Incidence Effect on the Aero-Thermal Performance of a Film Cooled Nozzle Vane Cascade

In the present paper, the influence of inlet flow incidence on the aerodynamic and thermal performance of a film cooled linear nozzle vane cascade is fully assessed. Tests have been carried out on a solid and a cooled cascade. In the cooled cascade, coolant is ejected at the end wall through a slot located upstream of the leading edge plane. Moreover, a vane showerhead cooling system is also realized through four rows of cylindrical holes. The cascade was tested at a high inlet turbulence intensity level (Tu₁ = 9%) and at a constant inlet Mach number of 0.12 and nominal cooling condition, varying the inlet flow angle in the range ±20 deg. The aero-thermal characterization of vane platform was obtained through five-hole probe and end wall adiabatic film cooling effectiveness measurements. Vane load distributions and surface flow visualizations supported the discussion of the results. A relevant negative impact of positive inlet flow incidence on the cooled cascade aerodynamic and thermal performance was detected. A negligible influence was instead observed at negative incidence, even at the lowest tested value of −20 deg.