Heat transfer test evaluation of the shell-spar blade cooling concept applied to industrial gas turbines

A series of heat transfer experiments to verify the theoretical prediction techniques adopted for the design of shell-spar cooled turbine vanes and blades is described. Tests were performed on flat plate specimens representing a wide range of channel geometries. Each specimen was installed in one wall of a test section downstream of a combustor which was run at various operating temperatures. A recommended design approach was formulated from analysing the results. The potential of shell-spar cooling applied to industrial gas turbines is discussed.