CFD Modeling of a Gas Turbine Combustor From Compressor Exit to Turbine Inlet

Gas turbine combustor CFD modeling has become an important combustor design tool in the past few years, but CFD models are generally limited to the flow field inside the combustor liner or the diffuser/combustor annulus region. Although strongly coupled in reality, the two regions have rarely been coupled in CFD modeling. A CFD calculation for a full model combustor from compressor diffuser exit to turbine inlet is described. The coupled model accomplishes the following two main objectives: (1) implicit description of flow splits and flow conditions for openings into the combustor liner, and (2) prediction of liner wall temperatures. Conjugate heat transfer with nonluminous gas radiation (appropriate for lean, low emission combustors) is utilized to predict wall temperatures compared to the conventional approach of predicting only near wall gas temperatures. Remaining difficult issues such as generating the grid, modeling Swirled vane passages, and modeling effusion cooling are also discussed.