Film cooling systems of high performance gas turbine blades

Work number - M 62 AWARDED

Presented by the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of NAS of Ukraine.

Authors:N. Panchenko, Ph.D., M. Bezliudna, Ph.D., V. Petelchyts, Ph.D.

Based on theoretical and experimental approaches, the novel blade cooling techniques for the high performance gas turbines were studied for the first time. These techniques are characterised by the coolant supply into surface indentations of different shape or by formation of a complex 3D vortex structure in front of the cooled surface. The new film cooling techniques are not inferior to the best foreign «fan-shape» configurations in terms of the thermophysical effectiveness, but are characterised by simpler production technology.

The new scientific results were obtained, including the physical structure of turbulent vortex flow, basic laws of the local and average film cooling efficiency, as well as primary factors, determining the high thermophysical efficiency of the investigated film cooling techniques.

Thescientificfoundationsof the novel film cooling techniques were developed, taking into consideration effects of the coolant blowing, external flow acceleration and turbulence, surface curvature and temperature ratio, which are the most typical for the modern and perspective gas turbine engines, used in power sengineering and transport application.

The new scientific results correspond to the world standards, however in some cases exceed its; thus they make the paramount contribution into the theory of gas turbine blade cooling systems, as well as into the heat transfer theory, in general.

The results of studies in form of computational calculation procedures are used in the Gas Turbine Research & Production Complex«Zorya»-«Mashproekt»(Mykolaiv city), in the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine while developing theoretical foundations of surface-vortex film cooling systems. They also are used in the educational process of Physics and Technology Institute of the National Technical University of Ukraine «Ihor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute»(specialty: «physics of new energy sources»). This is confirmed by certificates of implementation and application.

The introduction of intensive surface-vortex blade film cooling techniques leads to reduction in the coolant mass flow rate by 20 % and, as a consequence, provides increase in the cycle efficiency by 2 %, allowing saving nearly 5 % of the natural gas. For the gas turbine engine of 25 MW power (Gas Turbine Research & Production Complex«Zorya»-«Mashproekt», Mykolaivcity), using the natural gas as a fuel ($ 215 per 1,000 m³), the cost saving is $ 2,18 mln for the time before first overhaul (25 000 hours), and is $ 8,72 mln for the overall service life (100 000 hours). Application of the novel film cooling configurations reduces (from four to three) the number of gas turbine engine overhauls.

The number of publications:is 52. It includes 25 papers (23 – in journals, included into the international scientometric databases (SCOPUS, Web of Science, Index Copernicus, Scholar, INSPEC, Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, RISC); 26 abstracts printed in the international conference proceedings; 1 handbook for the educational institutions. Total refereed publications according to Google Scholar database is 36,  2 of them are in the SCOPUS database. Overall citation index is 12, h-index is 3. The novelty of the technical solution was protected by the patent of Ukraine, all together three candidate of science dissertations were protected.