Experimental Study of Vane Heat Transfer and Film Cooling at Elevated Levels of Turbulence

This report documents the results of an experimental study on the influence of high level turbulence on vane film cooling and the influence of film cooling on vane heat transfer. Three different cooling configurations were investigated which included one row of film cooling on both pressure and suction surfaces, two staggered rows of film cooling on both suction and pressure surfaces, and a shower-head cooling array. The turbulence had a strong influence on film cooling effectiveness, particularly on the pressure surface where local turbulence levels were the highest. For the single row of holes, the spanwise mixing quickly reduced centerline effectiveness levels while mixing in the normal direction was more gradual. The film cooling had a strong influence on the heat transfer in the laminar regions of the vane. The effect of film cooling on heat transfer was noticeable in the turbulent regions but augmentation ratios were significantly lower. In addition to heat transfer and film cooling, velocity profiles were taken downstream of the film cooling rows at three spanwise locations. These profile comparisons documented the strong spanwise mixing due to the high turbulence. Total pressure exit measurements were also documented for the three configurations.