Impingement Cooled Component With Contoured Surface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing impingement cooling systems for gas turbine engines do not maximize the cooling effect as they restrict the surface area contact of impingement jets, primarily impacting a narrow surface area equal to the impingement hole area, and often require additional cooling methods for regions with higher temperature demands.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an impingement cooling system with contoured surfaces aligned with impingement holes, allowing impingement jets to contact the entire surface area, including angled sides, and the use of film cooling holes to enhance cooling on straight surfaces, with adjustable distributions and orientations of impingement and film cooling holes to optimize cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If traditional impingement cooling systems are used with flat surfaces, then the structure is simple, but the surface area contact of impingement jets is restricted to a narrow area equal to the impingement hole area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by replacing flat surfaces with contoured surfaces that have curved geometry. The contoured surface includes features such as dimples, protrusions, or curved regions that increase the surface area available for impingement jet contact. This curvature allows the impingement jets to expand and contact a larger area beyond the hole size, thereby resolving the contradiction between limited contact area and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dimensional complexity by adding surface contours in the third dimension. Instead of a flat two-dimensional surface, the cooling surface is modified with elevations, depressions, or curved features that extend into the third dimension. This dimensional change increases the effective surface area for heat transfer without requiring a proportional increase in the planar footprint, thus resolving the area-contact contradiction.
2Reliability
If traditional impingement cooling is used, then the system is simple, but additional cooling methods are required for regions with higher temperature demands
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating regions of different surface characteristics on the contoured surface. Specific areas with higher temperature demands are equipped with enhanced cooling features such as deeper dimples, protrusions, or concentrated impingement hole patterns. This localized enhancement allows different regions of the component to have tailored cooling capabilities, ensuring that high-temperature zones receive adequate cooling without requiring a complete system redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
The contoured surface geometry is designed in advance to pre-position and pre-condition the impingement jets before they contact the component surface. The contours are shaped to redirect, concentrate, or distribute the jets toward specific high-temperature regions, ensuring that cooling is optimized for critical areas before the thermal load becomes excessive. This preliminary geometric conditioning reduces the need for additional active cooling control mechanisms.
3Power
If impingement jets contact only the area equal to impingement hole area, then the system is simple, but the cooling effect is not maximized
Solution Approach 1:
The contoured surface uses curved geometry to increase the contact area between impingement jets and the component. The curvature causes the jets to expand and contact a larger surface area than the hole size would suggest, enhancing the cooling power without requiring a proportional increase in the number or size of impingement holes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes fluid dynamic principles by designing the contoured surface to manipulate the flow patterns of the impingement jets. The surface contours are shaped to promote jet expansion, improve fluid distribution, and enhance heat transfer coefficients, thereby maximizing the cooling effect through optimized fluid-structure interaction rather than simply increasing structural complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration increases the surface area contact of impingement jets, enhancing the cooling effect and providing additional cooling where needed, thereby improving the overall cooling efficiency and effectiveness of the system.
Implementation Method 1
One method employed to cool, or partially cool, some components within a gas turbine engine is impingement cooling
Implementation Method 2
the second wall further comprises a plurality of film cooling holes, each of the film cooling holes providing a fluid passageway connecting the contoured surface of the second wall with a second surface of the second wall
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
An impingement cooled component includes a first wall having a plurality of impingement holes (112) and a second wall spaced apart from the first wall. The second wall is downstream of the first wall, relative to a cooling flow (130), the second wall has a contoured surface (122) facing the first wall. The contoured surface (122) includes a plurality of contours defined by at least one of a plurality of peaks (128) and a plurality of valleys (126), and at least one of the contours in the plurality of contours is aligned with an axis (112a) defined by one of the impingement holes (112) in the plurality of impingement holes (112).