10.2.1 Tubular (or Multiple) Combustion Chambers 10.2.

3 Annular Combustion Chambers

10.2.2 Tubo-Annular Combustion Chambers

MAIN REQUIREMENTS FROM GAS TURBINE COMBUSTORS.

1. Its length and frontal area remain within the limits set by other engine components, that is, size and shape must be
compatible with the engine envelope.

2. Its diffuser minimizes the pressure loss.

3. The presence of a liner to provide stable operation (that is, the flame should stay

alight over a wide range of air to fuel ratios [AFRs]).

4. It meets the pollutant emissions regulations (low emissions of smoke, unburned

fuel, and gaseous pollutant species).

5. Ability to utilize a much broader range of fuels.

6. Durability and relighting capability.

7. High combustion efficiency at different operating conditions: (a) altitude ranging from sea level to 11 km for civil
transport, and higher for some military aircraft; and (b) Mach numbers ranging from zero during ground run to
supersonic for military aircraft.

8. Design for minimum cost and ease of maintenance.

9. An outlet temperature distribution (pattern form) that is tailored to maximize the life of the turbine blades and nozzle
guide vanes.
10. Freedom from pressure pulsations and other manifestations of combustion induced instabilities.

11. Reliable and smooth ignition both on the ground (especially at very low ambient temperature) and, in the case of
aircraft engine flameout, at high altitude.

12. The formation of carbon deposits (coking) must be avoided, particularly the hard brittle variety. Small particles
carried into the turbine in the high-velocity gas stream can erode the blades. Furthermore, aerodynamically excited
vibration in the combustion chamber might cause sizeable pieces of carbon to break free, resulting in even worse
damage to the turbine.

Some important factors affecting combustor design (KEY ISSUES)

(a) The temperature of the gases after combustion must be comparatively low to suit the highly stressed turbine
materials. Development of improved materials and methods of blade cooling, however, has enabled permissible
combustor outlet temperatures to rise from about 1100 K to as much as 1850 K for aircraft applications.

(b) At the end of the combustion space the temperature distribution must be of known form if the turbine blades
are not to suffer from local overheating. In practice, the temperature can increase with radius over the turbine
annulus, because of the strong influence of temperature on allowable stress and the decrease of blade centrifugal
stress from root to tip.

(c) Combustion must be maintained in a stream of air moving with a high velocity in the region of 30–60 m>s, and
stable operation is required over a wide range of air/fuel ratio from full load to idling conditions. The air/fuel ratio
might vary from about 60:1 to 120:1 for simple cycle gas turbines and from 100:1 to 200:1 if a heat-exchanger is
used. Considering that the stoichiometric ratio is approximately 15:1, a high dilution is required to maintain the
temperature level dictated by turbine stresses.

(d) The formation of carbon deposits (‘coking’) must be avoided, particularly the hard-brittle variety. Small particles
carried into the turbine in the high velocity gas stream can erode the blades and block cooling air passages;
furthermore, aerodynamically excited vibration in the combustion chamber might cause sizeable pieces of carbon to
break free, resulting in even worse damage to the turbine.

(e) In aircraft gas turbines, combustion must also be stable over a wide range of chamber pressure because of the
substantial change in this parameter with altitude and forward speed. Another important requirement is the
capability of relighting at high altitude in the event of an engine flame-out.

(f) Avoidance of smoke in the exhaust is of major importance for all types of gas turbine; early jet engines had very
smoky exhausts, and this became a serious problem around airports when jet transport aircraft started to operate in
large numbers. Smoke trails in flight were a problem for military aircraft, permitting them to be seen from a great
distance. Stationary gas turbines are now found in urban locations, sometimes close to residential areas.

(g) Although gas turbine combustion systems operate at extremely high efficiencies, they produce pollutants such as
NOx, carbon monoxide (CO) and UHC and these must be controlled to very low levels. Over the years, the
performance of the gas turbine has been improved mainly by increasing the compressor pressure ratio and turbine
inlet temperature (TIT). Unfortunately this results in increased production of NOx. Evermore stringent emissions
legislation has led to significant changes in combustor design to cope with the problem.
 Swirl vanes creates turbulence to provide a better fuel-air mix

Combustor Design Considerations

Cross-section area.
The combustor Cross section can be determined by dividing the volumetric flow at the combustor inlet by a reference
velocity which has been selected as being appropriate for the particular turbine conditions on the basis of proven
performance in a similar engine. Another basis for selecting a combustor cross section comes from correlations of
thermal loading per unit cross section. Thermal loading is proportional to the primary zone air now because fuel and air
mixtures are near stoichiometric in all combustors.
Length. Combustor length must be suficient to provide for flame stabilization, combustion, and mixing with dilution air.
The typical value of the length-to-diameter ratio for liners ranges from three to Six. Ratios for casing range from two to
four-

Wobbe Number. Wobbe Number is an indicator of the characteristics and stability of the combustion process.
𝐿𝐻𝑉
𝑊𝑏 =
√𝑆𝑝. 𝐺𝑟 ∗ 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏

Increasing the Wobbe Number can cause the flame to burn closer to the liner. Decreasing the Wobbe Number can cause
pulsations in the combustor.

Pressure drop. The minimum practicaI pressure drop—excluding diffuser los —is about 14 times the reference velocity
pressure. Higher values are frequently used. Some values for this pressure loss are: 100fps (30 mps), 4%; 80fps (24 mps),
2.5%; 70fps (21 mps), 2%; 50fps (15mps), 1%

Volumetric heat-release rate. The heat-release rate is prolüyrtional to the fuel-to-air ratio and the combustor pressure,
and it is a function of combustor capacity. Actual space required for combustion, as chemical limits are approached,
varies with pressure to the 1.8 power.

Liner holes. Liner area to casing area and liner hold area to casing area are important to the performance Of combustors.
For example, the pressure loss coefficient has a mínimum value in the range of 0.6 of the liner area casing area ratio
with a temperature ratio Of 4:1.
In practice it has been found that the diameter Of holes in the primary zone should be no larger than 0.1 Of the liner
diameter. Tubular lines with about 10 rings of eight holes each give good eficiency. As discussed before, swirl vanes with
holes yield better combustor performance.
In the dilution zone, sizing Of the holes can be used to provide a desired temperature profile.
Combustion Liners. Three major changes have occurred since the original AISI 309 stainless louver cooled liners. The first
change was the adoption Of better materials such as Hastelloy X/RA333 in the 1960s, and Nimonic 75 and the adoption
of the slot-cooled liner in the early 1970s. This slot-cooled design offers considerably more liner cooling effectiveness,
and, from a materials standpoint, presents a new area Of processing challenges.
Fabrication and repair Of liners is primarily by a combination Of brazing and welding. Earlier liners, on the Other hand,
were made using a welded construction with mechanically formed louvers.
For resistance against fatigue, Nimonic 75 has been used With Nimonic 80 and Nimonic 90. Nimonic 75 is an 80-20
nickel-chromium alloy stiffened With a small amount Of titanium carbide. Nimonic 75 has excellent oxidation and
corrosion resistance at elevated a reasonable creep strength, and good fatigue resistance. In addition, it is easy to press,
draw, and mold. As firing temperatures have increased in the newer gas turbine models, HA-188, a Cr, Ni-based alloy,
has recently been employed in the latter section Of some combustion liners for improved creep rupture strength.

Second, in addition to the base material changes, many Of today's combustors also have Thermal Barrier Coatings
(TBCS), which have an insulation layer of the total thickness used is 0.015—0.025inch (0.4—O.6mm) and are based on
Zr02-Y203 and can reduce metal temperatures by 90—270 OF (50-150 0C).
TBCs consist Of tWO different materials applied to the hot side Of the component: a bond coat applied to the surface Of
the part, and an insulating oxide applied over the bond coat. Characteristics Of TBCs are that the insulation is porous,
and they have tWO layers. The first layer is a bond coat Of NICrAlY, and the second is a top coat Of Y TV RIA stabilized
Zirconia.
Advantages Of the TBCs are the reduction Of metal temperatures Of cooled components, by about 8—14 OF (4—9 oc)
per mil (25.4 microns) Of coating, the microstructure, and a coated liner- The primary benefit Of the TBCs is to provide
an insulating layer that reduces the underlying base material temperatura and mitigates the effects of hot streaking or
uneven gas temperature
distributions. These coatings are now standard on most high-performance gas turbines and have demonstrated
excellent performance in production machines.
Transition Pieces. Although technically not part Of the combustor they are an important part Of the combustion system.
Less complicated than the liners, the transition pieces have probably been more challenging from a materials/processes
standpoint. Therefore, new materials have tended to be first introduced on the transition piece. From a design
standpoint, significant improvements have been made on advanced models through the use Of heavier walls, single-
piece aft ends, ribs, floating seal arrangements, and selective cooling. These design changes have been matched by
material improvements.
Early transition pieces were made from AISI 309 stainless steel. In the early 1960s, nickel base alloys Hastelloy-X and RA-
333 were used in the more limiting partS. These alloys becante standard for transition pieces by 1970. In the early
1980s, a new material, Nimonic 263, was introduced into
senice for transition pieces. This material is a precipitation-strengthened, nickel-base alloy with higher strength
capability than Hastelloy-X. Since the early 1980s, Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCS) have been applied to the transition
pieces Of the higher firing gas turbine models and to uprated machines. Field experience over thousands Of hours Of
service has demonstrated good durability for this coating on transition pieces.
Improvement has also been made to increase the wear resistance Of some transition pieces in the aft end or picture
frame area_ Cobalt-base hard coatings applied by thermal spray have been tested in field machines and the best spray
has been shown to improve the wear life Of sealing components by more than four times.

Reliability Of Combustors. The heat from combustion, pressure fluctuation, and vibration in the compressor may cause
cracks in the liner and nozzle. Also, there are corrosion and distortion problems_ The edges Of the holes in the liner are
great concern because the holes act as Stress concentrators for any mechanical vibrations and, on rapid temperatura
fluctuations, high-temperature gradients are formed in the region Of the hole edge, giving rise to a corresponding
thermal fatigue.

Main materials

Cr and Ni

Some practical problems

We will briefly describe some of the problems which have not so far been mentioned but which are none the less
important. These are concerned with:

(i) flame-tube cooling, (ii) fuel injection,

(ii) starting and ignition and (iv) the use of cheaper fuels.

POLLUTANTS

 NOx (NO2, NO3) COx

 UHC SOx
 NOISE

COMBUSTION CHAMBER PERFORMANCE

The main factors of importance in assessing combustion chamber performance are

(a) pressure loss,

(b) combustion efficiency,

(c) outlet temperature distribution,

(d) stability limits and

(e) combustion intensity.

We need say no more of (c), but (a) and (b) require further comment, and (d) and (e) have not yet received attention.