Cooling Requirements for the Ultra-Compact Combustor
Abstract
Over the past several years, AFIT and the Air Force Research Laboratory have collaboratively investigated a novel combustor system that is compact in design and has potential use in an inter-turbine burner system. The ultra-compact combustor (UCC) design wraps the combustion section circumferentially around the axial core flow and exploits the use of high-g combustion. The combustor's volume and weight are reduced by integrating the exit compressor vane and the turbine inlet vane. This creates a new "hybrid" vane that resides directly below the circumferential combustor. Recently, a computational effort to understand the fundamental aspects of the UCC on a fighter scale model revealed that high temperatures are likely to occur on the hybrid vane. To address this issue, film-cooling is being explored for the UCC in a computational manner. Simulations of normal coolant hole, contoured trench, and hybrid normal and contoured trench configurations were performed for blowing ratios of M=1, 1.5 and 2. Secondary reactions formed due to the oxygen-rich coolant air reacting with unburned fuel as it exited the circumferential cavity. Although secondary reactions occurred, a decrease in unburned radicals was noticed at the exit of the UCC due to enhanced completion of reactions upstream.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA558282
Entities
People
- Donald D. Johnson
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology