Numerical Simulation of Multi-Row Film Cooling on Curved Turbine Blade Surfaces

The performance of modern gas turbines is strongly influenced by turbine inlet temperature, where higher operating temperatures enhance thrust but also impose severe thermal loads on the blades. Since current materials cannot tolerate conditions exceeding approximately 1300 K, advanced cooling strategies are required to ensure durability. Film cooling, which introduces coolant jets through discrete surface holes to form a protective layer against the hot mainstream, remains one of the most widely used approaches. This study numerically investigates the effect of downstream rows of cooling jets on film cooling performance over a curved turbine blade surface. Using the Reynolds- Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) framework with the Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model, simulations were conducted for one, two, and three rows of coolant injection. Validation against experimental data confirmed the accuracy of the framework. The results show that additional rows significantly enhance cooling effectiveness by generating a thicker and more uniform thermal barrier that extends protection farther downstream. Analysis of velocity and temperature contours, wall shear stress, and pressure coefficient distributions revealed that aerodynamic penalties remain limited, though local wall shear stresses increase due to intensified jet–mainstream interactions. These findings highlight the trade-off between cooling effectiveness and mechanical loading, underscoring the importance of optimized multi-row configurations. Overall, the study provides design-relevant insights into achieving improved thermal management without compromising aerodynamic integrity, contributing to the advancement of high-temperature turbine technologies.