International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

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International Journal of Thermal Sciences

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijts

On the topology of vortex structures and heat transfer of a gas turbine blade
internal tip with different arrangement of delta-winglet vortex generators
Zhiqi Zhao a, b, Lei Luo a, **, Dandan Qiu a, b, Songtao Wang a, Zhongqi Wang a, Bengt Sundén b, *
a
School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
b
Division of Heat Transfer, Department of Energy Sciences, Lund University, Lund, 22100, Sweden

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This paper aims to provide a novel enhanced heat transfer method for the internal tip surface of a U bend channel
Gas turbine cooling of relevance for a gas turbine rotor blade. The DWVGs (delta-winglet vortex generators) pair is arranged at
Topological analysis multiple locations on the tip surface. Two types of vortex generators are studied, including common-flow-up and
Blade internal tip
common-flow-down configurations. The inlet channel Reynolds number varies from 10,000 to 50,000. The to­
Delta-winglet vortex generators
Heat transfer
pological analysis method is used to determine the formation and evolution of the vortices and to better un­
derstand the mechanism of the heat transfer enhancement. Results of skin-friction lines, topological portrait,
Nusselt number, friction factor, thermal performance are included. The results show that due to the interaction
among the vortices surrounding the vortex generators, the DWVGs pair in common-flow-up configuration has a
slight heat transfer improvement, and is not sensitive to the tip location. However, the DWVGs pair in common-
flow-down configuration placed at the downstream of the tip surface improved the heat transfer significantly as
the induced vortices between the turbulator pairs effectively reduce the thickness of the boundary layer.
Compared with the smooth U bend channel, the optimal design shows that the heat transfer and overall thermal
performance can be increased by up to 7.4% and 6.8%, respectively. This study elaborates the flow and heat
transfer processes from the perspective of topology, which is helpful in the design of cooling procedures of
turbine blades.

1. Introduction
Nowadays, it is of great significance to enhance the convective HTC
(heat transfer coefficient) in the cooling design process of gas turbine
blades due to the continuous rise of the operation temperature. For the
internal cooling channel of air-cooled blades, the turbulent flow domi­
nates because of the relatively high Reynolds number (exceeds 2300). As
is known, the existence of the viscous sublayer in the turbulent flow
weakens the convective heat transfer near the wall, and the heat is
mostly transferred by conduction in the boundary layer. Therefore, the
main purpose is to obtain a high HTC by reducing the thickness of
boundary layer and enhancing the turbulence intensity.
Longtitudinal vortex generators (LVGs) are proven to be an effective
approach to disturb the boundary layer [1]. The induced vortices can
survive for a long distance downstream of the vortex generators
compared with the transverse vortex generators. The initial application
for LVGs, however, is not for the heat transfer augmentation, but for the
flow field management. The research conducted by Taylor [2,3] showed
that the LVGs can delay the separation of the turbulent boundary layer
in adverse pressure gradients on aircraft wings. The induced vortices can
transfer the low energy fluid cluster from the boundary layer into the
mainstream and bring higher energy fluid down to the surface, which
can prevent that separation occurs. This flow properties of LVGs also
affect the convective heat transfer. The pioneering investigation to
enhance the heat transfer by LVGs was carried out by McEwan [4]. An
experimental study was conducted to investigate the influence of vortex
generators on the heat transfer and resistance on a flat plate. The results
showed that the turbulent convective heat transfer is increased by the
LVGs but with a resistance penalty.
As a passive augmentation method, the placement of LVGs can
induce longitudinal vortices, whose axes are parallel to the mainstream
direction, which is preferable to enhance the heat transfer continuously.
To date, LVGs have been widely used in many applications [5–11], such
as heat exchangers, solar energy, electronic modules, diesel engines, etc.

* Corresponding author.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: leiluo@hit.edu.cn (L. Luo), bengt.sunden@energy.lth.se (B. Sundén).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2020.106676
Received 14 June 2020; Received in revised form 12 September 2020; Accepted 9 October 2020
Available online 23 October 2020
1290-0729/© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Z. Zhao et al.
Fig. 1. An example of HPT first stage blade tip cracks [20].
Fig. 2. A schematic of a U bend channel fitted with the DWVGs pair.
Among these fields, the application of LVGs in heat exchangers accounts
for the largest proportion. For example, an experimental study was
carried out by Tiggelbeck et al. [12] to investigate the effect of double
rows of delta-winglets type longitudinal vortex generators on the heat
transfer and flow field in a transition channel of compact heat ex­
changers. The results showed that the Reynolds number, angle of attack
and layout of the LVGs affected the flow structure and heat transfer. The
aligned LVG rows had higher heat transfer performance than the stag­
gered LVG rows. Besides, the heat transfer and drag increased with in­
crease of the Reynolds number. Fiebig et al. [13] investigated the effect
of two types of LVGs, i.e., rectangular and triangular longitudinal vortex
generators on the heat transfer and flow losses of a gas-side channel of a
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International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676
compact heat exchanger. It was found that LVGs effectively enhanced
local heat transfer, and the triangular wings showed the best perfor­
mance within their research range.
As discussed before, four typical shapes of LVGs have been shown to
enhance heat transfer effectively, namely a wing or winglet of a rect­
angular or delta type. Among these four LVGs, the delta-winglet vortex
generators (DWVGs) pair is a suitable choice as it enhances the turbulent
convective heat transfer coeffcient by inducing counter-rotating vortices
and enhancing the turbulence [14]. Because of its advantages for the
flow field and heat transfer, many researchers have studied the appli­
cation of DWVGs in different fields. Khoshvaght-Aliabadi et al. [15]
experimentally investigated the effect of the LVG arrangement on the
heat transfer and friction factor in a tube. Fourteen delta-winglets LVG
arrangements were considered. The results showed that the parameters
of Nusselt number and friction factor were both augmented by the
delta-winglet LVGs. Based on the criterion of considering the compre­
hensive performance of heat transfer and flow losses, the maximum PEC
(performance evaluation criterion) of 1.41 was found for LVGs at Re =
8715. Chomdee et al. [16] experimentally investigated the heat transfer
enhancement by DWVGs with the attack angles of 10◦ , 15◦ , 20◦ ,
respectively, in an eletronic module. It was found that the vortex
generator could enhance the adiabatic heat transfer coefficients and
reduce the thermal wake function and the module temperature.
In the gas turbine industry, a very limited number of research works
focused on the heat transfer influence of the DWVGs in the cooling
system. Ligrani et al. [17] numerically investigated the interaction be­
tween DWVGs and film cooling for various blowing ratios. It was found
that the longitudinal vortices caused significant alterations in the film
cooling distribution and to the wall heat transfer. An experimental study
was carried out by Wang et al. [18,19] to investigate the heat transfer
and flow characteristics of jet impingement in cross-flow interacting
with a pair of DWVGs. Results showed that the jet obtained a higher
impingement velocity due to the disturbance by DWVGs, and then the
heat transfer on the target wall was enhanced.
Gas turbine blades are surrounded by a high temperature environ­
ment leading to a high heat load. All parts of the blades need to be
cooled, i.,e., the leading edge, trailing edge, pressure/suction surface
and tip region. Among these, the rotor blade tip region is subjected to an
extreme high heat load because of the sweep of the hot leakage flow, as
well as high thermal gradients. Also, it is difficult to cool due to its
narrow section and the rotating effect by the Coriolis force. According to
the inevitable tip clearance caused by the rotating blades, a hot tip
leakage flow at the tip exists. The hot gas driven by the pressure dif­
ference can produce structural damage if the tip cooling is not
adequately considered in the design process. Fig. 1 shows the real life
distress that the blade tips may experience. Some cracks can be found on
the blade tip region after a time period of operation [20]. Some re­
searchers investigated a variety of tip parameter effect on the tip flow
and heat transfer, such as the tip geometry, tip bleed holes configura­
tion, etc. [21–25]. The aim was to find tip heat transfer and flow
structures to protect the tip outside region from hot leakage gas. In
recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the flow and heat
transfer of the cooling-side on the tip internal region of the blades.
Bunker [26] provided a new arrangement of the internal tip region by a
mounted pin-fins array. The experimental results showed that the
pin-fins array could significantly enhance the HTC of the tip internal
wall by up to a factor of 2.5 compared to the smooth tip channel, but also
brought increased pressure drop.
The present study aims to privide a substantial augmentation of heat
transfer in the serpentine cooling passage using delta-winglet vortex
generator. The influence of the combined effect of the arrangements,
location of the DWVG pair and the 3D internal flow of the serpentine
passage of a turbine blade is also elaborated to provide archival value of
the cooling design of turbine blades. The main objectives are outlined as
follows:
Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 3. Configurations of DWVGs pair on the internal tip surface.

(1) Provide three-dimensional flow details and vortical flow struc­
tures under the tip surface with delta-winglet vortex generators;
(2) Analyze the flow physics in detail using topological analysis to
gain complementary understanding of the heat transfer
augmentation process in certain specific arrangements of delta-
winglet vortex generators;
(3) Provide detailed heat transfer distribution on the internal tip
surface of a U-bend channel with various locations and types of
delta-winglet vortex generators;
(4) Reveal the optimal design layout of delta-winglet vortex gener­
ators of the studied cases and provide guidance for engineering
design;
(5) The overall thermal performance of the present study is
compared with other heat transfer enhancing structures in the
public literatures, so as to provide a transverse reference.

Table 1 2. Problem statement

The layout parameters of the considered cases.
Case No. Type F (mm) Case No. Type F (mm) 2.1. Physical models
Case 1 CFD 133.8 Case 6 CFU 133.8
Case 2 CFD 103.8 Case 7 CFU 103.8 In general, the geometry of the internal cooling passage of a realistic
Case 3 CFD 73.8 Case 8 CFU 73.8 gas turbine rotor blades is three-dimensional, complex and with variable
Case 4 CFD 43.8 Case 9 CFU 43.8 cross-section. As a fundamental research, a two-pass serpentine passage
Case 5 CFD 13.8 Case10 CFU 13.8 is simplified as a rectangular U bend channel. The tip wall represents the

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Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 4. Mesh structures of the U bend channel and vortex generator.

Fig. 5. Mesh independence validation.

tip surface of the blade midchord region. The front and back walls of the
U bend channel represent the pressure-side and suction-side surfaces of
the blade, respectively. The geometry parameters of the U bend model
are picked up from Bunker’s experimental study [26]. A schematic di­
agram of the U bend channel with the tip mounted DWVG pair is shown
in Fig. 2. Both the inlet and outlet sections are rectangular, with a length
H of 139.7 mm and a width W of 69.9 mm. For a noncircular channel,
the hydraulic diameter Dh is calculated by 4Ac/P where Ac is the
cross-sectional area, P is the wetted perimeter and then the hydraulic
diameter for the inlet section is 93.13 mm. The thickness (t) of the
divider wall is 25.4 mm and the length B of the tip wall is 165.2 mm. The
length (L) of the U bend channel is 914 mm. The divider wall is 89.9 mm
(S) from the tip wall. The tip wall section is perpendicular to the z-di­
rection. In this study, two types of DWVGs are considered namely
“common-flow-up” and “common-flow-down” configurations.
Fig. 3 shows the tip wall section view and a three-dimensional close-
up view of the two types of DWVG pair. In this study, each DWVG has the
same size, but each pair of the DWVGs has five different locations except
for the two types. The height Vh, and the length Vl are 0.043Dh and
0.086Dh , respectively. The thickness Vt of the DWVGs is 0.1 mm. The
DWVG angles of attack β are set as 45◦ based on the previous results
from the open literature [27,28]. All DWVG pairs are symmetrically Fig. 6. Test of different turbulence models in a U bend channel.
arranged on both sides of the centerline. The distance between each
leading edge and the trailing edge of the DWVGs pair are labeled as Vle
and Vtr, respectively. For the common-flow-up type of the DWVGs, the
Vle and Vtr are 38.59 mm and 6.59 mm, respectively, while for the
common-flow-down type, i.e., the Vle and Vtr are 6.59 mm and 38.59

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Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Table 2 The Darcy friction factor f (− ) is defined as:

Comparison of numerical simulation and experimental results at different Rey­
Δp Dh
nolds numbers. f =1 × (5)
ρU2o L′
Parameter Data Sources Reynolds number
2

( )
200,000 310,000 440,000
where L (= L − S 2 × 2 + (B − W) = 2L + B − S − W) is the total
′ /
Nu (− ) Simulation 416.4 596.6 809.4
Exp [26]. 483.3 620.8 770.9 length of the channel along the central axis (m).
Dev. (%) 13.9 3.87 5.01 For fully developed (hydrodynamically and thermally) turbulent
ΔP (Pa) Simulation 1064.9 2538.9 4662.3
flow in a smooth circular tube, the local Nusselt number can be obtained
Exp [26]. 1186.4 2758.5 4998.8
Dev. (%) 10.24 7.94 6.73 from the Dittus-Boelter correlation (see, for example, Ref. [29]) and can
be written as:

mm, respectively. The distance between the leading edge line of the Nu0 = 0.023Re0.8 Pr0.4 (6)
DWVG pairs and the inlet-side line is expressed as F. The U bend channel The early approximations of the friction factor of a smooth circular
without DWVGs pair is regarded as Baseline. Ten different arrangements tube were carried out by Paul Richard Heinrich Blasius, and the Blasius
of the DWVG pairs are evaluated in this study. The specific layout pa­ correlation (see, for example, Ref. [29]) can be written as:
rameters of the different cases are listed in Table 1.
f0 = 0.3164Re− 0.25
(7)
2.2. Boundary conditions The Q criterion is defined as [30]:
[( )2 ( )2 ( )2 ]
The numerical simulation is cariioed out for a three-dimensional, 1 ∂u ∂v ∂w ∂u ∂v ∂u ∂w ∂v ∂w
Q= − + + − − − (8)
steady-state, non-rotating, and compressible condition. A uniform 2 ∂x ∂y ∂z ∂y ∂x ∂z ∂x ∂z ∂y
mass flow rate and temperature are set as the inlet boundary condition.
A uniform pressure is used at the outlet section. Based on the experi­ where u, v, w are the velocities in the x-, y-, z-directions, respectively.
mental setup, a uniform heat flux is created by DC power on the tip wall,
so a uniform heat flux boundary condition is used for the U bend tip wall
2.4. Mesh generation and mesh independence validation
and the surfaces of the DWVG pairs. The remaining walls, i.e., pressure-
side wall, suction-side wall, inlet-side wall, outlet-side wall and divider
The commercial software ANSYS ICEM [31] is used to generate the
wall, are set as adiabatic. Besides, all walls in contact with the fluid are
mesh unit and mesh nodes. Structured hexahedral meshes are created
set as no-slip wall condition. The Reynolds numbers in this study ranges
for all calculated physical models. Due to the existence of the velocity
from 10,000 to 50,000.
and thermal boundary layers near the channel surface, the mesh nodes
should be densified in the near-wall region. The wall surface including
2.3. Parameter defination the surface of the DWVGs are densified by prism layers. The first height
of the prism layer is 5 × 10− 6 m. According to the y + requirement for
The Reynolds number Re (− ) is given as: the turbulence model used in this study, i.e., RNG k-ε model with
U0 Dh enhanced surface treatment, the value of the y+ is well kept close to 1.
Re = (1) Fig. 4 shows the mesh generation of the U bend channel with a pair of
ν
DWVGs (Case 5) and the mesh edges of close-up views of the DWVG pair.
where. In order to determine a sufficient number of mesh nodes, a careful mesh
U0 = mean velocity at inlet (m/s). independence check has been carried out using the model for Case 7 at
Dh = hydraulic diameter at inlet section (m). the Reynolds number = 50,000.
ν = kinematic viscosity (m2/s). Fig. 5 shows how the dimensionless Nu number and dimensionless
The heat transfer coefficient h (W/(m2K)) is introduced according to: friction factor change as the number of mesh nodes is increased. Both
( ) values begin to stabilize as the number of nodes exceeds 6.5 millions.
Q̇
= h Tw − T b (2) The maximum deviation of these two parameters beyond the mesh
A
number of 6.5 millions are 0.34% and 0.07%, respectively. In order to
balance the accuracy of the calculations and time consumption, the
where.
calculated cases are all based on the number of 7 millions mesh nodes.
Q̇ = heat transfer rate (W).
TW = wall temperature (K).
T b = mean value of the inlet and outlet temperatures of the bulk of 2.5. Governing equations
fluid (K).
The Nusselt number Nu (− ) is defined as: The governing equations used in this study can be written as follows
[32]:
hDh
Nu = (3) Continuity equation
λ
( )
where. ∂ uj
λ = fluid thermal conductivity (W/(m K)). =0 (9)
∂xj
h = heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2K)).
The pressure drop Δp(Pa) is written as: Momentum equation
( )
Δp = pi − po (4) ∂ ρui uj
⎛ ⎛ ⎞⎞
∂P ∂ ⎝ ∂ u ∂u
(10)
i j
=− + (μ + μt )⎝ + ⎠⎠
where. ∂xj ∂xi ∂xj ∂xj ∂xi
pi = inlet total pressure (Pa).
po = outlet total pressure (Pa). Energy equation

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Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 7. A comparison of Nu distribution on the tip surface between experiment and calculation (left: experiment [26]; right: present work).

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Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 8. Numerical validation of a straight channel fitted with DWVG s pair.

Fig. 10. Skin-friction lines and pressure distribution on the tip surface of the U
bend channel.

eration of turbulence kinetic energy due to the mean velocity gradients,

calculated as described below
∂uj
(14)
′ ′
Gk = − ρui uj
∂xi
The main difference between the RNG and standard κ-ε models lies in
the additional term in the ε equation given by
( )
Cμ ρη3 1 − ηη
ε2
(15)
0
Rε = ⋅
1 + β η3 k
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
where η = kε 2Sij Sij , η0 = 4.38, β = 0.012
The turbulent eddy viscosity is calculated as

k2
μt = ρCμ (16)
ε

where. Cμ = 0.0845.

2.6. Validation of the numerical method

In this study, the numerical algorithms of the finite volume method

are used to solve the partial differential equations in the form of alge­
braic equations using the solver Fluent [33]. SIMPLEC solution algo­
Fig. 9. Classification of topological portrait [34]. rithms for pressure-velocity coupling are used in solving the pressure
and velocity fields. To save the computational resources and to obtain
( ) ( )
∂ρT ∂ ∂T ∂ μt ∂T the main features of the U bend channel, the Reynolds-averaged
Cp ui = λ − Cp (11) Navier–Stokes equations are used for the motion of the fluid flow. It is
∂xi ∂xi ∂xi ∂xi Prt ∂xi
therefore inevitable to select an appropriate turbulence model to adapt
The turbulence kinetic energy, κ, and its rate of dissipation ε, are to the current physical conditions. As shown in Fig. 6, eight different
obtained from the following transport equations: turbulence models, such as SST k-ω model, k-ϵ model, RSM model, etc.
( ) were considered to test the predicted values of the numerical simula­
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂k tions and compare with the corresponding experimental results. Fig. 6a
(ρk) + (ρkui ) = αk (μ + μt ) + Gk − ρε − Ym (12)
∂t ∂xi ∂Xj ∂Xj shows the area-averaged Nusselt numbers of the tip wall at Re = 440,
and 000 based on different turbulence models. The results show that the k-ω
( ) models, i.e., SST k-ω, BSL k-ω model, overpredict the heat transfer co­
∂ ∂
(ρε) + (ρεui ) =
∂
α (μ + μt )
∂k efficient while the Standard and Realizable k-ϵ models underpredict the
∂t ∂xi ∂xj ε ∂Xj Nusselt numbers compared to the experimental results. Among these
models, the RNG k-ϵ model shows the best heat transfer prediction.
ε ε
+C1ε Gk − C2ε ρ − Rε (13) Fig. 6b shows the pressure drops across the channel for the eight
k k
different turbulence models. It is found that all the turbulence models
where C1ε = 1.42, C2ε = 1.68, αk = αε ≈ 1.393, Gk represents the gen­ underpredict the pressure drop penalty but the values calculated by the
RNG k-ϵ model show the minimum gap in relation to the experimental

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Z. Zhao et al.
Fig. 11. Topological portrait on the tip surface from a 3D view.
Fig. 12. A schematic of vortices structures of a smooth U bend channel.
results. Consequently, the RNG k-ϵ model provides the best prediction
accuracy for the flow and heat transfer.
In order to further verify the accuracy of the calculation results, a
smooth U bend channel tip and a straight channel fitted with a pair of
delta-winglet vortex generators are simulated and examined versus the
corresponding experimental results. Table 2 shows the results of the
area-averaged Nusselt numbers on the smooth tip surface and pressure
drops across the channel. Comparisons between experiments and nu­
merical simulations for Reynolds number ranging from 200,000 to
440,000 are provided. The maximum deviation is within 14% at Re =
200,000. The gap for other cases is within 8%. Considering that the
experimental uncertainty of the heat transfer coefficient is between 8%
and 15%, the current calculations are within an acceptable deviation
range.
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International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676
Fig. 13. Velocity-colored streamline and Q invariant in a U bend turn.
Fig. 7 provides the Nusselt number distributions on the tip wall based
on experiments and numerical simulations. By observing the experi­
mental contours, it can be found that the heat transfer coefficients on the
tip surface near the inlet region are higher than those near the outlet
region for all Reynolds numbers. As shown in the simulations, the
highest and lowest heat transfer region can be well captured although
there is a little deviation between the values.
Fig. 8 shows the heat transfer prediction in a straight channel fitted
with a pair of DWVGs based on experiments and numerical results. It is
found that the numerical simulations accurately predict the trend.
Despite some under-estimation, the maximum deviation of the Nusselt
number is less than 3.6%.
Based on the comparison of the turbulence models, the average Nu
number, tip Nu contours and pressure drops in a smooth U bend channel
and the heat transfer prediction in a straight channel with a pair of
DWVGs, it can be concluded that the current calculation method can be
used with reasonable reliability to analyze the heat transfer and flow
structures of a U bend channel.
Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

4. Results and discussions

4.1. U bend channel without DWVG pair

Before discussing the flow structures and heat transfer in a U bend

channel with vortex generators, it is necessary to understand the flow
pattern in a smooth U bend channel. Fig. 10 shows the skin-friction field
and pressure distribution on the tip surface of the U bend channel. The
high pressure zone emerges at the inlet tip region, where the skin-
friction line radiates around. The two lowest pressure zones appear at
the corner of the inlet region, and symmetry around the center line is
apparent. At the outlet side, the high-pressure fluid accumulates at the
outlet-side wall border, and then gradually decreases. Besides, two small
vortices can be found at the outlet side.
To reach a better understanding of the flow structure near the tip
region, Fig. 11 depicts a topological portrait on the tip surface from a 3D
view. The inlet flow first impinges on the tip wall and then forms an
attachment node Na. After that, the attached flow radiates around and
along four main attachment flows. The line of one attached flow La1
meets another attachment line at a saddle point S1, and then reversely
Fig. 14. Nu number distribution on the tip surface of a U bend channel.
separates along two separation lines Ls1 and Ls4, respectively. Note that
the saddle point is formed in every direction of the main attached flow,
3. Topology of skin-friction fields
which is affected by the secondary flow of the sidewall, i.e., S1, S2, S3 and
S4, respectively. It is also found that there are four small spiral nodes
Topological analysis is a powerful tool to recognize the evolution of
located in each corner. Each of these stems from four saddle points. The
three-dimensional vortices. Legendre [34] made a pioneering work to
spiral node Ns1, for instance, is formed by two saddle points S1, S3 and
associate the three-dimensional separation phenomenon with the crit­
two semi-saddle points S1 , S3 . The flow around the spiral node rotates
′ ′

ical point theory proposed by Poincaré [35]. Since then, topological

and leaves the surface. As the axis of the separation spiral flow is almost
analysis has been applied in many fields, e.g., gas turbines [36,37].
perpendicular to the surface, it can increase the thickness of the local
Based on the study of three-dimensional separated flow [34], the major
boundary layer, which is not favorable for the enhancement of heat
critical points can be classified as shown in Fig. 9.
transfer.
The attached flow La1, together with one of the separation flow Ls2,

Fig. 15. The location of saddle and node and the arrangement of considered cases.

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Z. Zhao et al.
Fig. 16. Skin-friction lines on the tip surface and vortex generator surface in Case 3.
Fig. 17. Topological portrait in the vicinity of DWVGs pair in Case 3.
Fig. 18. A schematic of vortices structures in the vicinity of DWVGs pair of
Case 3.
forms a vortex near the tip surface, which ends at the separation line Ls1
and rises from the surface with the secondary flow. The secondary flow
near the inlet and outlet sidewalls also forms rotating vortices. The
boundaries of the two vortices are La3, Ls1 and La2, Ls3, respectively.
As discussed before, a three-dimensional evolution of vortices in a U
bend channel can be drawn as depected in Fig. 12. The counter-rotating
vortex pair across the bend region is usually called Dean vortices. These
vortices have a strong shear effect on the wall, which is benefical for the
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International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676
tip heat transfer. In addition, the vortex 1 and vortex 2 are the rotating
local vortices caused by the secondary flow and the downwash by the
main flow. Besides, the four spiral flow 3 lies on all corners. In order to
confirm the flow evolution in the turn region of the U bend channel, the
Q criterion method is introduced to identify vortices from the velocity
field information. As shown in Fig. 13, the 2D streamlines across the
channel centerline in two directions, and the surface of the vortices
calculated by the Q criterion support the above discussions.
Fig. 14 shows the Nusselt number contours on the tip surface. The
four spiral nodes contribute to the lowest heat transfer coefficient on the
tip wall as the spiral flow increases the thickness of the boundary layer.
The attachment node Na has a relatively high heat transfer performance,
but it is not as high as the shear effect area induced by the vortex 1. This
means that the strong shear effect action between the attached flow and
the tip surface can effectively weaken the thickness of the wall boundary
layer and then enhance the heat transfer. The fluid carried by the Dean
vortices also increases the heat transfer coefficient, but its strength di­
minishes as the vortices gradually leave the surface.
Z. Zhao et al.
Fig. 19. A comparison of Nu number distribution on the tip surface among Case 2, Case 3 and Case 4.
Fig. 20. A comparison of Nu number distribution on the vortex generator surface among Case 2, Case 3 and Case 4.
4.2. U bend channel fitted with DWVG pair
The arrangement of the pair of delta-winglet vortex generators
investigated in this study is shown in Fig. 15. As the flow near the DWVG
pair is closely related to the main flow direction, it should be determined
firstly. The attachement node Na and the saddle point S1 on the smooth
tip surface at different Re numbers are located as shown in Fig. 15. It is
found that both points expand to both sides as the Re number increases.
This implies that the larger the Reynolds number is, the more helpful it is
to restrain the range of secondary flow. One thing is not changing,
namely that the cases in the green dotted box share the same main flow
direction, which is in the face of the main flow. Therefore, the following
discussions are based on two kinds of cases (facing or against the wind,
respectively), and the Case 3 and Case 8 are taken as the benchmark
first.
In Case 3, the skin-friction lines on the tip surface and the vortex
generator are described in Fig. 16. It can be seen from the figure that
there is no change in the flow structures upstream of the flow near the tip
wall, but the vortex generator has a certain impact on the downstream
flow. In order to figure out the flow behavior near the turbulator, a
three-dimensional topological portrait is drawn in Fig. 17. First, the
attachment node Na and the saddle point S1 can be observed on the tip
surface, which is same as on the smooth tip surface. One of the attach­
ment lines La1 derived from the attachment node Na surrounds the inner
sidewall of the delta-winglet vortex generator, and a branch of the flow
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International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676
is coming towards the turbulator. Another red line emerges on the inner
sidewall of the turbulator, together with a separation line Ls1 near the tip
of the turbulator. This indicates that an attached flow first impinges on
the sidewall of the vortex generator and then leaves its surface. Due to
the downwash effect by the main flow, this flow will circulate back to
form a vortex. In addition, the flow at the other side of the vortex
generator is washed down to the tip surface. This also increases the local
heat transfer although there is a lack of a vortex. Besides, at the rear of
the turbulator, two small vortices are formed and this fact implies a low
magnitude of the heat transfer.
Fig. 18 presents the evolution of the vortices around one of the vortex
generators. The vortex 1, which is alongside the turbulator, is beneficial
to the tip heat transfer. This so as the near wall vortex has a strong shear
effect on the tip surface which weakens the thickness of the boundary
layer. The vortices 2 and 3, however, increase the local boundary layer
and accordingly reduce the heat transfer performance.
Fig. 19 shows the Nusselt number distributions for Case 2, Case 3 and
Case 4, respectively. It can be seen that the heat transfer performance is
improved between the DWVG pair for these three cases. There is also a
certain enhancement of heat transfer at the other side of the vortex
generator, which is due to the impact of the attached flow. The rear of
DWVG pair exhibits a relatively low heat transfer performance.
Fig. 20 presents the Nu number contours on the surface of the
DWVGs for Case 2, Case 3 and Case 4, respectively. The heat transfer at
the outside of the turbulator is higher than that at the inside surface. This
Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 21. High HTC regions on the tip surface around DWVGs pair in common-flow-down configuration.

implies that most of the attached flow energy between the pair of
DWVGs is largely generated by the shear force on the tip surface. Both
outside and at the tip wall of the DWVGs high heat transfer coefficients
appear, which means that the attached flow will directly impinge on
these zones and then it will produce a certain downwash force on the tip
surface. It should be noted that for Case 4, the heat transfer on both
sidewalls of the vortex generator is almost the same due to the short
distance from the attachment node Na, which implies that the down­
wash flow is formed on both sides simultaneously, and the generation of
a wall clinging vortex is restrained.
The high heat transfer coefficient region for Case 2-Case 4 is high­
lighted in Fig. 21. The tip region in the middle of the two vortex

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Z. Zhao et al.
Fig. 22. Skin-friction lines on the tip surface and vortex generator surface in Case 8.
generators contributes to the obvious heat transfer enhancement, and
also the ability of heat transfer augmentation at the leading edge region
and the outer tip wall of the DWVGs pair is evident.
The skin-friction lines on the tip and turbulator surface are presented
in Fig. 22. The patterns of the lines near the turbulator are quite different
from the other type of turbulator. In this case, a spiral node Ns can also
be seen at the rear of the vortex generator.
From the front isometric view of the vortex generator shown in
Fig. 23a, one of the attachment lines La2 derived from the attachment
node Na diverges along two separation lines Ls1 and Ls2, respectively,
before it reaches the vortex generator, and then lifts off from the tip
surface. Another attachment line La3 can be clearly found on the sidewall
of the turbulator. This attached flow impinges on the sidewall and then
is divided into two opposing flows, one flows around the tip of the
turbulator along Lmf, while the other flows down the tip surface of the U
bend channel and merges with the fluid from the La2 at the separation
lines Ls1 and Ls2 and finally leaves the tip surface. Therefore, this vortex
is composed of the attachment line La3 and separation line Ls2. From
another view of the DWVG pair shown in Fig. 23b, an attachment line
La4 and the near wall separation lines Ls4 and Ls5 induce the attached
flow to lift off the tip surface. This separated flow impinges on the
outside wall of the turbulator at La5 and leaves the surface at the sepa­
ration line Ls6 when it meets the flow originating from Lmf. Thus, the
topological structure of La4→(Ls4, Ls5)→La5→Ls6 is formed to induce the
vortex in this region. After encountering the separation line Ls3, this
vortex leaves the tip surface.
There are three main vortices V1, V2, and V3 surrounding the delta-
winglet vortex generator as shown in Fig. 24. Vortex V1 will bypass
the tip of the vortex generator to wash down vortex V2. Based on the
topological structures of these vortices, only the vortices on both sides, i.
e., V1, V2 are beneficial for the tip heat transfer. The flow at the rear of
the turbulator accumulates amd is carried by vortex V3. This low-energy
flow cluster increases the thickness of the local boundary layer.
Fig. 25 shows the Nu numbers on the tip surface for Case 1, Case 2
and Case 3, respectively. It is found that the heat transfer is augmented
on the outside region of the DWVG pair. In addition, the heat transfer
between the trailing edge of the DWVG pair is also enhanced by the
vortices. However, at the rear region and the front region of the DWVG
pair, the heat transfer is reduced as the fluid lifts off the surface. Fig. 26
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International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676
provides the Nu number distributions on the vortex generator. In
contrast to Cases 2–4, the inner wall of the DWVG pair has a strong heat
transfer capacity, and the flow near the outer wall contributes with a
strong shear force on the tip surface of the U bend channel. In addition,
further away from the attachment node Na, the lower is the heat transfer
performance.
Fig. 27 outlines the heat transfer performance at different regions of
the tip surface near the DWVG pair for Case1, Case 2 and Case 3. The
heat transfer on both sides of the turbulator is higher than in other re­
gions. However, the relatively low heat transfer performance at the
near-wall outside wall region, the front and the back regions of the
DWVG pair cancels out some of the heat transfer augmentation of the tip
surface.
Fig. 28 shows the skin-friction lines, pressure distributions on the tip
surface and the velocity contours near the tip region. The high pressure
in the impinement region extends to the sidewall of the DWVG pair,
indicating that the attached flow accumulates in this region, and then
the fluid bypasses the turbulators from the tip and rear regions of the
DWVG pair, generating a downwash flow to the downstream tip surface.
The red attachement line records the above flow and the heat transfer is
improved in this region. In addition, it can be seen that the velocity
between the leading edge of the DWVG pair increases and this acceler­
ating flow is beneficial for the tip heat transfer.
As shown in Fig. 29, the Nu number in the outer region of the DWVG
pair is enhanced slightly, but the fluid immediately surrounding the
turbulators failed to enhance the local heat transfer but restrained the
local heat transfer.
Fig. 30 shows the near-wall limiting streamlines for Case 6 and Case
10, respectively. It is found that different arrangements can cause locally
accelerated flows. In Case 6, the endwall of the secondary flow is
accelerated while the accelerated flow occurs after passing the DWVG
pair in Case 10. Fig. 31 presents the Nu number comparison between the
Baseline and studied cases (Case 6 and Case 10). The results show that
the Nu number in the accelerating region is enhanced for Case 6 and
Case 10, which means that the heat transfer at the tip surface is
improved in these cases.
Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 23. Topological portrait in the vicinity of DWVGs pair in Case 8 from two isometric views.

Fig. 24. A schematic of vortices structures in the vicinity of DWVGs pair of Case 8.

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Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 25. A comparison of Nu number distribution on the tip surface among Case 7, Case 8 and Case 9.

Fig. 26. A comparison of Nu number distribution on the vortex generator surface among Case 7, Case 8 and Case 9.

4.3. Thermal performance A comprehensive comparison need to be presented to estimate the

Fig. 32 shows the dimensionless average Nu numbers on the tip
surface for the Baseline and considered cases with Re number ranging
from 10,000 to 50,000. It is found that the arrangement of the delta-
winglet vortex generator pair has the ability to produce more or less
heat transfer enhancement on the tip wall of a U bend channel. The
Nusselt numbers in Case 2 and Case 3 take the lead among all cases at
different Reynolds numbers. This means that the common-flow-down
type of the Delta-winglet vortex generator placed on the tip wall at
the middle and rear can enhance the local heat transfer without
destroying the heat transfer at other regions. The common-flow-up type
of DWVG pair is not sensitive to different locations of the turbulator, and
has a certain heat transfer improvement. In general, the heat transfer
improvement of the common-flow-up type DWVG pair at different lo­
cations is lower than that of the common-flow-down type DWVG pair.
The average heat transfer augmentation of the former is about 3.24%,
while that of the latter is about 3.78%. For the optimal design, the heat
transfer can be increased by up to 7.4%.
However, for all studied cases, the friction factors are higher than
that of the Baseline as shown in Fig. 33. It can be found that Case 3 has
higher friction factor than the other cases at different Re numbers. The
largest deviation appears for Case 3 at Re number = 50,000 and it is
about 11.6%.
overall thermal performance among the considered cases. Both heat
transfer and pressure drops have been taken into account in the
parameter (Nu/Nu0)/(f/f0)1/3. As shown in Fig. 34, the cases provide an
augmented heat transfer performance when the Re number is lower than
25,000. However, some cases including Cases 4–10 have a lower heat
transfer coefficient compared with the Baseline as the Re number in­
creases. The Case 2 and Case 3 still take the lead among the considered
cases. The maximum overall thermal enhancement for Case 2 and Case 3
are 6.8% and 5.9%, respectively.
4.4. Comparison of other turbulators in literatures
In order to investigate the overall thermal performance of different
vortex generators placed on the tip surface, some structures available in
the open literatures [38–42], including dimple array, pin-fin array, rib
array and protrusion array, are compared with the delta-winglet vortex
generators pair as shown in Fig. 35. It is found that DWVG pair has no
obvious increase in the friction factor, and the values are between 3.24
and 4.42 at different Reynolds numbers. In addition, the arrangement of
the DWVG pair is beneficial to the tip heat transfer enhancement. The
maximum thermal performance is up to 1.48 while the minimum ther­
mal performance is above 0.92. It should be also noted that the cooling
structures listed above are all arrays of turbulators, but in this study,

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Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 27. HTC regions distribution on the tip surface around DWVGs pair in common-flow-up configuration.

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Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 28. Skin-friction lines and pressure on the tip surface and velocity distribution near the tip surface.

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Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 29. Nu number distribution on the tip surface in the vicinity of DWVGs pair among Baseline, Case 1 and Case 5.

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Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 30. Velocity-colored streamlines in the vicinity of DWVGs pair near the tip surface between Case 6 and Case 10.

Fig. 31. Nu number distribution on the tip surface in the vicinity of DWVGs pair among Baseline, Case 6 and Case 10.

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Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 34. A comparison of overall thermal performance among Baseline and

considered cases at Re numbers ranging from 10,000 to 50,000.
Fig. 32. Dimensionless average Nu number on the tip surface among Baseline
and considered cases at Re numbers ranging from 10,000 to 50,000.
enhancement technique in a U bend channel. Compared with other
structures, the delta-winglet vortex generator pair provides a relatively
high heat transfer coefficient with a limited pressure drop penalty.

5. Conclusions

This study aims to propose a novel design to arrange a DWVG pair on

the internal tip surface of a U bend channel inside a gas turbine blade to
enhance the tip heat transfer. The main conclusions are listed as follows:

(1) The DWVG pair in common-flow-down configuration placed at

the middle and rear of the tip surface improved the heat transfer
significantly as the induced vortices between the turbulator pair
effectively reduces the thickness of the boundary layer.
(2) A topological understanding of the three-dimensional flow in the
vicinity of the DWVG pair is helpful to clarify the evolution of the
vortices over the internal tip surface and the mechanism of heat
transfer enhancement in a U bend channel.
(3) The present design provides a relatively high heat transfer coef­
ficient with a lower pressure penalty among other existing cool­
ing structures in the open literature. Compared with the smooth U
bend channel, the optimal design, i.e., the DWVG pair in
common-flow-down configuration placed at the rear of the tip
surface shows that the heat transfer and overall thermal perfor­
mance can be increased by up to 7.4% and 6.8%, respectively.

Fig. 33. Dimensionless friction factors in the U bend channel among Baseline
Declaration of competing interest
and considered cases at Re numbers ranging from 10,000 to 50,000.

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial

only a pair of the DWVGs are used. Considering the heat transfer area, interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
delta-winglet vortex generators can be a very promising heat transfer the work reported in this paper.

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Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

Fig. 35. A comparison of overall thermal performance among present study and other cooling structures in open literatures.

Acknowledgments funded project [grant number 2017M620116]; and China Postdoctoral

Science Foundation funded project [grant number 2017M621268]. The
This work was supported by the Harbin Institute of Technology computations were performed on resources provided by the Swedish
Scholarship Fund; the National Natural Science Foundation of China National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC) at LUNARC and partially
[grant number 51706051]; China Postdoctoral Science Foundation funded by the Swedish Research Council.

Nomenclature

Ac cross-sectional area of inlet section (m2)

B length of the tip surface (m)
Dh hydraulic diameter of inlet section (m)
F distance between leading edge line and inlet-side line (m)
f Darcy friction factor (− )
H length of inlet/outlet section (m)
h heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2K))
L length of the U bend channel (m)
Nu Nusselt number (− )
P wetted perimeter (m)
pi inlet total pressure (Pa)
po outlet total pressure (Pa)
Q̇ heat transfer rate (W)
Re Reynolds number (− )
S distance between divider wall and tip wall (m)
t thickness of divider wall (m)
Tb mean value of the inlet and outlet temperatures of the bulk of the fluid (K)
TW wall temperature (K)
U0 mean velocity at inlet (m/s)
u velocity in x-direction (m/s)
v velocity in y-direction (m/s)
Vh height of the delta-winglet vortex generator (m)
Vl length of the delta-winglet vortex generator (m)
Vle leading edge distance between DWVGs pair (m)
Vt thickness of the delta-winglet vortex generator (m)
W width of inlet/outlet section (m)
β angle of attack of the DWVGs (◦ )
Δp pressure drop (Pa)
λ fluid thermal conductivity (W/(m K))

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Z. Zhao et al. International Journal of Thermal Sciences 160 (2021) 106676

μ dynamic viscosity (kg/(m s))

ν kinematic viscosity (m2/s)
τ wall shear stress (Pa)

Abbreviations
CFD common flow down
CFU common flow up
DWVGs delta-winglet vortex generators
det determinant
HTC heat transfer coefficient
HPT high pressure turbine
Tr trace

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