Abstract The effects of the cylindrical holes, fan-shaped holes and saw-tooth plasma actuator (SPA) on the film cooling effectiveness and aerodynamic losses are examined under various blowing ratios. The combined design of the fan-shaped hole with the SPA effectively eliminates the downstream separation spiral node vortices, which typically degrade the film cooling effectiveness. Furthermore, this combined design generates a novel vortex pair that significantly inhibits the formation of the coun