Gas Turbine Combustion Chamber Design Aspects & Current Trends

Don Poul Jose

R123216003
Mtech Rotating Equipment
Steam Gas & Hydraulic Turbines Assignment 1

Introduction

Heat input to the gas turbine Brayton cycle is provided by the combustor.
The combustor accepts air from the compressor and delivers it at an elevated temperature to the
turbine.
The overall air/fuel ratio of a combustion chamber (combustor) can vary between 45:1 and 130:1.
However, the fuel will burn efficiently at or close to the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio of 15:1 only.
So, the fuel is burned with only part of the air entering the combustor in the primary combustion
zone.
Combustion products are then mixed with the remaining air in the secondary and dilution zones to
arrive at a suitable turbine inlet
Air from the engine compressor enters the combustor at a velocity of about 150 m/s, which is far
too high for sustained combustion to take place.
Hence, the air is first decelerated to a velocity of about 25 m/s in a pre-diffuser.
However, the speed of burning kerosene at normal fuel-air ratios is only about 5-10 meters per
second; hence any fuel lit even in the prediffused air stream also would be blown away.
Therefore, a region of low axial velocity is created in the combustor, through swirlers so that the
flame will remain alight throughout the range of engine operating conditions.
The high pressure air from the engine compressor is already heated to about 450 deg C.
The temperature of the air is raised to about 1300 K in the combustor at constant pressure. The
temperature rise in the combustor is limited by the material used in the first stage of the turbine.
Present day aeroengines are designed for high TET of the order of 1800 K (with efficient turbine
blade cooling techniques), because high TET enhances overall gas turbine cycle efficiency.
These high TETs require combustor primary zone flame temperatures of the order of 2000 K,
which, in turn, necessitate the development of newer materials and efficient cooling techniques apart
from the need for low loss, efficient and complete combustion.

Parts of a Combustion Chamber

Distribution of Air in a Combustor

Air Flow Pattern in a Combustor

Combustor

Once the air flows through the diffuser, it enters the combustion section, also called the combustor.
The combustion section has the difficult task of controlling the burning of large amounts of fuel and
air. It must release the heat in a manner that the air is expanded and accelerated to give a smooth and
stable stream of uniformly-heated gas at all starting and operating conditions. This task must be
accomplished with minimum pressure loss and maximum heat release. In addition, the combustion
liners must position and control the fire to prevent flame contact with any metal parts. The engine in
this example uses a can-annular combustion section. Six combustion liners (cans) are positioned
within an annulus created by inner and outer combustion cases. Combustion takes place in the
forward end or primary zone of the cans. Primary air (amounting to about one fourth of the total
engines total airflow) is used to support the combustion process. The remaining air, referred to as
secondary or dilution air, is admitted into the liners in a controlled manner. The secondary air controls
the flame pattern, cools the liner walls, dilutes the temperature of the core gasses, and provides mass.
This cooling air is critical, as the flame temperature is C (3500'F), which is higher than the metals in
the engine can endure. It isabove 1930 important that the fuel nozzles and combustion liners control
the burning and mixing of fuel and air under all conditions to avoid excess temperatures reaching the
turbine or combustion cases. Maximum combustion section outlet temperature (turbine inlet C
(temperature) in this engine is about 1070F).>1950 The rear third of the combustion liners is the
transition section. The transition section has a very convergent duct shape, which begins accelerating
the gas stream and reducing the static pressure in preparation for entrance to the turbine section.

Types of Combustor

Can Combustor

This type of combustion chamber is so arranged that air from the compressor enters each individual
chamber through the adapter.

Each individual chamber is composed of two cylindrical tubes, the combustion chamber liner and
the outer combustion chamber.

Combustion takes place within the liner.

Airflow into the combustion area is controlled by small louvers located in the inner dome, and by
round holes and elongated louvers along.

Annular Combustor

The primary compressed air is introduced into an annular space formed by a chamber liner around
the turbine assembly.

The space between the outer liner wall and the combustion chamber housing permit the flow of
secondary cooling air from the compressor.
 Primary air is mixed with the fuel for combustion.

Secondary (cooling) air reduces the temperature of the hot gases entering the turbine to the proper
level by forming a blanket of cool air around these hot gases.

Can-Annular Combustor

The combustion chambers are completely surrounded by the airflow that enters the liners through
various holes and louvers.

This air is mixed with fuel which has been sprayed under pressure from the fuel nozzles.

The fuel-air mixture is ignited by igniter plugs, and the flame is then carried through the crossover
tubes to the remaining liners.

The inner casing assembly is both a support and a heat shield; also, oil lines run through it.
Combustion System Components

1. Diffuser: A diverging passage, which reduces the velocity of compressor exit air flow from ~Mach
0.3 to Mach 0.05-0.1 in combustor passages with minimum pressure loss.

2. Cowls: Structures attached to dome which guide flow from diffuser into the combustor passages
with minimum pressure loss.

3. Dome: Front end of the combustor structure which provides shelter and means

of flame stabilisation (e.g. swirlers) for the primary combustion zone.

4. Liners: Thin metal shells extending from the dome to the turbine nozzle for control of combustion
and dilution air jets and cooling air film. The liners protect the engine casing and internal shafts form
the hot combustion products.

5. Casings: Engine structural shells which carry thrust loads. Casings also comprise inner and outer
passage boundaries.

6. Fuel Injectors: Devices which provide fuel to the primary zone, usually through the dome.

7. Igniter: Spark plug located in dome or primary zone.

Combustor Design Requirements

Operability

Ground start
Altitude relight
Lea blow out
Bleed airflows

Performance

Combustion efficiency
Pressure drop
Exit temperature distribution

Configuration

Size
Weight
Maintainability
Thermal growth
Mounting Method

Emissions

Smoke
Carbon monoxide (CO)
Unburned hydrocarbons
Oxides of Nitrogen (Nox)

Durability

Structural integrity
Cycle Life
Design of Inlet Diffuser

The compressor exit velocity from the modern gas turbine engines is typically in the range of 150-170
m/s and the corresponding velocity head may be as high as 10% of the total pressure. The function of
the diffuser is to recover a large proportion of this energy and to keep the total pressure losses low
with resulting lower specific fuel consumption.

For an air velocity of 170 m/s and a combustor temperature ratio of 2.5, the pressure loss incurred in
combustion would be about 25% of the compressor pressure rise. Hence, the air velocity must be
reduced prior to combustion to about 1/5 of the compressor exit velocity.

Diffuser Design Requirements:

Low pressure losses (<40% of the compressor exit velocity head)

Short length (use of splitter vanes may be considered)

No flow separation, except in dump region

Uniform flow, both circumferentially and radially

Dynamic flow stability at all operating conditions

Insensitivity to changes in compressor exit flow pattern

Effect of Inlet Flow Conditions

Inlet swirl

Presence of upstream struts

Radial distribution of compressor exit velocity

Reynolds number

Mach number

Turbulence
Types of Diffusers
Relative Merits of Various Diffuser Types
Inlet Diffuser Design Requirements

Low pressure losses: In general the diffuser pressure losses should be less than 40% of the
compressor exit velocity head

Short length: Special features, like splitter vanes, can be used to reduce length

No flow separation except in dump regions

Uniform flow, both radially and circumferentially

Dynamic flow stability at all operating conditions

Insensitivity to changes in compressor exit flow patterns or exit flow conditions.

Combustor Materials

The containing walls and internal parts of the combustion chamber must be capable of resisting the
very high gas temperatures in the primary zone. In practice, this is achieved by using the best heat
resisting materials available and by cooling the inner wall of the flame tube as an insulation from the
flame. The combustion chamber must also withstand corrosion due to the products of combustion,
creep failure due to temperature gradients, and fatigue due to vibrational stresses.

Combustion Chamber Requirements

Complete combustion

Low total pressure loss

Stability of combustion process

Proper temperature distribution at exit with no hot spots

Short length and small cross section

Freedom from flameout

Relight ability

Operation over a wide range of mass flow rates, pressures and temperatures

Performance Requirements

An aircraft combustion chamber must satisfy a wide range of requirements.

These are well known and may be listed as follows.

1. High combustion efficiency.

2. Stable combustion at all operating conditions.

3. Easy ignition at start-up and when windmilling at high altitude.

4. Uniform distribution of temperature at chamber outlet.

5. No coke deposition or exhaust smoke.

6. Minimum size and weight.

7. Minimum loss of total pressure.

8. Long life between overhauls.

9. Easy to dismantle from engine.

The relative importance of these various requirements varies widely between one engine type and
another. Unfortunately many of the requirements are mutually incompatible. For example, it is
relatively simple to achieve a high combustion efficiency and a uniform outlet temperature
distribution, provided there is no restriction on chamber length. In the past major difficulties have
arisen through striving to meet all requirements in all combustion chambers. Under these conditions
the final design is inevitably a compromise solution and its success or failure can only be gauged by
the amount of trouble experienced intest-bed development and in service.
Basic Formulae for Combustor Design
Design Charts for Combustor Sizing
Combustor Calculations

Conduct basic sizing for a conventional, as opposed to DLE (Dry Low Emission), industrial engine
combustor. The configuration is a single pipe combustor which has the following requirements at ISO
base load:

Mass flow rate = 7 kg/s

T4 = 1400 K

P3 = 900 kPa (8.88 atm)

WF = 0.146 kg/s

T3 = 610 K

LHV = 43124 kJ/kg kerosene

Combustor Volume

As per the design guidelines set combustor loading to 1 kg/s atm1.8 m3 (based upon total mass flow
and combustor volume) for 99.9 % efficiency.

Hence from F5.7.2:

LOADING = W/(VOL*P311.8*10(0.00145*(T31-400)))

1 =7/(VOL*8.881.8 *10(0.00145 *(610-400)))

VOL = 0.068 m3

Loading at idle should also be checked as per the guidelines provided, however for an industrial
engine which does not have altitude operation or altitude relight then usually setting this level at ISO
base load is sufficient

Combustion Intensity

From 5.7.3

INTENSITY = Wf * ETA3 * LHV / (P31*VOL)

INTENSITY = 0.146 * 0.999 * 43124/(8.88 * 0.068)

INTENSITY = 10.41 MW/atm.m3

This is considerably less than the design guideline maximum level of 60 MW/atm m3.

Primary Zone and CAN Area

From the guidelines design the primary zone for an equivalence ratio of 1.02, hence:

FAR = 1.02 * 0.067

FAR = 0.0683

Wprimary = 0.146 / 0.0683

Wprimary = 2.14 kg/s

Set primary zone exit Mach number = 0.02, the lower end of the design guidelines. Hence from
Chart 3.8, Q=1.3609 and taking primary zone exit temperature to be 2300 K:

1.3609 = 2.14 * 2300 0.5 /(Acan * 900)

Acan = 0.084 m2

Combustor Radii

Can radius is derived from area:

0.084 = PI * Rcan2

Rcan = 0.164 m

Set 0.1 Mach number for outer annuli, as per design

guidelines, hence Q = 6.9414 kgK/s kPa m2 and:

6.9414 = 7*6100.5 /(Aouter * 900)

Aouter = 0.028 m2

0.028 = PI * ( Router2 0.1642 )

Router = 0.189 m

Combustor Length

From volume and area:

L =0.068/0.084

L =0.81 m

Now check residence time using

V = M * SQRT ( * R * T)

Time = L / V

V = 0.02 * (1.333 * 287.05 * 2300)0.5

V = 18.76 m/s

Time = 0.81/18.76

Time = 43 ms

This is significantly longer than the minimum value of 3 ms given in the guidelines. However, only
primary zone Mach number has been used. While it is acceptable it shows that there is some scope to
reduce combustor area, length and volume.
Current Trends

In recent years an important trend in the development of the turbojet engine has been towards greater
cost and complexity in terms of increases in by-pass ratio, pressure ratio, turbine-inlet temperature,
and multiplicity of shafts. Another trend has been in the opposite direction, i.e. towards lower pressure
ratio and greater simplicity in design, as evidenced by the evolution of the lift engine. It is of interest
to consider the likely effects of these trends on futurecombustor designs.
(a) Increase in by-pass ratio. This has led to the development of large, complex engines in which the
combustion chamber occupies such a small proportion of the total engine volume that there is little
advantage to be gained by a reduction in chamber size. However, a high combustion eflciency is
very important, not only at cruise conditions, but also during the acceleration phase from idling to full
power. Attainment of the desired temperature profile in the exhaust gases is of extreme importance.
Thus in modern high by-pass ratio engines there is a strong incentive to increase the length/width ratio
of the flame tube in order to reap benefits in terms of combustion efficiency and temperature traverse
quality.
(b) Increase in pressure ratio. Over the years there has been a continuing trend towards engines of
higher compression ratio. The implications of this trend on engine design and performance have been
discussed in detail by Weir, From a combustion viewpoint high pressures ensure high chemical
reaction rates and thus an increase in pressure would not be expected to create any difficulties in
regard to combustion efficiency. However, although it is easy to attain 95 per cent combustion
efficiency there may be considerable difficulty in achieving the remaining few per cent. This stems
from the fact that the flow of heat to the flame-tube walls by flame radiation and convection increases
with pressure, but removal of heat from from the wall is impaired by the rise in temperature of the
cooling air which is at compressor delivery temperature. In consequence flame-tube wall temperatures
increase with engine pressure ratio and, in order to ensure adequate flame-tube life, additional film-
cooling air must be employed. A relationship between engine pressure ratio and the percentageof air
employed in film cooHng is provided in Fig. 3.

From a mechanical viewpoint film cooling provides a perfectly satisfactory solution to the problem of
flame-tube overheating, but unfortunately it has two adverse aflfects on combustion performance:
1. The injection of large amounts of relatively cold air along the inside of the flame-tube results in a
radial temperature distribution of the outlet gas that is too cold at the root and tip, and too hot at the
blade mid-height.
2. Film-cooling air can effectively "chill" the combustion process, especially in the primary zone, and
thereby seriously impair combustion efficiency at high altitudes, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

(c) Increase in turbine-inlet temperature. Continuing advances in blade materials and blade-cooling
techniques will permit corresponding increases in turbineinlet temperature, but for these to be fully
effective a high degree of uniformity must be achieved in the temperature of the exhaust gases.
Unfortunately, as turbine-inlet temperatures increase, the amount of air left over for dilution purposes
diminishes. Figure 5 shows how the dilution air decreases with increase in turbine-inlet temperature
for a pre-dilution temperature of 1800K. Turbine-inlet temperatures below 1350K present no special
problems since the amount of air that is available for dilution always exceeds 40 per cent, while for

turbine-inlet temperatures above 1800K the dilution zone may be eliminated entirely. It is the
temperature range from 1400K to 1800K that presents the main difficulties. The reason for this is
illustrated in Fig. 6a which shows that, given an adequate supply of dilution air, it is a straightforward
matter to arrange for a sufficient number and penetration of jets to ensure that this air is rapidly and
evenly dispersed throughout the hot combustion products. If, however, dilution air is in short supply,
then the dilution holes must be reduced either in number or size. In either case the result is an
inadequate distribution of dilution air, as shown in Figs. 6b and 6c, hence a poor exit temperature
traverse.

(d) Lift engines. Lift engines are usually of low pressure ratio and, in consequence, the compressor-
outlet air has a low density which necessitates a large combustion volume. Thus in hft engines any
reduction in chamber volume can lead to a substantial decrease in overall engine size. One method of
achieving a worthwhile reduction is by using a "double-banked" arrangement of flame-tubes as shown
in Fig. 7. Another method is simply to reduce flame-tube length and accept a small fall-off" in
combustion efficiency. The distribution of combustion efficiency throughout the various zones of a
combustion chamber is illustrated in Fig. 8 in which the upper and lower diagrams represent operation
at high and low pressures respectively. This figure shows that although the function of the
intermediate zone is ostensibly to recover dissociation loss, at low pressures it acts as an extension of
the primary combustion zone. If the intermediate zone is removed the effect on combustion efficiency
is serious at low pressures, but there is a loss of only a few per cent at high pressures. Now lift engines
are normally never called upon to operate at sub-atmospheric pressure, and so removal of the
intermediate zone results in a loss in combustion efficiency of just a few per cent. This is of no real
consequence because lift engines produce thrust for merely a few minutes at take-oif and landing, and
so fuel consumption is only of secondary importance. However, the reduction in length achieved by
elimination of the intermediate zone represents a significant reduction in engine size and weight.
The lift engine is just one important example of how a relaxation of certain requirements, in this case
combustion efficiency and high altitude performance, can significantly improve the overall engine
design. In the future there is likely to be an increasing demand for more chambers of this type in
which the design is "optimized" around a few specific performance requirements. In order to meet this
demand it is essential for the designer to have a full appreciation of all the factors that control the
characteristics and behaviour of a combustion chamber. In particular he should be aware of the
important influence of chamber type, flame-tube geometry and fuel-injection method on all aspects of
combustion performance. These factors are discussed in the following sections.
References

Design Of Gas Turbine Combustors Session Delivered By:Prof. Q. H. Nagpurwala

Combustion In Advanced Gas Turbine Systems Proceedings Of An International Propulsion
Symposium Held At The College Of Aeronautics, Cranfield, April 1967 Edited By 1. E.
Smith
Design Of A Combustion Chamber For Am Experimental Gas Turbine A Thesis Presented To
The Faculty Of The Division Of Graduate Studies Georgia Institute Of Technology In Partial
Fulfillment Of The Requirements For The Degree Master Of Science In Mechanical
Engineering By Felix Joseph Lyczko October I95i
Basic Design Principles For Gas Turbine Combustor Ana Costa Conrado
Odgers, J. And Carrier, C., 1973, Modeling Of Gas Turbine Combustors; Considerations Of
Combustion Efficiency And Stability, Asme Journal Of Engineering For Power, Vol.95,
No.2, Pp. 105-113.
Odgers, J., 1980,Combustion Modeling Within Gas Turbine Engines, Aiaa Paper No. 77-
52.