scholarly journals Aerodynamics of a Fuel Spoke in a Gas Turbine Combustor

Author(s):  
Iris Z. Hu ◽  
Sanjay M. Correa

The three-dimensional unsteady flow in a gas turbine combustor was studied using CFD means. The flow structure around a fuel spoke is of interest not only because of pollutant issues, but also because of combustor operating issues such as combustion acoustics and potential flame-holding in the premixer. The CFD model was tested extensively in terms of grid density and lime-marching step size before the final calculation was made. It was shown that when a swirling flow crosses over a cylindrical fuel spoke, wake vortices are formed and a strong secondary flow is generated along the spanwise direction. A secondary vortex existed near the tip of the spoke. This complex flow structure affects the quality of fuel and air mixing and can be addressed by CFD-based design methods.

Author(s):  
Kozo Fujii ◽  
Akira Oyama ◽  
Nobuyuki Tsuboi ◽  
Moto Tsukada ◽  
Hirofumi Ouchi ◽  
...  

Flow fields of Mach number 2.2 jet impinging on an inclined flat plate are experimentally investigated using the Pressure Sensitive Paints (PSP) and Schlieren flow visualization. The flow filed structure is mainly determined by two geometrical parameters (nozzle-plate distance and plate angle against the jet) and one flow parameter (pressure ratio). The results suggest that all the observed flow fields can actually be classified into three types of flow structure based on the three parameters above. As an extension of the authors’ earlier work, experiments are carried out for higher plate angles. The new results show the effectiveness and limitation of the classification that we proposed. To find out the flow structure, some of the flow fields are computationally simulated. Good agreement of the pressure distributions with the experiment validates the simulation. Although analysis so far is limited, the result reveals three dimensional complex flow structure that created pressure peaks over the plate surface.


Author(s):  
Farhad Davoudzadeh ◽  
Nan-Suey Liu

The three-dimensional, viscous, turbulent, reacting and non-reacting flow characteristics of a model gas turbine combustor operating on air/methane are simulated via an unstructured and massively parallel Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) code. This serves to demonstrate the capabilities of the code for design and analysis of real combustor engines. The effects of some design features of combustors are examined. In addition, the computed results are validated against experimental data. The numerical model encompasses the whole experimental flow passage, including the flow development sections for the air annulus and the fuel pipe, twelve channel air and fuel swirlers, the combustion chamber, and the tail pipe. A cubic non-linear low-Reynolds number K-e turbulence model is used to model turbulence, whereas the eddy-breakup model of Magnussen and Hjertager is used to account for the turbulence combustion interaction. Several RANS calculations are performed to determine the effects of the geometrical features of the combustor, and of the grid resolution on the flow field. The final grid is an all-hexahedron grid containing approximately two and one half million elements. To provide an inlet condition to the main combustion chamber, consistent with the experimental data, flow swirlers are adjusted along the flow delivery inlet passage. Fine details of the complex flow structure such as helicalring vortices, recirculation zones and vortex cores are well captured by the simulation. Consistent with the experimental results, the computational model predicts a major recirculation zone in the central region immediately downstream of the fuel nozzle, a second recirculation zone in the upstream corner of the combustion chamber, and a lifted flame. Further, the computed results predict the experimental data with reasonable accuracy for both the cold flow and for the reacting flow. It is also shown that small changes to the geometry can have noticeable effects on the combustor flowfield.


2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Su ◽  
D. Lee ◽  
R. Tran-Son-Tay ◽  
W. Shyy

The fluid flow through a stenosed artery and its bypass graft in an anastomosis can substantially influence the outcome of bypass surgery. To help improve our understanding of this and related issues, the steady Navier-Stokes flows are computed in an idealized arterial bypass system with partially occluded host artery. Both the residual flow issued from the stenosis—which is potentially important at an earlier stage after grafting—and the complex flow structure induced by the bypass graft are investigated. Seven geometric models, including symmetric and asymmetric stenoses in the host artery, and two major aspects of the bypass system, namely, the effects of area reduction and stenosis asymmetry, are considered. By analyzing the flow characteristics in these configurations, it is found that (1) substantial area reduction leads to flow recirculation in both upstream and downstream of the stenosis and in the host artery near the toe, while diminishes the recirculation zone in the bypass graft near the bifurcation junction, (2) the asymmetry and position of the stenosis can affect the location and size of these recirculation zones, and (3) the curvature of the bypass graft can modify the fluid flow structure in the entire bypass system.


Author(s):  
Fakhreddine S. Oueslati ◽  
Rachid Bennacer ◽  
Habib Sammouda ◽  
Ali Belghith

The natural convection is studied in a cavity witch the lower half is filled with a porous media that is saturated with a first fluid (liquid), and the upper is filled with a second fluid (gas). The horizontal borders are heated and cooled by uniform heat fluxes and vertical ones are adiabatic. The formulation of the problem is based on the Darcy-Brinkman model. The density variation is taken into account by the Boussinesq approximation. The system of the coupled equations is resolved by the classic finite volume method. The numerical results show that the variation of the conductivity of the porous media influences strongly the flow structure and the heat transfer as well as in upper that in the lower zones. The effect of conductivity is conditioned by the porosity which plays a very significant roll on the heat transfer. The structures of this flow show that this kind of problem with specific boundary conditions generates a complex flow structure of several contra-rotating two to two cells, in the upper half of the cavity.


Author(s):  
Dadong Zhou ◽  
Ting Wang ◽  
William R. Ryan

In the first part of a multipart project to analyze and optimize the complex three-dimensional diffuser-combustor section of a highly advanced industrial gas turbine under development, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysts has been conducted. The commercial FEA code I-DEAS was used to complete the three-dimensional solid modeling and the structured grid generation. The flow calculation was conducted using the commercial CFD code PHOENICS. The multiblock method was employed to enhance computational capabilities. The mechanisms of the total pressure losses and possible ways to enhance efficiency by reducing the total pressure losses were examined. Mechanisms that contribute to the nonuniform velocity distribution of flow entering the combustor were also identified. The CFD results were informative and provided insight to the complex flow patterns in the reverse flow dump diffuser, however, the results are qualitative and are useful primarily as guidelines for optimization as opposed to firm design configuration selections.


Author(s):  
P. J. Vermeulen ◽  
J. Odgers ◽  
V. Ramesh

A small combustor of normal design employing acoustic control of the dilution-air flows has been successfully tested up to “half-load” conditions. It has been shown that this technique can be used to selectively and progressively control the exit plane temperature distribution, and the ability to trim the temperature profile has been convincingly demonstrated. The acoustic driver power requirements were minimal indicating that driver power at “full-load” will not be excessive. The nature of the acoustically modulated dilution-air flows has been clearly establish to the design of combustors such that a desired exit plane temperature distribution may be achieved.


Author(s):  
D. Biswas ◽  
K. Kawano ◽  
H. Iwasaki ◽  
M. Ishizuka ◽  
S. Yamanaka

The main aim or the present work is to explore computational fluid dynamics and related turbulence and combustion models for application to the design, understanding and development of gas turbine combustor. Validation studies were conducted using the Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure Linked Equations (SIMPLE) scheme to solve the relevant steady, elliptical partial differential equations of the conservation of mass, momentum, energy and chemical species in three-dimensional cylindrical co-ordinate system to simulate the gas turbine combustion chamber configurations. A modified version of k-ε turbulence model was used for characterization of local turbulence in gas turbine combustor. Since, in the present study both diffusion and pre-mixed combustion were considered, in addition to familiar bi-molecular Arhenius relation, influence of turbulence on reaction rates was accounted for based on the eddy break up concept of Spalding and was assumed that the local reaction rate was proportional to the rate of dissipation of turbulent eddies. Firstly, the validity of the present approach with the turbulence and reaction models considered is checked by comparing the computed results with the standard experimental data on recirculation zone, mean axial velocity and temperature profiles, etc. for confined, reacting and non-reacting flows with reasonably well defined boundary conditions. Finally, the results of computation for practical gas turbine combustor using combined diffusion and pre-mixed combustion for different combustion conditions are discussed.


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