The thermal design of the combustor and turbine of a gas turbine engine poses a number of difficult heat transfer problems. In current designs, there a, is substantial evidence to indicate that the capability for estimating critical i° metal temperatures lacks the needed certainty for reliable design practice. Such uncertainty has cost much in terms of money and development time for the newer engines now installed in United States aircraft. The importance of improved prediction techniques

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... s more critical in anticipa ion of future generations of gas turbine engines which will operate at higher cycle pressure and temperatures. Costly development modifications will have to be avoided by being able to predict metal temperatures more accurately. Research which addresses many of the complex heat transfer processes holds promise for yielding significant improvements in prediction of metal temperatures. Such research involves several kinds of programs including: (1) basic experiments which delineate the fundamental flow and heat transfer phenomena that occur in the hot sections of the gas turbine but at low enthalpy conditions; (2) analytical modeling of these flow and heat transfer phenomena which result from the physical insights gained in experimental research; and (3) verification of advanced prediction techniques in facilities which operate near the real engine thermodynamic conditions. In this paper, key elements of the NASA program which involves turbine and combustor heat transfer research will be described and discussed. Research conducted within the laboratories of the NASA Lewis Research Center and sponsored research being performed by universities and industrial laboratories will be included in this review.