The prediction of flow through leading edge holes in a film cooled airfoil with and without inserts

A method for predicting cooling air flow rates using tests on cylindrical models of typical turbine blade leading edges has been extended to include blades with inserts and blades with reversed-angled holes. When an insert is used, the pressure loss across the insert can be determined from flow tests and added to other losses in the flow path to determine cooling flow rates. Calculated and experimentally determined flow rates are compared with good agreement. The second experiment was performed to determine internal loss coefficients for reverse-angled holes oriented so the flow makes a reverse turn to enter the holes. The reversed flow case produced significantly greater internal loss coefficients than when the same holes were oriented in the direction of flow. These results were used to predict flow from arrays of reverse-angled holes and from a cylinder containing both reverse-angled holes and nonreversed holes. In all cases, good agreement was found between predicted and measured flow rates.