Enhanced heat transfer in gas turbine cooling channels: A comparative study of fully filled and lattice-structured ribs

To improve the thermal efficiency of gas turbine blades, internal cooling channels must enhance heat transfer while minimizing pressure losses. Conventional rib structures and fully lattice-filled porous inserts increase surface area but often induce excessive flow resistance. To address this, the present study introduces a new class of lattice-structured ribs composed of open-cell periodic geometries embedded within the rib volume named lattice structured rib. These structures enable the coexistence of flow through and around the rib, creating a unique internal–external flow interaction that promotes thermal mixing while alleviating pressure drop. Four rib configurations were numerically evaluated: a conventional fully filled rib, and lattice-structured ribs with simple cubic, body-centered cubic (BCC), and face-centered cubic (FCC) geometries. The study analyzed heat transfer, pressure loss, and entropy generation to assess both first- and second-law performance. Among the configurations, the BCC lattice rib achieved the highest thermal performance factor by 30.2% increase from fully-filled rib, while the simple cubic rib minimized frictional entropy generation due to its high permeability. These findings demonstrate that lattice-structured ribs offer a promising alternative for advanced turbine blade cooling applications, balancing thermal enhancement with aerodynamic efficiency through optimized geometric design.