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Showing papers by "Terrence W. Simon published in 2020"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a detailed overall cooling effectiveness and associated flow patterns are presented for two distinct film hole distribution patterns over a turbine endwall: an axial-row pattern and an iso-Mach number line row pattern.
Abstract: In this paper, detailed overall cooling effectiveness and associated flow patterns are presented for two distinct film hole distribution patterns over a turbine endwall: an axial-row pattern and an iso-Mach number line row pattern. Measurements, in combination with numerical simulations, are performed in a scaled-up cascade. Thermal protection for the endwall is achieved by jet-array impingement on the cold side and discrete film cooling on the hot-gas side, combined with purge air from an inclined slot that simulates the upstream seal cavity. Infrared (IR) thermography techniques are used to obtain overall effectiveness in a wide range of coolant flow ratios of 1.5–3.8%. Mach numbers at the exit of the vane cascade are 0.25 and 0.70, representing the variations of engine operating conditions. Overall effectiveness measurements and computational flowfields show that the iso-Mach number line hole pattern outperforms the hole pattern with axial rows of holes in terms of overall effectiveness levels and thermodynamic energy losses, regardless of coolant flow ratios. Increasing Mach number increases overall effectiveness levels on the endwall and higher Mach numbers generate higher effectiveness improvement for the iso-Mach number line arrangement, relative to the axial-row configuration. Additionally, adding purge air to the endwall considerably improves the overall effectiveness levels and purge air performs better for the axial-row pattern due to no direct interactions with downstream discrete coolant injection.

2 citations


Proceedings ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a detailed study on the sensitivity of aero-thermal interactions to endwall film cooling MFR (cooling mass flow to mainstream flow ratio) is presented.
Abstract: Modern gas turbines are subjected to very high thermal loading. This leads to a need for aggressive cooling to protect components from damage. Endwalls are particularly challenging to cool due to a complex system of secondary flows near them that wash and disrupt the protective coolant films. This highly three-dimensional flow not only affects but is also affected by the momentum of film cooling flows, whether injected just upstream of the passage to intentionally cool the endwall, or as combustor cooling flows injected further upstream in the engine. This complex interaction between the different cooling flows and passage aerodynamics has been recently studied in a first stage nozzle guide vane. The present paper presents a detailed study on the sensitivity of aero-thermal interactions to endwall film cooling MFR (cooling mass flow to mainstream flow ratio). The test section represents a first stage nozzle guide vane with a contoured endwall and endwall film cooling injected just upstream of it. The test section also includes an engine-representative combustor-turbine interface geometry with combustor cooling flows injected at a constant rate. The approach flow conditions represent flow exiting a low-NOx combustor. Adiabatic surface thermal measurements and in-passage velocity and thermal field measurements are presented and discussed. The results show the dynamics of passage vortex suppression and the increase of impingement vortex strength as MFR changes. The effects of these changes of secondary flows on coolant distribution are presented.

2 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of changing the mass flowrate of these combustor coolant streams on the passage flowfield have been studied, and the results show that the flow physics remains largely unaffected by changes in coolant flowrates except in the endwall-vane surfaces region where the combustor cooledant flowrate dominates changes in cooling transport.
Abstract: The stators of the first stage of a gas turbine are exposed to severe temperatures. The coolant streams introduced to prevent the stators from thermal damage further complicate the highly three-dimensional vane passage flow. Recent results have shown that the coolant streams injected for cooling the combustor also influence the flow physics and the cooling effectiveness in the first-stage stator vanes passage. However, the effects of changing the mass flowrate of these combustor coolant streams on the passage flowfield have not been studied. As understanding the coolant transport is necessary for analyzing changes in cooling effectiveness in the vane passage, detailed aerodynamic and thermal measurements along the whole vane passage are required. This two-part paper presents such measurements taken for a variety of combustor coolant and endwall film coolant flowrates. The experiments were conducted in a low-Mach number facility with engine-representative Reynolds numbers and large-scale high-level turbulence. The objective of the first part is to describe the flow that influences endwall and vane surface cooling effectiveness distributions, which are presented in the second part. The measurements show changes in the passage flowfield due to changes in both combustor coolant and endwall film coolant flowrates. Overall, the flow physics remains largely unaffected by changes in coolant flowrates except in the endwall-vane surfaces region where the combustor coolant flowrate dominates changes in coolant transport. This is shown to have a high impact on endwall and vane surface cooling.

1 citations


Proceedings ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a first-stage nozzle guide vane cascade that includes combustor coolant injection is analyzed and the effects of these flows on the endwall and vanes of a gas turbine engine are investigated.
Abstract: Effective coolant schemes are required for providing cooling to the first stage stator vanes of gas turbines. To correctly predict coolant performance on the endwall and vane surfaces, these coolant schemes should also consider the effects of coolant streams introduced upstream in the combustor section of a gas turbine engine. This two-part paper presents measurements taken on a first-stage nozzle guide vane cascade that includes combustor coolant injection. The first part of this paper explains how coolant transport and coolant-mainstream interaction in the vane passage is affected by changing the combustor coolant and endwall film coolant flow rates. This paper explains how those flows affect the coolant effectiveness on the endwall. Part one showed that a significant amount of coolant injected upstream of the endwall is present along the pressure surface of the vanes as well as over the endwall. Part two shows effectiveness measurement results taken in this study on the endwall and pressure and suction surfaces of the vanes. Sustained endwall coolant effectiveness is observed along the whole passage for all cases. It is uniform in the pitch-wise direction. Combustor coolant flow significantly affects cooling performance even near the trailing edge. The modified flow field results in the pressure surface being cooled more effectively than the suction surface. While the effectiveness distribution on the pressure surface varies with combustor and film coolant flow rates, the suction surface remains largely unchanged.