Numerical Simulations for Flow and Heat Transfer Characteristics in Different Latticework Cooling Configurations for Gas Turbine Blades

To get knowledge of the flow and heat transfer performance of latticework structure used in different sections in gas turbine blades, a numerical study has been carried out in different latticework cooling configurations under the same mass flow rates and under the same subchannel Reynolds numbers. The three latticework cooling configurations are the radial flow configuration (RFC), the cross flow configuration (CFC) and the turning flow configuration (TFC). The comparisons between the present numerical data and the experimental data validated the numerical approach both qualitatively and quantitatively. Under the same cooling mass flow rates, the RFC latticework obtains the highest averaged Nusselt numbers and the largest pressure losses, and the CFC and TFC latticework obtain appreciably lower but similar averaged heat transfer performance with much reduced pressure loss. Under the same subchannel Reynolds numbers, the three latticework cooling configurations show similar averaged heat transfer enhancement, but the pressure loss for the TFC latticework is the smallest. In present study, the average heat transfer coefficient at fin surfaces is 16.3% higher than that at primary surfaces in RFC latticework, and the corresponding value for CFC and TFC latticework are 38.2% and 30.6% higher. Different latticework cooling configurations produce different flow characteristics including the flow turnings and interactions among the subchannels. © 2021, Editorial Department of Journal of Propulsion Technology. All right reserved.