Overall cooling investigation of the composite platforms considering the anisotropic thermal conductivities and weaving pattern

With advantages such as low densities and high thermal limits, composites were widely applied in aero-engines high-temperature components. However, the thermal analysis methodology of composite components has not been established due to the anisotropic thermal conductivities and weaving characteristics. In this study, the overall cooling investigation of composite platforms with effusion cooling structures was investigated experimentally and numerically. In the experiments, ceramic matrix composites (CMC) and superalloy platforms were studied. Infrared thermography was adopted to gauge the surface temperatures. The results showed that the overall cooling effectiveness of the CMC platforms were decreased with the increase of the film hole diameter. Based on composite platforms considering the anisotropic thermal conductivities and weaving pattern, conjugate heat transfer simulations were carried out to study the influence of the film holes geometry and layouts. The results show that the composite platform with a film hole positioned at the weft (Weft-P) provided better lateral cooling expansion. The ratio between the fiber axial thermal conductivity and matrix thermal conductivity affected the overall cooling effectiveness in the near hole region significantly. Compared to the platform with isotropic material, the cooling performance of the composite platform did not significantly respond to the fan-shaped hole expansion angle.