Three-Dimensional Flow Prediction and Improvement of Holes Arrangement of a Film-Cooled Turbine Blade Using a Feature-Based Jet Model

A feature-based jet model has been proposed for use in three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) prediction of turbine blade film cooling. The goal of the model is to be able to perform computationally efficient flow prediction and optimization of film-cooled turbine blades. The model reproduces in the near-hole region the macroflow features of a coolant jet within a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes framework. Numerical predictions of the 3D flow through a linear transonic film-cooled turbine cascade are carried out with the model, with a low computational overhead. Different cooling holes arrangements are computed, and the prediction accuracy is evaluated versus experimental data. It is shown that the present model provides a reasonably good prediction of the adiabatic film-cooling effectiveness and Nusselt number around the blade. A numerical analysis of the interaction of coolant jets issuing from different rows of holes on the blade pressure side is carried out. It is shown that the upward radial migration of the flow due to the passage secondary flow structure has an impact on the spreading of the coolant and the film-cooling effectiveness on the blade surface. Based on this result, a new arrangement of the cooling holes for the present case is proposed that leads to a better spanwise covering of the coolant on the blade pressure side surface.