Film Cooling Effectiveness on a Turbine Vane in Transonic Conditions
Open Access
- Author:
- Gayoso, Isabella
- Area of Honors:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Stephen P Lynch, Thesis Supervisor
Margaret Louise Byron, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Film cooling
Turbine Vane
Overall Film Effectiveness
Transonic
High-speed Cascade - Abstract:
- In this experiment, measurements of the overall cooling effectiveness for a film cooled turbine vane airfoil in a high-speed cascade were obtained using infrared thermography. The vane used was the NASA C3X with impingement holes (showerhead cooling) and convective cooling holes on both the suction and pressure side. This work was done in the Mechanical Engineering Department’s Experimental and Computational Convection Lab and used the high-speed cascade capability of the lab. The rationale for conducting this work was to obtain experimental data on film cooling effectiveness in a turbine vane in engine-like conditions at transonic speeds. Previous work has been done at subsonic speeds, but few pieces of literature examine this parameter at transonic speeds. The data can then be used to validate or compare to CFD models and to better understand what happens to the vane temperature distribution during engine operation. This understanding could inform the design of film cooling holes to reduce thermal strain “hot spots” which lead to failure of the vane. The results showed that trends for values of overall film effectiveness were as expected in this experiment, such as increases in blowing ratio correlating to increases in overall film effectiveness. However, the blowing ratios used in this study were not as high as values studied previously, indicating a need for more data on overall film effectiveness at transonic speeds.