The conjugate heat transfer methodology has been employed to predict the flow and thermal properties including the metal temperature of a NASA turbine vane at three operating conditions. The turbine vane was cooled internally by air flowing through 10 round pipes. The conjugate heat transfer methodology allows a simultaneous solution of aerodynamics and heat transfer in the external hot gas and the internal cooling passages and conduction within the solid metal, eliminating the need for multiple/decoupled solutions in a typical industry design process. The model of about three million computational meshes includes the gas path and the internal cooling channels, comprising hexa cells, and the solid metal comprising hexa and prism cells. The predicted aerodynamic loadings were found to be in close agreement with the data for all the cases. The predicted metal temperature, external and internal heat transfer distributions at the mid-span compared well with the measurement. The differences in the heat transfer rates and metal temperature under different running conditions were also captured well. The V2F turbulence model has been compared with a low-Reynolds-number k-ε model and a non-linear quadratic k-ε model. The V2F model is found to provide the closest agreement with the data, though it still has room for improvement in predicting the boundary layer transition and turbulent heat transfer, especially on the suction side. The overall results are quite encouraging and indicate that conjugate heat transfer simulation with proper turbulence closure has the potential to become a viable tool in turbine heat transfer analysis and cooling design.
This paper presents a numerical study of the turbulent flows through a number of 2D and 3D 180 deg U-ducts, with and without guide vanes, using the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes method. Computations have been first carried out for a 2D U-duct flow (W/H=1.0) with four turbulence models (V2F, k-ε, shear stress transport (SST), and Reynolds stress). The models’ capability for predicting streamline curvature effects on turbulence and separation has been assessed, using flow and turbulence data. The effects of adding a guide vane inside the bend have been analyzed to reduce/avoid flow separation. Three vanes with different radial locations have been studied, and the mechanism for pressure loss reduction has been examined. Analyses have been performed for turbulent flows in 3D U-ducts with square cross section and sharp 180 deg turning (W/D=0.2), similar to the U-bends in typical turbine blade cooling passages. The predictions are compared with the data of outer-wall pressure. The effects of the guide vane and outer-wall shape on the flow separation, secondary-flow vortices, and pressure loss have been evaluated. The combined vane and uniform cross section area are found to improve the flow distribution and reduce the pressure loss significantly.
The practical utility of a three-dimensional inverse viscous method is demonstrated by carrying out a design modification of a first-stage rotor in an industrial compressor. In this design modification study, the goal is to improve the efficiency of the original blade while retaining its overall aerodynamic, structural, and manufacturing characteristics. By employing a simple modification to the blade pressure loading distribution (which is the prescribed flow quantity in this inverse method), the modified blade geometry is predicted to perform better than the original design over a wide range of operating points, including an improvement in choke margin.
Accurate modeling of the laminar-turbulent transition remains a challenge for the prediction of external heat transfer on turbine airfoils. This paper presents a numerical study for turbine heat transfer and by-pass transition under high freestream turbulence using advanced turbulence models. Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) analyses have been carried out for two transonic turbine airfoils, with inlet turbulence intensity ranging from 12% to 16%, and exit Reynolds number varying from 8×105 to 1.5×106. The RANS results are compared against the recent data from Virginia Tech, as well as the predictions from a 2-D boundary layer code — TEXSTAN. The effects of inlet turbulence length scale on the freestream turbulence decay and boundary layer transition are investigated using different models, including a Reynolds stress model. It is found that a postulation by Steelant and Dick can be used to set up plausible turbulence length scales at the inlet. It is observed that maintaining a proper decay rate of freestream turbulence inside the turbine passages is necessary to achieve reasonably good prediction of transition and heat transfer. The V2F, SST, and k-ε turbulence models have been assessed.
The practical utility of a 3D inverse viscous method is demonstrated by carrying out a design modification of a first-stage rotor in an industrial compressor. In this design modification study, the goal is to improve the efficiency of the original blade while retaining its overall aerodynamic, structural and manufacturing characteristics. By employing a simple modification to the blade pressure loading distribution (which is the prescribed flow quantity in this inverse method), the modified blade geometry is predicted to perform better than the original design over a wide range of operating points, including an improvement in choke margin.
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