Comparison of Blade Cooling Performance Using Alternative Fluids

CO₂ emissions reduction has become an important topic, especially after Kyoto protocol. There are several ways to reduce the overall amount of CO₂ discharged into the atmosphere, for example using alternative fluids such as steam or CO₂. It is therefore interesting to analyze the consequences of their usage on overall performances of gas turbine and blade cooling systems. The presence of steam can be associated with combined or STIG cycle, whereas pure carbon dioxide or air-carbon dioxide mixtures are present in innovative cycles, where the exhaust gas is recirculated partially or even totally. In this paper we will analyze a commercial gas turbine, comparing different fluids used as working and cooling fluids. The different nature of the fluids involved determines different external heat transfer coefficients (external blade surface), different internal heat transfer coefficients (cooling cavities) and affects film cooling effectiveness, resulting in a change of the blade temperature distribution. Results show that the presence of steam and CO₂ could determine a non negligible effect on blade temperature. This means that cooling systems need a deep investigation. A redesign of the cooling system could be required. In particular, results show that steam is well suited for internal cooling, whereas CO₂ is better used in film cooling systems.