C. Clemen, J. Daehnert, B. Wurm, K. Lehmann, E. Janke

Future aero-engine development programmes are facing significant challenges with demanding development schedules and ambitious technical performance requirements. Hence, it is crucial a) to be capable to design the different subsystems like compressor - combustor - turbine in an integrated way, and b), to enable testing of critical features as early as possible, in realistic environments and ideally upfront of any engine test. In addition development and validation efforts need to be optimized in terms of time and cost. The hottest interface in the engine core is located between the combustor and the high pressure turbine, where the high temperature flow field at the combustor exit interacts with the nozzle guide vanes. In order to predict combustor and turbine component life and turbine performance correctly, this interface has to be designed interdisciplinary using complex computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. Engine thermal paint and type testing are usually used to validate the design of this interface. Both tests only deliver limited data at an advanced stage of a development programme. Hence the decision was taken to establish a new method of validation for a) validation of the CFD modelling capability, and b), to measure more and more accurate data on the interface. Both aspects can be addressed by using full annular combustion rig testing extended by the possibility of having a full ring of nozzle guide vanes downstream the combustor installed into the rig. Partly funded by the European Framework 7 programme Lemcotec an existing Rolls-Royce full annular combustor rig was improved such that it can carry nozzle guide vanes downstream of the combustor utilizing real engine hardware. This rig upgrade was designed together with FTT Deutschland. It was built, commissioned and tested to engine representative thermal paint test conditions and delivered validation data of very high quality, thereby enabling a direct back to back comparison to engine thermal paint data. This new rig extends the current capability of Full Annular (FANN) rig testing from the combustor specific elements like aero-thermal performance as well as gaseous and particulate emissions, thermo-acoustic characteristics and combustor temperatures to the understanding of the interaction with the downstream high pressure turbine. This will enable Rolls-Royce in the future to prove new designs with faster turn-around times and testing of multiple configurations upfront any engine development programmes providing valuable, early test data. The advantage of this approach is to enable early testing and hence down-select e.g. between different nozzle guide vane cooling schemes. This represents a significant step towards a "right-first-time" design into future products.

Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress 2017, München

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt - Lilienthal-Oberth e.V., Bonn, 2017

Conference Paper

englisch

21,0 x 29,7 cm, 7 Seiten

urn:nbn:de:101:1-2017092216815

Combustor test, Combustor-Turbine-Interaction

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22.09.2017