Nonuniform Jet Array Impingement on a Curved Surface

Experiments to investigate the effect of varying jet hole diameter and jet spacing on heat transfer and pressure loss from jet array impingement on a curved target surface are reported. The jet plate configurations studied have varying hole diameters and geometric spacing for spatial tuning of the heat transfer behavior. The configuration also includes a straight section downstream of the curved section, where the effect on heat transfer and pressure loss is also investigated. The jet plate holes are sharp-edged. A steady-state measurement technique utilizing temperature-sensitive paint (TSP) was used on the target surface to obtain local heat transfer coefficients. Pressure taps placed on the sidewall and jet plate of the channel were used to evaluate the flow distribution in the impingement channel. For all configurations, spent air is drawn out in a single direction which is tangential to the target plate curvature. First row jet Reynolds numbers ranging from 50,000 to 160,000 are reported. Further tests were performed to evaluate several modifications to the impingement array. These involve blocking several downstream rows of jets, measuring the subsequent shifts in the pressure and heat transfer data, and then applying different turbulator designs in an attempt to recover the loss in the heat transfer while retaining favorable pressure loss. It was found that by using W-shaped turbulators, the downstream surface average Nusselt number increases up to ∼13% as compared with a smooth case using the same amount of coolant. The results suggest that by properly combining impingement and turbulators (in the post impingement section), higher heat transfer, lower flow rate, and lower pressure drop are simultaneously obtained, thus providing an optimal scenario.