Effect of Reynolds number variation on thermal performance and flow characteristics of heart pin fins in trailing edge
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Venkatesh Goveraiahgari
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Prakash Babu Kanakavalli
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Rajendra Shimpi
Abstract
Gas turbine blades must be effectively cooled in order to maintain durability and operational efficiency in high-temperature environments. A dependable technique for improving heat transfer in turbine cooling channels is pin-fin cooling. Using both experimental and computational analysis, this work examines the thermal and flow properties of circular and heart-shaped pin fins in a wedge channel. Numerical simulations were carried out to compare the performance of three staggered rows of heart-shaped and circular pin fins, each with a diameter of 12 mm, across a Reynolds number range of 10,000–80,000. This study uses both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and experimental methods to examine the thermal-hydraulic performance of circular and heart-shaped pin fins. With a 15–25 % higher Nusselt number than the circular pin fins throughout a range of Reynolds numbers, the results show that the heart-shaped pin fins improves heat transfer performance. Moreover, the heart-shaped pin fins offers improved flow performance, resulting in a 5–10 % reduction in pressure drop relative to the circular pin fins. Heat transfer is further enhanced with the addition of fins. The heart-shaped pin fins exhibit a 10–20 % higher heat transfer coefficient compared to the circular pin fins. Additionally, the heart-shaped pin fins attains a 20–30 % enhancement in the thermal performance factor (TPF) relative to the circular pin fins.
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Research ethics: Not applicable.
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Informed consent: Not applicable.
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Author contributions: The author has accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
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Conflict of interest: The author states no conflict of interest.
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Research funding: Not applicable.
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Data availability: Not applicable.
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