Numerical simulation on the effect of jet nozzle position on impingement cooling of gas turbine blade leading edge

In this paper, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are performed to investigate the impingement cooling on internal leading edge region which is stretched by the middle cross section of the first stage rotor blade of GE-E-3 engine high pressure gas turbine. The simulations are carried out for a blade with a single row of circle jets at five different positions and seven different inlet flow Mach numbers. The results indicate that the global area weighted average Nusselt number at the blade leading edge increases with the increase of jet Mach number, and increases with the decrease of the distance between the jet nozzle and the pressure side. The correlation for the area weighted average Nusselt number as a function of the parameters is derived for the range of the parameters considered. The streamwise length weighted average Nusselt number and the spanwise length weighted average Nusselt number also increase with the decrease of the spacing between the jet nozzle and the pressure side, and increase with the increase of jet Mach number. The side entry jet is desirable to improve the performance of impingement cooling on turbine leading edge, but the arrangement of the jet nozzle and the shape of the internal cooling passage should be further optimized to improve the distribution of the heat transfer coefficient. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.