Abstract
Instead of simplified steady-state models, with modern computers, one can solve the complete aero-thermodynamics happening in gas turbine engines. In the present article, we describe a mathematical model and numerical procedure to represent the transient response of a PT6A gas turbine engine operating at off-design conditions. The aero-thermal model consists of a set of algebraic and ordinary differential equations that arise from the application of the mass, linear momentum, angular momentum and energy balances in each engine’s component. The solution code has been developed in Matlab-Simulink® using a block-oriented approach. Transient simulations of the PT6A engine start-up have been carried out by changing the original Jet-A1 fuel with biodiesel blends. Time plots of the main thermodynamic variables are shown, especially those regarding the structural integrity of the burner. Numerical results have been validated against reported experimental measurements and GasTurb® simulations. The computer model has been capable to predict acceptable fuel blends, such that the real PT6A engine can be substituted to avoid the risk of damaging it.
Highlights
The necessary thrust that is required for an aircraft to provide lift is commonly supplied by a heat engine
We develop a gas-dynamical model for describing the thermo-fluidic phenomena present in each gas turbine engine’s component
We have developed a functional PT6A-65 engine computer model, which can be used for purposes of testing off-design operating conditions with blends of biodiesel fuel
Summary
The necessary thrust that is required for an aircraft to provide lift is commonly supplied by a heat engine. One of the most important features of gas turbine engines is that, contrary to reciprocating engines, separate sections of the engine are devoted to the intake, compression, combustion, power conversion and exhaust processes. The conceptual description of the gas turbine engine’s response is complex; it involves the approximation from very different engineering disciplines: Aerodynamics, Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Structural Analysis, Materials Science and Mechanical Design. In all those fields the mathematical modeling of a gas turbine engine is constructed by applying the mass, energy and momentum balances over the most representative solid and fluid elements of the engine. The overall result of this modeling process gives a set of several partial differential equations whose solution is the spatial and temporal
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