Design optimization of a cooled gas turbine vane

Date

2024-8

Author

Gökeniş, Furkan

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Modern gas turbine engines aim for high efficiency and high specific thrust, which results in high turbine inlet temperatures that stress turbine materials. Significant portions of turbine blades or vanes, especially on the suction surface, may experience a transitional boundary layer, impacting heat transfer rates. Therefore, selecting an appropriate turbulence model to predict the external heat transfer coefficient (HTC) distribution near the transition region is crucial. Unrealistic temperature distributions can cause mechanical failures and dictate the lifespan of blades and vanes. In addition to that, optimizing the cooling system design for air-cooled turbines is critical in modern gas turbine engineering. To operate beyond material temperature limits, turbine blades/vanes employ internal and external cooling techniques. Often, the trailing edge is the most difficult zone of blade/vane to cool due to structural and aerodynamic restrictions. Modern turbine blades/vanes use pressure side cutbacks/slots stiffened with lands and pins embedded in passages for trailing-edge cooling. This thesis focuses on assessing and optimizing an industry-based Energy Efficient Engine (E3) second-stage high-pressure turbine vane using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The study investigates the laminar-to-turbulent transition phenomenon on the vane and the implementation of cooling pins and pressure-side cutback/slot structures for different configurations in trailing edge to enhance cooling effectiveness. This comprehensive investigation provides valuable insights for turbine designers focusing on aerodynamics and cooling.

Subject Keywords

Turbine vane cooling, Laminar-to-turbulent transition, Pin fin cooling, Trailing edge cooling, Computational fluid dynamics

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/111361

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis