The Design and Application of a Turbine Heat Transfer Evaluate Test Apparatus for Studying Rotating Thermal Convection

Abstract Understanding the rotational heat transfer characteristic of internal channels inside turbine blades depends on high-quality experimental research, and the excellent performance of the experimental apparatus is the primary factor in achieving this goal. This article introduces a new experimental apparatus. It adds a series of unique functions through significant structural innovation, improves the experimental ability of the original facility, and covers the working condition envelope of the current typical turbine blade internal cooling channel. The experimental apparatus can be divided into five subsystems. The air source and supply pipeline subsystem can realize dual separate coolant supply and combined coolant supply. The maximum rotational speed of the rotor subsystem can reach 1000 rpm, and the average rotation radius of the test section can be adjusted within the range of 0.27–0.75 m. Temperature and pressure measurement points have been increased to 256 and 8, respectively, with room for further upgrades. Moreover, the turntable design also provides a broad space for the application of advanced measuring instruments, which can meet the needs of the future such as infrared and liquid crystal temperature measurements. At present, the experimental facility has been put into use, and it has played an irreplaceable role in the rotational heat transfer research of turbine blade leading edge impingement cooling channel, double-wall cooling channel, and U-shaped channel with overflow under acceptable use costs.