Determining the influence of compressor flow path abrasive wear on the gas turbine engine characteristics

Abstract

The operation of a gas turbine engine (GTE) in a dusty atmosphere leads to wear of the elements of the flowing part and, as a result, to a deterioration in its parameters and characteristics. Helicopter and tank gas turbine engines operating in a dusty atmosphere, as well as gas turbine units of compressor stations operated in areas with high dust concentrations, are subjected to the greatest wear. When operating GTE under such conditions, the compressor is subjected to stronger wear. In this regard, the task addressed in this paper is determining the effect of abrasive wear of the compressor on GTE parameters. To this end, a method for calculating the GTE characteristics is built, making it possible to take into account the effect of abrasive wear of the flow path and blade crowns of the compressor. Underlying the calculation method is a nonlinear mathematical model that makes it possible to describe the processes occurring in individual nodes and in the engine as a whole under stationary modes. A feature of this method is the two-dimensional description of the compressor in the engine system. The method reported here makes it possible to quickly estimate the effect of deviation of the geometric parameters of the flow path from the rated values on the characteristics of the compressor and engine as a whole. The geometric parameters of the degraded-out axial compressor were simulated on the basis of wear data. The parameters and characteristics of the degraded-out compressor, as well as the gas turbine engine as a whole, were calculated. It was found that with a given wear of the flow path of the compressor, the specific power of the engine decreased by 7.5 % while specific fuel consumption increased by 6.4 %, and the stability margin decreased by 11.1 % compared to the original ones. The results could be used to analyze and predict the operational efficiency of engines when they operate under conditions of high dustiness.