INTERGRATION OF COMBUSTOR AERODYNAMICS AND FUEL SPRAY TO INCREASE TURNDOWN FUEL-AIR RATIO IN SMALL GAS TURBINE COMBUSTORS

THIS PROJECT WILL INTEGRATE COMBUSTOR AERODYNAMICS AND FUEL SPRAY PATTERNS TO ATTAIN HIGH TURNDOWN RATIOS WITHOUT SIGNIFICANTLY MODIFYING CONVENTIONAL COMBUSTOR GEOMETRY. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY: THE CREATION OF TWO DISTINCT ZONES WITHIN THE COMBUSTOR PRIMARY ZONE THAT ARE INDEPENDENTLY FUELED; THE USE OF A DUAL-LIP AIRBLAST FUEL ATOMIZER THAT FUELS ONLY THE CENTRAL RECIRCULATION ZONE AT LOW POWER CONDITIONS AND BOTH THE DOME AND CENTRAL RECIRCULATION ZONES AT FULL POWER; AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF STAGGERED, WIDELY-SPACED, UPSTREAM-ANGLED PRIMARY HOLES THAT ALLOW JET PENETRATION INTO THE DOME ZONE. IN PHASE I, THREE-DIMENSIONAL CFD ANALYSIS WILL BE PERFORMED ON THE ADVANCED CONFIGURATION AS WELL AS A CONVENTIONAL CONFIGURATION. COMPARISON WILL BE MADE TO SHOW THE ADVANCED DESIGN'S POTENTIAL OF INCREASING TURNDOWN FUEL-AIR RATIO WITHOUT PRODUCING EXCESSIVE SMOKE EMISSIONS. IN PHASE II, THE DESIGN WOULD BE FURTHER OPTIMIZED. A SECTOR COMBUSTOR WILL BE DESIGNED, FABRICATED, AND TESTED AT VARIOUS POWER SETTINGS TO DEMONSTRATE THE CONCEPT EXPERIMENTALLY. THIS PROJECT WILL INTEGRATE COMBUSTOR AERODYNAMICS AND FUEL SPRAY PATTERNS TO ATTAIN HIGH TURNDOWN RATIOS WITHOUT SIGNIFICANTLY MODIFYING CONVENTIONAL COMBUSTOR GEOMETRY. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY: THE CREATION OF TWO DISTINCT ZONES WITHIN THE COMBUSTOR PRIMARY ZONE THAT ARE INDEPENDENTLY FUELED; THE USE OF A DUAL-LIP AIRBLAST FUEL ATOMIZER THAT FUELS ONLY THE CENTRAL RECIRCULATION ZONE AT LOW POWER CONDITIONS AND BOTH THE DOME AND CENTRAL RECIRCULATION ZONES AT FULL POWER; AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF STAGGERED, WIDELY-SPACED, UPSTREAM-ANGLED PRIMARY HOLES THAT ALLOW JET PENETRATION INTO THE DOME ZONE. IN PHASE I, THREE-DIMENSIONAL CFD ANALYSIS WILL BE PERFORMED ON THE ADVANCED CONFIGURATION AS WELL AS A CONVENTIONAL CONFIGURATION. COMPARISON WILL BE MADE TO SHOW THE ADVANCED DESIGN'S POTENTIAL OF INCREASING TURNDOWN FUEL-AIR RATIO WITHOUT PRODUCING EXCESSIVE SMOKE EMISSIONS. IN PHASE II, THE DESIGN WOULD BE FURTHER OPTIMIZED. A SECTOR COMBUSTOR WILL BE DESIGNED, FABRICATED, AND TESTED AT VARIOUS POWER SETTINGS TO DEMONSTRATE THE CONCEPT EXPERIMENTALLY.