Flow and Heat Transfer Analysis in a Single Row Narrow Impingement Channel: Comparison of Particle Image Velocimetry, Large Eddy Simulation, and RANS to Identify RANS Limitations

The present study aims to understand the flow, turbulence, and heat transfer in a single row narrow impingement channel for gas turbine heat transfer applications. Since the advent of several advanced manufacturing techniques, narrow wall cooling schemes have become more practical. In this study, the Reynolds number based on jet diameter was $≃$15,000, with the jet plate having fixed jet hole diameters and hole spacing. The height of the channel is three times the impingement jet diameter. The channel width is four times the jet diameter of the impingement hole. The dynamics of flow and heat transfer in a single row narrow impingement channel are experimentally and numerically investigated. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to reveal the detailed information of flow phenomena. PIV measurements were taken at a plane normal to the target wall along the jet centerline. The mean velocity field and the turbulent statistics generated from the mean flow field were analyzed. The experimental data from the PIV reveal that the flow is highly anisotropic in a narrow impingement channel. To support experimental data, wall-modeled large eddy simulation (LES) and Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations (shear stress transport k–ω, ν²−f, and Reynolds stress model (RSM)) were performed in the same channel geometry. Mean velocities calculated from the RANS and LES were compared with the PIV data. Turbulent kinetic energy budgets were calculated from the experiment, and were compared with the LES and RSM model, highlighting the major shortcomings of RANS models to predict correct heat transfer behavior for the impingement problem. Temperature-sensitive paint (TSP) was also used to experimentally obtain a local heat transfer distribution at the target and the side walls. An attempt was made to connect the complex aerodynamic flow behavior with the results obtained from heat transfer, indicating heat transfer is a manifestation of flow phenomena. The accuracy of LES in predicting the mean flow field, turbulent statistics, and heat transfer is shown in the current work as it is validated against the experimental data through PIV and TSP.