'GAS TURBINE BLADE COOLING TECHNOLOGY, ADVANCES, AND CHALLENGES'Harika S. Kahveci 'Flow in a gas turbine engine is exposed to elevated temperatures in the high-pressure turbine that is located immediately downstream of the combustion chamber. If stator and rotor blades are not cooled properly, the temperature limits of blade materials could be exceeded due to hot gas flow, leading to serious damages during engine operation. Continuous advances in cooling technologies have become necessary since the engine thermal efficiency and power output increase significantly with an increase in the turbine inlet temperature. This study explains blade cooling techniques and discusses the related challenges and recent advances in this research field. ' |