing practitioners, simple but yet efficient control design methods for the flow separation phenomena. Equivalently important, a complete validation campaign data-set is also provided.

Delay of laminar–turbulent transition by counter-rotating cylindrical roughness elements in a laminar flat plate boundary layer

Delaying laminar–turbulent transition in boundary layers is of great interest since the skin-friction coefficient can be reduced by up to one order of magnitude. In this experimental research, it is shown that counter-rotating cylindrical roughness elements are able to delay transition under realistic flow conditions. Evidence is given by the intermittency, evaluated from hot-film measurements in a laminar water channel. An increase in rotation speed results in a delay of transition of up to {6.5}{%} in the center of the plate. This trend can be explained by the streaks amplified by the rotating cylinders, resulting in a damping of the fluctuation amplitude in the boundary layer. The advantage of this method is that the transition delay can be actively controlled with conventional cylindrical roughness elements.Graphical abstract

Flow-measurements in the wake of an oscillating sessile droplet using laser-Doppler velocity profile sensor

Abstract Although relevant in many technical applications, the removal of sessile droplets on surfaces by an (air-) flow is still hard to predict. The flow around the droplet has not been investigated in detail so far but knowledge on the flow structure is essential for the assessment of appropriate drag force correlation. Small droplets (in the range of 5–40 µl) on PMMA substrate in an air flow are investigated. Due to the small size of the droplet the laser-Doppler velocity profile sensor with frequency shift is applied to measure the flow in the wake of the oscillating, still adhering droplet. Thanks to the high spatial and temporal resolution of Laser-Doppler velocity profile sensor and its capability to measure bidirectional flows, the flow behind the droplet can be precisely analyzed. Additional hot-film measurements are used to investigate the temporal behavior of the flow. Complementary, numerical simulation is performed applying a modified VOF (Volume-of-Fluid) method. The combination of the experimental and numerical data gives new insight in the wake flow structure of sessile droplets: With increasing Reynolds number, a backflow can be detected in the wake of the droplet. A separated shear layer stemming from the upper side of the droplet leads to a vortex shedding with formation of a recirculation region in the temporal mean. In contrast to rigid hemispheres, the movement of the air-liquid interface of the droplet leads to an internal flow which is driven by the outer flow structure and vice versa. This is a hint that drag coefficients of sessile droplets cannot be simply derived by analyzing flows of rigid hemispherical structures. Additionally, droplet contour and wake flow exhibit the same characteristic oscillation frequency. The corresponding Strouhal number is almost constant at 0.03 compared to the Strouhal number of a rigid hemisphere of 0.28. Therefore, it can be assumed that an aeroelastic self-excitation effect may be present that eventually leads to droplet movement.

Optical and Hot-Film Measurements of the Boundary Layer Transition on a Naca Airfoil

This study explores the possibilities of identifying position of a boundary layer transition using hot film measurements complemented by classical optical methods i.e. interferometry and schlieren method. The subject of the measurement is a NACA 0010-64 airfoil with varying leading edge surface quality corresponding to smooth surface and rough surface with Ra ~ 50 and Ra ~ 100. Measurements are performed at several subsonic regimes and a transonic regime. Despite several shortcomings of the experimental setup, the method proved to be useful in providing information on the boundary layer transition. Measurements show that in the case of smooth leading edge, the onset of the boundary layer transition shifts upstream with increasing inlet Mach number and the major portion of the boundary layer is transitional. This is in accordance with other published results on the boundary layer transition on this kind of airfoils [1]. In all cases with the rough leading edge, the complete transition takes place on the rough portion of the surface already.

Time-Resolved Measurements of the Unsteady Boundary Layer in an Annular Low-Pressure Turbine Configuration With Perturbed Inlet

AbstractIn this study, the unsteady behavior of the boundary layers developing on a low-pressure turbine (LPT) stator profile and their effect on secondary flow patterns in a 1.5-stage turbine configuration are investigated under the influence of periodic inflow perturbations. The experimental setup previously employed to analyze the unsteady secondary flow in the stator wake has been enhanced by hot-film sensor arrays placed on the stator profiles at different blade height positions to provide time-resolved data from within the passage. The stator inflow is perturbed by a rotating wake generator, and a modified T106 profile has been considered for the blading. The modified profile, labeled as T106RUB, was developed for matching the transition and separation characteristics of the popular original T106 profile at low flow speeds, thus facilitating measurements to be taken in a large-scale test rig with its improved accessibility. The transition phenomena occurring in the profile boundary layers are investigated under both unperturbed and periodically perturbed inflow by means of spectral analysis, the semi-quantitative characterization of the wall-stress system, and an evaluation of the statistic quantities. In particular, the periodic changes of the suction-side boundary layer flow region toward the trailing edge are studied in detail. Furthermore, time-resolved hot-film measurements at different blade height positions facilitate a detailed comparison of the quasi two-dimensional mid-span profile flow and the near end-wall profile flow, which is subject to the influence of secondary flow structures. These information are employed to assess to which extent the additional turbulence originating from the wakes affects the blade boundary layers and thus the secondary flow structures. Furthermore, the role of the perturbation frequency on the coupled system of boundary layers and secondary flow structures is evaluated.

Investigation of laminar separation bubble over a supercritical airfoil in an incompressible flow

Supercritical airfoils have an unknown behavior at incompressible flow regime and Reynolds numbers lower than those related to their design point at transonic condition. In this work, boundary layer transition is studied over a supercritical airfoil by means of hot-film and pressure measurements completed with numerical simulations. The experiments are performed at chord-based Reynolds number of [Formula: see text]and Mach number of [Formula: see text] at different angles of attack. Hot-film measurement over the upper surface of the supercritical airfoil is carried out and the transition points are computed using the standard deviation of the signals. The upper surface pressure is also recorded and a peak in its second derivative is presented as the transition point generated by the laminar separation bubble mechanism. Moreover, an appropriate time-frequency analysis is applied to the hot-film signals to get an insight into the spectral content and development of the transitional boundary layer structures. On the other hand, two numerical codes are employed and the transition points obtained from numerical simulations are compared with the experimental outcomes. Results express a rapid change of the bubble position over the upper surface, as the angle of attack is increased to the value of [Formula: see text]. Laminar separation bubble is observed in the surface pressure distribution data and is well identified using its second derivative along the streamwise direction. The spectral characteristics of the boundary layer are satisfactorily explored including the streamwise fluctuations within the laminar flow, intermittent behavior of the transitional zone and the wide range of the spectrum in turbulent flow, thanks to the time-frequency analysis. A promising agreement is observed between the transition points computed by both the numerical and experimental studies and confirms the accuracy of findings achieved by the second derivative of surface pressure data, hot-film measurements and the reliability of the employed numerical transition models for optimization studies.

Dynamics of Shock Waves Interacting With Laminar Separated Transonic Turbine Flow Investigated by High-Speed Schlieren and Surface Hot-Film Sensors

Abstract The results presented in this paper are based on experimental investigations on a generic transonic low pressure turbine profile at high subsonic exit Mach numbers. Here, the flow on the suction side reaches a maximum isentropic Mach number of approximately 1.2 and features a large separation bubble in a transonic flow regime characterized by surface hot-film measurements. The measurements are supplemented by Schlieren images recorded with a high-speed camera at 19.2 kHz. A highly unsteady normal shock wave on the suction side is observable upstream of the trailing edge. It is interacting with laminar separated flow which is rarely documented in literature. The interaction of the normal shock with the boundary layer flow seems to amplifies the ongoing transition process over the separation bubble and the flow reattaches shortly downstream. A statistical analysis of the Schlieren images reveals characteristic low frequencies of the shock wave motions and a pulsation of the separation bubble. Additionally, the statistical information of the time-dependent signal from the surface hot-film sensors demonstrate the instabilities influencing the boundary layer linked to the unsteadiness in the main flow.

Turbulent boundary layer control with a spanwise array of DBD plasma actuators

The turbulent boundary layer control on NACA 0012 airfoil with Mach number ranging from 0.3 to 0.5 by a spanwise array of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators by hot-film sensor technology is investigated. Due to temperature change mainly caused through heat produced along with plasma will lead to measurement error of shear stress measured by hot-film sensor, the correction method that takes account of the change measured by another sensor is used and works well. In order to achieve the value of shear stress change, we combine computational fluid dynamics computation with experiment to calibrate the hot-film sensor. To test the stability of the hot-film sensor, seven repeated measurements of shear stress at Ma = 0.3 are conducted and show that confidence interval of hot-film sensor measurement is from −0.18 to 0.18 Pa and the root mean square is 0.11 Pa giving a relative error 0.5% over all Mach numbers in this experiment. The research on the turbulent boundary layer control with DBD plasma actuators demonstrates that the control makes shear stress increase by about 6% over the three Mach numbers, which is thought to be reliable through comparing it with the relative error 0.5%, and the value is hardly affected by burst frequency and excitation voltage.

Experimental investigations on the dynamic behavior of a 2-DOF airfoil in the transitional Re number regime based on digital-image correlation measurements

The present paper investigates the fluid–structure interaction (FSI) of a wing with two degrees of freedom (DOF), i.e., pitch and heave, in the transitional Reynolds number regime. This 2-DOF setup marks a classic configuration in aeroelasticity to demonstrate flutter stability of wings. In the past, mainly analytic approaches have been developed to investigate this challenging problem under simplifying assumptions such as potential flow. Although the classical theory offers satisfying results for certain cases, modern numerical simulations based on fully coupled approaches, which are more generally applicable and powerful, are still rarely found. Thus, the aim of this paper is to provide appropriate experimental reference data for well-defined configurations under clear operating conditions. In a follow-up contribution these will be used to demonstrate the capability of modern simulation techniques to capture instantaneous physical phenomena such as flutter. The measurements in a wind tunnel are carried out based on digital-image correlation (DIC). The investigated setup consists of a straight wing using a symmetric NACA 0012 airfoil. For the experiments the model is mounted into a frame by means of bending and torsional springs imitating the elastic behavior of the wing. Three different configurations of the wing possessing a fixed elastic axis are considered. For this purpose, the center of gravity is shifted along the chord line of the airfoil influencing the flutter stability of the setup. Still air free-oscillation tests are used to determine characteristic properties of the unloaded system (e.g. mass moment of inertia and damping ratios) for one (pitch or heave) and two degrees (pitch and heave) of freedom. The investigations on the coupled 2-DOF system in the wind tunnel are performed in an overall chord Reynolds number range of 9.66×103≤Re≤8.77×104. The effect of the fluid-load induced damping is studied for the three configurations. Furthermore, the cases of limit-cycle oscillation (LCO) as well as diverging flutter motion of the wing are characterized in detail. In addition to the DIC measurements, hot-film measurements of the wake flow for the rigid and the oscillating airfoil are presented in order to distinguish effects originating from the flow and the structure.

High sensitive flexible hot-film sensor for measurement of unsteady boundary layer flow

The detailed flow characteristics in the boundary layer are critical for physical understanding of complex flow and aerodynamic performance optimization of aircraft. In this study, high sensitive micro-electro-mechanical system flexible hot-film sensor was developed for measurement of unsteady boundary layer flow. The effects of annealing temperature and time on the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) were studied, the highest TCR value of 5100 ppm °C−1 was obtained after 6 h of vacuum thermal annealing treatment at 400 °C. The flow transition and separation characteristics developed on two-dimensional NACA 0012 airfoil at various Reynolds numbers and angles of attack were investigated by using flexible hot-film sensors with validation by surface pressure distribution and aerodynamic force coefficient. The accurate locations of onset, 50% intermittent and end of transition were detected successfully. The behavior of spatial progression to the leading edge of transition point was found as the Reynolds number and angle of attack increases. The hot-film sensor measurements also demonstrated the static stall of the airfoil was caused by the leading edge separation bubble.

Investigating channel flow using wall shear stress signals at transitional Reynolds numbers

Time-resolved wall shear stress measurements are conducted to investigate channel flow at transitional Reynolds numbers. Constant temperature anemometry (CTA) is employed to measure the instantaneous wall shear stress using glue-on hot films as the sensing probes. Pressure-drop measurements are conducted to calibrate the mean hot-film voltage signals and to ensure that the pressure drop is measured in the so-called “fully-developed” region of the channel, a study of effect of entrance length on the pressure-drop measurements is carried out. Time history and higher order statistics of wall shear stress fluctuations reveal that the flow remains laminar until Reτ(=uτh/ν)≈43 in our channel flow facility, where uτ, h and ν are the friction velocity, channel half-height and kinematic viscosity, respectively. Third and fourth order moments of wall shear stress jump at the onset of transition and increase significantly until they reach maxima at about Reτ ≈ 48. After this Reynolds number, these two higher order moments start to decrease gradually with increasing Reynolds number and after Reτ≈73−79, any significant dependence of these two moments on Reynolds number disappears. Multiple hot-film measurements, which are located at different spatial locations, are conducted to characterize the large-scale turbulent structures. It is observed that there are structures, at least 7h wide, for Reτ between 46.8 and 53.9. Two-point spatial correlations reveal that on average these large structures are angled at approximately 17o for Reτ=46.8 and roughly between 32o and 37o for 48.7 < Reτ < 53.9 relative to the streamwise direction.

Control of Synthetic Hairpin Vortices in Laminar Boundary Layer for Skin-Friction Reduction

The results of flow visualization and hot-film measurement in a water channel are presented in this paper, in which the effectiveness of controlling synthetic hairpin vortices in the laminar boundary layer is examined to reduce skin friction. In this study, hairpin vortices were generated by periodically injecting vortex rings into a cross flow through a hole on a flat plate. To control the hairpin vortices, jets were issued from a nozzle directly onto the head of the hairpins. The results of the flow visualization demonstrated that the jets destroyed the hairpins by disconnecting the heads from their legs, after which the weakened hairpin vortices could not develop. Therefore, the circulation around the legs was reduced, which suggests that the direct intervention on the hairpin heads resulted in the reduction of streamwise stretching. Data obtained by a hot-film sensor showed that the high-speed regions outside the hairpin legs were reduced in speed by this control technique, leading to a decrease in the associated local skin friction.

On the flow physics and vortex behavior of rectangular orifice synthetic jets

Synthetic jet actuators possess a continuous jet like behavior in its far region and have found wide-scale engineering applications since it allows momentum transport to the flow system without any net mass transfer across the flow boundaries. The case of a non-axisymmetric synthetic jet is particularly significant since it is affected by the differential shear layer at the orifice exit, that depends on its aspect ratio. However, despite exhaustive research on both continuous and synthetic jets, very few studies have experimentally investigated the case of rectangular orifice synthetic jets, focusing on the effect of aspect ratio of the orifice as well as the actuation frequency upon the vortex behavior and the flow physics. In particular, the intriguing phenomenon of vortex bifurcation has mostly been reported only for an individual vortex or for a plain jet. Yet, in a train of vortex rings, such as that obtained in a synthetic jet, the occurrence of vortex bifurcation can be expected, although the flow physics in the wake of individual vortex rings is significantly different. The present study experimentally investigates a rectangular orifice synthetic jet at different orifice aspect ratios and actuation frequencies, focusing on exploring the conditions at which vortex bifurcation occurs, through LIF imaging and Hot-film measurements. The primary objective of these experiments is to provide a qualitative physical insight into the synthetic jet ejected from a rectangular orifice (through LIF imaging), as well as to quantitatively explore the experimental conditions that promote different flow structures (through velocity time trace, time-averaged velocity profiles and power spectral density measurements), particularly the bifurcation of vortex rings. Our experiments indicate that the phenomenon of vortex bifurcation is observed during the axial switching of vortex rings, but only in a narrow range of experimental conditions. Further, the velocity measurements have ascertained that the two prominent reasons behind this bifurcation process are a large disparity in the velocities of the vortex core and the center of vortex ring, as well as the time lag in which the separation distance between the counter-rotating vortices decrease gradually to zero.

A Method for Approximate Prediction of Laminar–Turbulent Transition on Helicopter Rotors

An approximate method is presented to predict the laminar-turbulent transition onset within the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulations of helicopter rotors. Based on the presented method, the influence of laminar flow on the required rotor power and generated rotor thrust is investigated and compared to fully turbulent results. To compute the laminar boundary layer, an integral method according to Schlichting/Walz and a set of rotating velocity profiles according to Blaser and Velkoff are used. The laminar-turbulent transition onset is predicted by empirical criteria with respect to Tollmien-Schlichting and crossflow instabilities, bypass mechanisms, and attachment line contamination. The method presented accounts for the turbulence-level variation of the simulated rotor wake. A detection of the boundary layer edge within the URANS solution is not required. The approximate method is validated using the experimental onset positions of representative transition test cases. This includes a laminar flow airfoil and a swept wing. To cover a rotor in forward flight, the onset positions on the model rotor of a Mach-scaled helicopter configuration are computed and compared to available hot-film measurements. In general, the predicted laminar flow lengths on the rotor blades reduce the required rotor power by 4-5%. The rotor thrust remains practically unaffected.

On- and off-design performance of a model rotating turbine with non-axisymmetric endwall contouring and a comparison to cascade data

ABSTRACTNon-axisymmetric endwalls in turbine stages have shown to be a robust method to improve the performance of turbines in both power generation and aero-derivative applications. Non-axisymmetric endwalls target the control of secondary flows and are designed using detailed computational fluid dynamics coupled with a variety of optimisation algorithms and utilising a number of objective functions according to the engine company or researcher's preference. These numerical predictions are often backed up by detailed measurements in linear and annular cascades and later proven in full-scale engine tests. Relatively little literature is available describing their performance in rotating test rigs or at conditions other than design, apart from that of the authors. This study comprehensively revisits the low-speed, model turbines used in the earlier study, replacing all of the 5-hole probe data with more accurate results and additional hot-film measurements. These results together with computational fluid dynamics solutions are used to show the success of the method across a large incidence range and to compare to earlier cascade results for a similar endwall and blade profile to establish the usefulness of cascade testing in this application. In addition, a comparison to two other off-design studies is made. Results indicate that the endwalls successfully improve the rotor total isentropic efficiency at all test conditions and that the improvement increases with increased turning in the blade row, from 0.5% to 1.8% across the incidence range. The results also compare well to the estimation of isentropic efficiency improvement that can be drawn from the cascade testing which stands at 1.55%.

Temperature decline thermography for laminar\u2013turbulent transition detection in aerodynamics

Detailed knowledge about laminar–turbulent transition and heat transfer distribution of flows around complex aerodynamic components are crucial to achieve highest efficiencies in modern aerodynamical systems. Several measurement techniques have been developed to determine those parameters either quantitatively or qualitatively. Most of them require extensive instrumentation or give unreliable results as the boundary conditions are often not known with the required precision. This work introduces the simple and robust temperature decline method to qualitatively detect the laminar–turbulent transition and the respective heat transfer coefficients on a surface exposed to an air flow, according to patent application Stadlbauer et al. (Patentnr. WO2014198251 A1, 2014). This method provides results which are less sensitive to control parameters such as the heat conduction into the blade material and temperature inhomogeneities in the flow or blade. This method was applied to measurements with NACA0018 airfoils exposed to the flow of a calibration-free jet at various Reynolds numbers and angles of attack. For data analysis, a post-processing method was developed and qualified to determine a quantity proportional to the heat transfer coefficient into the flow. By plotting this quantity for each pixel of the surface, a qualitative, two-dimensional heat transfer map was obtained. The results clearly depicted the areas of onset and end of transition over the full span of the model and agreed with the expected behavior based on the respective flow condition. To validate the approach, surface hotfilm measurements were conducted simultaneously on the same NACA profile. Both techniques showed excellent agreement. The temperature decline method allows to visualize laminar–turbulent transitions on static or moving parts and can be applied on a very broad range of scales—from tiny airfoils up to large airplane wings.

Wandering of a Wing-Tip Vortex: Rapid Scanning and Correction of Fixed-Point Measurements

Oscillations of a wing-tip vortex over planes orthogonal to the freestream direction are typically ascribed to a specific fluid dynamic phenomenon, which is referred to as vortex wandering or meandering. Vortex wandering affects noticeably fixed-point measurements, producing measured vortices with larger size and weaker intensity than the actual ones, and thus methods for correction of wandering smoothing effects are needed. For this survey, the tip vortex generated from a tapered NACA 0012 half-wing is measured through the rapid scanning technique, which consists of quickly traversing a five-hole pressure probe through the vortex core to obtain velocity signals practically not affected by wandering. Rapid scanning allows evaluating probability distributions of the vortex center positions, which are found to be characterized by bivariate normal probability density functions. Estimate of wandering smoothing effects on fixed-point measurements is carried out by comparing rapid scanning data not affected by wandering with fixed-point three-sensor hot-film measurements. The vortex strength seems to be the main vortex parameter controlling wandering; wandering amplitude is reduced by increasing wing angle of attack or freestream velocity or by reducing streamwise distance from the wing. However, a sufficiently strong or concentrated vortex can be weakly affected by wandering.

A two-element high-lift airfoil in disturbed flow conditions

This contribution presents experimental results of a two-element high-lift airfoil in a disturbed inflow. Permanent disturbances are generated by the wakes of two static airfoils located upstream of the research airfoil, one of which is a planar wake by an infinite airfoil and the other is a longitudinal vortex emanating from a finite wing. The disturbances induce spanwise gradients into the flow. The disturbed flow field is measured by Particle Image Velocimetry. The interaction of the disturbed flow field with the high-lift airfoil is investigated by means of static surface pressure close to the airfoil’s leading- and trailing-edge, as well as surface hotfilm measurements and oil flow visualizations on the high-lift flap. For small and moderate incidences the airfoil is mainly influenced by the circulation induced by the disturbances, which affect the effective flow angles. Local effects that result from the turbulence in the airfoil-wake and the induced transverse velocity of the disturbances are likewise considered. At high angle of attack, the prevailing stall conditions with strong variations in spanwise direction are discussed.

The Effect of Freestream Turbulence on Deposition for Nozzle Guide Vanes

An evaluation of the effect of freestream turbulence intensity on the rate of deposit accumulation for nozzle guide vanes (NGVs) was performed using the turbine reacting flow rig (TuRFR) accelerated deposition facility. The TuRFR allowed flows up to 1350 K at inlet Mach numbers of 0.1 to be seeded with coal fly ash particulate in order to rapidly evaluate deposit formation on CFM56 NGVs. Hot film and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements were taken to assess the freestream turbulence with and without the presence of a grid upstream of the NGVs. It was determined that baseline turbulence levels were approximately half that of the flow exiting typical gas turbine combustors and were reduced by approximately 30% with the grid installed. Deposition tests indicated that the rate of deposition increases as the freestream turbulence is increased, and that this increase depends upon the particle size distribution. For ash with a mass median diameter of 4.63 μm, the increase in capture efficiency was approximately a factor of 1.77, while for ash with a larger median diameter of 6.48 μm, the capture efficiency increased by a factor of 1.84. The increase in capture efficiency is due to the increased diffusion of particles to the vane surface via turbulent diffusion. Based on these results, smaller particles appear to be less susceptible to this mechanism of particle delivery. Overall, the experiments indicate that the reduction of turbulence intensity upstream of NGVs may lead to reduced deposit accumulation, and consequently, increased service life. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed at turbulence levels equivalent to the experiments to assess the ability of built-in particle tracking models to capture the physics of turbulent diffusion. Impact efficiencies were shown to increase from 21% to 73% as the freestream turbulence was increased from 5.8% to 8.4%. An analysis incorporating the mass of the particles into the impact efficiency resulted in an increase of the mass-based impact efficiency from 17% to 27% with increasing turbulence. Relating these impact efficiencies directly to capture efficiencies, the predicted increase in capture efficiency with higher turbulence is less than that observed in the experiments. In addition, the variation in the impact efficiencies between the two ash sizes was smaller than the capture efficiency difference from experiments. This indicates that the particle tracking models are not capturing all of the relevant physics associated with turbulent diffusion of airborne particles.