Numerical Investigation on Conjugate Heat Transfer in a Turbine Vane with Matrix Cooling Channel

Abstract The problem of high-temperature ablation of gas turbine blades is prominent, while traditional cooling technologies suffer from uneven heat exchange and low efficiency. The matrix cooling channel structure can enhance heat exchange efficiency by strengthening the turbulent disturbance of the cooling medium, effectively alleviating ablation. Thus, Aero-thermal coupled numerical simulations were performed using the SST k-ω turbulence model to systematically explore the effects of rib width ratio β and rib inclination angle α on the heat transfer and flow characteristics of a vane. Results show that, compared with the traditional pin-fin structure, the average temperature of the vane surface is reduced by up to 58.81 K and 53.04 K respectively under the matrix channels with small rib width ratio or 45° rib inclination angle, and the cooling effect of the film holes is also effectively improved. This study couples the synergistic heat transfer effect of matrix cooling channels with external film cooling, systematically analyzes the influence laws of geometric parameters of matrix channels on the full-flow-path heat transfer characteristics and internal flow performance of turbine vanes, and provides theoretical basis and technical support for the engineering application of high-efficiency thermal protection technology for the gas turbine.