Serpentine Microcircuit Vortex Turbulations for Blade Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cooling technologies for gas turbine engine blades are inefficient, with a cooling effectiveness of around 0.50 and convective efficiency of 0.40, requiring excessive coolant flow to manage increased gas temperatures, making it difficult to improve turbine efficiency.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a cooling microcircuit with refractory metal cores and cast vortex generators within the cooling passages to enhance heat transfer by creating turbulence, formed through a photo-etch process involving refractory metal cores and superalloy material, with various vortex configurations such as wedge-shaped and delta-shaped rib designs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional cooling channels with trip strips are used, then cooling flow can be maintained, but cooling effectiveness remains limited at around 0.50 with convective efficiency of 0.40
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces serpentine-shaped cooling channels that create dynamic fluid motion and multiple flow directions, transforming the static linear flow into a dynamic multi-directional flow pattern. This increases the cooling effectiveness by ensuring better heat transfer throughout the blade structure while maintaining reasonable coolant flow requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds spatial complexity by implementing serpentine channels that wind through the blade thickness and incorporate vortex generators. This multi-dimensional flow path arrangement maximizes the utilization of cooling fluid by creating three-dimensional heat transfer patterns, improving cooling effectiveness without proportionally increasing coolant flow.
2Power
If gas temperature increases from 2500°F to 2850°F, then turbine power output increases, but cooling flow would have to increase more than 5% of engine core flow
Solution Approach 1:
The serpentine cooling channels create dynamic flow patterns that enhance heat transfer coefficients, allowing the system to handle higher thermal loads (2850°F) without proportionally increasing coolant flow. The dynamic flow paths ensure efficient heat extraction across the entire blade surface area.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the flow regime parameters by introducing serpentine geometry and vortex generators, transforming laminar or low-turbulence flow into high-turbulence flow. This parameter change in flow characteristics dramatically improves heat transfer efficiency, enabling the blade to withstand higher gas temperatures with acceptable cooling flow rates.
3Loss of energy
If trip strips are used to turbulate cooling channels, then heat transfer is enhanced, but cooling effectiveness is still limited to around 0.50
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cooling channel into multiple serpentine passages with integrated vortex generators at strategic locations. This segmentation creates multiple zones of enhanced heat transfer throughout the blade, collectively achieving superior cooling effectiveness (0.50+) compared to single-pass trip strip configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional trip strip turbulation to three-dimensional serpentine flow paths with vertical and horizontal components. This multi-dimensional approach distributes heat transfer enhancement throughout the blade volume, achieving overall cooling effectiveness greater than 0.50.
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 approach increases convective efficiency, reducing coolant flow requirements by approximately 5% to 3.5% of the engine core flow, effectively managing higher gas temperatures without increasing cooling flow, thereby enhancing turbine efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
cooling flow passes through these blades by means of internal cooling channels that are turbulated with trip strips for enhancing heat transfer inside the blade
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of cast vortex generators positioned within the at least one leg
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling microcircuit for use in a turbine engine component is provided. The cooling microcircuit has at least one leg through which a cooling fluid flows. A plurality of cast vortex generators are positioned within the at least one leg to improve the cooling effectiveness of the cooling microcircuit.