Impact of new instrumentation on advanced turbine research

A description is presented of an orderly test program that progresses from the simplest stationary geometry to the more complex, three dimensional, rotating turbine stage. The instrumentation requirements for this evolution of testing are described. The heat transfer instrumentation is emphasized. Recent progress made in devising new measurement techniques has greatly improved the development and confirmation of more accurate analytical methods for the prediction of turbine performance and heat transfer. However, there remain challenging requirements for novel measurement techniques that could advance the future research to be done in rotating blade rows of turbomachines

Fundamental mechanisms that influence the estimate of heat transfer to gas turbine blades

Estimates of the heat transfer from the gas to stationary (vanes) or rotating blades poses a major uncertainty due to the complexity of the heat transfer processes. The gas flow through these blade rows is three dimensional with complex secondary viscous flow patterns that interact with the endwalls and blade surfaces. In addition, upstream disturbances, stagnation flow, curvature effects, and flow acceleration complicate the thermal transport mechanisms in the boundary layers. Some of these fundamental heat transfer effects are discussed. The chief purpose of the discussion is to acquaint those in the heat transfer community, not directly involved in gas turbines, of the seriousness of the problem and to recommend some basic research that would improve the capability for predicting gas-side heat transfer on turbine blades and vanes

Effect of Fin Passage Length on Optimization of Cylinder Head Cooling Fins

The heat transfer performance of baffled cooling fins on cylinder heads of small, air-cooled, general-aviation aircraft engines was analyzed to determine the potential for improving cooling fin design. Flow baffles were assumed to be installed tightly against the fin end edges, an ideal baffle configuration for guiding all flow between the fins. A rectangular flow passage is thereby formed between each set of two adjacent fins, the fin base surface, and the baffle. These passages extend around each side of the cylinder head, and the cooling air absorbs heat as it flows within them. For each flow passage length, the analysis was concerned with optimizing fin spacing and thickness to achieve the best heat transfer for each fin width. Previous literature has been concerned mainly with maximizing the local fin conductance and has not considered the heating of the gas in the flow direction, which leads to higher wall temperatures at the fin passage exits. If the fins are close together, there is a large surface area, but the airflow is restricted

Liquid storage tank venting device for zero gravity environment Patent

Venting device for liquid propellant storage tank using magnetic field to separate liquid and gaseous phase

Curved film cooling admission tube

Effective film cooling to protect a wall surface from a hot fluid which impinges on or flows along the surface is provided. A film of cooling fluid having increased area is provided by changing the direction of a stream of cooling fluid through an angle of from 135 deg. to 165 deg. before injecting it through the wall into the hot flowing gas. The 1, cooling fluid is injected from an orifice through a wall into a hot flowing gas at an angle to form a cooling fluid film. Cooling fluid is supplied to the orifice from a cooling fluid source via a turbulence control passageway having a curved portion between two straight portions. The angle through which the direction of the cooling fluid is turned results in less mixing of the cooling fluid with the hot gas, thereby substantially increasing the length of the film in a downstream direction

A review of NASA combustor and turbine heat transfer research

The thermal design of the combustor and turbine of a gas turbine engine poses a number of difficult heat transfer problems. The importance of improved prediction techniques becomes more critical in anticipation of future generations of gas turbine engines which will operate at higher cycle pressure and temperatures. Research which addresses many of the complex heat transfer processes holds promise for yielding significant improvements in prediction of metal temperatures. Such research involves several kinds of program including: (1) basic experiments which delineate the fundamental flow and heat transfer phenomena that occur in the hot sections of the gas turbine but at low enthalpy conditions; (2) analytical modeling of these flow and heat transfer phenomena which results from the physical insights gained in experimental research; and (3) verification of advanced prediction techniques in facilities which operate near the real engine thermodynamic conditions. In this paper, key elements of the NASA program which involves turbine and combustor heat transfer research will be described and discussed

Some advantages of methane in an aircraft gas turbine

Liquid methane, which can be manufactured from any of the hydrocarbon sources such as coal, shale biomass, and organic waste considered as a petroleum replacement for aircraft fuels. A simple cycle analysis is carried out for a turboprop engine flying a Mach 0.8 and 10, 688 meters (35,000 ft.) altitude. Cycle performance comparisions are rendered for four cases in which the turbine cooling air is cooled or not cooled by the methane fuel. The advantages and disadvantages of involving the fuel in the turbine cooling system are discussed. Methane combustion characteristics are appreciably different from Jet A and will require different combustor designs. Although a number of similar difficult technical problems exist, a highly fuel efficient turboprop engine burning methane appear to be feasible

Flow and heat transfer in a curved channel

Flow and heat transfer in a curved channel of aspect ratio 6 and inner- to outer-wall radius ratio 0.96 were studied. Secondary currents and large longitudinal vortices were found. The heat-transfer rates of the outer and inner walls were independently controlled to maintain a constant wall temperature. Heating the inner wall increased the pressure drop along the channel length, whereas heating the outer wall had little effect. Outer-wall heat transfer was as much as 40 percent greater than the straight-channel correlation, and inner-wall heat transfer was 22 percent greater than the straight-channel correlation

Preliminary assessment of systems for deriving liquid and gaseous fuels from waste or grown organics

The overall feasibility of the chemical conversion of waste or grown organic matter to fuel is examined from the technical, economic, and social viewpoints. The energy contribution from a system that uses waste and grown organic feedstocks is estimated as 4 to 12 percent of our current energy consumption. Estimates of today's market prices for these fuels are included. Economic and social issues are as important as technology in determining the feasibility of such a proposal. An orderly program of development and demonstration is recommended to provide reliable data for an assessment of the viability of the proposal

A preliminary assessment of the feasibility of deriving liquid and gaseous fuels from grown and waste organics

The anticipated depletion of our resources of natural gas and petroleum in a few decades has caused a search for renewable sources of fuel. Among the possibilities is the chemical conversion of waste and grown organic matter into gaseous or liquid fuels. The overall feasibility of such a system is considered from the technical, economic, and social viewpoints. Although there are a number of difficult problems to overcome, this preliminary study indicates that this option could provide between 4 and 10 percent of the U.S. energy needs. Estimated costs of fuels derived from grown organic material are appreciably higher than today's market price for fossil fuel. The cost of fuel derived from waste organics is competitive with fossil fuel prices. Economic and social reasons will prohibit the allocation of good food producing land to fuel crop production