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Experimental Investigation into the High Altitude Relight Characteristics of a Three-Cup Combustor Sector

Denton, Michael J
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1511862008619976

Abstract Details

2017, MS, University of Cincinnati, Engineering and Applied Science: Aerospace Engineering.
The altitude relight of a gas turbine combustor is an FAA and EASA regulation which dictates the successful re-ignition of an engine and its proper spool-up after an engine malfunction during flight. At cruising altitudes, this becomes problematic, as the ignition energy required is proportional to the inverse of the squared ambient pressure, and the ignition sources are limited operationally. Additionally, current trends in gas turbine combustor for the reduction of harmful emissions such as NOx, CO, and UHC are resulting in designs that are leaner, quicker, and smaller. A comparison of combustor designs across generations yields that the stability margin during a high altitude relight has narrowed, and the combustion efficiency upon ignition decreases as the volume becomes smaller, all else being constant. The goal of this research is then to study the relight process of the currently operational generation of RQL combustors, which have shown proven reliability. Pressure drop, ambient pressure, ambient temperature, and equivalence ratio were all studied on a 3-cup single-annular combustor sector to create an ignition map. The flame development process was studied through the implementation of high-speed video. The three swirlers were each a radial-jet design with pressure atomizing fuel nozzles of the same flow number. Nozzles were inserted such that the face was flush with the base of the swirler, and the fuel pre-filmed on the swirler venturi during normal operation. Sets of dilution holes on the upper and lower radius of the combustor walls lined the combustor liner. Testing was conducted by placing the three-cup sector horizontally upstream of an air jet ejector in a high altitude relight testing facility. Air was maintained at room temperature for varying pressure, and then liquid nitrogen was introduced to chill the air down to a limit of -50 deg F, corresponding with an altitude of 30,000 feet. Fuel was injected at consistent equivalence ratios across multiple operating conditions, giving insight into the ignition map of the combustor sector.
San-Mou Jeng, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Awatef Hamed, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Samir Tambe, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
115 p.
Aerospace Engineering
altitude relight; gas turbine combustion; flame development; applied combustion; RQL combustor; ignition

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Denton, M. J. (2017). Experimental Investigation into the High Altitude Relight Characteristics of a Three-Cup Combustor Sector [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1511862008619976

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Denton, Michael. Experimental Investigation into the High Altitude Relight Characteristics of a Three-Cup Combustor Sector. 2017. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1511862008619976.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Denton, Michael. "Experimental Investigation into the High Altitude Relight Characteristics of a Three-Cup Combustor Sector." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1511862008619976

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1511862008619976
2,201
© 2017, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Experimental Investigation into the High Altitude Relight Characteristics of a Three-Cup Combustor Sector by Michael J Denton is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.