Validation of a CFD Approach for Gas Turbine Internal Cooling Passage Heat Transfer Prediction

<p>This report describes the development and application of a validated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling approach for internal cooling passages in rotating turbomachinery. A CFD Modelling approach and accompanying assumptions are tuned and validated against academically available experimental results for various serpentine passages. Criteria of the CFD modelling approach selected for investigation into advanced internal cooling flows include accuracy, robustness, industry familiarity, and computational cost.</p> <p>Experimental data from NASA HOST (HOt Section Technology), Texas A&M, and University of Manchester tests are compared to RANS CFD results generated using Fluent v14.5 in order to benchmark a CFD modelling approach.</p> <p>Capability of various turbulence models in the representation of cooling physics is evaluated against experimental data. Model sensitivity to boundary conditions and mesh density is also evaluated.</p> <p>The development of a validated computational model of internal turbine cooling channels with bounded error allows for the identification of particular shortcomings of heat transfer correlations and provides a baseline for future CFD based exploration of internal turbine cooling concepts.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

MS in Aerospace Engineering

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Aerospace Engineering

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Wilde, Daniel G

Contributors dc:contributor

• David Marshall

• CFD
• Heat Transfer
• Turbomachinery
• RANS
• Cooling
• Turbine
• Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics

Identifier

10.15368/theses.2015.51

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.calpoly.edu:theses-2514