Gill Slot Trailing Edge Aerodynamics: Effects of Blowing Rate, Reynolds Number, and External Turbulence on Aerodynamic Losses and Pressure Distribution

Gill slots (also called cutbacks) are a common method to cool the trailing edge of vanes and blades and to eject spent cooling air. Exit surveys detailing total pressure loss, turning angle, and secondary velocities have been acquired for a gill slot vane in a large-scale, low speed cascade facility. These measurements are compared with exit surveys of the base (solid) vane configuration. Exit surveys have been taken over a four to one range in chord Reynolds numbers (500,000, 1,000,000, and 2,000,000) based on exit conditions and for low (0.7%), grid (8.5%), and aerocombustor (13.5%) turbulence conditions with varying blowing rate (50%, 100%, 150%, and 200% design flows). Exit loss, angle, and secondary velocity measurements were acquired in the facility using a five-hole cone probe at two stations representing axial chord spacings of 0.25 and 0.50. Differences between losses with and without the gill slot for a given turbulence condition and Reynolds number are compared providing evidence of coolant ejection losses and losses due to the separation off the gill slot lip. Additionally, differences in the level of losses, distribution of losses, and secondary flow vectors are presented for the different turbulence conditions and at the different Reynolds numbers. The turbulence condition has been found to have only a small effect on the increase in losses due to the gill slot. However, decreasing Reynolds number has been found to produce an increasing increment in losses. The present paper, together with a companion paper (2007, “Gill Slot Trailing Edge Heat Transfer—Effects of Blowing Rate, Reynolds Number, and External Turbulence on Heat Transfer and Film Cooling Effectiveness,” ASME Paper No. GT2007-27397), which documents gill slot heat transfer, is intended to provide designers with the heat transfer and aerodynamic loss information needed to compare competing trailing edge designs.