Instead of simplified steady-state models, with modern computers, one can solve the complete aero-thermodynamics happening in gas turbine engines. In the present article, we describe a mathematical model and numerical procedure to represent the transient response of a PT6A gas turbine engine operating at off-design conditions. The aero-thermal model consists of a set of algebraic and ordinary differential equations that arise from the application of the mass, linear momentum, angular momentum and energy balances in each engine’s component. The solution code has been developed in Matlab-Simulink® using a block-oriented approach. Transient simulations of the PT6A engine start-up have been carried out by changing the original Jet-A1 fuel with biodiesel blends. Time plots of the main thermodynamic variables are shown, especially those regarding the structural integrity of the burner. Numerical results have been validated against reported experimental measurements and GasTurb® simulations. The computer model has been capable to predict acceptable fuel blends, such that the real PT6A engine can be substituted to avoid the risk of damaging it.

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Aeronautic transport is a leading energy consumer that strongly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions due to a significant dependency on fossil fuels. Biodiesel, a substitution of conventional fuels, is considered as an alternative fuel for aircrafts and power generation turbine engines. Unfortunately, experimentation has been mostly limited to small scale turbines, and technical challenges remain open regarding operational safety. The current study presents the facility, the instrumentation, and the measured results of experimental tests in a 640 kW full-scale J69-T-25A turbojet engine, operating with blends of Jet A1 and oil palm biodiesel with volume contents from 0% to 10% at different load regimes. Findings are related to the fuel injection system, the engine thrust, and the emissions. The thrust force and the exhaust gas temperature do not expose a significant variation in all the operation regimes with the utilization of up to 10% volume content of biodiesel. A maximum increase of 36% in fuel consumption and 11% in injection pressure are observed at idle operation between B0 and B10. A reduction of the CO and HC emissions is also registered with a maximum variation at the cruise regime (80% Revolutions Per Minute—RPM).

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to apply the variational multi-scale framework to the finite element approximation of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations written in conservation form. Even though this formulation is relatively well known, some particular features that have been applied with great success in other flow problems are incorporated. \ud \ud Design/methodology/approach - The orthogonal subgrid scales, the non-linear tracking of these subscales, and their time evolution are applied. Moreover, a systematic way to design the matrix of algorithmic parameters from the perspective of a Fourier analysis is given, and the adjoint of the non-linear operator including the volumetric part of the convective term is defined. Because the subgrid stabilization method works in the streamline direction, an anisotropic shock capturing method that keeps the diffusion unaltered in the direction of the streamlines, but modifies the crosswind diffusion is implemented. The artificial shock capturing diffusivity is calculated by using the orthogonal projection onto the finite element space of the gradient of the solution, instead of the common residual definition. Temporal derivatives are integrated in an explicit fashion. \ud \ud Findings - Subsonic and supersonic numerical experiments show that including the orthogonal, dynamic, and the non-linear subscales improve the accuracy of the compressible formulation. The non-linearity introduced by the anisotropic shock capturing method has less effect in the convergence behavior to the steady state. \ud \ud Originality/value - A complete investigation of the stabilized formulation of the compressible problem is addressed.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

We present an analytic strategy to find the electric field generated by surface electrode SE with angular dependent potential. This system is a planar region A kept at a fixed but non-uniform electric potential V (φ) with an arbitrary angular dependence. We show that the generated electric field is due to the contribution of two fields: one that depends on the circulation on the contour of the planar region -in a Biot-Savart-Like (BSL) term-, and another one that accounts for the angular variations of the potential in A. This approach can be used to find exact solutions of the BSL electric field for circular or polygonal contours of the planar region with periodic distributions of the electric potential. Analytic results are validated with numerical computations and the Finite Element Method.