Degradation of film cooling performance on a turbine vane suction side due to surface roughness

After an extended period of operation, the surfaces of turbine airfoils become extremely rough due to deposition, spallation, and erosion. The rough airfoil surfaces will cause film cooling performance degradation due to effects on adiabatic effectiveness and heat transfer coefficients. In this study, the individual and combined effects of roughness upstream and downstream of a row of film cooling holes on the suction side of a turbine vane have been determined. Adiabatic effectiveness and heat transfer coefficients were measured for a range of mainstream turbulence levels and with and without showerhead blowing. Using these parameters, the ultimate film cooling performance was quantified in terms Of net heat flux reduction. The dominant effect of roughness was a doubling of the heat transfer coefficients. Maximum adiabatic effectiveness levels were also decreased significantly. Relative to a film cooled smooth surface, a film cooled rough surface was found to increase the heat flux to the surface by 30%-70%.