Thermal and aerodynamic analysis of ribbed turbine vane cooling: A case study of configuration effects

Abstract

This study conducts a comprehensive numerical analysis on how rib geometry influences the thermal and aerodynamic performance of internal cooling channels within a turbine vane. Rib configurations examined include circular, V-shaped, inverse V-shaped, W-shaped, and inverse W-shaped designs, with variations in pitchto-height ratios and rib orientation angles ranging from 0◦ to 60◦. The objective was to enhance internal cooling efficiency while minimizing associated pressure losses. The findings reveal that all rib geometries significantly boost heat transfer compared to smooth channels, with 40◦ V-shaped ribs offering the most effective performance. Under this configuration, vane temperatures dropped by up to 85 K, and cooling efficiency improved by 76 %. The performance factor increased by 39 % in larger channels and up to 75 % in smaller ones. However, this thermal improvement came at the expense of increased frictional losses, with the highest pressure drop observed for 30◦ V-shaped ribs. At higher pitch ratios, W-shaped ribs surpassed V-shaped ones in performance. These results have practical implications for optimizing ribbed cooling strategies in gas turbines by balancing heat transfer gains with aerodynamic drawbacks to improve vane efficiency and durability.