This paper investigates the efficacy of implementing heat pipe turbine vane (HPTV) cooling in the NASA N+3 engine. The HPTV can be thought of as a heat pipe in the shape of a turbine vane, functioning as both an aerodynamic body and heat exchanger. The heat-absorbing section of the HPTV remains is fixed in the vanes of the high pressure turbine (HPT), while the heat-rejecting section can be placed in any stage of the low pressure turbine (LPT) as well as the bypass stream. The optimal location of the condensing (heat-rejecting) section will vary with engine design, since it will depend on both cycle-level impacts and cooling capacity. Previous studies on the HPTV concept have ranged from experimental to numerical. The numerical studies comprise of CFD, parametric, and cycle-level studies. &nbsp;The general consensus from these studies is that the HPTV is a suitable alternative to traditional air-cooling, if good heat pipe design practices and accurate predictions of heat flux limitations are achieved. The engine commonly used in these studies is a military engine, with HPT vane dimensions on the order of 3-4 inches in both span and chord. Future turbofan engines, such as the NASA N+3 reference engine, will contain HPT vanes with spans and chords on the order of 1-2 inches. This reduction in both volume and surface area, along with increasing HPT temperatures, underscores the need for a reassessment of the efficacy of the HPTV for commercial turbofan engines. In this paper, we will investigate the optimal configuration for the HPTV in the N+3 engine, and we will address heat flux limitations, design requirements, cycle-level impacts, and future areas of work.References[1]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; S. Yamawakl, T. Yoshida, T. Masanobu, and F. Mimura, “Fundamental Heat Transfer Experiments of Heat Pipes for Turbine Cooling,” in International Gas Turbine &amp; Aeroengine Congress &amp; Exhibition, 1997.[2]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; C. C. Silverstein, J. M. Gottschlich, and M. Meininger, “The Feasibility of Heat Pipe Turbine Vane Cooling,” in International Gas Turbine &amp; Aeroengine Congress &amp; Exhibition, 1994.[3]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Z. J. Zuo, A. Faghri, and L. Langston, “A Parametric Study of Heat Pipe Turbine Vane Cooling,” in International Gas Turbine &amp; Aeroengine Congress &amp; Exhibition, 1997.[4]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Z. J. Zuo, A. Faghri, and L. Langston, “Numerical analysis of heat pipe turbine vane cooling,” J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power, vol. 120, no. 4, pp. 735–743, 1998, doi: 10.1115/1.2818461.[5]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; M. Petrucci and A. Faghri, “Heat Pipe Turbine Vane Integration in Gas Turbine Engines,” Front. Heat Mass Transf., vol. 11, Jan. 2019, doi: 10.5098/hmt.11.37.[6]&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; S. M. Jones, W. J. Haller, and M. T. Tong, “An N+3 Technology Level Reference Propulsion System,” NASA/TM—2017-219501, 2017.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Preliminary Study of Heat Pipe Turbine Vane Cooling in the Nasa N+3 Reference Engine

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/GT/GT2021/volume/84898

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