HEAT-TRANSFER IN A RADIALLY ROTATING SMOOTH-WALLED TUBE

This paper describes a detailed experimental investigation of turbulen t heat transfer in a radially rotating tube with particular reference to its application to the design of cooled turbine rotor blades. The p aper focuses on the strategy adopted, the description of the apparatus used, the method of data processing and a selection of measurements w hich illustrate the manner by which Coriolis force and centripetal buo yancy force interactively affect the local heat transfer along the lea ding and trailing edges of the tube. As well as re-confirming the fact that Coriolis force and centripetal buoyancy have a significant influ ence on the forced convection mechanism present due to the through flo w, a number of new experimentally-based observations are presented. An empirical correlation, which is physically consistent, has been devel oped which permits the interactive effect of Coriolis force and centri petal buoyancy on forced convection to be evaluated and quantified. Th e work has been motivated by the need to understand the general effect of rotation on the performance of the internal cooling airwavs.used i n gas turbine rotor blades.