Turbine Vane Baffle Insert for Cooling Pressure Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gas turbine engine vanes face high static-to-total pressure ratios at the leading edge, leading to significant cooling air pressure losses and potential backflow of hot air, which compromises durability and performance.
Innovation Solution
A baffle insert with strategically sized and arranged cooling holes is inserted into the internal cavity of the vane, minimizing pressure losses and ensuring sufficient outflow-margin by providing a unique impingement hole pattern and sizing that enhances backside convective cooling and prevents unwanted backflow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If cooling holes are provided in the leading edge of the turbine vane, then cooling effectiveness is improved, but cooling air pressure losses increase due to high static-to-total pressure ratios
Solution Approach 1:
The baffle insert is segmented into multiple regions with different hole patterns: a first region with larger diameter holes for leading edge cooling, and a second region with smaller diameter holes for backside cooling. This segmentation allows optimization of cooling effectiveness in different zones while managing pressure losses through strategic hole distribution and sizing.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the baffle insert are provided with locally optimized hole characteristics. The first region near the leading edge has larger holes to maintain sufficient outflow margin against high pressure ratios, while the second region has smaller holes for effective backside cooling. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between cooling effectiveness and pressure losses in different functional zones.
2Reliability
If cooling air flow is increased to prevent hot air backflow, then durability is improved, but pressure losses and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The baffle insert acts as an intermediary structure within the internal cavity that mediates between the cooling air supply and the leading edge cooling holes. By providing a structured hole pattern in the baffle, the system achieves effective cooling and backflow prevention without requiring excessive cooling air flow, thus maintaining durability while minimizing energy losses.
3Ease of manufacture
If the baffle insert is formed after the flat sheet is prepared, then manufacturing flexibility is improved, but manufacturing precision of hole coordinates deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The holes are formed in the flat sheet metal baffle insert before the forming process. This preliminary action ensures that the hole coordinates and dimensions are established with high precision on the flat sheet where positioning is most accurate, before any forming operations that might distort the sheet and affect hole positions.
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
The solution effectively minimizes cooling air pressure losses and maintains sufficient outflow-margin across the leading edge cooling holes, preventing hot air backflow and enhancing the durability and performance of high-pressure turbine vanes.
Implementation Method 1
providing a unique impingement hole pattern and sizing that enhances backside convective cooling
Implementation Method 2
enhances backside convective cooling
Implementation Method 3
maintains sufficient outflow-margin across the leading edge cooling holes, preventing hot air backflow
Data Source
AI summary
A turbine vane for a gas turbine engine having a plurality of cooling holes defined therein, at least some of the plurality of cooling holes being located on a leading edge of an airfoil of the turbine vane and in fluid communication with an internal cavity of the turbine vane; and a baffle insert located in the internal cavity, the baffle insert having a plurality of holes formed therein at least some of the plurality of holes of the baffle insert corresponding to the at least some of the plurality of cooling holes located in the leading edge of the turbine vane, the baffle insert being formed from a flat sheet of metal wherein the plurality of holes of the baffle insert are formed in the flat sheet of metal prior to the baffle insert being formed from the flat sheet of metal, the plurality of holes of the baffle insert being formed in the flat sheet of metal according to the coordinates of Table 1.