International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 108 (2017) 362–373

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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhmt

Numerical flow and experimental heat transfer of S-shaped two-pass

square channel with cooling applications to gas turbine blade
Pey-Shey Wu a, ShyyWoei Chang b,⇑, Chuan-Sheng Chen c, Chien-Chou Weng c, Yu-Ru Jiang d,
Shih-Hao Shih e
a
Heat Transfer Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, Da-Yeh University, No. 168, University Road, Dacun, Changhua 51591, Taiwan, ROC
b
Thermal Fluids Laboratory, National Kaohsiung Marine University, No. 142, Haijhuan Road, Nanzih District, Kaohsiung City 81143, Taiwan, ROC
c
Aeronautical Systems Research Division, National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 90008-11-2, Taichung 40722, Taiwan, ROC
d
Department of Marine Engineering, National Kaohsiung Marine University, No. 142, Haijhuan Road, Nanzih District, Kaohsiung City 81143, Taiwan, ROC
e
Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, Da-Yeh University, No. 168, University Road, Dacun, Changhua 51591, Taiwan, ROC

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This study experimentally detected the endwall Nusselt numbers (Nu) distributions, Fanning friction fac-
Received 9 September 2016 tors (f) and thermal performance factors (TPF) for a stationary S-shaped two-pass square channel with
Received in revised form 28 November 2016 the associated turbulent flow fields analyzed by ANSYS Fluent code to disclose the flow mechanisms
Accepted 30 November 2016
responsive to the measured thermal performances. The full-field Nu distributions over the endwalls of
Available online 22 December 2016
present S-shaped inlet/outlet legs and 180° sharp bend at Reynolds numbers (Re) of 5000, 7500,
10,000, 12,500, 15,000, 20,000 and 30,000 were measured using the steady-state infrared thermography
Keywords:
method; while the validated RNG k-e turbulence model was adopted to reveal the fields of time-mean
S two-pass channel
Turbine blade cooling
fluid velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and cross-plane secondary flow. Acting by sectional vortices
induced along the inlet/outlet S-pathways and 180° sharp bend, the core-to-wall momentum/heat
exchanges are boosted to elevate both Nu and f values. Accompanying with the f augmentations from
10.19–8.27 times of Balssius f1 levels, the area-averaged Nusselt numbers (NuA ) over the entire S-
shaped endwall were elevated to 3.21–3.09 times of Dittus-Boelter Nusselt number (Nu1) values at
5000 6 Re 6 30,000, resulting in the TPF between 1.4 and 1.44. To assist relevant engineering applica-
tions, two sets of empirical correlations evaluating the regionally averaged endwall Nusselt numbers
and f factors are devised.
Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction bubble, the coolant recirculation undermines the regional heat

For reducing the cooling flow consumption through a gas
turbine blade, the serpentine coolant passages interconnected by
sharp bends are customarily implanted in the middle portion of a
turbine blade. As the coolant bulk stream turns 180 degrees
through the bend, the sharp turning motion of the coolant bulk
stream generally induces a large recirculation zone attached on
the dividing sidewall of the downstream flow passage connecting
with the exit of sharp bend. The large recirculation zone caused
by flow separation downstream the tip of the dividing sidewall is
often referred to as the ‘‘separation bubble” which attaches at
the location downstream the divider tip. Within the separation
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: pswu@mail.dyu.edu.tw (P.-S. Wu), swchang@mail.nkmu.edu.
tw (S. Chang), sunrising7724@gmail.com (C.-S. Chen), sunrising7724@gmail.com
(C.-C. Weng), 1031532108@stu.nkmu.edu.tw (Y.-R. Jiang), jack0011034@gmail.com
(S.-H. Shih).
transfer performances; but the accompanying flow reattachment
behind the separation bubble reinstates local heat transfer rates
by the amplified turbulence/vorticity levels. However, such wide-
spread serpentine coolant passages inside a gas turbine blade are
formulated by the ‘‘straight” legs which are inter-connected by
180° sharp bends. By way of zig-zag bulk flow motion to induce
the additional mechanisms for heat transfer enhancement (HTE),
the straight coolant legs in a usual serpentine cooling network
yield to the ‘‘S-shaped” coolant passages as indicated by Fig. 1.
As such S-shaped multi-pass serpentine cooling passages is conve-
niently attainable by replacing the straight channel sidewalls
(dividers) to the curly dividers, the HTE benefits induced by the
zig-zag motions of the coolant bulk stream can be readily
compound with the endwall ribs/dimples and/or pin-fins to further
boost the internal cooling effectiveness of a gas turbine blade.
Nevertheless, with the straight coolant pathways, the HTE
mechanisms in a multi-pass smooth-walled channel are mainly

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2016.11.107
0017-9310/Ó 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 P.-S. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 108 (2017) 362–373 363

Nomenclature
Wd channel width (m)
English symbols X⁄, Y⁄, Z⁄ dimensionless coordinates = x/d, y/d, z/d
AR channel aspect ratio = channel width/channel height x, y, z Cartesian coordinates (m)
Cp specific heat of fluid (J kg1 K1) y+ wall coordinate normal to wall = (y/m)(sw/q)0.5
d hydraulic diameter of test channel (m)
f fanning friction factor of test channel = DP/(0.5qUb2) Greek symbols
(d/4L) e turbulence dissipation rate (W kg1)
f1 pressure drop coefficient evaluating from Balssius equa- l fluid dynamic viscosity (kg s1 m1)
tion = 0.079Re0.25 m fluid kinematic viscosity (m2 s1)
H channel height (m) q fluid density (kg m3)
k turbulent kinetic energy (J kg1) s shear stress (N m2)
kf thermal conductivity of fluid (W m1 K1)
L channel length (m) Subscripts
Nu endwall Nusselt number of test channel = qd/[kf(Tw-Tb)] A refers to endwall area
Nu1 Dittus-Boelter Nusselt number level = 0.023Re0.8Pr0.4 E refers to endwall
Nu area-averaged Nusselt number I refers to inner undulant edge of S-channel
Pr Prandtl number = lCp/kf IL refers to inlet leg
qf convective heat flux (W m2) O refers to outer undulant edge of S-channel
Re Reynolds number = qUbd/l OL refers to outlet leg
TPF thermal performance factor = Nu/Nu1/(f/f1)1/3 TR refers to turning region of bend
Tb fluid bulk temperature (K) w refers to solid wall
Tw wall temperature of endwall (K)
U, V, W fluid velocity components in x, y, z direction (m s1)
Ub mean through flow velocity (m s1)

Fig. 1. Conceptual design of S-shaped multi-pass cooling channel modified from
Rolls-Royce RB211 HP gas turbine rotor blade.
attributed to the upstream/downstream effects of the sharp bend
[1,2]. To further elevate the HTE performances of multi-pass
coolant channels, the early studies [3–7] deployed surface ribs
along the endwalls of the straight channel legs to induce the sec-
ondary flows, promote turbulent activities and penetrate boundary
layers for breaking the thermal barriers on ribbed walls. As the
flow/turbulence structures tripped by the 45°, 60°, 90° and chevron
full/broken ribs are different, the HTE properties vary with rib-
angle, rib-orientation and bend-geometry. Taken into the account
of turbine blade profile within which the coolant flows were chan-
neled through, the heat transfer impacts caused by the various sec-
tional shapes of the multi-pass channels were also subject to
extensive studies. As a HTE attempt by formulating the smooth-
cornered ‘‘zig-zag” flow passages into the serpentine flow network,
the sectional flow vortices involving shear layers are induced when
the coolant travels through the curly zig-zag pathways inside a tur-
bine blade. Fig. 1 depicts the modified internal cooling network
from Rolls-Royce RB211 HP gas turbine rotor blade by converting
the original straight coolant passages into the ‘‘S-shaped” zig-zag
coolant channels using the curly dividing sidewalls. With the vor-
tices induced by the curly motion of bulk coolant stream to
enhance the core-to-wall mixing, the additional HTE mechanisms
are induced even with no surface roughness deployed along the
S-shaped channel. The associated HTE properties along with the
accompanying pressure drop augmentations and the responsible
flow mechanisms formulate the research focus of present study.
Elfert et al. [8] adopted PIV method to detect the development
of turbulent flow structures through the two-pass channel with
trapezoidal inlet and rectangular-like outlet at Re = 40,000. The
convection of rib tripped flows along the channel with varying sec-
tional shape enriched the vortical structures [8] to affect the HTE
characteristics. With parallelogram two-pass ribbed channels, Liou
et al. [9] imposed the abrupt asymmetrical entrance to induce a
twist action on entry flow for generating multiple entry vortices
to boost the HTE benefits. When the cooling bulk stream carrying
with vortices turned sharply through the bend, the typical Dean
vortical pair transited into the single cellar vortex and proceeded
downstream along the entire ribbed outlet leg [9]. Acting by the
various types of sectional vortices through the two-pass parallelo-
gram channels with 45°, 90° and 135° ribs, the spanwise Nu varia-
tions emerged across the inlet/outlet legs even for the channel with
90° ribs; while such spanwise Nu variations were indiscernible in
the similar two-pass square channel with 90° ribs [10]. Using the
deliberate flow entry geometry to amplify the turbulence/vorticity
364 P.-S. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 108 (2017) 362–373
and vortical flows through the entire inlet legs of the two-pass
ribbed channels roughened by 45° ribs of different orientations,
the additional HTE benefits along the entire inlet leg were attain-
able [11]. With cooling applications to gas turbine blade, the
multi-pass rectangular channels of various width-to-height ratios
(aspect ratios, AR) are often deployed with typical AR between
0.25 and 10. Thus the AR effects on thermal performances of
multi-pass coolant channels were extensively studied [12–16]. As
AR increases, the vortical flow structures through the sharp bend
of a multi-pass rectangular channel generally evolve toward the
multiple cells. The simultaneous increases of AR and rib blockage
ratios by reducing the channel height incurred both HTE and f aug-
mentations [16]. To accommodate the hub-to-tip variations of tur-
bine blade profile, the sectional area of a tapered multi-pass
coolant channel is decreased in radial direction, generating the
accelerating/decelerating flows in radially outward/inward chan-
nels. Ekkad et al. [17] measured the endwall heat transfer rates
of two-pass smooth/ribbed channels with convergent inlet leg
and divergent outlet leg. The accelerating/decelerating flows along
the smooth convergent/divergent inlet/outlet legs interacted with
the vortex transitions downstream the sharp bend to noticeably
elevate the endwall heat transfer rates from those developed in
the similar straight two-pass channel [17]. As the radial averaged
Nu correlated well with radial Re defined by the local channel
hydraulic diameter along the tapered smooth inlet/outlet legs
[17], the heat transfer properties in the tapered smooth inlet/outlet
legs were dominated by the local convective inertial forces. But
with tapered two-pass channel roughened by ribs, the heat trans-
fer characteristics downstream the 180° bend became similar for
both tapered and straight two-pass channels [17]. Along with the
combined AR effects and tapered inlet/outlet legs on the thermal
performances of two-pass channels, another geometrical factor
attracting the research efforts was the distance between the
divider-tip and the seal-end of sharp bend [18,19]. In this regard,
the regional Nu over/downstream the endwall of bend were ele-
vated by reducing the divider-to-bend distance. The endwall
regions subject to the most significant heat transfer impacts by
AR emerged on the locations with local maximum/minimum Nu
[18]. In general, the HTE performance for a tapered smooth two-
pass channel was moderated as AR increased but enhanced by
reducing AR and/or tilting the divider toward the divergent outlet
leg [19].
In search of high HTE effectiveness subject to the constraints of
typical turbine blade profiles, the HTE effects of surface ribs and
channel shape were the long term mainstream research focuses
for advancing the internal cooling network. Another research
direction has attempted to modify the channel sidewall configura-
tions for adding the HTE flow mechanisms. Chyu group [20,21]
studied the heat transfer characteristics of rectangular multi-pass
channels of AR = 2.5° with 110° zig-zag turns. Two types of surface
roughness, namely rib-turbulators [20] and dimples/protrusions
[21] were selected to boost the cooling effectiveness. With the
additional vortices and bulk flow mixing induced by the zig-zag
turns and ribs, the highest HTE ratios at approximately 4–4.8 times
of Dittus-Boelter levels were achieved; but the cooling perfor-
mance at the ‘‘sharp” corner of each zig-zag turn was not notice-
ably improved and unaffected by the rib-turbulators [20]. With
dimples and protrusions, the HTE ratios generated by the protru-
sions were higher than dimple counterparts [21]; but were both
less than those elevated by ribs [20] in the zig-zag channels. Inher-
iting from the less pressure drop penalties for dimpled surfaces,
the pressure losses through the zig-zag channels with dimples/pro-
trusions were lower than the zig-zag ribbed channels. Clearly, the
‘‘sharp” corner of each zig-zag turn is not favorable for both HTE
benefit and pressure loss reduction. By replacing the sharp to
smooth turns, present S-shaped two-pass channel is configured.
As illustrated by Fig. 1 in which the conceptual implementation
of such S-shaped multi-pass channels for turbine blade cooling is
illustrated, the undulant dividers formulate the S-shaped serpen-
tine cooling passages to elongate the flow pathway and induce
the vortices to enhance core-to-wall fluid mixing, together for ele-
vating HTE benefits with reduced pressure drop penalties from the
zig-zag scenarios. Present study adopts infrared thermography
method to measure the detailed endwall Nu distributions and the
associated Fanning friction factors (f) of a S-shaped two-pass
square channel with flow structures revealed by ANSYS Fluent
code for interpreting the thermal performance measurements.
Under the criterion of constant pumping power consumption, the
thermal performance factors (TPF) are evaluated and compared
with other types of typical HTE measures deployed in a gas turbine
blade. Two sets of empirical correlations evaluating the regionally
averaged Nu and channel averaged f are devised to assist relevant
engineering applications. While the characteristics of convective
heat transfer for zig-zag coolant channels have been previously
studied [20,21] as the internal cooling passages of a gas turbine
blade, present S-shaped multi-pass channel is proposed for moder-
ating the pressure drop penalties from the zig-zag channels with
sharp corners. The flow mechanisms and the responsive heat trans-
fer properties and pressure drop characteristics are newly exam-
ined by this work.
2. Methodology
2.1. Experimental method
2.1.1. Test facilities
The pressurized airflow from the rotary type compressor is
channeled through a dehumidifier into the air tank. Prior to enter-
ing the test section, a set of pressure regulator and filter unit is
installed upstream the needle vale and mass flow meter where
the airflow rate is adjusted and measured. The heat-transfer and
pressure-drop test module of present S-shaped two-pass square
channel is depicted by Fig. 2(a). The pair of two opposite S-
shaped endwalls (1), (2) with width of 50 mm is made of 0.1 mm
thick stainless steel foil. By supplying electrical power to the two
heating foils (1), (2) connecting in series, the basically uniform heat
flux is generated. The top sealed wall of 180° sharp bend is made of
20 mm thick Teflon plate. Coolant flow downstream the S-shaped
inlet leg turns sharply through the bend into the meandering outlet
leg. A 20 mm thick bottom Teflon plate (4) with square entry path-
way to connect with inlet leg and an elbow discharge port to vent
the exit flow from outlet leg is sandwiched between the two-pass
channel and the air plenum chamber. The height (H) and width
(Wd) of the square two-pass channel are both 50 mm, giving the
channel hydraulic diameter (d) of 50 mm as the characteristic
length for present study. To detect the distribution of endwall tem-
perature (Tw) of present two-pass channel, the S-shaped stainless
steel heating foil (2) is inlaid in the Teflon frame (5) with its inner
contour matching the periphery of the particular flow passage. The
Teflon divider (6) with identical inner contour matching present
two-pass channel connects with the 50 mm thick Teflon back plate
(7) to seal the inner edge of the S-shaped stainless steel heating foil
(2). Two sets of undulant inner/outer sidewalls (8) and the Teflon
frame (5) are fixed on the Teflon back plate (7) to configure the
S-shaped two-pass channel with 180° sharp bend. The distance
between the tip of Teflon divider (6) and the top sealed wall of
the 180° bend is 50 mm.
The flow entrance of present test section emulates the abrupt
entry condition. The dehumidified and pressurized air stream
flows into the air plenum chamber (9) and is then slightly bent
prior to entering the inlet leg. The offset distance between the
 P.-S. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 108 (2017) 362–373
Fig. 2. Test facilities (a) S-shaped two-pass channel (b) coordinate systems and flow regions (c) test assembly.
centerlines of the entry port of plenum chamber (9) and the inlet
leg is 38.5 mm. The abrupt area ratio between the plenum chamber
and the inlet leg is 7.14. Two pairs of copper plates mounted with
two ends of heating foils (1), (2) are respectively installed at the
bottom and top ends of the test module to connect with the elec-
trical cables for feeding the regulated heater power into the test
section. On the flow entry and exit planes, a centered K-type ther-
mocouple (12) and nine K-type thermocouples (13) with equal
intervals are installed to measure the fluid entry and exit temper-
atures, respectively. Inside the air plenum chamber, a central plate
(14) is installed. With non-uniform fluid temperature distributions
at the channel exit, the average of the nine thermocouple readings
(13) is approximately as the measured exit fluid bulk temperature
(Tb) to compare against the calculated exit Tb using enthalpy bal-
ance method [22] for ensuring the accuracy of energy accountancy.
The coordinate systems and the definitions of flow regions for
inlet leg, turning region and outlet leg are illustrated by Fig. 2(b).
For measuring the pressure drops through the entire two-pass
channel, the digital type micro manometer (15) with the precision
of 0.01 mm-H2O height is connected with three pairs of pressure
tapes measuring the Fanning friction factors for the S-shaped end-
wall and the undulant inner/outer sidewalls. As indicated by Fig. 2
(b), the inlet/exit planes selected to install the pairs of pressure
taps for measuring fE, fI and fO respond to the centrals on the two
opposite peaking bulge and trough edges for the inlet and outlet
legs. The averaged fanning friction factors over these channel walls
365
are used to calculate thermal performance factors (TPF). The infra-
red camera (16) with focal length normal to the S-shaped endwall
scans the instant Tw image at 60 frame rate per second with the
image resolution of 239  255 pixels. To enhance the infrared
emission from the heated endwall and minimize the background
signal noises, the scanned S-endwall is painted black with the test
channel and the infrared camera enveloped in the shield. Fig. 2(c)
depicts the entire assembly of the test channel and infrared camera
(16) in the shield with the micro-manometer attached on the plat-
form. The emissivity coefficient of infrared camera is determined
from the calibration tests as 0.85 for this particular test
configuration.
2.1.2. Experimental procedures and data reduction
Present study explores the HTE impacts and the attendant f aug-
mentations of S-shaped two-pass square channel. The dependen-
cies of averaged Nu and f on Re are disclosed with the empirical
correlations developed for engineering applications. Heat transfer
and pressure drop tests are individually performed at Re = 5000,
7500, 10,000, 12,500 and 15,000. With each heat transfer test,
the highest Tw on the scanned endwall is 120 °C. To compensate
the variations of fluid properties due to various heating powers
fed into the test channel, the airflow rates are constantly adjusted
during each heat transfer test to ensure the Re at flow entrance at
the targeting value within ±1% variations. All the raw data relevant
to Re and Nu evaluations are recorded when several successive Tw
366 P.-S. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 108 (2017) 362–373
scans at the monitoring spots are less than ±0.3 °C at which the
steady state condition is assumed.
Local Nu is defined as qfd/[kf(Tw-Tb)] in which qf and kf respec-
tively stand for the local heat flux and the thermal conductivity
of fluid evaluated at local Tb. For the heating foil, the width-to-
thickness ratio is 500, leading to the one-dimensional heat conduc-
tion through the heating foil. As the foil thickness is 0.1 mm and
the thermal conductivity of the stainless steel foil is about
15 W K1 m1, the wall temperature (Tw) drops across the foil
thickness remain negligible at present heat fluxes tested. Also the
cross-sectional area of the heating foil of 5 mm2 significantly limits
the lateral conductive heat within the 0.1 mm thick heating foil.
The effect of lateral thermal conduction in the stainless steel heat-
ing foil has on accuracy. The details for the evaluations of local qf
and local Tb have been previously reported in [22]. With non-
uniform endwall Tw distributions due to the spatial heat transfer
variations inside the test channel, the qf distribution is not per-
fectly uniform as the local heat loss flux determined from the heat
loss calibration tests appears as the function of wall-to-ambient
temperature difference [22]. With present test configuration, the
maximum qf non-uniformity is about 16%. With the local qf value
evaluated, the local Tb is determined based on the streamwise
enthalpy increase due to the convective heat transfer. The stream-
wise increase of enthalpy from flow entry toward flow exit is
accounted using a sequential procedure of integration of local
enthalpy from the streamwise location Si to the downstream loca-
tion Si+1. The Tb value at location Si+1 is calculated as Tb(Si+1) = Tb(Si)
_ Cp) in which Ep is the sectional heating
+ qf (Si)  (Si+1-Si)  Ep/(m
perimeter along the two endwall-widths and m _ is the measured
air mass flow rate through the test section. Such sequential inte-
gration process starts from the measured inlet Tb and the Cp value
is calculated at the Tb level at Si location. To verify the energy
accountancy and Tb calculations, the enthalpy rise from the flow
entrance based on the measured fluid entry temperature is evalu-
ated following the stepwise manner to determine the streamwise
Tb along the test channel using the measured airflow rate and local
qf. The raw data are recorded for subsequent data processing only if
the differences between the measured and calculated exit Tb are
less than ± 10%; otherwise this set of experiment is re-performed.
The Fanning friction factor (f) at each tested Re is calculated as
[DP/(0.5qUb2)]/(4L/d) in which DP is the measured pressure drop
across the entire two-pass test channel of total length L with q
and Ub respectively represent the fluid density of test coolant
and the bulk mean fluid velocity evaluated at the flow entry plane.
To assess the efficiency of present HTE measure, the thermal per-
formance factor (TPF) evaluated under the constant pumping
power criterion is defined as (Nu/Nu1)/(f/f1)1/3 in which Nu1 and
f1 are the respective references of Dittus-Boelter (0.023Re0.8Pr0.4)
and Blasius (0.079Re0.25) correlation values. With the measured
Fig. 3. Grid independency test result.
Tb between 29.8–52.34 °C, the variations of Prandtl number (Pr)
are less than 1% so that the Pr effect is exclusive from present
study.
The maximum experimental uncertainties for Re, Nu and f are
analyzed using the policy reported in [23]. The sources attributed
to the experimental uncertainties include the measurements of
temperatures, airflow rate, heat flux and pressure drop. With the
fluid properties evaluated from local fluid bulk temperatures, the
main source for attributing/propagating the experimental uncer-
tainties of Re, Nu and f are the respective temperature and DP mea-
surements. With present Tw-Tb and DP in the ranges of 33–76.77 °C
and 8.31–24.53 Pa (N m2), the maximum experimental uncertain-
ties for Re, Nu and f are respectively estimated as 3.1%, 7.8%, and
4.9%.
2.2. Numerical method
The turbulent flow fields in the S-shaped two-pass square chan-
nel of the present study are analyzed by ANSYS Fluent code to dis-
close the flow structures responsive to the measured thermal
performances. The computational domain is chosen to be the flow
regions shown in Fig. 2(b). Continuity, momentum, energy, and
turbulence equations are solved iteratively with SIMPLE algorism.
Uniform velocity corresponding to desired Reynolds number is
specified at the inlet to the inlet leg, while a pressure outlet condi-
tion is applied at the exit of the outlet leg. The specification of pres-
sure outlet condition gives better convergence and accuracy than
the outflow boundary condition for the flow may have recircula-
tion, or velocity gradients may not be negligible, at the exit due
to the vortices shed from the sharp turn and the two undulant
edges of the S-shaped channel. Uniform heat flux with the same
value as deduced from experiments is applied to the heated wall.
The computed exit bulk temperature must agree with the mea-
sured value to within 0.2 °C to ensure energy balance. As the uni-
form heat flux heating conditions are imposed over the two
opposite heating foils, the streamwise Tb variations are assumed
to increase linearly along the test channel. Using the measured Tb
data at the flow entry and exit to define the slope of the stream-
wise Tb increase along the test channel, local Tb values are accord-
ingly determined for calculating local Nu based on the local Tw
generated by the CFD code. Residuals for the convergence of itera-
tions are set to 1E-6 for energy equation and 1E-4 for all other
equations. From the converged solutions of various turbulence
models, including k-e family (Standard, RNG, and Realizable k-e
models) and Reynolds Stress Model (RSM), the computed overall
averaged Nu is compared with the measured data at Re = 15,000.
Deviation in the range of 14.4  to 34.3% was obtained. It was
found that RNG k-e model gave the best agreement with the mea-
sured heat transfer results while RSM had the worst deviation. A
preliminary test run using full channel height confirms that the
flow structures are symmetric about the mid-height (Y* = 0) plane
and that the predicted flow and heat transfer results are the same
as those computed using a half-height model. To enhance the res-
olution and confine the computational time to within practically
reasonable period, a half-height model with one heated endwall
and a symmetric plane on the opposite side is used in the rest of
the work.
The computational domain is meshed with tetrahedral ele-
ments. Green-Gauss node based spatial discretization scheme
was chosen in the solution methods. A body-size control parameter
was used to limit the largest element size. Ten prism layers with
growth rate of 1.2 and transition ratio of 0.272 were generated nor-
mal to the heated wall to resolve strong temperature and velocity
gradients near the wall. A grid independency test using RNG k-e
model with averaged Nu of the inlet leg as the examined quantity
is shown in Fig. 3. Corresponding averaged y+ values over the
 P.-S. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 108 (2017) 362–373
Fig. 4. Validation of CFD models.
heated wall are also indicated. For these fine grids used in this
study, enhanced wall treatment (EWT) which combines two-
layer enhanced wall functions is used to account for the
viscosity-affected near-wall region and resolve the turbulence
behavior all the way down to viscous sublayer. The Nu results have
insignificant difference for the number of elements ranging from
1.8 to 3.5 million (Fig. 3). However, when the number of elements
reaches 3.5 million, the required CPU time becomes unpractical.
Therefore, the numerical results with mesh number around
2.5 million are presented hereafter.
The computed overall averaged Nu at different Re using RNG k-e
model are compared with experimental data, as shown in Fig. 4.
The absolute values of deviations compared to the measurements
vary from 6.5% (at Re = 5000) to 14.4% (at Re = 15,000). Results of
Standard k-e model having absolute deviation range of 10.8% (at
Re = 5000)–18.4% (at Re = 15,000) are also shown. From theoreti-
cal foundation of the models, the improvement of RNG k-e model
over Standard k-e model is believed to be mainly due to improved
e equation for rapidly strained flows and inclusion of swirling
effect and analytically calculated turbulent Prandtl numbers. Both
the experimentally measured and numerically predicted overall
averaged Nusselt numbers increase monotonically with Re in the
Fig. 5. Flow paths and magnitudes on (a) Y⁄ = 0 (central) plane (b) velocity vectors and secondary flow magnitudes (c) velocity vectors and turbulence intensities on Z⁄ = 0.5
plane.
367
investigated range, with the prediction by RNG k-e model consis-
tently closer to the measured data than Standard k-e model. The
validation of turbulence models concludes that RNG k-e model is
the most suitable for the prediction of the flow and thermal char-
acteristics for the present S-shaped square channel.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Flow structures
The flow structures developed in present S-shaped two-pass
square channel are typified by the CFD results obtained at
Re = 15,000 using Figs. 5 to disclose (a) flow streak lines and veloc-
ity magnitudes on the central Z*-X* plane of Y* = 0 and (b) fluid
velocity vector plots, sectional velocity magnitudes and turbulence
kinetic energy levels on the central X*-Y* planes of Z* = 0.5 along
the inlet and outlet legs; and Figs. 6 and 7 to disclose the sectional
flow structures through the inlet/outlet legs and the 180 degrees
sharp bend, respectively. As shown by Fig. 5(a), the high momen-
tum coolant streams concentrate on the channel core away from
the undulant regions along the inlet and outlet legs with low
momentum fluids trapped in the troughs along the two undulant
edges of each S-shaped leg. The flow streak lines are not symmet-
rical about Z* = ± 0.5 centerline along both inlet and outlet legs on
Y* = 0 plane. The bundle of dense streak lines possessing with high
velocity gradients and thus shearing actions initiates from the cen-
tral entry of inlet leg, downstream which these dense streaks shift
toward the undulant inner edge of the inlet leg and attach on the
tip edge of the central divider to turn into the outlet leg, Fig. 5
(a). Along the two undulant edges of the inlet and outlet legs, the
in-trough vortical flow cells gradually emerge after the coolant
travels through about two undulations from the inlet entry and
downstream the sharp bend respectively. Accompanying with the
developments of the in-trough vortical flow cells, the separated
flows caused by the local flow accelerations appear at the peaks
of bulges along the inner/outer undulant edges of the inlet and
368 P.-S. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 108 (2017) 362–373
Fig. 6. Sectional flow structures through inlet and outlet legs.
outlet legs on the middle Z*-X* plane, Fig. 5(a). The flow velocity
vectors and the normalized magnitudes of sectional flow velocity
defined as (U2 + V2)0.5/Ub on the middle X*-Y* plane at Z* = 0.5 for
inlet and outlet legs are depicted by Fig. 5(b). Along the inlet leg,
the X*-wise flow momentum symmetrically increases toward the
central plane of Y* = 0 from the two endwalls at Y* = ±0.5 and
impinges onto the top sealed wall at X* = 6.16. Having passed
through the sharp bend, the X*-wise flow momentum also sym-
metrically increases toward the central plane of Y* = 0 from the
two opposite endwalls along the outlet leg. Such X*-wise flow
accelerations are periodic along both inlet and outlet leg with the
wave length matching the pitch of present S-shaped undulation.
Inheriting from the symmetrical sectional velocity profiles seen
in Fig. 5(b), the k distributions on the X*-Y* plane at Z* = 0.5 are also
axially periodic and symmetrical about Y* = 0 axis along both inlet
and outlet legs, Fig. 5(c). The axial growths of turbulent kinetic
energy (k) on the X*-Y* plane at Z* = 0.5 along both inlet and outlet
legs are clearly visible in 5(c). Clearly, the severe shearing actions
induced by the undulant sidewalls boost the turbulence genera-
tions along both inlet and outlet legs. As the overall k levels on
the flow region of 5.02 < X* < 6.16 over the X*-Y* middle plane for
the outlet leg are reduced from the inlet-leg counterparts as com-
pared by Fig. 5(c), the strong viscous and turbulent dissipations
though the 180 degrees sharp bend have suppressed the k levels
raised in the inlet leg.
The development of vortical structures induced by present S-
channel along the inlet and outlet legs are illustrated by depicting
the streamwise variations of the normalized fluid velocity in terms
of (V2 + W2)0.5/Ub and velocity vectors on the Y*-Z* planes at each
mid-trough and mid-bulge sections as shown by Fig. 6. The com-
plex vortical structures developed along the inlet or outlet leg as
depicted by Fig. 6 are not symmetrical about Z* = 0.5 plane but
symmetrical about Y* = 0 plane. Near the flow entry of the inlet
leg at X* = 0.24, the vortices induced by the S-channel are initiated
at the two corners on the outer undulant edge. Adjacent to the
inner undulant edge(Z* = 1) on the Y*-Z* plane at X* = 0.24, the sec-
ondary flow scenario acts like a typical ‘‘sink” pattern with fluids
entrained into the spot of Y* = 0, Z* = 0.85. At further downstream
locations, the corner vortices on all the mid-trough sections along
the inlet leg yield to the ‘‘two-pair” pattern. While the pair of cor-
ner vortices along the outer undulant edge at Z* = 0 grows axially,
the opposite corner vortices along the inner undulant edge at
Z* = 1of the inlet leg are shrunk, Fig. 6. On the mid-bulge sections
along the inlet leg, the corner vortices adjacent to the inner undu-
lant edge at Z* = 1 are initially stronger than the outer-edge coun-
terparts at X* = 0.72. Further downstream the first mid-bulge
section along the inlet leg, the two-pair vortical structure yields
to the three-pair vortical structure at the second and third mid-
bulge sections, Fig. 6. At the forth mid-bulge section of X* = 3.6,
the upstream three-pair vortical structure recovers to the two-
pair structure but soon yields to another form of three-pair vortical
structure at X* = 4.56 where the additional body force induced by
the change of stream momentum through the sharp bend acts in
the direction toward the tip edge of the central divider to affect
the nearby flow structures.
On the mid-bulge section of X* = 4.56 at the immediate exit of
the sharp bend into the outlet leg, the stronger pair of vortices
aside the outer undulant edge (Z* = 0) are enriched by feeding
the upstream coolant from the inner-edge corners toward the
outer edge, Fig. 6(K). Further downstream, the axial development
of the sectional flow structures on the mid-bulge sections along
the outlet leg can be visualized by sequentially viewing the vector
plots from Fig. 6(K) ? 6(M) ? 6(O) ? 6(Q) ? 6(S). Similarly, the
evolution of the sectional vortices on the mid-trough sections
 P.-S. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 108 (2017) 362–373
Fig. 7. Sectional flow structures through 180° sharp bend.
along the outlet leg is visible by examining the flow structures
depicted from Fig. 6(L) ? 6(N) ? 6(P) ? 6(R) ? 6(T). In these
respects, the pair of vortices on the mid-bulge section near the
outer edge at X* = 4.56 seen in Fig. 6(K) is enriched on the neigh-
boring in-bulge section shown by Fig. 6(M) at X* = 3.6, downstream
which the pair of strong vortices transits into six small-scale vor-
tices symmetrical about Y* = 0 plane in Fig. 6(O). At X* = 1.68 and
0.72 near the flow exit of the outlet leg, the vortical structures over
the two mid-bulge sections yield to the typical two-pair pattern
with the stronger vortices emerged aside the outer edge (Z* = 0),
Fig. 6(Q) and (S). For the sectional vortices developed on the
mid-trough sections along the outlet leg, all the corner vortices
depicted by Fig. 6(L)–(T) remain as the two-pair pattern. In Fig. 6
(T) at X* = 0.24 near the flow exit of the outlet leg, a low momen-
tum region aside the inner undulant edge (Z* = 1) emerges to
‘‘squeeze” the two pair of vortices toward the outer edge of
Z* = 0. Justified by the ongoing axial variations of the vortical flow
structures on the mid-trough and mid-bulge sections depicted by
Fig. 6 along the inlet and outlet legs, the flow fields in present S-
shaped inlet and outlet legs remain developing.
The coolant stream involving multiple vortices induced by pre-
sent S-shaped inlet leg impinges toward the top sealed wall of the
sharp bend and simultaneously turns 90° toward the undulant
outer wall of the outlet leg from the entry station of sharp bend
at X* = 5.16. Upon entering the sharp bend from the 00 section as
indicated in Fig. 7(a), the six small-scale sectional vortices emerged
on the mid-bulge plane at X* = 4.56 shown by Fig. 6(J) transits into
the two-cellar structure at X* = 5.16. On the 0° section as shown as
Fig. 7(a), most of the coolant stream carrying the two vortical cells
aside the outer undulant wall of Z* = 0 is directed toward the sealed
top wall of the bend as illustrated by the streak lines featured in
Fig. 5(a). The other portion of coolant stream on the 0° section
turns toward the inner undulant wall from the two opposite
endwalls. As indicated by the flow streak lines shown by Fig. 5(a)
over the flow region near the tip of the central divider, such
turning stream emanating from the 0° section shown by Fig. 7(a)
closely follows the tip contour of the central divider. Into
the upstream half of present sharp bend, the core coolant with
369
reducing momentum is directed toward the two upstream corners
of the sharp bend on the 45° section by the centrifugal forces as
shown by Fig. 7(b). Two return streams with increasing momen-
tum are correspondingly formulated on the 45° section to wash
over the two opposite S-shaped endwalls, Fig. 7(b). At the mid-
bend on the 90° section, the typical Dean-type vortical pair is for-
mulated with the core coolant directing in the radially outward
direction to the top sealed wall of the bend; whereas the return
flows washing over the two opposite endwalls are confluent at
mid-tip of the central divider, Fig. 7(c). On the 135° plane sectioned
through the downstream half of the sharp bend, the vortical struc-
tures seen in Fig. 7(d) are similar to those developed on the 45°
section shown by Fig. 7(b). The washing flows over the two oppo-
site bend endwalls are directing toward the tip of the central divi-
der. Upon leaving the sharp bend on the 180° section, there is no
trace of vortical cell; but the coolant streams symmetrical about
Y* = 0 plane are directing toward the channel core to formulate a
strong traverse flow impinging onto the outer undulant wall. The
dissimilarity between the flow structures developed on the 0°
and 180° sections are evident, indicating the asymmetrical flow
developments in the streamwise direction through present sharp
bend. With the complex flow structures developed along present
S-shaped two-pass channel as depicted by Figs. 6–8, the endwall
Nu distributions are accordingly varied in both spanwise and
streamwise directions as illustrated in the following section.
3.2. Endwall heat transfer properties
The endwall Nusselt number distributions for present S-shaped
two-pass channel detected at Re = 10,000, 20,000 and 30,000 are
depicted by Fig. 8. While the local endwall Nusselt numbers
increase consistently as Re increases, the pattern of Nu distribu-
tions is not noticeably modified as Re varies, Fig. 8. As coolant trav-
els through the inlet leg, the separated vortices are tripped at the
loci of bulges along the undulant inner and outer sidewalls. The
downstream advection of these separated vortices interacts with
the induced shear layers to boost local turbulence and vorticity.
The high endwall Nu traces thus initiate from the bulges along
370 P.-S. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 108 (2017) 362–373
Fig. 8. Endwall Nusselt number distributions at Re = 10,000, 20,000 and 30,000.
the inner and outer undulant sidewalls and follow the advection
tracks of the separated vortices toward the downstream troughs
in the inlet leg as shown by Fig. 8. In this respect, the relevant
works investigated the heat transfer characteristics of sinusoidal
wavy channels [24–28] reported the various forms of in-trough
recirculating flow cells. As Re exceeded the critical value, these
in-trough recirculating vortices were agitated by the instabilities
of shear layers to promote large-scale core-to-wall macroscopic
mixings [24] and/or to induce the self-sustained flow oscillations
toward channel core [25–28]. The prevalence of such core-to-
wall fluid mixings served as the major HTE mechanism over the
undulant channel walls [24–28] and also attributes to present Nu
imprints over the S-shaped smooth endwall seen in Fig. 8. Accom-
panying with the Nu elevations along the curly inner/outer edges,
the low endwall Nu traces emerge along the central region of pre-
sent inlet leg, Fig. 8. Referring to the vortical flow structures devel-
oped on the sectional planes along present S-shaped inlet leg
shown by Fig. 6, these multiple sectional vortices wash over the
heated endwall from inner and outer undulant edges toward the
centerline region, leading to the centered low endwall Nu band
along the S-shaped inlet leg. Further downstream toward the sharp
bend along present S-shaped inlet leg, the centered low Nu zones
are gradually faded and the in-trough high Nu traces along the
inner and outer edges are respectively extended toward and
shrunk from the centerline region, Fig. 8. Clearly, the body forces
caused by the momentum changes of the coolant flow through
the asymmetrically abrupt flow entrance and the 180° sharp bend
respectively provide the downstream and upstream impacts on the
axial developments of sectional vortices to incur the asymmetrical
axial developments of vortical flow structures and the attendant
endwall Nu variations along the entire S-shaped inlet leg.
Upon entering the sharp bend, the bulk coolant stream involv-
ing complex multi-vortices follow the flow pathway configured
by the tip edge of the central divider and the opposite undulant
outer edge of the inlet leg to distort the impinging bulk stream
toward the downstream corner of the sharp bend. Meanwhile,
the centrifugal forces arise as coolant flows through the bend to
initiate the vortex reforming process as seen in Fig. 7. The modifi-
cation of vortical flow structures acts with the distortion of
impinging coolant stream through the bend to generate the local
high Nu region over the downstream endwall of the sharp bend,
Fig. 8. Within the high Nu zone over the downstream endwall of
the sharp bend, two peaking Nu regions emerge on the tip of cen-
tral divider and in the bulge of the outer edge at the downstream
corner of the bend. This is clearly seen in Fig. 8 at Re = 10,000;
while the Nu contours at Re = 20,000 and 30,000 also depict the
similar peaking zones but are not identified in Fig. 8 due to the
identical scales selected for Nu presentations. Opposing to the
aforementioned high Nu zone on the bend endwall, the recirculat-
ing flow cell with low momentum is trapped at the upstream bend
corner where the inlet-leg outer bulge is connected with the sealed
bend top wall. A curly trace of low in-bulge Nu streak is developed
at the upstream corner of the sharp bend and extended along the
edge of the sealed top wall, Fig. 8. With the enriched vorticity
and sectional vortices by the centrifugal forces through the bend,
the in-bulge high Nu zones at the downstream corner of present
sharp bend are considerably extended; whereas the regional HTE
impacts downstream the sharp bend are amplified from the
inlet-leg counterparts. Although the in-bulge high Nu zones along
the outer undulant edge of outlet leg gradually shrink/moderate
as coolant travels from the bend toward flow exit, the regional
in-bulge Nu elevations developed along the outer edge of the outlet
leg downstream the bend are amplified from the inlet-leg counter-
parts, Fig. 8. Similar to the axially asymmetric Nu variations along
the inlet leg, the extents of in-bulge Nu elevations along the outer
edge of the outlet leg outweigh those developed along the inner
edge. Relative low HTE impacts develop along the undulant con-
tour of the central divider. However, the typical low endwall Nu
region corresponding to the ‘‘separation bubble” at the location
immediate downstream the tip of the central divider is consider-
ably moderated in present S-shaped two-pass channel, Fig. 8.
Downstream about four pairs of undulations from the sharp bend
along the outlet leg, the patterns of Nu distributions on the flow
exit region recover those emerged on the flow entry region in
the inlet leg. In addition to the respective in-bulge and in-trough
Nu elevation and suppression, the looped low Nu zones, which sim-
ilarly appear near the flow entry in the inlet leg, are observed on
the central endwall region near the flow exit of present outlet leg.
The variations of (a) regionally averaged Nusselt numbers over
the inlet leg, turning region, outlet leg and entire endwall area
(NuIL;TR;OL;A ) (b) NuIL;TR;OL;A /Nu1 against Re are depicted in Fig. 9.
While all the NuIL;TR;OL;A increase as Re increases, the regionally aver-
aged Nu follow the order of NuTR > NuOL > NuIL with NuOL similar to
NuA at each Re tested, Fig. 9(a). Justified by the streamwise devel-
opments of the sectional vortices depicted in Figs. 5–7, the flow
structures along present inlet and outlet legs remain developing;
which emulates the developing flow conditions for most of coolant
channels in a gas turbine blade. With developing flows in present
inlet and outlet legs, the NuIL and NuOL elevations take the advan-
tages attributed from the boundary layer developments. Acting
by the centrifugal forces to amplify sectional vortices and vorticity
 P.-S. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 108 (2017) 362–373
Fig. 9. Variations of (a) regionally averaged Nusselt numbers over the inlet leg, turning region, outlet leg and entire endwall area (NuIL;TR;OL;A ) (b) NuIL;TR;OL;A /Nu1 against Re.
in the bend, NuTR are noticeably elevated from NuIL and NuOL levels,
Fig. 9(a). Due to the downstream effects of the enhanced vortices/
vorticity through the bend, local NuOL at the flow region immediate
downstream the sharp bend are initially raised but followed by the
axial decay caused by the streamwise developments of boundary
layers and viscous dissipations. Such NuOL elevations downstream
the sharp bend exceed the extents of NuIL elevation near the flow
entry. This has led NuOL to the higher levels than the NuIL counter-
parts as compared by Fig. 9(a). Based on the consistent data trends
exhibited in Fig. 8(a) subject to the diminished forced convection
capability at Re = 0, the NuIL , NuTR , NuOL and NuA are correlated as
the following equations:
NuIL ¼ 0:103  Re0:75
NuTR ¼ 0:248  Re0:69
0:698
NuOL ¼ 0:191  Re
NuA ¼ 0:192  Re0:7
The comparison of experimental and calculated Nu results using
Eqs. (1)–(4) reveals the maximum discrepancy of ±4% for the entire
Nusselt number data generated. In view of the flow mechanisms at
371
the higher Reynolds numbers, although the bulk convection
enhances from the higher flow velocities, the equivalent weaken
viscous forces also relax the interactions of core-to-wall mixings,
resulting in the lower enhancement with respect to Dittus-Boelter
value. Thus the Re exponents in all the regional averaged Nu
correlations are less than Dittus-Boelter 0.8 value. To disclose the
comparative HTE impacts of the S-shaped two-pass channel,
present NuIL /Nu1, NuTR /Nu1, NuOL /Nu1 and NuA /Nu1 data collected
in Fig. 9(b) are compared with those detected from the smooth
parallelogram [29] and square [30] two-pass channels. With the
multiple sectional vortices developed along the entire S-shaped
two-pass channel, present NuIL /Nu1, NuTR /Nu1, NuOL /Nu1 and
NuA /Nu1 become higher than those detected from the straight
two-pass channels [29,30]. Inheriting from the characteristics of
ð1Þ
passive HTE devices, present Nu/Nu1 data decreases as Re increases,
ð2Þ Fig. 9(b). With 5000 6 Re 6 30,000, the NuIL /Nu1, NuTR /Nu1,
ð3Þ NuOL /Nu1 and NuA /Nu1 ratios are in the respective ranges of
2.93–2.67, 4.23–3.47, 3.35–2.9 and 3.56–2.98. Without the artificial
ð4Þ
roughness on the endwalls of present S-shaped two-pass channel,
present Nu/Nu1 ratios are compatible with those detected from
the straight ribbed channels, indicating the further HTE potentials
by fitting the artificial roughness on the S-shaped endwalls.
372 P.-S. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 108 (2017) 362–373
3.3. Pressure drop and thermal performances
The HTE benefits attributed to the complex flow structures
developed in present S-shaped two-pass channel are accompanied
with the augmented pressure drops indexed by Fanning friction
factors (f). As the f factors for the two opposite endwalls of present
S-shaped two-pass channel are similar, three sets of f factors are
measured for the endwall (fE), inner undulant sidewall (fI) and
outer undulant sidewall (fO). The channel averaged Fanning friction
factor (f ) is evaluated as 0.25(2fE + fI + fO). Fig. 10 depicts (a) fE,I,O
and f (b) fE,I,O/f1 and f /f1 against Re. As exhibited in Fig. 10(a),
all the f factors detected from the endwall and inner/outer undu-
lant sidewalls as well as f exhibit the turbulent boundary-layer
type duct-flow pattern to decrease as Re increases. At each Re
tested, the f factors follow the order of fI > fE > fO with the channel
averaged f similar to fE. With 5000 6 Re 6 30,000, the experimental
fI/f1, fE/f1, fO/f1 and f /f1 values fall in the respective ranges of
9.25–6.58, 10.09–7.05, 9.26–6.59, 10.21–7.27. Justified by the con-
sistent pattern of re-driven fE,I,O and f variations shown by Fig. 10
(a), the measured f data are well correlated by the respective Eqs.
(5)–(8).
f E ¼ 4:38Re0:45
f I ¼ 4:13Re0:43
f O ¼ 3:69Re0:44
f ¼ 4:05Re0:44
The maximum discrepancy between the experimental f data
and the correlative values using Eqs. (5)–(8) is ±18% for the entire
f data generated. To assess the HTE efficiency of present S-shaped
two-pass square channel, the thermal performance factor at each
tested Re is evaluated as (NuA /Nu1)/(f /f1)1/3. Fig. 11 exhibits the
re-driven TPF variation for present test channel. Also compared
in Fig. 11 are the TPF data measured from the straight two-pass
parallelogram channel [29] and the rectangular channels of aspect
Fig. 10. Variations of (a) fE,I,O and f (b) fE,I,O/f1 and f /f1 against Re.
Fig. 11. TPF variations against Re for present S-shaped two-pass smooth square
channel, straight two-pass smooth parallelogram channel [29] and straight two-
pass rectangular channels with smooth and 45° ribbed endwalls [30].
ð5Þ ratios (AR) = 1:4, 1:2, 1:1 (square) and 2:1 with smooth and 45°
ð6Þ ribbed endwalls [30]. Acting by the augmented turbulences and
the complex vortical structures induced by the S-pathway, the
ð7Þ
TPF values for present smooth-walled S-channel are all above than
ð8Þ unity with 5000 6 Re 6 30,000, Fig. 11. The larger extents of HTE
benefits induced by present S-channel have led present TPF values
above than those measured from the smooth parallelogram chan-
nel [29] and the smooth rectangular channels [30]. In comparison
with the rectangular two-pass ribbed channels with 1/4 6 AR 6 2
[30], present TPF values for the smooth S-shaped square channel
are similar to those detected from the ribbed rectangular channels
with AR = 1 (square) and 2 [30], Fig. 11. However, the TPF values
for the straight two-pass ribbed channels of AR = 1/4 and 1/2
[30] are higher than present TPF values due to the high HTE ratios
caused by the large rib to channel-height ratios, Fig. 11. Above all,
even with no artificial roughness on the endwalls of present S-
shaped two-pass square channel, the NuA /Nu1 ratios of 3.56–2.98
with TPF values between 1.43–1.49 are in the close agreements
with those enhanced by the 450 ribs in the straight two-pass
square channel [30]. Further HTE extensions by fitting artificial
roughness on present S-shaped endwall are thus expected and
worth of future investigations.
4. Conclusions
Numerical flow and experimental thermal performance
for present S-shaped two-pass square smooth channel at
5000 6 Re 6 30,000 are examined with particular cooling applica-
tions to gas turbine blades. Several salient remarks are disclosed
by present study as follows:
1. As coolant travels through present S-shaped inlet/outlet legs
and 180° sharp bend, the induced centrifugal forces generate
a variety of multi-cellar vortical flows in the main stream to ele-
vate both Nu and f levels. Acting by the shear layers among the
vortical cells, the turbulent kinetic energy grows axially along
both inlet and outlet legs. With the separated vortices tripped
at loci of bulges along the undulant inner and outer sidewalls,
the downstream advection of these separated vortices interacts
with the sectional vortices to initiate high endwall Nu traces
from the bulges toward the downstream troughs in the
S-shaped inlet/outlet legs. As the multiple sectional vortices
wash over the heated endwalls from inner and outer undulant
 P.-S. Wu et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 108 (2017) 362–373
sidewalls toward the centerline region, the centered low end-
wall Nu band along the S-shaped inlet/outlet legs emerges.
With the arising centrifugal forces through the bend, the vortex
reforming process yields the multi-cellar vortical flow structure
into the typical Dean-vortices. Two peaking Nu regions emerge
on the tip of central divider and in the bulge of the outer edge at
the downstream corner of the bend. Due to the enriched vortic-
ity and sectional vortices through the bend, the in-bulge high
Nu zones at the downstream corner of present sharp bend are
extended. Regional HTE impacts downstream the sharp bend
are amplified from the inlet-leg counterparts.
2. With the developing flow scenarios along present inlet and out-
let legs, the elevations of NuIL and NuOL take the advantages of
boundary layer developments. Acting by the centrifugal forces
to amplify sectional vortices and vorticity in the bend, NuTR
are elevated from NuIL and NuOL . With the favorable enrich-
ments of vortices and vorticity through the bend to raise local
NuOL at the flow region immediate downstream the sharp bend,
the NuOL elevations downstream the sharp bend exceed the
extents of NuIL elevation near the flow entry, leading NuOL to
the higher levels than the NuIL counterparts. While all the
NuIL;TR;OL;A increase as Re increases, the regionally averaged Nu
follow the order of NuTR > NuOL > NuIL with NuOL similar to NuA .
3. Empirical NuIL , NuTR , NuOL and NuA correlations are devised.
With 5000 6 Re 6 30,000, the NuIL /Nu1, NuTR /Nu1, NuOL /Nu1
and NuA /Nu1 ratios are in the respective ranges of 22.93–2.67,
4.23–3.47, 3.35–2.9 and 3.56–2.98.
4. Empirical fI, fE, fO and f correlations are developed. With
5000 6 Re 6 30,000, the fI/f1, fE/f1, fO/f1 and f /f1 ratios fall in
the respective ranges of 9.25–6.58, 10.09–7.05, 9.26–6.59,
10.21–7.27.
5. TPF values for present smooth-walled S-channel are all above
than unity in the Re range of 5000–30,000, suggesting as an effi-
cient HTE method. Larger extents of HTE benefits induced by
the S-channel have led present TPF values above than those
measured from the smooth parallelogram channel [29] and
the smooth rectangular channels [30]. Even with no artificial
roughness on the endwalls of present S-shaped two-pass square
channel, the NuA /Nu1 ratios of 3.56–2.98 with TPF values
between 1.43–1.49 are close to those enhanced by the 450 ribs
in the straight two-pass square channel [30].
Acknowledgement
This work was financially supported by grant no. XW05054P–
CS from the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technol-
ogy, Taiwan, ROC.
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