Experimental Measurements and Analysis of Heat Transfer and Gas Dynamics in a Rotating Turbine Stage

The life-cycle fatigue of a particular component of a high-pressure turbine stage is influenced by the local heat flux and the resulting metal temperature excursions experienced by this component during normal operation. Flow through a turbine stage is seldom uniform and is often influenced by non-uniform incoming gas streams that can result in locally high heat fluxes. In the case of the rotor blades passing through the nozzle guide vane wakes and passages, these local heat rates translate into local temperature fluctuations that will likely affect the fatigue life of the blade. In order to better understand the influence of the heat load on the component life, one would like to have both the local steady-state heat flux and the high-frequency component of the heat flux.