General Electric Aircraft Engines, General Electric Corporate R & D, NASA-Lewis Research Center, State of Texas-Advanced Technology Program

• Effect of Channel Orientation in a Rotating Two-Pass Coolant Passage Heat Transfer - ASME Journal of Heat Transfer, Vol. 118, No.3 Pp. 578-584, August 1996
• Detailed Heat Transfer Measurements in a Non-Rotating Two-Pass Channel With and Without Bleed Holes Using Transient Liquid Crystal Technique - International Journal of Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 40, No. 11, Pp. 2525-2537, 1997 - Conference Proceedings; HTD-Vol. 330, National Heat Transfer Conference, Vol. 8, ASME 1996, Pp. 133-140
• Heat Transfer Inside and Downstream of Cavities Using Transient Liquid Crystal - Method Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, Vol. 10, No. 3 July-September 1996
• Detailed Heat Transfer Distributions on a Cylindrical Model With Simulated TBC Spallation-AIAA 97-0595 - 35th Aerospace Meeting & Exhibit January 6-10 1997 Reno, NV

Performing Member Contact:

Je Han, Marcus C. Easterling Chair Professor

Texas A & M University
303 Engineering/Physics Building Office Wing
College Station, TX 77843-3123
979-845-3738/FAX 979-845-3081
JCHan@mengr.tamu.edu

• Turbomachinery design

• All phases of turbine design

• Component testing labs

Texas A & M University

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University (TAMU) has a wide range of facilities dedicated to investigating many aspects of gas turbines. Areas of specialization include gas turbine heat transfer, aerodynamic performance, rotor-dynamics and seals. A wide range of experimental facilities are dedicated to examining components and techniques which will enhance the overall performance of gas turbines.

Understanding turbine blade heat transfer is vital to ensure blade failure does not occur prematurely. Many facilities have been built at TAMU to experimentally investigate cooling techniques which will improve the life to the blades. A variety of facilities are utilized to study external cooling techniques. Several linear, large scale, low speed, unsteady-wake wind tunnels are used to study film cooling techniques. Film cooling techniques are also studied on a linear cascade in a high speed, steady-flow wind tunnel. A high speed blow down facility is used to study blade tip region film cooling heat transfer using the transient liquid crystal technique.

Internal blade cooling techniques are also investigated at TAMU. Two rotating test rigs are used to study the effect of rotation on heat transfer in rotating cooling passages. The rotating setups allow a variety of internal cooling channels to be studied. Both single-pass and multi-pass channels are investigated, and the means of promoting heat transfer inside the rotating channels can be varied. A third rotating test rig is used to study heat transfer in turbine disks. With this setup, the heat transfer on the rotating disk, to which the rotor blade is attached, can be measured.

TAMU has a research gas turbine engine. This three-stage engine is used to study blade heat transfer. Various film cooling techniques can be implemented on the pressure and suction surfaces of the blade, the blade tip, and blade platform. Not only is this engine used to study cooling methods for the blades, it is also used to examine the aerodynamic performance of various blade profiles.

To accompany the wide range of heat transfer and aerodynamic test facilities, a wide range of experimental techniques have been developed. Both steady state and transient liquid crystal techniques are used to give detailed surface heat transfer coefficient and film effectiveness distributions. Temperature sensitive paint (TSP) and infrared (IR) thermometry are used to give detailed surface temperature distributions. Pressure sensitive paint (PSP) is used to give detailed surface pressure distributions. A PSP technique has also been developed to measure the film effectiveness on a film cooled surface. In addition, a sophisticated traversing system has been developed for the research engine which is capable of the recording pressure and temperature profiles of the mainstream flow through the engine.

Rotordynamics are also a focus of many studies at TAMU. Facilities are available to measure the rotordynamics and leakage of high-pressure labyrinth seals. Additional facilities are used to study various types of magnetic bearings and foil seals for the rotor shaft of turbomachines.

Providing turbine designers with data that is applicable to improving engine performance is a priority of many researchers at TAMU. To provide results pertaining to a wide range of components, many facilities and experimental techniques have been developed. Areas of gas turbine heat transfer, aerodynamic performance, seals and rotor-dynamics are thoroughly investigated at TAMU.