Detailed Heat Transfer Measurements Inside Rotating Ribbed Channels Using the Transient Liquid Crystal Technique

Coolant flow in rotating internal serpentine channels is highly complex due to the effects of the Coriolis force and centrifugal buoyancy. Detailed knowledge of the heat transfer over a surface will greatly enhance the blade designers’ ability to predict hot spots so coolant may be distributed effectively. The present study uses a novel transient liquid crystal technique to measure heat transfer on a rotating two-pass channel surface with chilled inlet air. The present study examines the differences in heat transfer distributions on channel surfaces with smooth walls, 90 deg rib and W-shaped rib turbulated walls. The test section is made up of two passes to model radially inward and outward flows. To account for centrifugal buoyancy, cold air is passed through a room temperature test section. This ensures that buoyancy is acting in a similar direction to real turbine blades. The inlet coolant-to-wall density ratio is fixed at 0.08, Re = 16,000, and Ro = 0.08. The present study shows that the W-shaped ribs enhance heat transfer in all cases (stationary and rotating) approximately 1.75 times more than the 90 deg ribs. The W-shaped rib channel is least affected by rotation, which may be due to the complex nature of the secondary flow generated by the geometry. A higher pressure drop is associated with the W-shaped ribs than the 90 deg ribs, however, the overall thermal-hydraulic performance of the W-shaped ribs still exceeds that set by the 90 deg ribs.