Siemens Westinghouse Advanced Turbine Systems Program Final Summary

This paper summarises achievements in the Siemens Westinghouse Advanced Turbine Systems (ATS) Program. The ATS Program, co-funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, was a very successful multi-year (from 1992 to 2001) collaborative effort between government, industry and participating universities. The program goals were to develop technologies necessary for achieving significant gains in natural gas-fired power generation plant efficiency, a reduction in emissions, and a decrease in cost of electricity, while maintaining current state-of-the-art electricity generation systems’ reliability, availability, and maintainability levels. Siemens Westinghouse technology development concentrated on the following areas: aerodynamic design, combustion, heat transfer/cooling design, engine mechanical design, advanced alloys, advanced coating systems, and single crystal (SC) alloy casting development. Success was achieved in designing and full scale verification testing of a high pressure high efficiency compressor, airfoil clocking concept verification on a two stage turbine rig test, high temperature bond coat/TBC system development, and demonstrating feasibility of large SC turbine airfoil castings. The ATS program included successful completion of W501G engine development testing. This engine is the first step in the W501ATS engine introduction and incorporates many ATS technologies, such as closed-loop steam cooling, advanced compressor design, advanced sealing and high temperature materials and coatings.

The Effect of Water Vapor on Oxidation Performance of Alloys Used in Recuperators

The use of a recuperator to recover waste heat from the exhaust gases is one method for improving a microturbine’s energy efficiency. This study looked at the effect of water vapor in the exhaust gas on the oxidation resistance of a current technology stainless steel and several high performance replacement alloys. Alloys of interest are high-Cr, Ni-base superalloys such as alloy 625 and aluminum-containing alloys such as Haynes alloy 214 and Plansee alloy PM2000, which is an oxide-dispersed FeCrAl. The latter two alloys form a protective external alumina scale which is more resistant to water vapor environments than chromia scales. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy characterization of the specimen surface oxides after laboratory exposures showed only minor effects of the addition of water vapor to the environment, which is consistent with the excellent corrosion resistance of these high performance alloys.

Study of Medium-Btu Fueled Gas Turbine Combustion Technology for Reducing Both Fuel-NOx and Thermal-NOx Emissions in Oxygen-Blown IGCC

In order to improve the thermal efficiency of the oxygen-blown IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) for stricter environmental standards and cost-effective option, it is necessary to adopt the hot/dry gas cleaning system. In this system, the flame temperature of medium-btu gasified fuel is higher and so NOx production from nitrogen fixation is expected to increase significantly. Also the gasified fuel contains fuel nitrogen, such as ammonia, in the case of employing the hot/dry gas cleaning system. This ammonia is easily oxidized into fuel-NOx in the combustor. For contribution to the protection of the environment and low cost operations of all kinds of oxygen-blown IGCC, low NOx combustion technology for reducing both the fuel-NOx and thermal-NOx emission has to be developed. In this paper, we clarified effectiveness of applying both the two-stage combustion and the nitrogen injection, and the useful engineering guidelines for the low-NOx combustor design of oxygen-blown gasified, medium-btu fuels. Main results obtained are as follows: (1) Based on the fundamental combustion tests using the small diffusion burner, we clarified that equivalence ratio at the primary combustion zone has to be adjusted due to the fuel conditions, such as methane concentration, CO/H2 molar ratio, and calorific values of gasified fuels in the case of the two-stage combustion method for reducing fuel-NOx emission. (2) From the combustion tests of the medium-btu fueled combustor the two-stage combustion with nitrogen direct injection into the combustor results in reduction of NOx emission to 80ppm (corrected at 16% O2) or less, the conversion rate of ammonia to NOx was 35% under the gas turbine operational conditions for IGCC in the case where fuel contains 3% of methane and 2135ppm of ammonia. By means of nitrogen direct injection, the thermal efficiency of the plant improved by approximately 0.3 percent (absolute), compared with a case where nitrogen is premixed with gasified fuel. The CO emission concentration decreased drastically, as low as 20ppm, or combustion efficiency was kept higher than 99.9%. Furthermore, based on the fundamental combustion tests’ results, the ammonia conversion rate is expected to decrease to 16% and NOx emission to 26ppm in the case of gasified fuel that contains 0.1% methane and 500ppm of ammonia. From the above results, it is clarified that two-stage combustion method with nitrogen injection is very effective for reducing both the fuel-NOx and thermal-NOx emissions at once in IGCC and it shows the bright prospects for low NOx and stable combustion technology of the medium-btu fuel.

Fuel Atomization in Small Jet Engines

Small and inexpensive jet engines are usually equipped with vaporizing fuel supply systems. This is in order to deliver low fuel flow-rates from relatively low-pressure fuel supply systems and the need for simple configuration. The difficulties associated with small engines are mainly during ignition or at high altitude re-lights, when the combustor is cold, air supply is poor, and fuel demand and pressure are low. Such conditions lead to poor atomization within the vaporizer resulting in very large droplets at its exit tip or even to a pool of liquid fuel within the combustor. Thus, there is no fuel vapor for ignition. Ignition is very difficult or even impossible under such conditions. Therefore, small engines are commonly equipped with dual fuel supply systems, either in the form of gaseous fuel for the ignition stage or with an additional higher-pressure supply line to the dedicated fuel nozzles for the purpose of ignition. Additional solutions involve the use of a large glow plug or high-energy pyrotechnic cartridges in the kilo-Joule range, to heat the combustor casing prior to ignition. The present work is concerned with the development of alternative and novel atomization systems, which would improve atomization at low pressures and consequently facilitate the ignition process, thus minimizing the need for supporting systems. The work refers to an alternative design for an existing vaporizer system of a small jet engine with 400 Nt of thrust. It focuses on an alternative design for the fuel injection within the vaporizer housing while maintaining all external dimensions and operating conditions unchanged. Three types of fuel nozzles were investigated: • a special impact atomizer, • a miniature pressure swirl atomizer, • a doublet atomizer involving two swirling nozzles (preliminary study only). Droplet size distribution under various nozzle pressure drops and air velocities were measured with Phase Doppler Particle Anemometry (PDPA) and global spray characteristics were obtained by photography. All modified atomization systems demonstrated improved performance and better atomization than the existing system. Initially, water was used as a liquid. At a later stage, the modified impact atomizer was tested and successful spark ignition was demonstrated.

Sector Tests of a Low NOx, Lean-Direct-Injection, Multipoint Integrated Module Combustor Concept

Results of a low-NOx combustor test with a 15° sector are presented. A multipoint, lean-direct injection concept is used. The configuration tested has 36 fuel injectors and fuel-air mixers in place of a dual annular arrangement of two conventional fuel injectors. An integrated-module approach is used for the construction where chemically etched laminates that are diffusion bonded, combine the fuel injectors, air swirlers and fuel manifold into a single element. Test conditions include inlet temperatures up to 866K, and inlet pressures up to 4825 kPa. The fuel used was Jet A. A correlation is developed relating the NOx emissions to the inlet temperature, inlet pressure, and fuel-air ratio. Using a hypothetical 55:1 pressure-ratio engine, cycle NOx emissions are estimated to be less than 40% of the 1996 ICAO standard.

V64.3A Gas Turbine Natural Gas Burner Development

From the very first beginning of the V64.3A development the HR3 burner was selected as standard design for this frame. The HR3 burner was originally developed for the Vx4.2 and Vx4.3 fleet featuring silo combustors in order to mitigate the risk of flashback and to improve the NOx-emissions (Prade, Streb, 1996). Due to its favourable performance characteristics in the Vx4.3 family the advanced HR3 burner was adapted to the Vx4.3A series with annular combustor (hybrid burner ring – HBR). This paper reports about the burner development for V64.3A gas turbines to reach NOx emissions below 25 ppmvd and CO emissions below 10 ppmvd. It is described how performance and NOx emissions have been optimised by implementation of fuel system and burner modifications. The development approach, emission results and commercial operation experiences as well are described. The modifications of the combustion system were successfully and reliably demonstrated on commercially running units. NOx emissions considerably below 25ppmvd were achieved at and above design baseload. An outlook to further steps of V64.3A burner development in the near future will be given in this paper.

Test Facility for Screening and Evaluating Candidate Materials for Advanced Microturbine Recuperators

A test facility for screening and evaluating candidate materials for advanced microturbine recuperators is described. The central piece of the test facility is a modified 60 kW Capstone microturbine that serves as a test bed for subjecting test specimens to conditions of stress, environment and temperature that are representative of those experienced by the recuperator during microturbine operation. Special provisions have been incorporated into the design of this test facility for controlling the magnitude of the applied mechanical stress and the surface temperature of the test specimens with the objective of carrying out accelerated testing. Candidate materials for evaluation in this test facility are identified.

The Role of High Performance Foil Bearings in an Advanced, Oil-Free, Integral Permanent Magnet Motor Driven, High-Speed Turbo-Compressor Operating Above the First Bending Critical Speed

The demand for high power density, reliable, low maintenance, oil-free turbomachinery imposes significant demands on the bearing system. The full benefits of high speed, permanent magnet driven machines, for example are realized at speeds exceeding the capabilities of rolling element bearings. The high speeds, and a desire for oil-free operation also make conventional liquid lubricated bearings an undesirable alternative. The modern, oil-free foil bearing provides an excellent alternative, providing low power loss, adequate damping for supercritical operation, tolerance of elevated temperatures and long life. In this paper, the application of modern foil bearings to a high speed, oil-free turbo-compressor is discussed. In this demanding application, foil bearings support a 24 pound, multi-component rotor operating at 70,000 RPM with a bending critical speed of approximately 43,000 RPM. Stable and reliable operation over the full speed range has been demonstrated. This application also required low bearing start-up torque for compatibility with the constant torque characteristic of the integral permanent magnet motor. This work discusses the rotor bearing system design, the development program approach, and the results of testing to date. Data for both a turbine driven configuration, as well as a high speed integral motor driven configuration are presented.

Thermoacoustic Flame Response of Swirl Flames

The operating range of heavy duty gas turbines featuring lean premix combustion to achieve low Nox emissions may be limited by thermoacoustic oscillations. The most promising way to extend the operational envelope of the gas turbine is to modify the burner outlet conditions which itself strongly affect the flame response on acoustic perturbations. The objective of the present paper is the analysis and prediction of the flame response of premixed swirl flames which are typical for gas turbine combustion. The flame response has been determined experimentally by measuring the velocity fluctuations of a forced pulsated burner flow with hot wire probes and the resulting heat release fluctuations OH radiation. The experimentally determined flame response function for the swirl premixed flame follows almost a time lag law. Hence, reasonable agreement has been found between measurements and calculations using a time lag model.

A Flight Simulation Vision for Aeropropulsion Altitude Ground Test Facilities

Testing of a gas turbine engine for aircraft propulsion applications may be conducted in the actual aircraft or in a ground-test environment. Ground test facilities simulate flight conditions by providing airflow at pressures and temperatures experienced during flight. Flight-testing of the full aircraft system provides the best means of obtaining the exact environment that the propulsion system must operate in but must deal with limitations in the amount and type of instrumentation that can be put on-board the aircraft. Due to this limitation, engine performance may not be fully characterized. On the other hand, ground-test simulation provides the ability to enhance the instrumentation set such that engine performance can be fully quantified. However, the current ground-test methodology only simulates the flight environment thus placing limitations on obtaining system performance in the real environment. Generally, a combination of ground and flight tests is necessary to quantify the propulsion system performance over the entire envelop of aircraft operation. To alleviate some of the dependence on flight-testing to obtain engine performance during maneuvers or transients that are not currently done during ground testing, a planned enhancement to ground-test facilities was investigated and reported in this paper that will allow certain categories of flight maneuvers to be conducted. Ground-test facility performance is simulated via a numerical model that duplicates the current facility capabilities and with proper modifications represents planned improvements that allow certain aircraft maneuvers. The vision presented in this paper includes using an aircraft simulator that uses pilot inputs to maneuver the aircraft engine. The aircraft simulator then drives the facility to provide the correct engine environmental conditions represented by the flight maneuver.