National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Low-Emissions Combustors
Development and Testing

Dr. Clarence T. Chang

NASA Glenn Research Center
Pictures borrowed from GE clarence.t.chang@nasa.gov
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Outline
Aeroengine combustor design
process is tough (optimum
compromise)
Whats optimized
How to test/validate
The emissions challenge
The resulting dynamics challenge
Active Control as a response to
the dynamics challenge

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Balanced Combustor Design

Viewgraph borrowed from GE

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Some Typical Operating Parameters

Parameters Take-Off Cruise

PROverAll
O All 30 45
30-45 30

P3 450-675 psia 150 psia

T3 1000 - 1300 F 800 F

T4 2400 - 3000 F 1800 F

OverAll 0.30 - 0.5 0.25

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How do we assess performance?

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NASA Glenn Combustor Facilities

Flametube => Sector => Annular

Non-
Pres. Max. Max.
Facility vitiated
Config. range, airflow, exhaust
heated air,
psig lb/sec temp., F
F

CE5B-1 Sector 60 to 275 2 to 12 500 to 1350 3200

CE5B2 Flametube 60 to 400 0.6 to 5 500 to 1350 3200

ASCR Leg 1 Sector / 50 to 900 3 to 50 500 to 1200 3400

annular

ASCR Leg 2 Flametube 50 to 900 1 to 10 500 to 1200 3400

CE-13C Flametube 0 60
0-60 0.8 1000 3 0
3550

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CE5B Stand 1 Flametube / sector (1200 F

F, 450 psi,
psi 30 lbm/s air flow)
Newer Dynamics testing
Newest Alternate Fuels

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ASCR Stand -1 60 atm Sector Testing Rig.

1300 F
F, 900 psi
psi, 50 lbm/s airflow

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CE-13C LDI Injector Screening Rig Functional Layout (laying on its side)
1000 F,, 60 p
psig,
g, 0.8 lbm/s airflow
Dynamic
Variable-
Pressure Quench
fueled Modulating Fuel in
Sensors Water
valve
in

Exhaust
out
Heated
Air in

3-in ID Windowed
Flow Nearly-choked Test section
Condition Inlet isolator for visualization Choked Catalytic
screens Fuel injector Outlet Reactor
Emissions Isolator
Installation
Sampling
h d
hardware
Instrumentation
Not drawn to scale
Flange
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How does a combustor work?

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Legacy Combustor Features

11. Diffuser slows down

flow speed to reduce
Rayleigh loss
5. Primary dilution
22. Fuel-nozzle
Fuel nozzle turbulence holes provides dilution
speeds up atomization by and vortex anchor
break up liquid into droplets
4. Swirling flow forms 6. Secondary dilution holes
33. Liner film
film-cooling
cooling add more air to bring T4 down
recirculation
i l i vortex to
decouples thermal loading and shape T4 profile
provide flame-holding
from pressure casing
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Where Does Pollution Come From?

Rich Moderate
CO,, uHC High-Temp.
Z
Zones Temperature
soot
NOx Dilution Zones
- More NOx

Frozen
Chemistry

SOx &
aerosols
uHC near liner Turbine
S t and
Soot d CO Stator
oxidation
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And NASA Combustor Programs

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NOx Formation Concept and Avoidance Strategy

NOx
Formation
Rate
(Highly Residence ObNOxious
T
Temperature
t x ti
time
= output
Dependent)
Key to Low-NOx:
1 A
1. Avoid
id hi
high
h ttemperature
t b
burning
i
2. Keep the exposure time short
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NOx Reduction Combustor Concepts

RQL**
Q Partial-Pre-Mixed* LDI
Rich-burn
Lean-burn

**McKinney, 2007
*Dodds, 2008

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Lean-burn Fuel Staging Enables Low NOx at Cruise

NOxflightcyclecomparison(GETAPSvs.traditionalRQLcombustor)

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Lean Direct Injection Low NOx Concept

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Current LTO NOx Emissions

140

120
4 kN
> 89.
e
.7kN ngin E/6
100 2 6 E AP
= /4
Engine AP
E C
Foo (NOx), g//kN

E/4 PW4090
C
CAP
PW4098

80 PE/2 / PW4084D
GE90-94B
GEnx -1B 55% below CAEP 6
CA
Trent 895 GE90-115B
GE90-90B
PW4084 GE90-92B GE90-113B
PW4077D Trent 892
GE90-85B GE90-110B1 RR Trent 1000 ~50% below
CFM56-7B27 Trent 884
PW4077
GE90-77B
CAEP 6 (Predicted)
60 CFM56-7B26 PW4074 Trent 877
Trent 970-84 PW 810 ~50%
50% below CAEP 6
Dp/F

C
CFM56-7B22 CFM56
CFM56-7B24
7B24 PW4168 CF6-80E1A4
C
AE3007A1
AE3007A3
CFM56-7B20
CF6-80C2A5
PW4164
CFM56-5B3/3 (Estimated)
CF34-10E7 CFM56-5B2/3
AE3007C1 CF34-8E6A1 CF6-80C2B1
AE3007C CF34-8E6 CF34-10E6
CF34-10E2A1
40 CFM56-7B24/3 CFM56-5B7/3
CFM56-7B22/3
CFM56-7B20/3
CFM56-5B9/3
CFM56-7B18/3 CFM56-5B8/3

NASA N+2
20

Borrowed from Coen, 2009 ICAO

0
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
Engine Pressure Ratio
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Effect of Fuel Injection Schemes on NOx Emission

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Why do we need combustor control?

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Issues that Affect Combustor Instability / Acoustics

Diffuser turbine
plenum fuel stator
injector
swirl liner
vanes primary secondary
dilution fil
film dilution
holes cooling holes

1. Well-defined acoustic 3. Recirculation 5. Multiple

b
boundary
d conditions
diti vortex provides temperature
flame-holding zones

2. Perturbations from fuel- 4. Liner film-coolingg 6. interaction

nozzle turbulence provides damping with P

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Lean-Burning, Ultra-Low-Emissions Combustors

Are
A More
M Susceptible
S tibl to
t Thermoacoustic
Th ti Instabilities
I t biliti

1. Higher performance fuel injectors => more turbulence

2. No dilution air => reduced flame holding
3. Reduced film cooling => reduced damping
4. More uniform temperature
p distribution => acoustically
y homogeneous
g
5. Shorter combustor => higher frequency instabilities
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How do we deal with combustor instabilities?

1. Smart design
2. Modulate air to get out
out-of-phase
of phase cancellation
3. Fuel-modulation to get out-of-phase cancellation

However
However

Method 1 is preferred, but were not sure its enough.

Method 2 requires lots of actuation power input and bulk.
Method 2 also may induce diffuser flow separation due to
flow perturbation.
Method 3 requires the least actuation power and bulk and
produces the most energy change.

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Combustion Instability Control Strategy

Objective: Suppress combustion thermo-acoustic instabilities when they occur

Closed-Loop Self-Excited System

Combustion Combustor
Process Acoustics
P
Fuel-air
Natural feed-back process
Mixture
system

A tifi i l control
Artificial t l process

Actuator Controller Sensor

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Why is instability control so difficult?

signal

Phase inversion inversion-response

sum

Time delay & phase shift

Low signal-to-noise
signal to noise ratio What frequency? What phase?

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Synergistic Technologies to Enable

Ultra-Low Emissions Combustion

Manufacturing
Processes
Materials
Fuel
Fuel Injection
D
Dynamics
i
Active and
Combustion Ultra-Low Flameholding
Control Emissions
Methods Combustion

Facilities for
Realistic
F l Actuators
Fuel A t t T tC
Test Conditions
diti
Combustor
Feedback and
Sensors Fuel System
Dynamics

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Observations

Small changes can affect major behavioral change

Combustor should not be considered one
homogeneous medium

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References

1.
1 Arthur
A th H. H Lefebvre,
L f b Gas
G Turbine
T bi Combustion,
C b ti 2nd 2 d Ed.,
Ed Taylor
T l & Francis,
F i 1999.
1999
2. Dodds, Will, Engine Technology Developments to Address Local Air Quality Concerns,
International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations, 2008
3. Dodds, Will, Twin Annular Premixing Swirler (TAPS) Combustor, The Roaring 20th Aviation
N i & Air
Noise Ai Quality
Q lit Symposium,
S i 2005
4. Dodds, Will, Engine and Aircraft Technologies to Reduce Emissions, UC Technology Transfer
Symposium Dreams of Flight, March 1, 2002
5. McKinney, R.G., Sepulveda, D., Sowa, W. and Cheung, A.K. (2007) The Pratt & Whitney
TALON X low l emissions
e i i combustor:
b t : revolutionary
e l ti results
e lt with
ith evolutionary
e l ti technology.
te h l
AIAA 2007-386, The 45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, January 2007, Reno, Nevada.
6. Collier, F.S. (2009) Progress toward aviation's environmental goals and objectives an LTO
NOx perspective. ICAO/CAEP Workshop, London, UK, March 30, 2009.
7
7. Foust M.J,
Foust, M J et al.,
al Development of the GE Aviation Low Emissions TAPS Combustor for
Next Generation Aircraft Engines, AIAA-2012-0936, Nashville, TN, January 9-12, 2012.

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