The Effect of Area Ratio Change Via Increased Hole Length for Shaped Film Cooling Holes With Constant Expansion Angles

Shaped film cooling holes are used as a cooling technology in gas turbines to reduce metal temperatures and improve durability, and they generally consist of a small metering section connected to a diffuser that expands in one or more directions. The area ratio (AR) of these holes is defined as the area at the exit of the diffuser, divided by the area at the metering section. A larger AR increases the diffusion of the coolant momentum, leading to lower average momentum of the coolant jet at the exit of the hole and generally better cooling performance. Cooling holes with larger ARs are also more tolerant of high blowing ratio conditions, and the increased coolant diffusion typically better prevents jet lift-off from occurring. Higher ARs have traditionally been accomplished by increasing the expansion angle of the diffuser while keeping the overall length of the hole constant. The present study maintains the diffuser expansion angles and instead increases the length of the diffuser, which results in longer holes. Various ARs have been examined for two shaped holes: one with forward and lateral expansion angles of 7 deg (7-7-7 hole) and one with forward and lateral expansion angles of 12 deg (12-12-12 hole). Each hole shape was tested at numerous blowing ratios to capture trends across various flow rates. Adiabatic effectiveness measurements indicate that for the baseline 7-7-7 hole, a larger AR provides higher effectiveness, especially at higher blowing ratios. Measurements also indicate that for the 12-12-12 hole, a larger AR performs better at high blowing ratios but the hole experiences ingestion at low blowing ratios. Steady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations did not accurately predict the levels of adiabatic effectiveness, but did predict the trend of improving effectiveness with increasing AR for both hole shapes. Flowfield measurements with particle image velocimetry (PIV) were also performed at one downstream plane for a low and high AR case, and the results indicate an expected decrease in jet velocity due to a larger diffuser.