Mesoscale Combustor Arrays for Next Generation Compact Naval Gas Turbines
Abstract
The principal vision of the proposed work is to investigate a novel concept of swirl stabilizedmesoscale combustor arrays, which ca"n potentially be utilized in the next generation of Navyspecific/important gas turbines for onboard carrier operations. Naval aviat"ion propulsion systemsfor carrier based aircrafts bear unique challenges. These include catapult/trap loads, low speedthrust respo""nse during approach, environmental corrosion issues, takeoff water/steam ingestion,as well as carrier-based electromagnetic environ""mental effects (E3). From the combustorperspective, two main critical issues for carrier based operation are (1) dimension and weig""htconstraints that meet the aircraft/ship integration specification, and (2) combustion stability over awider range of operating c"onditions including takeoff and approach. The main goal set forth in thisproposal is to meet these challenges and offer a compact combustor architecture that significantlyreduces the transfer function connecting the flame dynamics and the acoustic instabilities in themain combustion chamber.The mesoscale array combustor is composed of individual swirl stabilized counter rotatingpremixed flames arranged in a Taylor-Green vortex configuration. The complex flame to flameinteraction dictated by this configuration generates an array of flames which are mutuallysupported between the individual nodes for improved combustion stability in a compact des"ign. Inthis study, we will utilize advanced laser and optical diagnostics with the goal of understandingthe basic physics that gov"ern the complex interaction between fluid motion and chemistry over awide range of operating conditions. A 3D metal printed mesoscale combustor array will befabricated on a modular platform and the combustion dynamics will be investigated using a suiteof advanc"ed and novel high speed laser and optical diagnostics, modeled using decompositionanalysis methods in space and time, and numerical"ly simulated using computational fluiddynamics codes. Other practical functions of the mesoscale array such as the integration of l"iquidfuels and operation in high-pressure environments will also be investigated. Additionally, we willseek to extend the multi-ar"ray concept to microscale dimensions.The preliminary results in a laboratory prototype have shown dramatic improvements inflame st"ability, susceptibility to extinction, while maintaining low NOx emission levels. Mostimportantly however, the architecture can be" seamlessly scaled and adapted over a wide range ofcombustor outputs capable of powering large scale gas turbines to compact portable units topossibly even microscale units without loss of efficiency or power to weight ratio. The technologyaims to provide a radical departure from the single swirl designs of modern gas turbine combustorsto a flexible and distributed architecture capable of" variable/adaptive cycle operation in futureNaval engines. Ultimately, we seek to provide the foundational science for a new genera""tion ofadvanced Navy-specific propulsion systems, which can provide uncompromised performancewithin the most compact form factor.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 05, 2017
- Source ID
- N000141712538
Entities
People
- Tonghun Lee
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign