Effects of Part-to-Part Flow Variations on Overall Effectiveness and Life of Rotating Turbine Blades

Brian F. Knisely, Reid A. Berdanier, Joel H. Wagner, Karen Ann Thole, Allan N. Arisi, Charles W. Haldeman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

As firing temperatures in gas turbine engines continue to increase to achieve high efficiencies, components in the main gas path must be protected with cooling flows to ensure lifing targets are met. Manufacturing variations, however, influence the performance and life characteristics of components with the same nominal design. This study presents blade flow and overall cooling effectiveness measurements for nine true-scale, aero engine turbine blades with realistic manufacturing variations. Flow measurements were made through each blade at a fixed pressure ratio to determine flow variability between holes and between blades. Infrared thermography was used to capture spatially-resolved temperature measurements reported as overall effectiveness on the same nine blades under high-speed rotating conditions at the Steady Thermal Aero Research Turbine Laboratory. Thermal performance was correlated with blade flow performance indicating substantial blade-to-blade variations resulting from manufacturing differences. Measurements also indicated wide variations in cooling jet trajectories as well as overall cooling effectiveness. Finally, the observed blade-to-blade variations in effectiveness were scaled to engine conditions with lifing estimates showing some blades would be expected to last only half as long as others due to manufacturing variability.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number061016
JournalJournal of Turbomachinery
Volume145
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2023

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Mechanical Engineering

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