Numerical Simulation of Inter-Turbine Burner (ITB) Flows With the Inclusion of V-Gutter Flame Holders

Abstract

In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical simulation has been performed to study the complex reactive flows during the combustion in an inter-turbine burner (ITB) with the inclusion of V-gutter flame holders. The ITB configuration, which has straight radial vanes (SRV), was based on the innovative, high efficiency, high-g Ultra-Compact Combustor (UCC) concept developed at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The V-gutter’s angle of attack was varied from −10 to 10 degrees at fixed JET-A fuel and air injections. The turbulent flow in the ITB was modeled with a RANS-based realizable k-ε turbulence model, while the spray combustion is modeled with an eddy-dissipation model on an unstructured grid. Numerical results indicate that the V-gutter not only generates vortices behind itself, but also alters the turbulent flow feature and mixing behavior between main air flow and the circumferential and SRV cavity flows within the ITB. The exit temperature profile of the ITB can be modified substantially by the inclusion of the V-gutters at different angle of attack. The additional pressure drop incurred by the addition of the V-gutter was found to be less that 1%. Details of the vane cavity dynamics and increased entrainment physics are also discussed in the paper.