Interlaced Trip Strip Arrays for Gas Turbine Airfoil Cooling

The trip strip is divided into multiple discrete ligaments spaced at specific intervals rather than using a single continuous long ligament. This segmentation prevents the thermal boundary layer from thickening across the entire length, as each shorter ligament segment independently disrupts the boundary layer, maintaining higher convective heat transfer coefficients while still providing extensive surface coverage through the array of segments.

The invention transitions from a single-plane trip strip configuration to a three-dimensional interlaced array where ligaments are arranged in multiple staggered rows. This spatial distribution in the third dimension (spanwise direction) allows the structure to cover a larger area while keeping individual ligament lengths short, thereby maintaining effective convective heat transfer through multiple distributed disruption points.

Multiple rows of shorter ligaments are merged into an interlaced array configuration, where the collective effect of numerous short ligaments distributed across the surface provides both extensive coverage and sustained heat transfer augmentation. Each row contributes to the overall coverage area while the short ligament length within each row maintains high local convective heat transfer coefficients.

The staggered arrangement of ligaments in multiple rows ensures continuous disruption of the thermal boundary layer across the entire surface area. As flow passes through the cooling channel, each subsequent row of ligaments continues the heat transfer augmentation action, providing continuous useful action across the extended coverage area without allowing the boundary layer to fully recover and thicken between single ligament elements.