FLOW-FIELD AND CONJUGATE HEAT TRANSFER OF AN INTERNALLY AIR-COOLED NOZZLE GUIDE VANE AND SHROUDS

In order to assess the life of gas turbine critical components, it is essential to adequately specify their aerothermodynamic working environments. Steady-state analyses of the flow field and conjugate heat transfer of an internally air-cooled nozzle guide vane (NGV) and shrouds of a gas turbine engine at the baseline operating conditions are numerically investigated. A high-fidelity CFD model is generated and the simulations are carried out with properly defined boundary conditions. The features of the complicated flow and temperature fields are revealed. In general, the Mach number is lower and the temperature is higher on the NGV pressure side than those on the suction side. There are two high temperature spots on the pressure side, and the temperature across the NGV middle section is relatively low. These findings are closely related to the locations of the holes and outlets of the cooling flow passage, and consistent with the field observation of damaged NGVs. The obtained results provide essential information for the, structural, material and life analyses of the NGV/shrouds assembly, and improvement of the cooling flow arrangement.