Jet engine performance: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:45, 13 May 2024

Revision as of 21:47, 13 May 2024

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The effects of heat transfer and friction in a combustor, both engine and afterburner, cause a loss of stagnation pressure and an increase in entropy. The loss in pressure is shown on a T~s diagram where it can be seen to reduce the area of the work part of the diagram. The pressure loss through a combustor has two contributions. One due to bringing the air from the compressor into the combustion area including through all the cooling holes (friction pressure loss), that is with air flowing but no combustion taking place. The addition of heat to the flowing gas adds another type of pressure loss (momentum pressure loss).

In addition to stagnation pressure loss the other measure of combustion performance is incomplete combustion. Combustion efficiency had always been close to 100 % at high thrust levels meaning only small amounts of HC and CO are present, but big improvements had to be made near idle operation. In the 1990s reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) became the focus due to its contribution to smog and acid rain for example. Combustor technology for reducing NOx is the Rich burn, Quick mix, Lean burn (RQL)<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271367881_The_Pratt_Whitney_TALON_X_Low_Emissions_Combustor_Revolutionary_Results_with_Evolutionary_Technology271367881 |doi=10.2514/6.2007-386 |chapter=The Pratt & Whitney TALON X Low Emissions Combustor: Revolutionary Results with Evolutionary Technology |title=45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit |date=2007 |last1=McKinney |first1=Randal |last2=Cheung |first2=Albert |last3=Sowa |first3=William |last4=Sepulveda |first4=Domingo |isbn=978-1-62410-012-3 }}</ref> introduced by Pratt & Whitney with the TALON (Technology for Advanced Low NOx) PW4098 combustor.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Yize |last2=Sun |first2=Xiaoxiao |last3=Sethi |first3=Vishal |last4=Nalianda |first4=Devaiah |last5=Li |first5=Yi-Guang |last6=Wang |first6=Lu |date=2017 |title=Review of modern low emissions combustion technologies for aero gas turbine engines |journal=Progress in Aerospace Sciences |volume=94 |page=15 |doi=10.1016/j.paerosci.2017.08.001|bibcode=2017PrAeS..94...12L |hdl=1826/12499 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> RQL technology is also used in the Rolls-Royce Phase 5 Trent 1000 combustor and the General Electric LEC (Low Emissions Combustor).<ref>"Engine Technology Development to Address Local Air Quality Concerns", Moran, ICAO Colloquium on Aviation Emissions with Exhibition, 14-16 May 2007</ref>

Engine combustor configurations are reverse-flow separate, straight-through separate, can-annular (all 3 historic because the annular flow chamber gives more area and more even flow to the turbine), and modern annular and reverse-flow annular. Fuel preparation for combustion is either done by converting it into small drops (atomization) or heating it with air in tubes immersed in flame (vaporization).