A parametric investigation of vane pressure side cutback film cooling by dual luminophor PSP

Because of its geometry, the vane trailing edge is one of the most difficult regions to be cooled. A trailing edge cutback cooling system is one of the most effective solution for cooling the trailing edge of high-pressure gas turbine nozzle vanes. In this study, a parametric analysis of the thermal performance of a nozzle vane cascade with a pressure side cooling system including two rows of cylindrical holes and a trailing edge cutback featuring 8 rectangular slots was carried out by using dual luminophor (binary) PSP technique. Coolant to mainstream mass flow rate (MFR), density ratio (DR), main flow Mach number (Ma2is) and turbulence intensity level (Tu1) and the state of the approaching boundary layer were the considered parameters. Binary PSP was able to measure the coolant concentration independently from temperature, thus allowing to compute the true adiabatic film cooling effectiveness in a complex environment. MFR was shown to have a strong impact on both holes and cutback performance. The thermal protection over the cutback region was promoted by high Ma2is and high DR values, while Tu1 and the boundary layer state only marginally affected the thermal behavior, especially at high MFR.