The impact of different shaped pin‐fins on the flow and heat transfer in the internal cooling structure of gas turbine blades trailing edges

Abstract In this work, the focus is on investigating the heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics within the internal cooling passages at the trailing edge of gas turbine blades. Heat transport and flow characteristics in a wedge‐shaped channel with a Reynolds number varying from 20,000 to 100,000 are examined numerically. This paper investigates the effect of cylindrical pin fins arranged in various layouts and shapes on the thermal properties of the trailing edge's internal cooling channels. The findings indicate that, regarding the shape of pin fins, the comprehensive heat transfer efficiency ranks from the highest to the lowest efficient as follows: elliptical pin fins, teardrop‐shaped pin fins, circular pin fins, as well as square pin fins. In terms of pin fin layout, circular inclined pin fins have a greater comprehensive heat transfer efficiency than circular pin fins. The comprehensive heat transfer efficiency of circular inclined pin fins is 8.9% higher than that of circular pin fins at a Reynolds number of 100,000. Despite having the highest heat transfer efficiency, square pin fins have the lowest comprehensive heat transfer efficiency when considering their maximum drag coefficient.