Detailed Heat Transfer Distributions of Narrow Impingement Channels for Cast-In Turbine Airfoils

The current capabilities of the foundry industry allow the production of integrally cast turbine airfoils. Impingement cooling effectiveness can be then further increased due to the manufacturing feasibility of narrow impingement cavities in a double-wall configuration. This study examines experimentally, using the transient liquid crystal technique, the cooling performance of narrow cavities consisting of a single row of five impingement holes. Heat transfer coefficient distributions are obtained for all channel interior surfaces over a range of engine realistic Reynolds numbers varying between 10,900 and 85,900. Effects of streamwise jet-to-jet spacing (X/D), channel width (Y/D), jet-to-target plate distance (Z/D), and jet offset position (Dy/D) from the channel centerline are investigated composing a test matrix of 22 different geometries. Additionally, the target plate and sidewalls heat transfer rates are successfully correlated within the experimental uncertainties providing an empirical heat transfer model for narrow impingement channels. The results indicate similarities with multijet impingement configurations; however, the achievable heat transfer level is about 20% lower compared to periodic multijet impingement correlations found in open literature.