Heat Transfer Augmentation Downstream of Rows of Various Dimple Geometries on the Suction Side of a Gas Turbine Airfoil

Heat transfer coefficients were measured downstream of a row of shaped film cooling holes, as well as elliptical, diffuser, and teardrop shaped dimples, simulating depressions due to film coolant holes of different shapes. These features were placed on the suction side of a simulated gas turbine vane. The dimples were used as approximations to film cooling holes after the heat transfer levels downstream of active fan shaped film cooling holes was found to be independent of film cooling. The effects of the dimples were tested with varying approach boundary layers, freestream turbulence intensity, and Reynolds numbers. For the case of an untripped (transitional) approach boundary layer, all dimple shapes caused approximately a factor of 2 increase in heat transfer coefficient relative to the smooth baseline condition due to the dimples effectively causing boundary layer transition downstream. The exact augmentation varied depending on the dimple geometry: diffuser shapes causing the largest augmentation and teardrop shapes causing the lowest augmentation. For tripped (turbulent boundary layer) approach conditions, the dimple shapes all caused the same 20% augmentation relative to the smooth tripped baseline. The already turbulent nature of the tripped approach flow reduces the effect that the dimples have on the downstream heat transfer coefficient.