Numerical Investigation of Effects of Blockage, Inclination Angle, and Hole-Size on Film Cooling Effectiveness at Concave Surface

Abstract

Film-hole can be often blocked by thermal-barrier coatings (TBCs) spraying, resulting in the variations of aerodynamic and thermal performances of film cooling. In this study, a numerical study of the blockage effect on the film cooling effectiveness of inclined cylindrical-holes was carried out on a concave surface to simulate the airfoil pressure side. Three typical blowing ratios (BRs) of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 were chosen at an engine-similar density ratio (DR) of 2.0. Two common inclination angles of 30 deg and 45 deg were designed. The blockage ratios were adjusted from 0 to 20%. The results indicated the blockage could enhance the penetration of film cooling flow to the mainstream. Thus, the averaged effectiveness and coolant coverage area were reduced. Moreover, the pressure loss inside of the hole was increased. With the increase of BR, the decrement of film cooling effectiveness caused by blockage rapidly increased. At BR = 1.5, the decrement could be acquired up to 70% for a blockage ratio of 20%. The decrement of film cooling effectiveness caused by blockage was nearly nonsensitive to the injection angle; however, the larger angle could generate the higher increment of pressure loss caused by blockage. A new design method for the couple scheme of film cooling and TBC was proposed, i.e., increasing the inlet diameter according to the blockage ratio before TBC spraying. In comparison with the original unblocked-hole, the enlarged blocked-hole not only kept the nearly same area-averaged effectiveness but also reduced slightly the pressure loss inside of the hole. Unfortunately, application of enlarged blocked-hole at large BR could lead to a more obvious reduction of effectiveness near hole-exit, in comparison with the original common-hole.