Aerodynamic Performance of an Annular Combustion Chamber Cooling with Swirler Design

Abstract

Gas turbines play a crucial role in the aviation industry as they are primary sources of power for most aircraft. The combustion chamber is one of the three essential part of jet engines, together with compressor and turbine. Energy is generated when fuel is burned in the combustor. In the primary zone, the recirculation flow is of great importance to aerodynamic performance. Swirlers, fitted in the dome around the fuel injector, can alter the behavior of the recirculation flow and thus, impact combustion performance. The vortex behind a swirler can be easily controlled by changing the swirl angle. In addition, changing the vortex angle leads to a difference in mixing between fuel and air. This paper investigates the effects of swirler design, based on the swirl angle, on aerodynamic performance of an annular combustion chamber in cooling condition using three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the SST turbulence model.