Advanced Component Cooling Design and Evaluation for Gas Turbine Engines

Florida Turbine Technologies, Inc. (FTT) proposes the subject program to develop REACTTM (Rapid Evaluation of Advanced Cooling Technologies). Substantial savings relative to industry state-of-the-art methods were demonstrated in Phase I, reducing heat transfer test cost from greater than $100,000 to less than $10,000, and reducing the lead-time from 6 months to less than 1 week. Through novel application of additively manufactured test articles, REACT enables reduced cooling design conservatism and rapid development of enhanced cooling technologies to meet market demands. This technology directly supports VAATE program objectives by enabling low cost development of high performance cooled turbine components. With this program, FTT and its subcontractor, AeroDynamic Solutions, Inc. (ADS) will develop methods that apply to any application where accurate prediction of heat transfer coefficients is critical to function (electronics cooling, heat exchangers, etc.). In Phase I, the REACTTM concept successfully achieved the aforementioned cost, schedule, and accuracy goals for smooth and ribbed internal duct heat transfer cooling configurations. In Phase II, FTT will develop methods for impingement and pedestal cooling configurations, as well as attached external flows. At the conclusion of Phase II, FTT will leverage the AFRL HIT research turbine to demonstrate and validate the REACT technology.