NUMERICAL-ANALYSIS OF HEAT-PIPE TURBINE VANE COOLING

A numerical model was developed to simulate transient performance of a heat pipe turbine vane under typical gas turbine engine conditions. C urvilinear coordinates were used to describe the three-dimensional wal l and wick heat conduction coupled with the quasi-one-dimensional vapo r flow. A unique numerical procedure including two iterative ''estimat e-correction'' processes was proposed to efficiently solve the governi ng equations along with the boundary conditions. Comparisons with expe rimental results validated the numerical model and the solution method . A detailed numerical simulation of the heat pipe vane's transient pe rformance indicated the benefits of incorporating heat pipe vane cooli ng as well as the areas where precautions should be taken while design ing heat pipe vanes.