Combustor

Combustion intensity
• Size of the combustion chamber is mainly determined by the heat release rate during the combustion process.
• Larger the chamber volume  lower pressure loss, higher combustion efficiency, more uniform temperature distribution.
• An increase in compressor delivery pressure (or temperature)  increases the time available for combustion and
combustion reaction rate (chemical kinetics).
• For the analysis of combustion process involving the above parameters, a parameter combustion intensity is defined.

Heat release rate

Combustion intensity 
Combustion chamber volume X Pressure

• Lower the combustion intensity  Easier is the design.

• Higher for aircraft engine combustors and lower for the industrial engine combustors.
• Typical value for aircraft engine combustors is 2 – 5 x 104 kW/m3atm.
• It is not conventional to compare the performance of different combustors if their combustion intensities are not
comparable with one another.

Aircraft Engines (AE 242)

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
 Combustor
Some practical problems – Fuel injection
• The main purpose of fuel injection is to prepare the fuel-air mixture suitable for the combustion process.
• The fuel injection system atomizes (converts the bulk liquid into tiny droplets) the liquid fuel and helps to mix with the
flowing air.
• Atomization process  Increases the surface area of liquid fuel thereby increases the fuel evaporation rate
• Smaller the fuel droplets  Faster the evaporation rate
• Typical droplets size are in the range 50 – 100 microns.

Aircraft Engines (AE 242)

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
 Combustor
Some practical problems – Fuel injection
• The main purpose of fuel injection is to prepare the fuel-air mixture suitable for the combustion process.
• The fuel injection system atomizes (converts the bulk liquid into tiny droplets) the liquid fuel and helps to mix with the
flowing air.
• Atomization process has a dominant role in the engine performance characteristics.
• Affects the combustion process and its stability significantly.
• Poor atomization leads to ignition problems.
• It plays a significant role in the pollutant emission levels.

Aircraft Engines (AE 242)

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
 Combustor
Some practical problems – Fuel injection
• The main purpose of fuel injection is to prepare the fuel-air mixture suitable for the combustion process.
• The fuel injection system atomizes (converts the bulk liquid into tiny droplets) the liquid fuel and helps to mix with the
flowing air.
• Atomization process has a dominant role in the engine performance characteristics.
• Atomizer (the hardware which atomizes the bulk fuel) design process helps to control the atomization process as per the
engine requirements.
• Major atomization characteristics
• Discharge coefficient – Provide details about the flow loss occurring inside the orifice.
• Spray cone angle – One of the parameter to influence chamber design. Wider cone angle helps the mixing
process between the fuel and oxidizer.
• Liquid mass distribution – A measure of fuel distribution over a cross section
• Size and velocity distribution of spray droplets – Most influencing parameter from combustion considerations

Aircraft Engines (AE 242)

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
 Combustor
Some practical problems – Fuel injection
• The main purpose of fuel injection is to prepare the fuel-air mixture suitable for the combustion process.
• The fuel injection system atomizes (converts the bulk liquid into tiny droplets) the liquid fuel and helps to mix with the
flowing air.
• Atomization process has a dominant role in the engine performance characteristics.
• Atomizer (the hardware which atomizes the bulk fuel) design process helps to control the atomization process as per the
engine requirements.
• Major atomization characteristics
• Degree of atomization (quality of atomization) – Expressed in terms of a mean droplet diameter, Sauter mean diameter
(SMD), is the diameter of a drop having the same surface to volume ratio as the mean value for the entire spray. Lower
SMD, better the atomization quality.
• One of the commonly used atomizer in jet engines is duplex atomizer.

Aircraft Engines (AE 242)

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
 Combustor
Some practical problems – Fuel injection – Duplex atomizer
• Fuel is injected through two orifices – primary atomizer and main atomizer.
• Fuel is swirled in both the inner and outer atomizers.
• At normal working conditions, the fuel sprays from primary and main injectors mix and produce a combined feel spray.
• The combined spray again atomized by the air flowing through the outer most orifice and thereby develops a finely
atomized spray which is suitable for combustion.
• Primary injector
• Lower range of flow rate.
• Injector design is such that the spray is fully atomized even at low fuel rate conditions.
• Mainly used during starting conditions.
• Main injector
• Wide range of fuel flow rate conditions.
• Poor atomization quality at lower flow rate conditions. Atomization quality can be improved at lower flow rate
conditions with the additional primary fuel spray.
• Used is normal engine working conditions.

Aircraft Engines (AE 242)

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
 Combustor
Some practical problems – Fuel injection – Swirl atomizer
• Used in aircraft gas turbine engines.
• Major advantages
• Good mixing of fuel with the flowing air (due to the wide spray cone angle).
• Enhanced flammability limits for the combustion process (caused by the recirculation region formed at the axis).
• Good atomization quality at high flow rate conditions (due to the liquid film formation).
• Lower spray penetration (caused by low axial velocity of the spray droplets).

Aircraft Engines (AE 242)

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
 Combustor
Some practical problems – Fuel injection – Swirl atomizer
• Used in aircraft gas turbine engines.
• Major advantages
• Principle of operation
• Swirl motion is imparted in the upstream region of fuel orifice. It is done either by passing the liquid through
tangential orifices or helical flow passages.
• The swirling motion makes the liquid to confine to the walls of the spray chamber and creates an aircore in the
spray axis region.
• At the orifice exit, the swirling liquid diverges (due to the centrifugal force) out in the form thin liquid film.
• The liquid film disintegrates and produces droplets.

Spray nozzle with helical swirler

Aircraft Engines (AE 242)

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
 Combustor
Some practical problems – Fuel injection – Swirl atomizer
• Used in aircraft gas turbine engines.
• Major advantages
• Principle of operation
• Evolution of spray with increasing mass flow rate
• Dripping motion – At very low flow rate condition
• Onion stage – The diverged liquid film converges again due to the surface tension forces.
• Tulip stage – A fully developed liquid film is seen and the film disintegrates into droplets at a location far away
from the orifice exit. Results in coarse spray (larger sized spray droplets).
• Fully developed spray – No clear liquid film is seen at the orifice exit. Droplets are seen very next to the orifice
exit.

Aircraft Engines (AE 242)

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science
 Combustor
Some practical problems – Fuel injection – Swirl atomizer
• Used in aircraft gas turbine engines.
• Major advantages
• Principle of operation
• Evolution of spray with increasing mass flow rate
• Spray characteristics
• Discharge coefficient of the atomizer
• Breakup length of the swirling liquid film
• Liquid mass distribution of the fuel spray
• Spray cone angle
• Drop size distribution of the spray

Aircraft Engines (AE 242)

Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science