CFD Research Corporation (CFDRC) is investigating the impact of heat release near turbine inlet guide vanes, and its effect on vane durability and life. Military combustors such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) combustor are run at high fuel/air ratios at full power conditions. At such high (near stoichiometric) fuel/air ratios, the combustor exhaust gas may have pockets of species such as CO and H2 that will oxidize and release heat when additional air is introduced to the hot flowpath. Thus, cooling air from the turbine inlet guide vane may actually cause heat to be released, and cause vane durability challenges.

CFDRC is developing analysis tools to predict vane heat transfer and near vane heat release. Combustion Large Eddy Simulation (LES) calculations are being performed to understand flow patterns and assess design improvements. Initial LES simulations have shown that heat release near the vane surface can be predicted, and LES calculations produce near gas temperatures which are significantly different than steady-state RANS calculations. Future activities include comparing predictions with skin temperature/heat flux data from the University of Cincinnati, and analyzing the F136 turbine inlet guide vane. Improved near-wall velocity and thermal boundary layer models for LES will be developed, implemented, and validated