The Effect of Freestream Turbulence on Film Cooling Heat Transfer Coefficient

The film-cooling performance of a flat plate in the presence of low and high freestream turbulence is investigated using thermochromic liquid crystal thermography. Full-surface distributions of the convective heat transfer coefficient are determined for three blowing rates on a model with three straight holes spaced three diameters apart. An increase in heat transfer coefficient due to mass injection is clearly observed in the images and is quantitatively determined for both the low and high freestream turbulence cases. The increase in heat transfer coefficient is greater than in previously published research, possibly due to the use of different, more representative thermal boundary conditions upstream of the injection location. These boundary conditions, along with high resolution images, may account for the appearance of “fork tine” patterns of high heat transfer due to the presence of these vortices, not previously seen. Although the driving potential for heat transfer is less, it is observed that in some instances film cooling may cause an increase in overall heat transfer due to the increase in heat transfer coefficient.