Development of Taylor-Görtler vortices over the pressure surface of a turbine blade

The naphthalene sublimation technique is used to investigate the development of Taylor-Görtler vortices over the pressure surface of a simulated high performance turbine blade. Large spanwise variation in mass transfer is observed downstream on the pressure surface in the two-dimensional flow region for cases with low freestream turbulence, indicating the existence of Taylor-Görtler vortices. Different average and local mass transfer rates for the same flow conditions suggest that roughness variation near the leading edge affects the initial formation of Taylor-Görtler vortices. Larger and more uniformly distributed roughness at the leading edge produces much stronger Taylor-Görtler vortices downstream and greatly enhances the mass transfer rate. The variation between the vortices does not change appreciably along the flow direction. The flow in the boundary layer is laminar over the entire pressure surface. In the presence of external disturbances such as high freestream turbulence or a boundary layer trip, no Taylor-Görtler vortices are observed.