Heat Transfer Enhancement Using Angled Grooves as Turbulence Promoters

An experimental study is conducted on a simulated internal cooling channel of a turbine airfoil using angled grooves and combination of grooves-ribs to enhance the heat transfer from the wall. The grooves are angled at 45° to the mainstream flow direction and combinations of four different geometries are studied that include: (1) angled grooves with a pitch, p/δ = 10, (2) angled groove with a larger pitch, p/δ = 15, (3) combination of angled groove and 45° angled rib, and (4) combination of angled groove with transverse rib. Transient liquid crystal experiments are conducted for a Reynolds number range of 13,000–55,000, and local and averaged heat transfer coefficient values are presented for all the geometries. Pressure drops are measured between the inlet and the exit of the grooved channel and friction factors are calculated. The combination of the angled groove and 45° angled rib provided the highest performance factor of the four cases considered, and these values were higher or comparable to among the best-performing rib geometries (45-degree broken ribs) commonly used in gas turbine airfoils.