The ultra-compact combustor (UCC) is an innovative combustor system alternative to traditional turbine engine combustors with the potential for engine efficiency improvements with a reduced volume. Historically, the UCC cavity had been configured such that highly centrifugally loaded combustion took place in a recessed circumferential cavity positioned around the outside diameter (OD) of the engine. One of the obstacles with this design was that the combustion products had to migrate radially across the span of a vane while being pushed downstream by a central core flow. This configuration proved difficult to produce a uniform temperature distribution at the first turbine rotor. The present study has taken a different spin on the implementation of circumferential combustion. Namely, it aims to combine the combustion and space saving benefits of the highly centrifugally loaded combustion of the UCC in a new combustor orientation that places the combustor axially upstream of the turbine versus radially outboard. An iterative design approach was used to computationally analyze this new geometry configuration with the goal of fitting within the casing of a JetCat P90RXi. This investigation revealed techniques for implementation of this concept including small-scale combustor centrifugal air loading development, maintaining combustor circumferential swirl, combustion stability, and fuel distribution are reported. The final combustor configuration was manufactured and experimentally tested, validating the computational results. Furthermore, dramatic improvements in the uniformity of the turbine inlet temperature profiles are revealed over historical UCC concepts.
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January 2019
Research-Article
A New Spin on Small-Scale Combustor Geometry
Marc D. Polanka
Marc D. Polanka
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Brian T. Bohan
Marc D. Polanka
Contributed by the Combustion and Fuels Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING FOR GAS TURBINES AND POWER. Manuscript received May 25, 2018; final manuscript received June 6, 2018; published online December 4, 2018. Editor: David Wisler. This material is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Jan 2019, 141(1): 011504 (10 pages)
Published Online: December 4, 2018
Article history
Received:
May 25, 2018
Revised:
June 6, 2018
Citation
Bohan, B. T., and Polanka, M. D. (December 4, 2018). "A New Spin on Small-Scale Combustor Geometry." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. January 2019; 141(1): 011504. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4040658
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