Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of buoyancy and Coriolis forces on heat transfer in turbine blade internal coolant passages. The experiments were conducted with a large scale, multi–pass, smooth–wall heat transfer model with both radially inward and outward flow. An analysis of the governing flow equations showed that four parameters influence the heat transfer in rotating passages (coolant–to–wall temperature ratio, Rossby number, Reynolds number and radius–to–passage hydraulic diameter ratio). These four parameters were varied over ranges which are typical of advanced gas turbine engine operating conditions. It was found that both Coriolis and buoyancy effects must be considered in turbine blade cooling designs and that the effect of rotation on the heat transfer coefficients was markedly different depending on the flow direction. Local heat transfer coefficients were found to decrease by as much as 60 percent and increase by 250 percent from no rotation levels. Comparisons with a pioneering stationary vertical tube buoyancy experiment showed reasonably good agreement. Correlation of the data is achieved employing dimensionless parameters derived from the governing flow equations.

Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of buoyancy and Coriolis forces on heat transfer in turbine blade internal coolant passages. The experiments were conducted with a large-scale, multipass, smooth-wall heat transfer model with both radially inward and outward flow. An analysis of the governing flow equations showed that four parameters influence the heat transfer in rotating passages: coolant-to-wall temperature ratio, Rossby number, Reynolds number, and radius-to-passage hydraulic diameter ratio. These four parameters were varied over ranges that are typical of advanced gas turbine engine operating conditions. It was found that both Coriolis and buoyancy effects must be considered in turbine blade cooling designs and that the effect of rotation on the heat transfer coefficients was markedly different depending on the flow direction. Local heat transfer coefficients were found to decrease by as much as 60 percent and increase by 250 percent from no-rotation levels. Comparisons with a pioneering stationary vertical tube buoyancy experiment showed reasonably good agreement. Correlation of the data is achieved employing dimensionless parameters derived from the governing flow equations.

Heat transfer measurements for a turbulent boundary layer on a convex and concave, constant-temperature surface are presented. The heat transferred on the convex surface was found to be less than that for a flat surface, while the heat transferred to the boundary layer on the concave surface was greater. It was also found that the heat transferred on the convex surface could be determined by using an existing two-dimensional finite difference boundary layer program modified to take into account the effect of streamline curvature on the turbulent shear stress and heat flux, but that the heat transferred on the concave surface could not be calculated. The latter result is attributed to the transition from a two-dimensional flow to one which contained streamwise, Taylor-Go¨rtler type vortices.

The effects of streamline curvature on film cooling effectiveness are discussed. Experiments for air discharged through a slot and into a turbulent boundary layer along a flat, convex, and concave surface are described. Adiabatic wall effectiveness measurements on each surface for several blowing rates are presented. Boundary-layer velocity and temperature measurements are also presented for one of the blowing rates. Compared to the results for the flat surface, convex curvature is found to increase the adiabatic wall effectiveness whereas concave curvature is found to be detrimental.