Effect of compressor unsteady wakes on a gas turbine combustor flow

Alessandro Soli*, Richard Adoua, Ivan Langella, Paul Denman, Andrew Garmory, Gary J. Page

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceedings/Edited volumeConference contributionScientificpeer-review

Abstract

In gas turbines, combustor inlets are characterised by significant levels of unsteady circumferential distortion due to compressor wakes and secondary flows, together with additional radial non-uniformity induced by the adverse pressure gradients in the pre-diffuser. This can cause non-uniform velocity distributions across the fuel injector, although the exact interaction mechanism, and the effects it has on the downstream air-fuel mixing, is not fully understood. This paper investigates the flow in an a single sector of a fully featured isothermal rig comprising of compression and combustion systems, exploiting the synchronous coupling of a compressible unsteady RANS simulation with a low-Mach LES. Validation against five-hole probe measurements shows that the coupled approach can correctly predict distortion onset and development, with no solution discontinuity at the coupling interface, and is able to preserve unsteady information. The coupled prediction is then compared against a standalone combustor simulation carried out using a circumferentially uniform inlet profile, showing that the additional turbulence from the wakes interacts with the injector, reducing the coherence of the precessing vortex core and potentially affecting the air-fuel mixing characteristics.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCombustion, Fuels, and Emissions
PublisherThe American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Number of pages12
ISBN (Electronic)9780791885994
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022
EventASME Turbo Expo 2022: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, GT 2022 - Rotterdam, Netherlands
Duration: 13 Jun 202217 Jun 2022

Publication series

NameProceedings of the ASME Turbo Expo
Volume3-A

Conference

ConferenceASME Turbo Expo 2022: Turbomachinery Technical Conference and Exposition, GT 2022
Country/TerritoryNetherlands
CityRotterdam
Period13/06/2217/06/22

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