Experimental Study of the Unsteady Aerodynamics the Compressor-Combustor Interface of a Lean Burn Combustion System

Walker, Donald G.; Carrotte, J. F.; Peacock, Graham; Spencer, A. J. M.; McGuirk, James J.

doi:10.2514/6.2013-3603

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…A detailed experimental analysis of a configuration similar to the one reported in [144] but equipped with both a clean and a strutted OGV/pre-diffuser system was presented by Walker et al [145]. Thanks to the usage of several experimental techniques, light was shed on the performance of the OGV/pre-diffuser system caused by both the high-pressure compressor blade and the presence of lean-burn injectors.…”

Section: Compressor/combustor Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unsteady Flows and Component Interaction in Turbomachinery

Salvadori,

Insinna,

Martelli

2024

IJTPP

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Unsteady component interaction represents a crucial topic in turbomachinery design and analysis. Combustor/turbine interaction is one of the most widely studied topics both using experimental and numerical methods due to the risk of failure of high-pressure turbine blades by unexpected deviation of hot flow trajectory and local heat transfer characteristics. Compressor/combustor interaction is also of interest since it has been demonstrated that, under certain conditions, a non-uniform flow field feeds the primary zone of the combustor where the high-pressure compressor blade passing frequency can be clearly individuated. At the integral scale, the relative motion between vanes and blades in compressor and turbine stages governs the aerothermal performance of the gas turbine, especially in the presence of shocks. At the inertial scale, high turbulence levels generated in the combustion chamber govern wall heat transfer in the high-pressure turbine stage, and wakes generated by low-pressure turbine vanes interact with separation bubbles at low-Reynolds conditions by suppressing them. The necessity to correctly analyze these phenomena obliges the scientific community, the industry, and public funding bodies to cooperate and continuously build new test rigs equipped with highly accurate instrumentation to account for real machine effects. In computational fluid dynamics, researchers developed fast and reliable methods to analyze unsteady blade-row interaction in the case of uneven blade count conditions as well as component interaction by using different closures for turbulence in each domain using high-performance computing. This research effort results in countless publications that contribute to unveiling the actual behavior of turbomachinery flow. However, the great number of publications also results in fragmented information that risks being useless in a practical situation. Therefore, it is useful to collect the most relevant outcomes and derive general conclusions that may help the design of next-gen turbomachines. In fact, the necessity to meet the emission limits defined by the Paris agreement in 2015 obliges the turbomachinery community to consider revolutionary cycles in which component interaction plays a crucial role. In the present paper, the authors try to summarize almost 40 years of experimental and numerical research in the component interaction field, aiming at both providing a comprehensive overview and defining the most relevant conclusions obtained in this demanding research field.

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Section: Compressor/combustor Interactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unsteady Flows and Component Interaction in Turbomachinery

Salvadori,

Insinna,

Martelli

2024

IJTPP

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“…The time series shown in the upper left was taken using a single HW at a point near the upper wall in a pre-diffuser exit plane with an inlet flow possessing a hub-biased velocity profile (Walker et al (34) ). These time-resolved measurements indicate that, although the time-mean velocity is positive (~25% of the planar bulk average), the turbulence intensity is very high -the instantaneous axial velocity varies between +80% and -20% of the bulk average and the flow reverses for perhaps up to 10% of the time.…”

Section: Cfd Codes and Turbulence Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact the distribution Figure 13. Examples of turbulence behaviour: pre-diffuser exit (34) and impinging jets (35) .…”

Section: Cfd Codes and Turbulence Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The aerodynamic challenges of aeroengine gas-turbine combustion systems

McGuirk

2014

Aeronaut. j. (1968)

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The components of an aeroengine gas-turbine combustor have to perform multiple tasks -control of external and internal air distribution, fuel injector feed, fuel/air atomisation, evaporation, and mixing, flame stabilisation, wall cooling, etc. The 'rich-burn' concept has achieved great success in optimising combustion efficiency, combustor life, and operational stability over the whole engine cycle. This paper first illustrates the crucial role of aerodynamic processes in achieving these performance goals. Next, the extra aerodynamic challenges of the 'lean-burn' injectors required to meet the ever more stringent NO x emissions regulations are introduced, demonstrating that a new multi-disciplinary and 'whole system' approach is required. For example, high swirl causes complex unsteady injector aerodynamics; the threat of thermo-acoustic instabilities means both aerodynamic and aeroacoustic characteristics of injectors and other air admission features must be considered; and high injector mass flow means potentially strong compressor/combustor and combustor/turbine coupling. The paper illustrates how research at Loughborough University, based on complementary use of advanced experimental and computational methods, and applied to both isolated sub-components and fully annular combustion systems, has improved understanding and identified novel ideas for combustion system design.

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