ROTATING MINIATURE AND SECTOR HEAT PIPES FOR COOLING GAS TURBINE ROTOR BLADES AND DISKS

A radially rotating high-temperature heat pipe is an effective heat transfer device that employs the centrifugal force to return the condensate in the condenser section to the evaporator section of the heat pipe. Combining the traditional air cooling technique with the rotating heat pipe for gas turbine blade cooling represents a new cooling method. It is believed that through this method, the turbine rotor blade/turbine disk can be more effectively cooled, and the gas turbine could work at a higher inlet temperature. In particular, this cooling method could reduce the maximum temperature/temperature gradient in the rotor blade and at the disk rim, spread the heat in the regions of highest heat fluxes, more effectively utilize the cooling air, and potentially cool the shroud of the rotor. In this paper, the test results of two miniature rotating heat pipes and a sector rotating heat pipe are presented, and their effectiveness in connection with gas turbine cooling is discussed.