Modeling parameter influences in gas turbine combustor design

Abstract

Complementary to the lengthy and costly experimental approach to gas turbine combustor development is the theoretical approach. In order to advance the combustor design process, a computer program is needed which starts from hypotheses about the fundamental processes and predicts the distributions of velocity, concentrations, and temperature. Consideration is given in this paper to recent work in the development and application of a primitive-variable finite-differ ence solution procedure for turbulent, reacting, swirling, recirculating flows in axisymmetric combustors. The principal interest is on application of the analysis to gas turbine combustors and on demonstration of the utility and predictive capability of the code as an aid in combustor design.