CFD Analysis of Aero-Engine Combustor
CFD Analysis of Gas Turbine Test Facility
CFD Analysis of Miniature Gas Turbine
Category Archives: Engineering Analysis
CFD Consulting – Video Library
LES Simulation of Tip Vortex
LES Simulation of Tandem Cylinders – Iso Surface of Q-Criterion
LES Simulation of Tandem Cylinders – Mid Plane Contours of Velocity
FIRST
The main objectives of FIRST were to deliver a fuel spray atomisation prediction capability, which can represent the unsteadiness of the atomisation process, for gas turbine injectors and to deliver an improved soot / particulate modelling methodology for combustion Computational fluid dynamics (CFD).
Before the FIRST project there was very little information available to describe the properties of atomisation from Rolls-Royce aero engine rich and lean burn fuel injectors. Lefebvre correlations were typically used to estimate the fuel spray boundary conditions for CFD modelling of these injectors in combustor flows. This coarse method used for numerical modelling made accurate prediction of combustor flow fields, and consequently emissions, difficult. Actual measurements of the fuel particle sizes and velocities were required before further progress could be made in improving modelling techniques.
A new test facility was built in the combustion laboratories in Rolls-Royce Derby that was specifically designed to enable PDA measurements of fuel sprays from engine injectors. All of the PDA and flow visualisation measurements for this study were performed by SCITEK. Test geometries were designed and made that represented a single sector of an engine combustor so that the spray conditions were more closely representative of reality. Lean and rich burn fuel injectors were tested at a range of conditions relevant to their respective engine cycles and detailed measurements of droplet sizes and velocities were made at numerous locations. The work was extended to include sprays from alternative fuels as a comparison to a standard kerosene spray.
The measurements of the spray from the fuel injectors have now provided the boundary conditions required for CFD modelling of Rolls-Royce engine combustors and has described the progression of the atomisation process as the flow moves downstream away from the fuel injectors. This is vital information for the improvement of numerical models to predict engine reacting flows. The CFD models can now be validated against the spray measurements for a wide range of geometries and conditions and a step change in modelling accuracy will be the result. Future designs of aero engine combustors and fuel injectors will benefit from the improved modelling accuracy.
SCITEK Supports ETI Project to Investigate the Safe use of Hydrogen Base Fuels in Power Generation
A £2 million project to advance the safe design and operation of gas turbines, reciprocating engines and combined heat & power systems using hydrogen based fuels has been launched by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI.) ETI is a public private partnership between six global industrial companies – BP, Caterpillar, EDF, E.ON, Rolls-Royce and Shell – and the UK Government who’s tasked with developing “mass scale” technologies that will help the UK meet its 2020 and 2050 energy targets.
Through new modelling and large-scale experimental work the ETI project is looking to identify the bounds of safe design and operation of high efficiency CCGT (combined cycle gas turbine) and CHP (combined heat and power) systems operating on a range of fuels with high and variable concentrations of hydrogen.
The goals of the project are to increase the range of fuels that can be safely used in power and heat generating plant by:
- In identifying the boundaries of safe design and operation of power generation systems using hydrogen based fuels; and
- Identifying improvements in the detailed design and instrumentation of hydrogen fuelled power systems in order to deliver more robust and inherently safer system designs.
SCITEK’s involvement with the ETI project is to assist in the design, manufacture and instrumentation of a scaled down experimental rig that features a small gas turbine engine (RR Viper 201) to provide hot gas flow.
SCITEK has also assessed the mixing characteristics of the proposed gas injection system utilising CFD modelling of high temperature, compressible gas jets in cross flow, with species transport.
Control Systems & Instrumentation
Tailored System Solutions
SCITEK can deliver turnkey solutions to your needs or provide a consultancy service for systems design. Solutions are tailored explicitly for the customers requirements and range from simple monitoring stations to full real-time, robust, reliable control systems for long term (thousands of hours) testing.
We have considerable experience in many different types of application ranging from laboratory scale research rigs to production facilities and provide support for installations that we have not previously been involved with.
Where possible we prefer to use COTS equipment, but as a result of particular project requirements, we have developed a number of standalone instruments that can be used out of the box, or can be tailored for individual customer needs.
We recommend National Instruments hardware and their software development platform LabVIEW™ where appropriate as the best solutions for rapidly developed and robust control systems based on our experience with a large number of competing platforms. We have extensive experience in the use of National Instruments’ products and in October 2004 National Instruments made us one of their Alliance Partners.
At the forefront of technological advance, we make a point of being actively involved in collaborative programmes between academia and industry in the development of new sensors, systems and methods.
Our installed systems base includes:
- Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) test facilities – Systems for unattended endurance testing (>3000 hours) of high temperature SOFCs with automated rig parameter profiling, IV curve control and logging. The system controls and monitors furnace temperature, rig pressure, gas mass flow, pressurised water delivery, cell temperatures, voltages and currents, provides alarm and event logging, and local and networked backup data logging.
- Complete multi-site System Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system for rig control and acquisition data from full-scale combustion research rigs for a leading aerospace company.
- Discontinuity Detection System with rig control for testing up to 160 connectors simultaneously on a vibration rig for aerospace connector quality evaluation.
- Experimental fibre-optic sensor evaluation platform on SCITEK installed Gnome engine (see Engineering).
- PC based ultrasound applications development platform.