A critical study of laminar-turbulent transition phenomena and its role in aerodynamics and heat transfer in modern and future gas turbine engines is presented. In order to develop a coherent view of the subject, a current look at transition phenomena from both a theoretical and experimental standpoint are provided and a comprehensive state-of-the-art account of transitional phenomena in the engine’s throughflow components given. The impact of transitional flow on engine design is discussed and suggestions for future research and developmental work provided.

Local rates of heat transfer on the endwall, suction, and pressure surfaces of a large scale turbine blade cascade were measured for two inlet boundary layer thicknesses and for a Reynolds number typical of gas turbine engine operation. The accuracy and spatial resolution of the measurements were sufficient to reveal local variations of heat transfer associated with distinct flow regimes and with regions of strong three-dimensional flow. Pertinent results of surface flow visualization and pressure measurements are included. The dominant role of the passage vortex, which develops from the singular separation of the inlet boundary layer, in determining heat transfer at the endwall and at certain regions of the airfoil surface is illustrated. Heat transfer on the passage surfaces is discussed and measurements at airfoil midspan are compared with current finite difference prediction methods.

A critical study of laminar-turbulent transition phenomena and their role in aerodynamics and heat transfer in modern and future gas turbine engines is presented. In order to develop a coherent view of the subject, a current look at transition phenomena from both a theoretical and experimental standpoint are provided and a comprehensive state-of-the-art account of transitional phenomena in the engine’s throughflow components given. The impact of transitional flow on engine design is discussed and suggestions for future research and developmental work provided.

The effect of length scale in free-stream turbulence is considered for heat transfer in laminar boundary layers. A model is proposed which accounts for an “effective” intensity of turbulence based on a dominant frequency for a laminar boundary layer. Assuming a standard turbulence spectral distribution, a new turbulence parameter which accounts for both turbulence level and length scale is obtained and used to correlate heat transfer data for laminar stagnation flows. The result indicates that the heat transfer for these flows is linearly dependent on the “effective” free-stream turbulence intensity.