Experimental & numerical investigation of the mutual interaction between liner film cooling & combustor swirl flow

In the continuous demand of increasing cooling efficiency for novel combustor liners, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of the interaction of hot gases with coolant flows. The aim of the present study is the experimental characterization of the flow field and the measurement of liner heat transfer coefficient in a combustion chamber model equipped with an axial swirler and a liner slot cooling scheme. The test rig geometry consists in a linear three sector chamber fed by an open loop blower. The system is operated at isothermal conditions. A highly swirled main stream flow is achieved by considering an injector geometries that produce flow structures which interact with film cooling flow delivered by a simplified slot at the inner wall of the liner. To study the effects of this mutual interaction, the flow field and the liner heat transfer are investigated at different slot cooling and injector flow rates. A 2D PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) technique is employed to investigate the test section flow field on two different planes. An experimental campaign focused on liner heat transfer measurement is carried out using a TLC (Thermochromic Liquid Crystals) steady state technique with a thin Inconel heating foil fed by two copper bus bars. Results obtained indicate an appreciable role of film cooling flow on both swirler aerodynamics and the liner heat transfer coefficient. When the slot cooling flow rate is increased, the observed peak of heat transfer coefficient, due to liner-swirl flow interaction, gradually reduces. This is a consequence of a reduction in swirling jet expansion when slot cooling is increased, which also affects the amount of flow recirculation due to vortex breakdown.