Steady and Dynamic Performance and Emissions of a Variable Geometry Combustor in a Gas Turbine Engine

Author(s):  
Y. G. Li ◽  
R. L. Hales

One of the remedies to reduce the major emissions production of nitric oxide (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) from conventional gas turbine engine combustors at both high and low operating conditions without losing its performance and stability is to use variable geometry combustors. This type of combustor configuration provides the possibility of dynamically controlling the airflow distribution of the combustor based on its operating conditions and therefore controlling the combustion in certain lean burn conditions. Two control schemes are described and analyzed in this paper: both are based on airflow control with variable geometry, the second including fuel staging. A model two-spool turbofan engine is chosen in this study to test the effectiveness of the variable geometry combustor and control schemes. The steady and dynamic performance of the turbofan engine is simulated and analyzed using an engine transient performance analysis code implemented with the variable geometry combustor. Empirical correlations for NOx, CO and UHC are used for the estimation of emissions. Some conclusions are obtained from this study: • With variable geometry combustors significant reduction of NOx emissions at high operating conditions and CO and UHC at low operating condition is possible; • Combustion efficiency and stability can be improved at low operating conditions, which is symbolized by the higher flame temperature in the variable geometry combustor; • The introduced correlation between non-dimensional fuel flow rate and air flow ratio to the primary zone is effective and simple in the control of flame temperature; • Circumferential fuel staging can reduce the range of air splitter movement in most of the operating conditions from idle to maximum power and have the great potential to reduce the inlet distortion to the combustor and improve the combustion efficiency; • During transient processes, the maximum moving rate of the hydraulic driven system may delay the air splitter movement but this effect on engine combustor performance is not significant.

2003 ◽  
Vol 125 (4) ◽  
pp. 961-971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. G. Li ◽  
R. L. Hales

One of the remedies to reduce the major emissions production of nitric oxide NOx, carbon monoxide (CO), and unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) from conventional gas turbine engine combustors at both high and low operating conditions without losing performance and stability is to use variable geometry combustors. This type of combustor configuration provides the possibility of dynamically controlling the airflow distribution of the combustor based on its operating conditions and therefore controlling the combustion in certain lean burn conditions. Two control schemes are described and analyzed in this paper: Both are based on airflow control with variable geometry, the second including fuel staging. A model two-spool turbofan engine is chosen in this study to test the effectiveness of the variable geometry combustor and control schemes. The steady and dynamic performance of the turbofan engine is simulated and analyzed using an engine transient performance analysis code implemented with the variable geometry combustor. Empirical correlations for NOx, CO, and UHC are used for the estimation of emissions. Some conclusions are obtained from this study: (1) with variable geometry combustors significant reduction of NOx emissions at high operating conditions and CO and UHC at low operating condition is possible; (2) combustion efficiency and stability can be improved at low operating conditions, which is symbolized by the higher flame temperature in the variable geometry combustor; (3) the introduced correlation between nondimensional fuel flow rate and air flow ratio to the primary zone is effective and simple in the control of flame temperature; (4) circumferential fuel staging can reduce the range of air splitter movement in most of the operating conditions from idle to maximum power and have the great potential to reduce the inlet distortion to the combustor and improve the combustion efficiency; and (5) during transient processes, the maximum moving rate of the hydraulic driven system may delay the air splitter movement but this effect on engine combustor performance is not significant.


Author(s):  
D. L. Burrus ◽  
A. W. Johnson ◽  
W. M. Roquemore ◽  
D. T. Shouse

GE Aircraft Engines and the Air Force Research Laboratory have been jointly developing a novel combustor technology concept for potential application in gas turbine engines. This novel combustor concept is known as the Trapped Vortex Combustor (TVC). The GE and AFRL team began work on the design of a prototypical TVC test rig in 1996. This effort represents the extension of earlier AFRL research with the TVC [1,2]. This work led to the fabrication of a 30.5 cm wide rectangular sector test rig capable of operation at inlet pressures up to 20.5 atmospheres, inlet temperatures up to 900 K, and to stoichiometric discharge conditions. Testing of the rectangular sector rig was initiated in mid year 1998. The performance evaluation performed on the test rig covered all aspects of gas turbine combustor performance and operability including ground start ignition, lean blowout, altitude re-light, emissions, combustion efficiency, exit gas temperature profile, and structural metal temperatures. Test rig operating conditions provided simulations of current commercial and military aircraft gas turbine engine cycles as well as some advanced engine cycles, with JP-8 type fuel. Data was also obtained at selected operating conditions for the LM2500 marine Navy duty cycle using DL-1 type fuel. The prototype rig has been operated for a total of approximately 300 run hours. 60 hours of run time at pressures exceeding 13.6 atmospheres and temperatures exceeding 675 K. 12 hours of run time at pressures exceeding 15.3 atmospheres, temperatures exceeding 780 K. Over 700 data points were obtained. The assessment of the demonstrated performance revealed the prototype TVC test rig had exceeded all initial expectations. Demonstrated ignition, blow out, and altitude re-light were up to 50% improved over current technology conventional swirl stabilized combustors. NOx emissions were in the range from 40% to 60% of the 1996 ICAO standard. Combustion efficiency at or above 99% was maintained over a 40% wider operating range than a conventional combustor. The performance and operability achieved with this prototype test rig has clearly demonstrated the validity and potential performance payoffs of the TVC concept. This paper will summarize the TVC rectangular sector test rig configurations evaluated as part of this test program, and the performance and operability achieved.


1974 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. R. Wade ◽  
P. I. Shen ◽  
C. W. Owens ◽  
A. F. McLean

This first part, of a two part paper, reviews the NOx emission problem of the regenerative gas turbine engine for automotive application. It discusses the problem of fuel droplet burning, which causes heterogenous combustion with resulting high flame temperatures and high levels of oxides of nitrogen. The paper proposes means to achieve homogeneous combustion and shows that, even with this approach, flame temperatures need to be closely controlled to effect a compromise between NOx, CO, and HC emissions in order to meet the stringent numerical levels of emissions specified by the Federal standards for 1976 and subsequent model year automobiles. The paper shows that combustor inlet temperature of a homogeneous system has little effect, theoretically, on computed NOx emissions expressed as grams per mile, thereby strengthening the case for the regenerative turbine engine. A design concept for homogeneous combustion with controlled flame temperature is discussed.


Author(s):  
Masato Hiramatsu ◽  
Yoshifumi Nakashima ◽  
Sadamasa Adachi ◽  
Yudai Yamasaki ◽  
Shigehiko Kaneko

One approach to achieving 99% combustion efficiency (C.E.) and 10 ppmV or lower NOx (at 15%O2) in a micro gas turbine (MGT) combustor fueled by biomass gas at a variety of operating conditions is with the use of flameless combustion (FLC). This paper compares experimentally obtained results and CHEMKIN analysis conducted for the developed combustor. As a result, increase the number of stage of FLC combustion enlarges the MGT operation range with low-NOx emissions and high-C.E. The composition of fuel has a small effect on the characteristics of ignition in FLC. In addition, NOx in the engine exhaust is reduced by higher levels of CO2 in the fuel.


1992 ◽  
Vol 114 (4) ◽  
pp. 763-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Watts ◽  
T. E. Dwan ◽  
C. G. Brockus

An analog fuel control for a gas turbine engine was compared with several state-space derived fuel controls. A single-spool, simple cycle gas turbine engine was modeled using ACSL (high level simulation language based on FORTRAN). The model included an analog fuel control representative of existing commercial fuel controls. The ACSL model was stripped of nonessential states to produce an eight-state linear state-space model of the engine. The A, B, and C matrices, derived from rated operating conditions, were used to obtain feedback control gains by the following methods: (1) state feedback; (2) LQR theory; (3) Bellman method; and (4) polygonal search. An off-load transient followed by an on-load transient was run for each of these fuel controls. The transient curves obtained were used to compare the state-space fuel controls with the analog fuel control. The state-space fuel controls did better than the analog control.


1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. T. Davis ◽  
V. G. McDonell ◽  
G. S. Samuelsen

To mitigate the environmental impact of next-generation gas turbine combustors, the emission performance at each condition throughout the load duty cycle must be optimized. Achieving this with a single combustor geometry may not be possible. Rather, the mixing processes and airflow splits must likely be modified as a function of load in order to (1) abate the emission of oxides of nitrogen, (2) maintain combustion efficiency, and (3) preclude lean blow-out over the entire duty cycle. The present study employs a model combustor to evaluate combustor performance as a function of load and explore the application of variable geometry to optimize performance at each condition. A parametric variation of flow splits is conducted at each load condition by independently adjusting the primary jet area and swirler choke area. The resultant impact on combustor performance is measured and quantified in terms of a cost function. The cost function is defined to increase with improving combustor performance (e.g., improving combustion efficiency and/or declining NOx emissions). Cycle operating conditions are found to alter the response mappings of efficiency and NOx. As a result, the optimal configuration of the combustor changes as the load is varied over the duty cycle. The results provide guidance on the application of active control.


Author(s):  
Godwin Ita Ekong ◽  
Christopher A. Long ◽  
Peter R. N. Childs

Compressor tip clearance for a gas turbine engine application is the radial gap between the stationary compressor casing and the rotating blades. The gap varies significantly during different operating conditions of the engine due to centrifugal forces on the rotor and differential thermal expansions in the discs and casing. The tip clearance in the axial flow compressor of modern commercial civil aero-engines is of significance in terms of both mechanical integrity and performance. In general, the clearance is of critical importance to civil airline operators and their customers alike because as the clearance between the compressor blade tips and the casing increases, the aerodynamic efficiency will decrease and therefore the specific fuel consumption and operating costs will increase. This paper reports on the development of a range of concepts and their evaluation for the reduction and control of tip clearance in H.P. compressors using an enhanced heat transfer coefficient approach. This would lead to improvement in cruise tip clearances. A test facility has been developed for the study at the University of Sussex, incorporating a rotor and an inner shaft scaled down from a Rolls-Royce Trent aero-engine to a ratio of 0.7:1 with a rotational speed of up to 10000 rpm. The idle and maximum take-off conditions in the square cycle correspond to in-cavity rotational Reynolds numbers of 3.1×106 ≤ Reφ ≤ 1.0×107. The project involved modelling of the experimental facilities, to demonstrate proof of concept. The analysis shows that increasing the thermal response of the high pressure compressor (HPC) drum of a gas turbine engine assembly will reduce the drum time constant, thereby reducing the re-slam characteristics of the drum causing a reduction in the cold build clearance (CBC), and hence the reduction in cruise clearance. A further reduction can be achieved by introducing radial inflow into the drum cavity to further increase the disc heat transfer coefficient in the cavity; hence a further reduction in disc drum time constant.


In the past three decades, it is very challenging for the researchers to design and development a best gas turbine engine component. Engine component has to face different operating conditions at different working environments. Nickel based superalloys are the best material to design turbine components. Inconel 718, Inconel 617, Hastelloy, Monel and Udimet are the common material used for turbine components. Directional solidification is one of the conventional casting routes followed to develop turbine blades. It is also reported that the raw materials are heat treated / age hardened to enrich the desired properties of the material implementation. Accordingly they are highly susceptible to mechanical and thermal stresses while operating. The hot section of the turbine components will experience repeated thermal stress. The halides in the combination of sulfur, chlorides and vanadate are deposited as molten salt on the surface of the turbine blade. On prolonged exposure the surface of the turbine blade starts to peel as an oxide scale. Microscopic images are the supportive results to compare the surface morphology after complete oxidation / corrosion studies. The spectroscopic results are useful to identify the elemental analysis over oxides formed. The predominant oxides observed are NiO, Cr2O3, Fe2O3 and NiCr2O4. These oxides are vulnerable on prolonged exposure and according to PB ratio the passivation are very less. In recent research, the invention on nickel based superalloys turbine blades produced through other advanced manufacturing process is also compared. A summary was made through comparing the conventional material and advanced materials performance of turbine blade material for high temperature performance.


Author(s):  
Cleverson Bringhenti ◽  
Jesuino Takachi Tomita ◽  
Joa˜o Roberto Barbosa

This work presents the performance study of a 1 MW gas turbine including the effects of blade cooling and compressor variable geometry. The axial flow compressor, with Variable Inlet Guide Vane (VIGV), was designed for this application and its performance maps synthesized using own high technological contents computer programs. The performance study was performed using a specially developed computer program, which is able to numerically simulate gas turbine engines performance with high confidence, in all possible operating conditions. The effects of turbine blades cooling were calculated for different turbine inlet temperatures (TIT) and the influence of the amount of compressor-bled cooling air was studied, aiming at efficiency maximization, for a specified blade life and cooling technology. Details of compressor maps generation, cycle analysis and blade cooling are discussed.


Author(s):  
Yoichiro Ohkubo ◽  
Osamu Azegami ◽  
Hiroshi Sato ◽  
Yoshinori Idota ◽  
Shinichiro Higuchi

A 300 kWe class gas turbine which has a two-shaft and simple-cycle has been developed to apply to co-generation systems. The gas turbine engine is operated in the range of about 30% partial load to 100% load. The gas turbine combustor requires a wide range of stable operations and low NOx characteristics. A double staged lean premixed combustor, which has a primary combustion duct made of Si3N4 ceramics, was developed to meet NOx regulations of less than 80 ppm (corrected at 0% oxygen). The gas turbine with the combustor has demonstrated superior low-emission performance of around 40 ppm (corrected at 0% oxygen) of NOx, and more than 99.5% of combustion efficiency between 30% and 100% of engine load. Endurance testing has demonstrated stable high combustion performance over 3,000 hours in spite of a wide compressor inlet air temperature (CIT) range of 5 to 35 degree C.. While increasing the gas generator turbine speed, the flow rate of primary fuel was controlled to hold a constant equivalence ratio of around 0.5 in the CIT range of more than 15 C. The output power was also decreased while increasing the CIT, in order to keep a constant temperature at the turbine inlet. The NOx decreases in the CIT range of more than 15 C. On the other hand, the NOx increases in the CIT range of less than 15 C when the output power was kept a constant maximum power. As a result, NOx emission has a peak value of about 40 ppm at 15 C.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document