Evaluation of CFD Simulations of Film Cooling Performance in the Showerhead Region of a Turbine Vane Including Conjugate Effects

Computational simulations using RANS and the k-ω SST turbulence model were performed to complement experimental measurements of overall cooling effectiveness and adiabatic film effectiveness for a film cooled turbine vane airfoil. Particular attention was placed on the showerhead. The design made use of five rows of showerhead holes and a single gill row on both pressure and suction sides. The simulated geometry also included the internal impingement cooling configuration. Internal and external boundary conditions were matched to experiments using the same vane model. To correctly simulate conjugate heat transfer effects, the experimental vane model was constructed to match the Biot number for engine conditions. Computational predictions of the overall and adiabatic effectiveness were compared to experimental measurements from both the conducting vane and a model constructed from low conductivity foam. The results show that the k-ω SST RANS model over-predicts both adiabatic and overall effectiveness due in part to limited jet diffusion. The simulations were also used to investigate heat transfer augmentation, which is difficult to measure experimentally in the showerhead region. The results showed substantial augmentation of 1.5 or more over large portions of the leading edge, with many areas exceeding 2.0. However, the simulations also showed a reduction in heat transfer (i.e., h_f/h₀ < 1) for locations beneath the coolant jets. This result was likely due to T_aw being an inappropriate driving temperature for separated jets.