Heat Transfer and Aerodynamics of Over-Shroud Leakage Flows in a High-Pressure Turbine

An experimental study has been conducted to investigate the distribution of the convective heat transfer on the shroud of a high pressure turbine blade in a large scale rotating rig. A continuous thin heater foil technique has been adapted and implemented on the turbine shroud. Thermochromic Liquid Crystals were employed for the surface temperature measurements to derive the experimental heat transfer data. The heat transfer is presented on the shroud top surfaces and the three fins. The experiments were conducted for a variety of Reynolds numbers and flow coefficients. The effects of different inter-shroud gap sizes and reduced fin tip clearance gaps were also investigated. Details of the shroud flow field were obtained using an advanced Ammonia-Diazo surface flow visualisation technique. CFD predictions are compared with the experimental data and used to aid interpretation. Contour maps of the Nusselt number reveal that regions of highest heat transfer are mostly confined to the suction side of the shroud. Peak values exceed the average by as much as 100 percent. It has been found that the interaction between leakage flow through the inter-shroud gaps and the fin tip leakage jets are responsible for this high heat transfer. The inter-shroud gap leakage flow causes a disruption of the boundary layer on the turbine shroud. Furthermore, the development of the large recirculating shroud cavity vortices is severely altered by this leakage flow.