Experimental evaluation and modeling of a turbine blade with potassium evaporative cooling

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2004.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Townsend, Jessica Lee
Other Authors: Jack L. Kerrebrock.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2005
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/17831
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author Townsend, Jessica Lee
author2 Jack L. Kerrebrock.
author_facet Jack L. Kerrebrock.
Townsend, Jessica Lee
author_sort Townsend, Jessica Lee
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description Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2004.
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spelling mit-1721.1/178312022-01-13T07:54:11Z Experimental evaluation and modeling of a turbine blade with potassium evaporative cooling Townsend, Jessica Lee Jack L. Kerrebrock. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aeronautics and Astronautics. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2004. Page 148 blank. Includes bibliographical references (p. 145-147). A new method of turbine blade cooling, the Return Flow Cascade, has been developed in which vaporization of a liquid metal such as potassium is used to maintain the blade surface at a nearly uniform temperature. Turbine blades cooled using this technology have lower blade temperature levels compared to that available with conventional air cooling, potentially resulting in higher firing temperatures or a choice of a wider range of materials for the hot gas path. The detailed operation of the Return Flow Cascade is described including fluid mechanic and heat transfer phenomena that occur at high heat flux and gravitational acceleration levels characteristic of modern gas turbine engines. The performance limits of the Return Flow Cascade are identified by the development of a theoretical model that estimates the performance of the system for a range of operating conditions found in the experimental test rig and in an actual gas turbine engine. These limits include vapor choking in the internal blade passages, pool boiling limits in the blade, and surface tension restriction of liquid flow. Experimental results are presented from testing in the Rotating Heat Transfer Rig at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. An infrared detector capable of high scan rates was used to fully map the temperature distribution of a single, heated, rotating turbine blade. The blade surface temperature maps show that the Return Flow Cascade works as designed by enforcing a nearly constant temperature over the surface of the blade. Cascade initiation limits predicted by the internal vapor choking model are in good agreement with the test data. by Jessica L. Townsend. Ph.D. 2005-06-02T18:50:46Z 2005-06-02T18:50:46Z 2004 2004 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/17831 56569835 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 148 p. 7448787 bytes 7465247 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Townsend, Jessica Lee
Experimental evaluation and modeling of a turbine blade with potassium evaporative cooling
title Experimental evaluation and modeling of a turbine blade with potassium evaporative cooling
title_full Experimental evaluation and modeling of a turbine blade with potassium evaporative cooling
title_fullStr Experimental evaluation and modeling of a turbine blade with potassium evaporative cooling
title_full_unstemmed Experimental evaluation and modeling of a turbine blade with potassium evaporative cooling
title_short Experimental evaluation and modeling of a turbine blade with potassium evaporative cooling
title_sort experimental evaluation and modeling of a turbine blade with potassium evaporative cooling
topic Aeronautics and Astronautics.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/17831
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