Graduation date: 1992

No description available.

Cooling systems that consist of mini-channels (hydraulic diameters in the 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm range) and micro-channels (hydraulic diameters in the 100 m-500 m range) can dispose of extremely large volumetric thermal loads that are well beyond the feasible operating range of conventional cooling methods. Mini/micro-channel systems that utilize boiling fluids are particularly useful due to the superiority of boiling heat transfer mode over single-phase flow convection. Although forced flow boiling in mini and micro-channels has been investigated by several research groups in the past, a verified and reliable predictive method is not yet available. In this study, the capability of a large number of forced flow boiling heat transfer correlations for application to mini channels is examined by comparing their predictions with three experimental data sets. The data all represent recently-published experiments with mini-channels The tested correlations include well-established methods for forced-flow boiling in conventional boiling systems, as well as correlations recently proposed for mini-channels. Based on these comparisons, the most accurate existing predictive methods for mini-channel boiling are identified. The deficiencies of the predictive methods and the potential causes that underlie these deficiencies are also discussed.

Falling film absorption process is studied for the simulation of the absorber of the absorption solar cooling system. In this study, we use different absorbents such as lithium chloride aqueous solution, and mixed solutions of lithium and calcium chloride aqueous solution, and water is the refrigerent. We also discuss the effects of various parameters of the absorbents such as the solution flow rate (the Reynolds number), the solution inlet temperature and the absorber vapor pressure. The results of the present study can provide the design reference for the absorption solar cooling systems.

The aim of this study was to explore the properties of thermal field in spray cooling via experiments. The nozzle diameter (dj) used herein was 200 £gm and the heating surface measured 45 mm ¡Ñ 45 mm. The study was divided into two parts for experiments and analyses. In the first part, with DI water and FC-72 (dielectric liquid) as the working media, the changes in the liquid film thickness on the heater surface under different values of heating power were observed; heat input (Q) and value of gauge pressure (£GP) were taken as the main parameters for discussing the influence of these two parameters on the liquid film thickness in spray cooling. The second part, with DI water as the working medium, adopted the £gLIF system (fluorescent dye: Rhodamine B; concentration: 1.5¡Ñ10-4 M) to measure the effect of different working medium temperatures (23 ¢XC, 30 ¢XC, and 40 ¢XC) on the global temperature distribution, liquid film temperature changes on the heater surface and the thermal field condition of spray cooling, with an aim of exploring the internal physical phenomena of the droplets during cooling.

The power supply for electronic devises is demanded to be lighter and smaller in nowadays market. Therefore, the cooling problem becomes the major design challenge due to reduced heat transfer area. In this thesis, a numerical computation method is employed to numerically simulate the natural convection heat transfer field for a small power supply placed on the ground or table in atmospheric conditions. The effects of parameters are studied including internal heat sink structure, shell structure, heat rate of generation, body size and ground material. The results of the present study can provide design reference.

The hot gas temperature in gas turbine engines is far above the permissible metal temperatures. Advanced cooling technologies must be applied to cool the blades, so they can withstand the extreme conditions. Film cooling is widely used in modern high temperature and high pressure blades as an active cooling scheme. In this study, the film cooling effectiveness in different regions of gas turbine blades was investigated with various film hole/slot configurations and mainstream flow conditions. The study consisted of four parts: 1) effect of upstream wake on blade surface film cooling, 2) effect of upstream vortex on platform purge flow cooling, 3) influence of hole shape and angle on leading edge film cooling and 4) slot film cooling on trailing edge. Pressure sensitive paint (PSP) technique was used to get the conduction-free film cooling effectiveness distribution. For the blade surface film cooling, the effectiveness from axial shaped holes and compound angle shaped holes were examined. Results showed that the compound angle shaped holes offer better film effectiveness than the axial shaped holes. The upstream stationary wakes have detrimental effect on film effectiveness in certain wake rod phase positions. For platform purge flow cooling, the stator-rotor gap was simulated by a typical labyrinth-like seal. Delta wings were used to generate vortex and modeled the passage vortex generated by the upstream vanes. Results showed that the upstream vortex reduces the film cooling effectiveness on the platform. For the leading edge film cooling, two film cooling designs, each with four film cooling hole configurations, were investigated. Results showed that the shaped holes provide higher film cooling effectiveness than the cylindrical holes at higher average blowing ratios. In the same range of average blowing ratio, the radial angle holes produce better effectiveness than the compound angle holes. The seven-row design results in much higher effectiveness than the three-row design. For the trailing edge slot cooling, the effect of slot lip thickness on film effectiveness under the two mainstream conditions was investigated. Results showed thinner lips offer higher effectiveness. The film effectiveness on the slots reduces when the incoming mainstream boundary layer thickness decreases.

The existing 3-stage turbine research facility at the Turbomachinery Performance and Flow Research Laboratory (TPFL), Texas A and M University, is re-designed and newly installed to enable coolant gas injection on the first stage rotor platform to study the effects of rotation on film cooling and heat transfer. Pressure and temperature sensitive paint techniques are used to measure film cooling effectiveness and heat transfer on the rotor platform respectively. Experiments are conducted at three turbine rotational speeds namely, 2400rpm, 2550rpm and 3000rpm. Interstage aerodynamic measurements with miniature five hole probes are also acquired at these speeds. The aerodynamic data characterizes the flow along the first stage rotor exit, second stage stator exit and second stage rotor exit. For each rotor speed, film cooling effectiveness is determined on the first stage rotor platform for upstream stator-rotor gap ejection, downstream discrete hole ejection and a combination of upstream gap and downstream hole ejection. Upstream coolant ejection experiments are conducted for coolant to mainstream mass flow ratios of MFR=0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% and downstream discrete hole injection tests corresponding to average hole blowing ratios of M = 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75 and 2.0 for each turbine speed. To provide a complete picture of hub cooling under rotating conditions, experiments with simultaneous injection of coolant gas through upstream and downstream injection are conducted for an of MFR=1% and Mholes=0.75, 1.0 and 1.25 for the three turbine speeds. Heat transfer coefficients are determined on the rotor platform for similar upstream and downstream coolant injection. Rotation is found to significantly affect the distribution of coolant on the platform. The measured effectiveness magnitudes are lower than that obtained with numerical simulations. Coolant streams from both upstream and downstream injection orient themselves towards the blade suction side. Passage vortex cuts-off the coolant film for the lower MFR for upstream injection. As the MFR increases, the passage vortex effects are diminished. Effectiveness was maximum when Mholes was closer to one as the coolant ejection velocity is approximately equal to the mainstream relative velocity for this blowing ratio. Heat transfer coefficient and film cooling effectiveness increase with increasing rotational speed for upstream rotor stator gap injection while for downstream hole injection the maximum effectiveness and heat transfer coefficients occur at the reference speed of 2550rpm.

Modern gas turbine engines require higher turbine-entry gas temperature to improve their thermal efficiency and thereby their performance. A major accompanying concern is the heat-up of the turbine components which are already subject to high thermal and mechanical stresses. This heat-up can be reduced by: (i) applying thermal barrier coating (TBC) on the surface, and (ii) providing coolant to the surface by injecting secondary air discharged from the compressor. However, as the bleeding off of compressor discharge air exacts a penalty on engine performance, the cooling functions must be accomplished with the smallest possible secondary air injection. This necessitates a detailed and systematic study of the various flow and geometrical parameters that may have a bearing on the cooling pattern. In the present study, experiments were performed in three regions of a non-rotating gas turbine blade cascade: blade platform, blade span, and blade tip. The blade platform and blade span studies were carried out on a high pressure turbine rotor blade cascade in medium flow conditions. Film-cooling effectiveness or degree of cooling was assessed in terms of cooling hole geometry, blowing ratio, freestream turbulence, coolant-to-mainstream density ratio, purge flow rate, upstream vortex for blade platform cooling and blowing ratio, and upstream vortex for blade span cooling. The blade tip study was performed in a blow-down flow loop in a transonic flow environment. The degree of cooling was assessed in terms of blowing ratio and tip clearance. Limited heat transfer coefficient measurements were also carried out. Mainstream pressure loss was also measured for blade platform and blade tip film-cooling with the help of pitot-static probes. The pressure sensitive paint (PSP) and temperature sensitive paint (TSP) techniques were used for measuring film-cooling effectiveness whereas for heat transfer coefficient measurement, temperature sensitive paint (TSP) technique was employed. Results indicated that the blade platform cooling requires a combination of upstream purge flow and downstream discrete film-cooling holes to cool the entire platform. The shaped cooling holes provided wider film coverage and higher film-cooling effectiveness than the cylindrical holes while also creating lesser mainstream pressure losses. Higher coolant-to-mainstream density ratio resulted in higher effectiveness levels from the cooling holes. On the blade span, at any given blowing ratio, the suction side showed better coolant coverage than the pressure side even though the former had two fewer rows of holes. Film-cooling effectiveness increased with blowing ratio on both sides of the blade. Whereas the pressure side effectiveness continued to increase with blowing ratio, the increase in suction side effectiveness slowed down at higher blowing ratios (M=0.9 and 1.2). Upstream wake had a detrimental effect on film coverage. 0% and 25% wake phase positions significantly decreased film-cooling effectiveness magnitude. Comparison between the compound shaped hole and the compound cylindrical hole design showed higher effectiveness values for shaped holes on the suction side. The cylindrical holes performed marginally better in the curved portion of the pressure side. Finally, the concept tip proved to be better than the baseline tip in terms of reducing mainstream flow leakage and mainstream pressure loss. The film-cooling effectiveness on the concept blade increased with increasing blowing ratio and tip gap. However, the film-coverage on the leading tip portion was almost negligible.

The Psychrometric Testing Facility at the Riverside Energy Efficiency Laboratory at Texas AandM University has not been operational for several years. The goal of this project was to restore the testing facility to a fully operational condition for the purpose of supporting research and cooling capacity testing, with the latter following the appropriate standards. Numerous changes were made to the coolant piping system, the data acquisition system, instrumentation, and temperature and humidity control to update and improve the facility. In addition, a computer program was developed and implemented that allows for flexible control of the facility’s conditions and collection of data while showing real time performance and refrigerant and psychrometric calculations. The current program flexibility, along with the proper combination of instrumentation, allows the Psychrometric Facility to operate with separate steady state environmental conditions in each room, according to, and meeting, the AHRI 210/240 standard. Cooling capacity testing done on a split system residential unit was compared to the published AHRI rating to benchmark the state of the facility. Tested cooling capacity was about 3 percent below the published cooling capacity; tested EER was about 7 percent below the published EER; and finally, the calculated SEER based on the default degradation coefficient was about 10 percent below the published SEER. The difference in the calculated performance parameters to the published are expected due to unknown testing conditions used to calculate the published rating.