The use of pressure sensitive paint (PSP) to measure film cooling effectiveness on a turbine nozzle surface was demonstrated in a high speed wind tunnel. Film cooling effectiveness was measured from a single row of holes located on a turbine vane suction surface with a shaped exit. Nitrogen gas was used to simulate film cooling flow as well as a tracer gas to indicate oxygen concentration such that film effectiveness by the mass transfer analogy could be obtained. Three blowing ratios were studied for each of the five freestream conditions: a reference condition, a reduced and an increased Reynolds number condition, and a reduced and an increased Mach number condition. The freestream turbulence intensity was kept at 12.0% for all the tests. The PSP was calibrated at various temperatures and pressures to obtain better accuracy before being applied to the airfoil surface. The film effectiveness increased with blowing ratio for all the freestream conditions. The effects of secondary flow and freestream Mach number and Reynolds number on turbine nozzle suction surface film cooling are also discussed.

This paper experimentally investigates the effect of a turning vane on hub region heat transfer in a multi-pass rectangular smooth channel at high rotation numbers. The experimental data were taken in the second and the third passages (Aspect Ratio = 2:1) connected by an 180° U-bend. The flow was radial inward in the second passage and was radial outward after the 180° U-bend in the third passage. The Reynolds number ranged 10,000 to 40,000 while the rotation number ranged 0 to 0.42. The density ratio was a constant of 0.12. Results showed that rotation increases heat transfer on leading surface but decreases it on the trailing surface in the second passage. In the third passage, the effect of rotation is reversed. Without a turning vane, rotation reduces heat transfer substantially on all surfaces in the hub 180° turn region. After adding a half-circle-shaped turning vane, heat transfer coefficients do not change in the second passage (before turn) while they are quite different in the turn region and the third passage (after turn). Regional heat transfer coefficients are correlated with rotation numbers for multi-pass rectangular smooth channel with and without a turning vane.

Film cooling effectiveness was measured on a contoured endwall surface using the pressure sensitive paint (PSP) technique. A double staggered row of holes was adopted to supply cooling air in front of the nozzle leading edges. To simulate realistic engine configuration, a back-facing step was built, which was located upstream from the film injection. Nitrogen gas was used to simulate film cooling flow as a tracer gas to indicate oxygen concentration such that film effectiveness by the mass transfer analogy could be obtained. Cooling mass flow was controlled to be from 0.5% to 3.0% of the mainstream mass flow. Film effectiveness distributions were measured on the endwall surface for both smooth (baseline) and back-facing step inlet configurations. For the smooth inlet case, film effectiveness increased nonlinearly with mass flow rate, indicating a strong interference between the cooling jets and the secondary flows. At lower mass flow ratios, the secondary flow dominated the near wall flow field, resulting in a low film effectiveness value. At higher mass flow ratios, the cooling jet momentum dominated the near wall flow field, resulting in a higher film effectiveness. For the back-facing step inlet configuration, the values of film effectiveness were reduced significantly, suggesting a stronger secondary flow interaction. In addition to the comparison between the smooth and back-facing step inlet configurations, comparison to previous data by the authors on a flat endwall was also made.

An experimental study is carried out in a stationary linear cascade which simulates a turbine rotor to compare the thermal performance of two new axisymmetric endwall contour geometries. Measurements of endwall adiabatic film cooling effectiveness and near-endwall passage temperature fields are made for this purpose. In addition to documenting endwall contouring effects, a range of disc cavity leakage flow rates is investigated. This information is meant to quantify, over the range tested, the benefits and penalties of introducing leakage flow into the passage using the designated endwall contouring. Special attention is paid to determine whether the endwall curvature has any effect on the interaction between mainstream and secondary flows within the passage. Results indicate improved thermal performance when strong endwall curvature exists near the blade leading edge. The strong curvature causes cavity leakage flow to remain closer to the endwall, thereby increasing cooling effectiveness.

This paper presents a detailed study on the effect of misalignment between the combustor exit and the nozzle guide vane endwall. The Nusselt number distribution and augmentation on an axisymmetric converging endwall as well as stage pressure losses were studied using experimental techniques and computational analysis. The analyzed endwall configurations are representative of the design intent and average off-design endwall configurations of a land-based high-pressure turbine nozzle guide vane. The studies were carried out at isentropic exit Mach number of 0.85, with an exit Reynolds number of 1.5 × 106 based on the true chord, and an inlet turbulence intensity of 16%. The experiment was conducted in a blowdown transonic linear cascade wind tunnel and an infrared camera was used to measure the surface temperature and subsequently the endwall heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number distribution. Numerical computation analysis using ANSYS Fluent v.16 was used to provide further insight into the near-endwall flow field the predictions compared favorably to experimental data. The findings show that at the two configurations there exist uniquely different endwall secondary flow systems throughout the NGV stage. The interaction of separated flow at the combustor-turbine interface with the vane potential field results in additional secondary flow that is vastly different from that associated with classical endwall flows. This increased secondary flow in the misaligned configuration was marked by a 25% increase in NGV stage losses. The presence of separated flow and additional secondary flows also resulted in flow reattachment inside the vane passage which augmented heat transfer. The region upstream of the vane gage/throat showed heat transfer augmentation of up to 60%, while the endwall region downstream of the throat did not show any considerable heat transfer augmentation.