Lean-burn combustion technology is identified to be the key technology for aero-engine combustion systems to achieve future legislative requirements for NOx. The lean-burn low NOx combustor development at Rolls-Royce Deutschland RRD for the upcoming generation of aero-engines is presented, which has been supported by the German aeronautical research programme. The down selection process of different injector concepts is described in detail to develop lean-burn fuel injection technology up to a technology level for engine application. Initial concept validation with testing on single sector combustion rigs applying advanced laser measurement techniques is followed by high power single sector emission tests to prove low emission characteristics. Climbing the level of technology readiness, which is in each phase substantiated by intense CFD simulations, the most promising low emissions design concepts have been investigated for unrestricted combustor operability compared to conventional rich burn systems. Altitude relight, weak extinction margins, fuel staging optimisation and combustion efficiency in the vicinity of staging points have been optimised on different sub-atmospheric, atmospheric, medium and high-pressure test vehicles. The validation process concludes with sub-atmospheric and high-pressure testing within a fully annular test environment before the final lean-burn fuel injector configuration has been selected for core engine testing to prove emission performance and operability of the fuel-staged combustion system. Two fuel injector configurations were successfully tested in a high-pressure fully annular rig. The combustor module and both injector standards have been cleared for core engine operation.

The low-frequency response of the spray from a generic airblast diffusion burner with a design typical of an engine system has been investigated as part of an experimental study to describe the combustion oscillations of aeroengine combustors called rumble. The atomization process was separated from the complex instability mechanism of rumble by using sinusoidal forcing of the air mass flow rate without combustion. Pressure drop across the burner and the velocity on the burner exit were found to follow the steady Bernoulli equation. Phase-locked particle image velocimetry measurements of the forced velocity field of the burner show quasisteady behavior of the air flow field. The phase-locked spray characteristics were measured for different fuel flow rates. Here again quasi-steady behavior of the atomization process was observed. With combustion, the phase-locked Mie-scattering intensity of the spray cone was found to follow the spray behavior measured in the noncombusting tests. These findings lead to the conclusion that the unsteady droplet Sauter mean diameter mean and amplitude of the airblast atomizer can be calculated using the steady-state atomization correlations with the unsteady burner air velocity.

The preliminary design of a new combustion chamber requires the combination of many elements of know-how in terms of combustor design rules, aerothermal calculations and preliminary design tools. To use this knowledge more efficiently pre-competitive work on an automated knowledge-based combustor design methodology is done within the European project INTELLECT D.M. (Integrated Lean Low Emission Combustor Design Methodology) in order to set up a KBE (Knowledge Based Engineering) system. In the method presented here, the rules and calculation routines are implemented into an automated preliminary design system using an Excel-driven database to generate a parametric Unigraphics CAD model. The utilized design rules represent state-of-the-art combustor design and will be extended later by lean combustion design rules, which are currently developed within INTELLECT D.M.. The database contains all design parameters and rules to provide CAD, CFD and optimization tools with the required information. Based on a set of performance parameters the system automatically generates the parametric geometry of a combustor containing the liners with cooling devices (optionally Z-ring or effusion cooling) and mixing holes, heat shield, cowl, casings and (pre)diffusor. To estimate the required cooling air, one-dimensional heat transfer equations including convection, radiation and conduction are solved. The generated CAD model visualizes the calculated combustor geometry and forms the basis for an automated CFD mesh generation utilizing the grid generator ICEM CFD.

The low frequency response of the spray from a generic air-blast diffusion burner with a design typical of an engine system has been investigated as part of an experimental study to describe the combustion oscillations of aero engine combustors called rumble. The atomization process was separated from the complex instability mechanism of rumble by using sinusoidal forcing of the air mass flow rate without combustion. Pressure drop across the burner and the velocity on the burner exit were found to follow the steady Bernoulli equation. Phase-locked PIV measurements of the forced velocity field of the burner show quasi-steady behavior of the air flow field. The phase-locked spray characteristics were measured for different fuel flow rates. Here again quasi-steady behavior of the atomization process was observed. With combustion, the phase-locked Mie-scattering intensity of the spray cone was found to follow the spray behavior measured in the non-combusting tests. These findings lead to the conclusion that the unsteady droplet SMD mean and amplitude of the air-blast atomizer can be calculated using the steady state atomization correlations with the unsteady burner air velocity.

This paper describes the research carried out in the European Commission co-funded project LEMCOTEC (Low Emission Core Engine Technology), which is aiming at a significant increase of the engine overall pressure ratio. The technical work is split in four technical sub-projects on ultra-high pressure ratio compressors, lean combustion and fuel injection, structures and thermal management and engine performance assessment. The technology will be developed at subsystem and component level and validated in test rigs up to TRL5. The developed technologies will be assessed using three generic study engines (i.e. regional turbofan, mid-size open rotor, and large turbofan) representing about 90% of the expected future commercial aero-engine market. Two additional study engines from the previous NEWAC project will be used for comparison. These are based on intercooled and intercooled-recuperated future engine concepts. The compressor work is targeting efficiency, stability margin and flow capacity by improved aerodynamic design. High-pressure and intermediate-pressure compressors are addressed. The mechanical and thermo-mechanical functions, including the variable-stator-systems, will be improved. Axial-centrifugal compressors with impeller and centrifugal diffuser are under investigation too. Three lean burn fuel injection systems are developed to match the technology to the corresponding engine pressure levels. These are the PERM (Partially Evaporating Rapid Mixing), the MSFI (Multiple Staged Fuel Injection) and the advanced LDI (Lean Direct Injection) combustion systems. The air flow and combustion systems are investigated. The fuel control systems are adapted to the requirements of the ultra-high pressure engines with lean fuel injection. Combustor-turbine interaction will be investigated. A fuel system analysis will be performed using CFD methods. Improved structural design and thermal management is required to reduce the losses and to reduce component weight. The application of new materials and manufacturing processes, including welding and casting aspects, will be investigated. The aim is to reduce the cooling air requirements and improve turbine aerodynamics to support the high-pressure engine cycles. The final objective is to have innovative ultra-high pressure-ratio core-engine technologies successfully validated at subsystem and component level. Increasing the thermal efficiency of the engine cycles relative to year 2000 in-service engines with OPR of up to 70 (at max. condition) is an enabler and key lever of the core-engine technologies to achieve and even exceed the ACARE 2020 targets on CO2, NOx and other pollutant emissions: • 20 to 30 % CO2 reduction at the engine level, exceeding both, the ACARE 15 to 20% CO2 reduction target for the engine and subsequently the overall 50% committed CO2 and the fuel burn reduction target on system level (including the contributions from operations and airframe improvements), • 65 to 70 % NOx reduction at the engine level (CAEP/2) to attain and exceed the ACARE objective of 80% overall NOx reduction (including the contributions from both, operational efficiency and airframe improvement), reduction of other emissions (CO, UHC and smoke/particulates) and • Reduction of the propulsion system weight (engine including nacelle without pylon).