Experimental study of heat transfer augmentation in a two-pass channel featuring V-shaped ribs and cylindrical dimples

Higher turbine inlet temperature requirements in modern gas turbine airfoils necessitate the development of high performance internal cooling designs for increasing turbine durability and performance. The internal cooling passages of turbine airfoils feature ribs which promote turbulent mixing, increase in near wall shear and hence lead to heat transfer augmentation. One other method of increasing heat transfer enhancement is by adding depressions (commonly called “dimples”) on the walls of internal cooling passages. Earlier studies have investigated different shapes of rib turbulators and dimples, however, the limitations in manufacturability of dimple in actual turbine airfoils has been a concern in the past. Recent advancements in the field of additive manufacturing, e.g. Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), opens endless possibilities for the development of novel cooling features which can be incorporated in actual engines. The present study investigates the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of a two-pass channel (AR = 1) featuring ribs-alone, dimples-alone and combination of ribs and dimples. The ribs are V-shaped with rib-height-to-hydraulic diameter ratio of 0.125 and rib-pitch-to-rib height ratio of 16. Dimples are cylindrical in shape and have a depth-to-print diameter ratio of 0.3. The heat transfer coefficient was measured using transient Liquid Crystal Thermography and detailed Nusselt numbers have been reported and analyzed. Also, static pressure measurements were carried out at several locations to determine the total pressure drop across the two pass channel and the local variation of pressure coefficient. The experiments were carried out for a wide range of Reynolds number (19,500-69,000) to cover the full spectrum typically found in both land-based and air-breathing engines. It has been observed that the combination of ribs and dimples resulted in higher heat transfer augmentation as well as higher thermal hydraulic performance when compared with ribs alone and dimples alone configurations for the range of Reynolds number studied.