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Effects of Film Cooling on Turbine Blade Tip Flow Structures and Thermal Loading

Christensen, Louis Edward
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9982-1543
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1649689934038975

Abstract Details

2022, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Aerospace Engineering.
Gas turbine engines are an essential technology in aviation and power generation. One of the challenges associated with increasing the efficiency of gas turbines is the thermal loading experienced by the engine components downstream of the combustors especially the high-pressure turbine blades. High temperatures and rotational velocities can cause blade failures in numerous ways such as creep or stress rupture. Technologies like film cooling are implemented in these components to lower the thermal loading and reduce the risk of failure. However, these introduce complexities into the flow which in turn increases the difficulty of predicting the performance of film cooled turbines. Accurately predicting the capabilities of these components is essential to prevent failure in gas turbine engines. Engineers use a combination of experiments and computational simulations to understand how these technologies perform and predict the operating conditions and lifespan of these components. A combined experimental and numerical program is performed on a single stage high-pressure turbine to increase understanding of film cooling in gas turbines and improve computational methods used to predict their performance. The turbine studied is a contemporary production model from Honeywell Aerospace with both cooled and uncooled turbine blades. The experimental work is performed at The Ohio State University Gas Turbine Laboratory Turbine Test Facility, a short duration facility operating at engine corrected conditions. The experiments capture heat flux, temperature, and pressure data across the entire blade, but this work will focus on the turbine blade tip data. Tip temperature data are captured using a high-speed infrared camera providing a unique data set unseen in the current literature. In addition to the experiments, transient conjugate heat transfer simulations of a single turbine passage are performed to recreate the experiments and give insight into the flow field in the tip region of the turbine blades. The experiments and simulations are conducted to provide a better understanding of the interactions of the film cooling and tip flows along with their relationship to the thermal loading on the turbine blade tip. Film cooling in the tip region adds complexity to the flow and a non-intuitive relationship exists between film cooling and thermal loading. Addition of cooling is not guaranteed to reduce the thermal loading on the blade tips. Cooling jets can displace hot gases protecting the blade, but they are also capable of shifting flow structures and trapping hot gases near the blade surface especially so in corners of the blade tips. These direct and indirect methods of altering the thermal loading open a new path to optimization where engineers consider how the coolant alters the flow in addition to forming a protective layer of cool gas. This can be done to more effectively use coolant not only in the blade tips but elsewhere on the turbine blades leading to higher engine efficiencies and more sustainable gas turbine engines.
Randall Mathison (Advisor)
Sandip Mazumder (Committee Member)
Michael Dunn (Committee Member)
Jeffrey Bons (Committee Member)
263 p.
Aerospace Engineering; Mechanical Engineering
Gas Turbine; Heat Transfer; Film Cooling; Infrared Thermography; Conjugate Heat Transfer;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Christensen, L. E. (2022). Effects of Film Cooling on Turbine Blade Tip Flow Structures and Thermal Loading [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1649689934038975

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Christensen, Louis. Effects of Film Cooling on Turbine Blade Tip Flow Structures and Thermal Loading. 2022. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1649689934038975.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Christensen, Louis. "Effects of Film Cooling on Turbine Blade Tip Flow Structures and Thermal Loading." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1649689934038975

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1649689934038975
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.