Design of a Rotating Test Rig for Transient Thermochromic Liquid Crystal Heat Transfer Experiments

Christian Waidmann (1) , Rico Poser (1) , Sven Nieland (1) , Jens Von Wolfersdorf (1)

1 University of Stuttgart

The design of a test rig for the investigation of turbine blade internal cooling channel configurations under the influence of rotation is presented. Rotational speeds of up to 900rpm in combination with the possibility to operate the test model with fluid pressures of up to 10bar and fluid temperatures between -100°C and +80°C provide a wide range of achievable test conditions. The rig will be used to study the effect of Coriolis forces and buoyancy forces on heat transfer distribution in internal cooling channels. The transient thermochromic liquid crystal (TLC) technique will be used to obtain spatially resolved heat transfer measurements. This method evaluates the TLC colorplay on heat transfer surfaces resulting from a fluid temperature change. The air supply system to the test model and the approach to induce the required fluid temperature change is described. A preliminary non-rotating test rig was set-up to investigate the achievable fluid temperature change. Stationary video cameras and strobe lamps will be installed to capture the TLC colorplay. Preliminary tests have been conducted to test the synchronization of the cameras and strobe lamps with the rotational speed. The strobe flash stability and the possibility of interfering motion blur e?ects have been evaluated.

Mots clés: heat transfer; thermochromic liquid crystal; turbine blade; rotating effects

Domaines: Mécanique [physics]

Christian Waidmann, Rico Poser, Sven Nieland, Jens Von Wolfersdorf. Design of a Rotating Test Rig for Transient Thermochromic Liquid Crystal Heat Transfer Experiments. 16th International Symposium on Transport Phenomena and Dynamics of Rotating Machinery, Apr 2016, Honolulu, United States. ⟨hal-01884257⟩