Application of an Inter-Turbine Burner Using Core Driven Vitiated Air in a Gas Turbine Engine

Author(s):  
Christopher J. Spytek

An Inter-Turbine Burner (ITB) that is capable of increasing the thrust of a gas turbine engine with minimal effect on SFC has been developed. Gas turbine engines using multistage turbine sections have the inherent disadvantage of temperature loss through the turbine section. This occurs when each successive turbine stage extracts energy from the superheated mass airflow stream. The net result is limited energy potential due to the first stage turbine temperature limits. An Inter-Turbine Burner (ITB) is able to utilize constant temperature burning through the turbine section by adding burners between the turbine stages. The resultant engine is suited for missions requiring large amounts of constant or intermittent power extraction. The Spytek ITB incorporates a modified version of an Ultra-Compact Combustor (UCC) [1] (high-g burner) which was originally developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio. The ITB has been incorporated into a gas turbine engine and has been successfully tested operating at a near constant temperature (NCT) cycle. The engine/ITB is specifically configured and packaged for high power density use. Temperature rises across the ITB (T6-7) were tested in ranges from 421K-588K with representative increases in power take-off noted. The burner, positioned directly upstream of the ITB turbine, operates with vitiated air taken directly from the core engine exhaust stream. The engine tested is a two spool turbo-jet (ITB shaft inclusive), in the 1334(N) class. The ITB is cross shaft linked to an axial compressor booster stage, attached to the engine inlet which super-charged the core engine. The two major areas addressed in development were the ability to provide air into the primary burn zone of the ITB to sustain combustion and second, the ability to successfully entrain the combustion products from the ITB vortex chamber into the main air stream without causing undue restrictions or hot-streak problems which can affect the life of the ITB turbine. Flexibility in ITB testing is further enhanced through the use of two adjustable test features, 1) a variable flow splitter, capable of adjusting the amount of air diverted into the ITB combustor, and 2) a variable nozzle guide vane pack upstream of the ITB turbine. A proprietary entrainment system rapidly mixes the ITB combustor products with the main stream dilute flow products without any undo effects on the ITB turbine. The Mark#1 version of the ITB system exhibits power on demand increases of 16%–22%.

2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bennett M. Staton ◽  
Brian T. Bohan ◽  
Marc D. Polanka ◽  
Larry P. Goss

Abstract A disk-oriented engine was designed to reduce the overall length of a gas turbine engine, combining a single-stage centrifugal compressor and radial in-flow turbine (RIT) in a back-to-back configuration. The focus of this research was to understand how this unique flow path impacted the combustion process. Computational analysis was accomplished to determine the feasibility of reducing the axial length of a gas turbine engine utilizing circumferential combustion. The desire was to maintain circumferential swirl from the compressor through a U-bend combustion path. The U-bend reverses the outboard flow from the compressor into an integrated turbine guide vane in preparation for power extraction by the RIT. The computational targets for this design were a turbine inlet temperature of 1300 K, operating with a 3% total pressure drop across the combustor, and a turbine inlet pattern factor (PF) of 0.24 to produce a cycle capable of creating 668 N of thrust. By wrapping the combustion chamber about the circumference of the turbomachinery, the axial length of the entire engine was reduced. Reallocating the combustor volume from the axial to radial orientation reduced the overall length of the system up to 40%, improving the mobility and modularity of gas turbine power in specific applications. This reduction in axial length could be applied to electric power generation for both ground power and airborne distributive electric propulsion. Computational results were further compared to experimental velocity measurements on custom fuel–air swirl injectors at mass flow conditions representative of 668 N of thrust, providing qualitative and quantitative insight into the stability of the flame anchoring system. From this design, a full-scale physical model of the disk-oriented engine was designed for combustion analysis.


Author(s):  
Arash Farahani ◽  
Peter Childs

Strip seals are commonly used to prevent or limit leakage flows between nozzle guide vanes (NGV) and other gas turbine engine components that are assembled from individual segments. Leakage flow across, for example, a nozzle guide vane platform, leads to increased demands on the gas turbine engine internal flow system and a rise in specific fuel consumption (SFC). Careful attention to the flow characteristics of strip seals is therefore necessary. The very tight tolerances associated with strip seals provides a particular challenge to their characterisation. This paper reports the validation of CFD modelling for the case of a strip seal under very carefully controlled conditions. In addition, experimental comparison of three types of strip seal design, straight, arcuate, and cloth, is presented. These seals are typical of those used by competing manufacturers of gas turbine engines. The results show that the straight seal provides the best flow sealing performance for the controlled configuration tested, although each design has its specific merits for a particular application.


Author(s):  
J. Zelina ◽  
D. T. Shouse ◽  
J. S. Stutrud ◽  
G. J. Sturgess ◽  
W. M. Roquemore

An aero gas turbine engine has been proposed that uses a near-constant-temperature (NCT) cycle and an Inter-Turbine Burner (ITB) to provide large amounts of power extraction from the low-pressure turbine. This level of energy is achieved with a modest temperature rise across the ITB. The additional energy can be used to power a large geared fan for an ultra-high bypass ratio transport aircraft, or to drive an alternator for large amounts of electrical power extraction. Conventional gas turbines engines cannot drive ultra-large diameter fans without causing excessively high turbine temperatures, and cannot meet high power extraction demands without a loss of engine thrust. Reducing the size of the combustion system is key to make use of a NCT gas turbine cycle. Ultra-compact combustor (UCC) concepts are being explored experimentally. These systems use high swirl in a circumferential cavity about the engine centerline to enhance reaction rates via high cavity g-loading on the order of 3000 g’s. Any increase in reaction rate can be exploited to reduce combustor volume. The UCC design integrates compressor and turbine features which will enable a shorter and potentially less complex gas turbine engine. This paper will present experimental data of the Ultra-Compact Combustor (UCC) performance in vitiated flow. Vitiation levels were varied from 12–20% oxygen levels to simulate exhaust from the high pressure turbine (HPT). Experimental results from the ITB at atmospheric pressure indicate that the combustion system operates at 97–99% combustion efficiency over a wide range of operating conditions burning JP-8 +100 fuel. Flame lengths were extremely short, at about 50% of those seen in conventional systems. A wide range of operation is possible with lean blowout fuel-air ratio limits at 25–50% below the value of current systems. These results are significant because the ITB only requires a small (300°F) temperature rise for optimal power extraction, leading to operation of the ITB at near-lean-blowout limits of conventional combustor designs. This data lays the foundation for the design space required for future engine designs.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 578-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. K. Mishra ◽  
Johney Thomas ◽  
K. Srinivasan ◽  
Vaishakhi Nandi ◽  
Raghavendra Bhat

2017 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
R K Mishra ◽  
Prashant Kumar ◽  
K Rajesh ◽  
C R Das ◽  
Ganapathi Sharma ◽  
...  

AbstractPack aluminization of high pressure turbine nozzle guide vane of an aero gas turbine engine has been carried out following a well defined systematic procedure. The process parameters are first optimized on dummy vanes and optimized process is followed for the actual vanes for evaluation and testing. Visual and binocular examination followed by metallurgical evaluation have been carried out to validate the process and to establish the adequacy and correctness of the coating. The coated vanes are then evaluated through engine level tests for performance and durability. The results of engine level tests and inspection post accelerated mission test cycles ensure that the vanes with aluminide coating can withstand severe engine operating cycles without any damage or failure which would otherwise would have happened without the coating. The condition of vanes post endurance test is also an indication of enhanced life of the vanes with coating.


Author(s):  
Junichi Sayama ◽  
Teru Morishita

It is vital to accurately estimate the temperature effectiveness and pressure loss of the regenerator when designing a gas turbine engine because these characteristics basically determine the size, weight, and fuel consumption of the regenerative gas turbine engine. In operation of an actual engine, regenerators often fail to attain the characteristics predicted by conventional methods, because there are many performance-reducing irregularities such as the non-uniform velocity distribution of gases flowing into the core. In this paper, a prediction method that is based on data from actual engine tests is examined as a way to predict regenerator temperature effectiveness and pressure losses when there are causes for deterioration of these characteristics. This method resulted in a system, taking the deterioration of these characteristics into consideration as they occur in an actual engine, that represents temperature effectiveness and pressure loss as the function of core specifications such as the core size and the core matrix. This prediction method was then used to predict the regenerator characteristics of actual engines with more than satisfactory results (The accuracy is ±1.25% for temperature effectiveness and ±4% for pressure loss).


Author(s):  
Valeriy Matveev ◽  
Yulia Novikova ◽  
Grigorii Popov ◽  
Oleg Baturin ◽  
Evgenii Goriachkin

Each gas turbine engine must be tested after it has been produced or repaired. If the engine is used to generate power on the output shaft, its power must be utilized during the test process. To do this, pneumatic brake system can be applied. It allows to measure and utilize the power generated by the engine by using this power to drive a single compressor connected through the clutch with the output shaft of the engine under test. The process of gas-dynamic designing of the pneumatic braking system for a modernized gas-turbine engine NK-36ST is described in detail in this paper. Computational model was created by using Numeca Fine / Turbo and was verified using the experimental data of the baseline compressor. Also, research efforts which are aimed at improving the efficiency of the pneumatic braking system and increasing its gasdynamic stability were conducted. In particular, guide vane was added and the contours of its flow channel were modified. Also the exhaust nozzle was designed for the pneumatic braking system to ensure its work at the required operating points.


1993 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 424-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Sayama ◽  
T. Morishita

It is vital to estimate the temperature effectiveness and pressure loss of the regenerator accurately when designing a gas turbine engine because these characteristics basically determine the size, weight, and fuel consumption of the regenerative gas turbine engine. In operation of an actual engine, regenerators often fail to attain the characteristics predicted by conventional methods, because there are many performance-reducing irregularities such as the nonuniform velocity distribution of gases flowing into the core. In this paper, a prediction method that is based on data from actual engine tests is examined as a way to predict regenerator temperature effectiveness and pressure losses when there are causes for deterioration of these characteristics. This method resulted in a system, taking the deterioration of these characteristics into consideration as they occur in an actual engine, that represents temperature effectiveness and pressure loss as the function of core specifications such as the core size and the core matrix. This prediction method was then used to predict the regenerator characteristics of actual engines with more than satisfactory results (the accuracy is ±1.25 percent for temperature effectiveness and ±4 percent for pressure loss).


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