Dynamic Behavior of the Ultra-High Efficiency Gas Turbine Engine, UHEGT, With Stator Internal Combustion

Author(s):  
Seyed M. Ghoreyshi ◽  
Meinhard T. Schobeiri

Abstract The paper investigates the dynamic behavior of an Ultra-High Efficiency Gas Turbine Engine (UHEGT) with Stator Internal Combustion. The UHEGT-technology was introduced for the first time to the gas turbine design community at the Turbo Expo 2015. In developing the UHEGT-technology, the combustion process is no longer contained in isolation between the compressor and turbine, rather distributed in the first three HP-turbine stator rows. Noticeable improvement in the engine thermal efficiency and power along with other performance advantages are brought by this technology. In the current paper, a dynamic simulation is performed on the entire gas turbine engine (UHEGT) using the nonlinear dynamic simulation code GETRAN. The simulations are in 2D (space-time) and include the majority of the engine components including rotor shaft, turbine and compressor, fuel injectors, diffuser, pipes, valves, controllers, etc. The thermo-fluid conservation laws are applied to the flow in each component which create a system of nonlinear partial differential equations that is solved numerically. Two different fuel schedules (steep rise and Gaussian) are applied to all injectors and the engine response is studied in each case. The results show that fluctuations in the fuel flow lead to fluctuations in most of the system parameters such as temperatures, power, shaft speed, etc. However, the shapes and amplitudes of the fluctuations are different and there is a time lag in the response profiles relative to the fuel schedules. It is shown that an increase in average fuel flow in the system leads to a small drop in efficiency due to the cycle change from the design point. Moreover, it is seen that the temperatures usually rise fast with increase of fuel flow, but the system tends to cool down with a slower rate as the fuel is reduced.

Author(s):  
Seyed M Ghoreyshi ◽  
Meinhard T Schobeiri

This paper investigates the dynamic behavior of an Ultra-High Efficiency Gas Turbine Engine (UHEGT) with Stator Internal Combustion. The UHEGT-technology was introduced for the first time to the gas turbine design community at the Turbo Expo 2015. In developing the UHEGT-technology, the combustion process is no longer contained in isolation between the compressor and turbine, rather distributed in the first three HP-turbine stator rows. Noticeable improvement in the engine thermal efficiency and power along with other performance advantages are brought by this technology. In the current paper, dynamic simulation is performed on the entire gas turbine engine (UHEGT) using the nonlinear dynamic simulation code GETRAN. The simulations are in 2 D (space-time) and include the majority of the engine components including rotor shaft, turbine and compressor, fuel injectors, diffuser, pipes, valves, controllers, etc. The thermo-fluid conservation laws are applied to the flow in each component which create a system of nonlinear partial differential equations that is solved numerically. Two different fuel schedules (steep rise and Gaussian) are applied to all injectors and the engine response is studied in each case. The results show that fluctuations in the fuel flow lead to fluctuations in most of the system parameters such as temperatures, power, shaft speed, etc. However, the shapes and amplitudes of the fluctuations are different and there is a time lag in the response profiles relative to the fuel schedules. It is shown that an increase in average fuel flow in the system leads to a small drop in efficiency due to the cycle change from the design point. Moreover, it is seen that the temperatures usually rise fast with increase of fuel flow, but the system tends to cool down at a slower rate as the fuel is reduced.


Author(s):  
Seyed M Ghoreyshi ◽  
Meinhard T Schobeiri

The Ultra-High Efficiency Gas Turbine Engine (UHEGT) was introduced in our previous studies. In UHEGT, the combustion process is no longer contained in isolation between the compressor and turbine. It is rather distributed in multiple stages and integrated within the high-pressure turbine stator rows. Compared to the current most advanced conventional gas turbines, UHEGT considerably improves the efficiency and output power of the engine while reducing its emissions and size. In this study, a six-stage UHEGT turbine with three stages of stator internal combustion is designed and analyzed. The design represents a single spool turboshaft system for power generation using gaseous fuels. The preliminary flow path for each turbine stage is designed by the meanline approach and modified using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Unsteady CFD calculation (via commercial software ANSYS CFX) is used to simulate and optimize the flow and combustion process through high-pressure turbine stages. The results show a base thermal efficiency of above 45% is achieved. It shows a successful integration of the multi-stage combustion process into the high-pressure turbine stages and a highly uniform temperature distribution at the inlet of each rotor row. High temperatures in some areas on the stator blade surfaces are controlled using indexing of fuel injectors and stator blades.


Author(s):  
Seyed M Ghoreyshi ◽  
Meinhard T Schobeiri

In the Ultra-High Efficiency Gas Turbine Engine, UHEGT (introduced in our previous studies) the combustion process is no longer contained in isolation between the compressor and turbine, rather distributed within the axial gaps before each stator row. This technology substantially increases the thermal efficiency of the engine cycle to above 45%, increases power output, and reduces turbine inlet temperature. Since the combustion process is brought into the turbine stages in UHEGT, the stator blades are exposed to high-temperature gases and can be overheated. To address this issue and reduce the temperature on the stator blade surface, two different approaches are investigated in this paper. The first is indexing (clocking) of the fuel injectors (cylindrical tubes extended from hub to shroud), in which the positions of the injectors are adjusted relative to each other and the stator blades. The second is film cooling, in which cooling holes are placed on the blade surface to bring down the temperature via coolant injection. Four configurations are designed and studied via computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to evaluate the effectiveness of the two approaches. Stator blade surface temperature (as the main objective function) along with other performance parameters such as temperature non-uniformity at rotor inlet, total pressure loss over the injectors, and total power production by rotor are evaluated for all configurations. The results show that indexing presents the most promising approach in reducing the stator blade surface temperature while producing the least amount of total pressure loss.


Author(s):  
Hideo Kobayashi ◽  
Shogo Tsugumi ◽  
Yoshio Yonezawa ◽  
Riuzou Imamura

IHI is developing a new heavy duty gas turbine engine for 2MW class co-generation plants, which is called IM270. This engine is a simple cycle and single-spool gas turbine engine. Target thermal efficiency is the higher level in the same class engines. A dry low NOx combustion system has been developed to clear the strictest emission regulation in Japan. All parts of the IM270 are designed with long life for low maintenance cost. It is planned that the IM270 will be applied to a dual fluid system, emergency generation plant, machine drive engine and so on, as shown in Fig.1. The development program of IM270 for the co-generation plant is progress. The first prototype engine test has been started. It has been confirmed that the mechanical design and the dry low NOx system are practical. The component tuning test is being executed. On the other hand, the component test is concurrently in progress. The first production engine is being manufactured to execute the endurance test using a co-generation plant at the IHI Kure factory. This paper provides the conceptual design and status of the IM270 basic engine development program.


Author(s):  
J. W. Watts ◽  
T. E. Dwan ◽  
R. W. Garman

A two-and-one-half spool gas turbine engine was modeled using the Advanced Computer Simulation Language (ACSL), a high level simulation environment based on FORTRAN. A possible future high efficiency engine for powering naval ships is an intercooled, regenerated (ICR) gas turbine engine and these features were incorporated into the model. Utilizing sophisticated instructions available in ACSL linear state-space models for this engine were obtained. A high level engineering computational language, MATLAB, was employed to exercise these models to obtain optimal feedback controllers characterized by the following methods: (1) state feedback; (2) linear quadratic regulator (LQR) theory; and (3) polygonal search. The methods were compared by examining the transient curves for a fixed off-load, and on-load profile.


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):  
Andrew T. Bellocchio ◽  
Michael J. Benson ◽  
Bret P. Van Poppel ◽  
Seth A. Norberg ◽  
Ryan Benz

Abstract A gas turbine engine has supported the U.S. Military Academy’s mechanical engineering program for nearly three decades. Recent, substantial enhancements to the engine, controls, and data acquisition systems greatly increased the student experience by leveraging its broad capabilities beyond the original laboratory learning objectives. In this way, the laboratory served as a learning platform for more than just instruction on gas turbine fundamentals and the Brayton cycle. The engine is a refurbished auxiliary power unit from Pratt & Whitney Aeropower, installed in the Embrauer 120 and similar to a unit installed on a U.S. Army helicopter. Whereas the original laboratory experience permitted students to test the engine at three different loads applied by a water brake dynamometer, the revised experience allowed for a broader range of test conditions. The original laboratory included single point measurements of three temperatures and two pressures, along with the fuel flow rate, dynamometer torque, and engine speed. The revised laboratory allowed the user to vary bleed air and engine loads across an operational envelope at a user-specified acquisition rate. The improved data acquisition system used LabVIEW™ and included multiple state sensors for pressure, temperature, fuel flow, bleed air, and dynamometer performance, thereby enabling a more complete analysis by accounting for the energy transported by bleed airflow and absorbed by the water brake. Students then quantified the uncertainty in their measurements and analysis. The new emphasis on uncertainty quantification, part of a program-level initiative, challenged students’ notion of “substitute and solve” while also familiarizing them with large, experimental data sets. The re-envisioned laboratory raised the students’ level in the cognitive domain and served as their premier engine experience. Rather than merely observing engine adjustments across a small range of conditions, students designed their own laboratory experience. With the updated approach, students viewed a graphic of the turbine’s laboratory operating range and chose the key variables of interest — selecting data points within the laboratory operating range — and then justified their selections. The enhanced experience added analysis of flow exergy and exergetic efficiency. The exercise also challenged students to hypothesize why actual turbine performance was less than predicted and determine sources of error and uncertainty. Moreover, the new laboratory offers opportunities to expand the turbine engine’s utility from supporting a single thermal-fluids course to a multidisciplinary learning platform. Concluding remarks address concepts for augmenting course instruction in other courses within the curriculum, including heat transfer, mechanical vibrations, and dynamic modeling and controls.


Author(s):  
G. L. Padgett ◽  
W. W. Davis

In response to the needs of the market place for turbines in the 5000 to 6000 hp class, Solar Turbines Incorporated has responded with an uprate of their Centaur engine. Discussed in this paper are the features of the uprated engine, the Development Plan and the methodology for incorporating into the design the advanced aerodynamic and mechanical technology of the Mars engine. The Mars engine is a high efficiency 12,500 hp engine which operates at a turbine inlet temperature of 1935°F. State-of-the-art computer aided methods have been applied to produce the design, and the results from this approach are displayed.


1948 ◽  
Vol 159 (1) ◽  
pp. 230-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. G. Ainley

The advent of the gas-turbine engine, with its absolute dependence on high component efficiencies for reasonable economic operation, and the necessity for new materials which will withstand high stresses at much greater temperatures than encountered on steam turbines, has led engineers to review the design of turbines closely both from an aerodynamic and a mechanical standpoint: there is still a great deal to be learnt. Reeman† has outlined the present mathematical approach to the design of turbines and surveyed very comprehensively the mechanical problems that are involved. This paper is intended to indicate the manner in which the aerodynamic design of a turbine has developed from that of its steam predecessor and, in particular, surveys some recent experimental work relating to turbine performance. The general aims of the experimental work are to explore the gas-flow processes within a turbine stage, to determine the associate aerodynamic efficiencies, and to gain some understanding of the limitations imposed upon the aerodynamic design of a stage by the necessity for the high efficiency which is required for economic operation of a gas-turbine engine. The data that have so far come to light, though incomplete, illustrate the general overall characteristics of high- and low-reaction turbines, and also the effect that high Mach number or low Reynolds number may have on turbine performance. To conclude the paper, a brief description of the technique adopted for adequate full-scale testing of turbines is presented. This covers the essential points of, power absorption, instrumentation, and safety precaution. The effects of errors in measurements are also discussed.


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