Effect of Reynolds Number, Hole Patterns, and Target Plate Thickness on the Cooling Performance of an Impinging Jet Array—Part II: Conjugate Heat Transfer Results and Optimization

Abstract

This study comprehensively illustrates the effect of Reynolds number, hole spacing, nozzle-to-target distance, and target plate thickness on the conjugate heat transfer (CHT) performance of an impinging jet array. Test models are composed of a specific thermal-conductivity material which exerts a matched model Biot number to that of engine condition. High-resolution temperature measurements are conducted on the impinging-target plate utilizing steady liquid crystal (SLC) with Reynolds numbers ranging from 5000 to 27,500. Different streamwise and spanwise jet-to-jet spacing (i.e., X/D and Y/D: 4–8), nozzle-to-target plate distance (Z/D: 0.75–3), and target plate thickness (t/D: 0.75–2.75) are employed to compose a total of 108 different geometries. Experimental measured temperature is utilized as boundary conditions to conduct finite element simulation. Local and averaged nondimensional temperature and averaged temperature uniformity of target plate “hot side” are obtained. Optimum hole spacing arrangements, impingement distance, and target plate thickness are pointed out to minimize hot side temperature, amount of cooling air and to maximize temperature uniformity. Also included are 2D predictions with different convective boundary conditions, i.e., local 2D distribution and row-averaged heat transfer coefficients (HTCs), to estimate the accuracy of temperature prediction in comparison with the conjugate results.