CHAPTER

5
COMBUSTOR

DESIGN

by Jerry O. Melconian and Ashok T. Modak

3.3

CONTENTS

1.0
2.0

3.0

..........................
. .. . . .
.. .
...

5-2
5-5
5-5
5-5
5-6

.. .

.......

5-7
5-7
5-8
5-8
5-9

.............

5-9

Nomenclature
Introduction
.. . .
. . . . . .
2.1
Background
Operating Conditions .
2.2
Today's Requirements
2.3
2.4
The Combustion ChamberFirst Principles
2.4.1 Combustion Zone.
2.4.2 Dilution Zone
2.4.3 Wall Cooling
Combustor Configurations
3.1
Combustors Classified
by Geometry
3.1.1 Multi-Can
Combustors
3.1.2 Annular
Combustors
3.1. 3 Can -Annular
Combustors
3.1.4 Single Can
Combustors
3.2
Combustors Classified
by Air Distribution
3.2.1 Straight- Through
Combustors
3.2.2 Reverse Flow
Combustors
3.2.3 Regenerative
Combustors
3.2.4 Single Vortex
Combustors
3.2.5 Two-Stage
Combustors
3.2.6 Variable Geometry
Combustors
3.2.7 Fully Premixed
Combustors
3.2.8 Catalytic
Combustors

4.0

...........

5.0
5-10

........

....... 5-10
..... 5-10
..... 5-10
....... 5-10

.......................

6.0

5-11

5-14

5-14

5-15
5-15
5-16
5-16
5-16
5-16
5-17
5-17

.. 5-18

5-10

5-14

...............

...........

5-9

5-14

..........

........... 5-14
... 5-15
......... 5-15

5-9

5-10

Combustors Classified
by Fuel Injection
3.3.1 Liquid Fuels Downstream
Injection
3.3.2 Slinger-Type
Fuel Injection
3.3.3 Two-Fluid
Atomizers
3.3.4 Vaporizers
3.3.5 Gaseous Fuels
3.3.6 Liquid - Gaseous
System
The Design Method
4.1
Combustor Performance
4.1.1 Combustion
Efficiency
4.1. 2 Pressure Drop
4.1. 3 Temperature
Profile
4.1.4 Stability Limits
4.1. 5 Altitude Limits
Design Specifications
4.2
4.3
Design Sequence
Selection of Combustor Type
Introduction
5.1
5.2
Aircraft Systems
5.3
Industrial and Other
Engines
5.3.1 Small Units
(Includes Automotive and APU
Applications)
5.3.2 Medium and Large
Units
The Fuel Injection System
6.1
Introduction
6.2
Selection of Fuel
Injection System
Combustor Dimensions
7.1
Determination of
Reference Area
7.1.1 Aerodynamic
Considerations

7.0

.............
....................
..............
................

5-18
5-18
5-19
5-19
5-19
5-20
5-20

5-20
5-20
5-22
5-22
5-22
5-23
5-23
5-23
5-1

CHAPTER 5

8.0
9.0
10.0

11.0

12.0
13.0

14.0

15.0

16.0
5-2

Chemical
CCombustion)
5-23
Considerations
7.2
Determination of
5-25
Combustor Area
7. 3
Selection of Appropriate
Casing and Combustor
5-27
Areas ...............
7.4
Preliminary Estimate of
Remaining Features of
5-28
Combustor
5-29
Diffuser Design
5-33
Swirier Design
Calculation of Flame
5-35
Temperature ..
5-35
10. 1 Recirculation Zone
10. 2 Remainder of Primary
Zone
. 5-36
10. 3 Secondary Zone
Temperature .
5-36
10.4
Dilution Zone
Temperature
5-36
10.5
The Equivalent Gas
Temperature Adjacent
5-36to the Film Tg
Heat Transfer to Combustor
Walls
. 5-36
11. 1 Uncooled Wall
Temperature
5-36
11 . 2 Film Cooling
5-37
11 . 2. 1 Film Cooling
Calculations
5-38
5-42
Design of Air Admission Holes
Ignition Considerations
5-45
13 . 1 Selection of Igniter
Type ...............
5-46
13 . 2 Igniter Location
5- 46
Performance and Pollutant
Predictions
5 -46
14.1
Combustion Efficiency)
Stability and Ignition 5 - 46
14.2
Pollutant Prediction
(with no Test Data
Available)
5-48
14.2.1
Carbon Monoxide 5-48
14.2.2 Hydrocarbons 5 -48
14.2.3
Carbon and Smoke
Formation
5- 50
14.2.4 Oxides of
Nitrogen (NOx) 5-51
14.2.5
Oxides of Sulfur- 5-53
14 . 2 ..6 Ash.
5- 53
A Review of Modeling
Techniques
5 - 54
15. 1 Zero - Dimensional Models 5 - 54
15. 2 One -Dimensional Models 5 - 55
15. 3 Two -Dimensional Models 5 - 56
15 .4 Three -Dimensional
Models
5- 56
References
5- 57

ABSTRACT

7 . 1. 2

The combustor is likely to be the life -Iirniting

component of a modern, high compression ratio
gas turbine engine. Durable, high performance
engines require superior combustor designs.
The present work surveys the state of the art of
combustor design. The aim here is to provide
information for producing designs which require
minimum development time. As such, the emphasis is on the practical rather than theoretical
aspects of combustor design. Basic design principles and performance constraints are discussed [1] and the various combustor configurations are surveyed. Criteria for selecting a suitable combustor configuration and fuel injection
system are examined, followed by design calculations for the dimensions of the casing, the liner, the diffuser, and the swirlers. Calculations
of gas temperatures in the various zones of the
combustor and liner wall temperatures in the
presence of film cooling are performed along
with design calculations for the dimensions of
the air admission holes. Criteria for selecting
the type of igniter and its location are analyzed,
followed by calculations for combustor performance and pollutants emitted from the combustor.
The present work concludes with a brief review of
theoretical modeling techniques.
1.0 NOMENCLATURE
Symbol
A

Name
Area Cft2; m2)
Cross-sectional area of flame tube
(liner) (ft 2; m 2)

Aref

Maximum casing cross-sectional

Cft2; m2)

area

AR

Area ratio

A/F

Air-to-fuel

Blockage factor

Inlet temperature factor (deg R; deg K)

E/R

mass ratio

(deg R;

deg K)

Heat transferred by convection to inner

flame tube surf ace CBtul (s . ft 2) ;
Wm-2)
Heat abstracted by convection from
outer flame tube surface CBtul (s . ft 2) ;
Wm-2)
Coefficient of discharge

COMBUSTOR
m*

Ratio-moles

Mass flow (lbm/s ; kg-s-1)

Empirical constant

Number

Diameter,

Reaction order

Dref

Maximum casing diameter or width

Total pressure (Ibflft2

Pa)

DZ

Dilution

Cd ,s

Coefficient

of discharge of snout

C/H

Carbon-to-hydrogen

D*

mass ratio

usually casing (ft ; m)

(ft ; m)

usually flame tube (ft;

Hydraulic mean diameter,

flame tube (ft; m)
Hole diameter
Activation
J/(mol-

(ft ; m)

or psi or atm;

PZ

Primary zone

Static pressure (Ibflft 2; Pa)

Dynamic pressure (Ibflft 2; Pa)

Universal gas constant [Btul (lb

mole - R); J - mol- lK-l)

energy [Btul (lb mol- R) ;

K)]

EI
FAR

Fuel/air

Reaction order in fuel

Rate constants

Velocity correction

Hole pressure loss factor

(Pan - Pi) Iqan

m)

usually

Emission index (g/kg fuel)

oxygen

Pressure ratio

zone

Diameter,

inerts/moles

Heat transferred by radiation to inner

surface of flame tube wall
(Btul (s - ft 2); W -m - 2)

mass ratio
Heat lost through radiation from outer
surface of flame tube wall
(Btul (s - ft 2); W -m - 2)
Gas constant for air [Btul (lbm - R) ;
J - kg-1K-l]

factor
=

Radius of soot particle

(ft ; m)

SZ

Secondary zone

Heat transferred by conduction across

flame tube wall (Btul (s -ft2) ; W -m - 2)

T'
g

Equivalent hot gas temperature

A constant used in swirler blade design

T.Q.

Traverse quality

Thermal conductivity
W-m-1-K-l)

Temperature

Time (s ; s)

tw

Wall thickness

(ft;

U,u

Velocity

m-s-1)

Mean velocity over an area

(ftl s ; m - s - 1)

Volume (ft3;

[Btul (s - ft - R) ;

(R; K)

(R; K)

.Any constant

Length

Length of combustion

Lu

Luminosity factor

m)

(ft ; m)

Radiation

(ft/s;

zone (ft ; m)

beam length (ft ; m)

m 3)

In

Logarithm to base e

Reference velocity

log

Logarithm to base 10

Slot gap width (ft ; m)

MC

Molecular

Film cooling correlation group (ftm-O.2)

weight of carbon
kg -mol- 1)

(lbm/Tb - mole;

(ft/s;

m - s-1)

.2;

5-3

CHAPTER 5
x

Mass percent of sulphur in fuel

(02/Fuel)

Distance

Kinetic fuel loading [Ibm/' (s - ft 3atmn) ;

kg-s-1m-3Pa-n]

Rate constant ratio

A parameter

Hole area ratio = Ah/ Aan

(ft ; m)

Angle of divergence between wall and

axis (degrees; degrees (or rad) )

Swirler blade stagger angle (degrees;

degrees (or rad))
Hole bleed ratio
Psw

mh/man

Swirler - air turning

degrees (or rad))

angle

(degrees;

Surface oxidation rate [lbm/' (ft2 . s) ;

kgrn - 2s-1)

IT

Log log 1/7]

Difference

Subscripts

Pressure drop (Ibflft 2; Pa)

Overall
Pa)

total

pressure loss

(Ibflft2 ;

Diffuser total pressure loss (Ibflft2 ;

Pa)

act

Inner surface of flame tube wall

Compressor inlet,
flame tube wall

outer

surface

Diffuser inlet, chamber inlet

of

Flame tube total pressure loss (Ibflft2 ;

Pa)

Turbine inlet

Air, annulus

Momentum loss factor

an

Annu1us

Emissivity

Coolant,

Oxygen consumption efficiency

CO

Carbon monoxide

7]

Efficiency,

diff

Diffuser

7]c

Film cooling efficiency

Theta parameter
[lbf1.75
-s/(lbm/ft.75);
kgO.75m-s-3.5]

Equivalent - usually refers to aerodynamic equivalents due to discharge

coefficients

F, f

Fuel

Dynamic viscosity (lbm/' (ft - s}; Pa- s)

ft

Flame tube, combustor

Hole area ratio

Hot gas

Density

Flame tube-total

Stefan - Boltzmann constant

[Btu/ (s . ft 2R 4); W m - 2K - 4]

Hole

ha

Hydraulic diameter-annulus

Time, usually of residence (s ; s)

he

Hydraulic diameter-coolant

HC

Hydrocarbons

usually of combustion

(lbm/ft 3; kg- m - 3)

Jet penetration
grees (or rad))

angle

(degrees;

Equivalence ratio (02/Fuel)

5-4

cooling

de-

stoic :

Hydrogen

open hole area

film

COMBUSTOR
r,i

Inner

Inlet

area. A number of examples of this basic conflict

are as follows:

Oxides of nitrogen
Outer

(sometimes refers to origin)

Outlet

Primary zone
Pertaining

to rich mixture

ef

Reference, usually place of maximum

cross - sectional area

tZ

Recirculation

zone

The mixing within the combustor can be increased to improve the uniformity of the
exit temperature distribution at the expense
of increasing either the pressure loss or
the combustor length.
Emissions of nitrogen oxides and smoke
can be reduced by designing for a lean
combustion zone. However, doing so results in decreased ignition performance,
turndown ratio, and combustion efficiency.
The frontal area of the combustor can be
increased to improve combustion efficiency and flame stability, but this leads to a
larger and heavier configuration which becomes more difficult to cool.

Snout
t

Stoichiometric

Swirler

;Z

Secondary zone
Sulfur dioxide
Wall

'I

Pertaining

to weak mixtures

2.0 INTRODUCTION
. I Background
gas turbine combustor is a device for raismg
~e temperature of the incoming air stream by
e addition and combustion of fuel. In serving
.is purpose, the combustor must satisfy many
ifferent requirements. It must be capable of iniating ignition easily and must operate stably
ver a wide range of conditions. At all operating
oints, it must provide for essentially complete
bmbustion of the fuel while minimizing the forlation and emission of undesirable pollutants.
o avoid damaging the turbine, sufficient mixing
ust be achieved in the combustor to obtain an
pceptably uniform exit gas temperature distrition. The combustor must also operate with as
w a pressure loss as practical to maintain high
O'er
all cycle efficiency. Finally, all of these
nctions must be performed in a configuration
hich has a minimum size, weight, and cost,
id which is sufficiently durable to achieve an
:ceptable operating life.
In many respects,
these requirements are
utually incompatible.
Achieving an improveent in one aspect of performance very often
quires a corresponding sacrifice in some other

These are typical considerations in the design

and development of a combustor for any given
application. Thus, achieving a successful combustor configuration involves trade-offs among
the various relevant design and performance criteria until the optimum compromise has been
reached, which best satisfies all of the imposed
specifications and constraints.
2.2 Operating Conditions
In the open-cycle gas turbine, fuel is burned
continuously under pressure to heat air to moderate temperatures. The combustor is essentially a direct-fired air heater in which fuel is burned
with less than one third of the air; the combustion products are then mixed with the remaining
air to arrive at a specified temperature distribution at the turbine inlet.
Combustor inlet temperature depends upon
engine pressure ratio and load, varying from
about 394 to 789 K (250 to 960 F) in various nonregenerative engines. With regeneration, combustor-inlet temperatures may be 644 to 1033 K
(700 to 1400 F). Combustor outlet temperatures
range from about 922 to 1255 K (1200 to 1800 F)
for heavy-duty industrial turbines, and from 1061
to 1644 K (1450 to 2500 F) for aircraft-type engines. Engines utilizing combustor outlet temperatures in the range of 1644 to 1922 K (2500 to
3000 F) are under development.
Combustor pressures for full-load operation
vary from about 310 kPa (45 psia) for small,
simple engines, to as much as 3.1 MPa (450
psia) in complex engines. The mass flow of air
through a combustor varies as a function of
load, but the static pressure varies similarly so
that the volumetric air flow rate is nearly constant. This leads to the important concept that
the gas turbine combustor operates with nearly
constant air velocities at all loads, and the use
5-5

CHAPTER 5
of velocity is a highly useful combustor design
criterion.
Fuel rates vary with load, and wide ranges are
encountered in aircraft applications, leading to
the need for fuel atomizers having a flow range
as great as 100: 1. However, the range of variation of fuel- air ratio is narrow (less than 3: 1) ,
which simplifies combustor design.
Figure 1 shows the relationship between combustor pressure, combustor fuel- air ratio, temperature rise,
altitude,
engine speed,
and
thrust for steady-state operation of a turbojet engine with a pressure ratio of 5. It is evident that
the combustor pressure varies widely with both
engine speed, and altitude. The fuel- air ratio
varies by a factor of 2 from idling to full load.
Other turbojet engines would have similar characteristics, differing in combustor pressures and
turbine rotational speeds. The effect of flight
speed is to raise combustor pressure with increasing Mach number, displacing the curves of
Fig. 1 upward. Another effect is to raise combustor inlet temperature without permitting an
increase in outlet temperature, thereby reducing
maximum temperature rise and fuel-air ratio. An
industrial turbine of similar pressure ratio operating at fixed altitude, would operate similarly,
80r---------------,----,r----;

70

60
.~
a.

'"
~
::J
'"'"

.,

e
2

0..

'"

::J
.c

50

40

30

E
0

20

10

0
400

800
Combustor
I

0.008

1000

Temperature

0.012

Approximate

Fuel/Air

1200
Rise,

0.016

1400

F
I

0020

Ratio

Figure 1. Relation of Combustor

Temperature Rise and Fuel- Air Ratio to
Pressure, Engine Speed, Altitude, and
Thrust For a Turbojet Engine [96]

5-6

following an appropriate constant-altitude curve

on Fig. 1.
During transient operation, fuel- air ratios may
vary significantly from steady-state ratios. On
lightoff , and during acceleration, higher fuel-air
ratios and greater jemperature
rise are required. On deceleration, conditions may be appreciably leaner. A combustor which can operate over a wide range of mixtures without blowout
simplifies engine controls,
as scheduling of
changes in fuel rate is less critical. Operating
conditions for various types of engines are discussed in more detail in [2-13].
2.3 Today' s Requirements
The many applications of gas turbines include
aircraft, automo biles, ships, hovercraft, electric generators,
pipeline compressors,
and
pumps. The combustor designer has to solve the
problems of stability, ignition, durability, exit
temperature distribution, and cost. In addition,
high priority is now given to the problems of
emissions and alternate fuel utilization.
In aircraft engine combustors, the aim is towards a reduction of pollutant emissions while
using fuels with relaxed specifications. The relaxations will probably be brought about by the
increasing scarcity of existing aircraft fuels within the next decade , forcing the blending of existing fuels and their gradual replacement with synthetic fuels. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) will remain the most difficult pollutant to control. With
the tendency for some aircraft to operate at
higher altitudes (in the interests of fuel economy
and probable traffic density), demands will be
made for less and less NOx emissions. Attempts
to reduce the NOx emissions have met with some
success, using devices such as air blast atomization' two-stage combustors, etc. But NOx
emissions are still considered to be excessive,
and serious consideration is being given to the
use of premixed, prevaporized combustors, with
or without variable geometry.
For marine purposes, as with aircraft, the
fuels which will be used within the next decade
will probably have some change in specification.
An increased aromatic content is anticipated,
and this may well result in higher wall temperatures, due to increased flame radiation and the
possibility of carbon deposition, unless a modified design is achieved.
For ground transportation, especially for military application, the trend is to introduce multifuel combustors.
The restriction in the supplies of natural gas
and low-ash distillate fuels has promoted interest
in other possible fuels for stationary industrial gas
turbines.
These fuels are heavy distillates,
crudes, residuals and blends, medium and low
Btu gases and, in the longer term, dual systems

COMBUSTOR
involving partial coal gasification. Along with this
demand for multi-fuel application, there is a requirement (dictated by the need for improved efficiency) for higher turbine inlet temperatures.
Often, the various conflicting requirements
placed on the combustor can only be resolved by
specialized designs. Nevertheless, all combustor designs have to meet the following basic
requirements:
1. Maximum flame stability at all operating
conditions
2. A high combustion efficiency at all conditions
3. Minimum pollutant formation at all conditions
4. Minimum
pressure loss commensurate
with operation and performance
5. Satisfactory ignition and relight at altitude,
as well as ground starting at low temperatures
6. A satisfactory outlet temperature distribution tailored to the demands of the turbine
7. Absence of smoke and solids from the exhaust, as well as deposits in the combustor
8. Minimum manufacturing cost, size, and
weight for the particular application
9. A long operating life
10. Ease of maintenance
The priority given to each of the above requirements will vary with the intended engine application. For example, minimum size and weight are
more important in an aircraft engine than in an
industrial engine. Similarly, long life is more import ant in an industrial engine than in an aircraft
engine for military applications.
2.4 The Combustion Chamber-First Principles
Although the early combustors were derived by
empirical techniques, it is possible to demonstrate the fundamental reasoning behind the development. The general approaches are presented in [14].
2 .4 . 1 Combustion Zone
In a combustor the flame is stabilized by recirculation of hot combustion products. This means
that the fresh combustibles are vitiated by the
returned products at the instant of ignition. Thus,
the rate of combustion (and stability) are influenced by a tradeoff between temperature rise and
vitiation necessitating a successful compromise.
If one assumes an ignition temperature around
1500 K (2240 F) , an ignition mixture of about one
part combustibles to 0.2 parts burnt products
(i , e., a recirculation ratio of about 0.2) is implied. The highest laminar flame speed (at 300
K) of the fuel is about 0.4 mls (1.5 ft/s). Although flame speed increases as the inlet tem-

perature increases, it never approaches the

mean gas velocity within the combustor. Turbulent flame speeds are somewhat higher, but not
significantly so. Hence, there is a need for a
stabilizing region which provides a sheltered
wake for ignition and flame propagation.
The simplest way of stabilizing a flame is to
utilize a simple baffle, Fig. 2B. Its chief defect is
that the only method for transfer of flow into the
wake is by the diffusion of turbulent eddies
across across the boundary streamline. A second defect is that it creates a series of shedding
vortices, but this latter problem may be offset by
the introduction of a secondary baffle, Fig. 2C.
As indicated in Fig. 2D, the two baffles may be
replaced by a series of holes which admit air in a
way that promotes recirculation. In fact, this
provides stronger recirculation although there is
still instability due to fluid dynamic effects. In
industrial boiler furnaces, a swirler is used to
stabilize flames. If such a device is incorporated
into the previous system, then the resulting recirculating flow pattern is strengthened and stabilized. The resulting configuration, Fig. 2E,
closely resembles that of a conventional primary
zone, Fig. 2F.
The circular symmetry developed with the
flame stabilizer lends itself to the use of a conical
fuel spray. The cone angle is capable of being
varied ovet a wide range, but experience has
shown that, for most purposes, an angle between 90 and 120 is best suited to the chamber configuration. For the early engines a simple atomizer proved satisfactory. As operating
conditions were widened, it became necessary
0

OitfuSMJn alone

Added Secondary Baffle

Holes & SWider

OiftUStOli

& Baftle

F Represent.lllve

PrlOl.lry

Zcoe

Figure 2. Evolution of Primary Zone

5-7

CHAPTER 5
to replace this with a dual injection system having a pilot flow for weak mixture, low fuel-flow
operation, and a main high-flow injector for fullload operation. It is only recently that other designs of injectors have been shown to be beneficial to combustor operation.
One of the major problems was to decide on
the amount of air which should be admitted to the
primary zone (PZ) . Initially, the air was added in
stoichiometric amounts, but experience showed
that better combustion occurred when the mixture was slightly lean (A/F = 18/1). However,
this often resulted in flameout and ignition problems at high altitudes. To overcome the ignition
problems the secondary zone (SZ) was created.
This enabled the primary zone to operate fuelrich with good stability and light-up, while the
secondary zone functioned as a region where the
primary zone gases were diluted to a lean mixture for completing combustion prior to the dilution zone (DZ). The primary and secondary
zones together comprised the combustion zone.
In summary, the primary zone serves to:

Evaporate the fuel and diffuse it with the air

to form a combustible mixture
Provide a sheltered recirculation zone
where the combustible mixture is ignited
and stabilized by means of recirculation of
some of the hot products
Burn enough mixture to ensure nearly
complete burnout in the secondary zone
(the efficiency of the primary zone varies
from about 40%at idle to about 80%at full
load)

The function of the secondary zone is to take

the hot gases leaving the primary zone and, by
gradual admission of air, accomplish maximum
combustion within a minimum distance.
2.4.2 Dilution Zone
The function of the dilution zone is to reduce the
bulk temperature of the gas to a level acceptable
to the nozzle guide vanes and the turbines. This
mixing of the hot and cold gases has to be accomplished in a minimum distance and with the
lowest possible pressure loss. Despite much research, the understanding of dilution mixing is
still incomplete. Most combustors still have their
dilution regions designed on an empirical basis
rather than on a fundamental design philosophy.
The mean turbine inlet temperature is determined by the required life of the nozzle guide
vanes and the turbine blades. Significant departures from this requirement can result in premature failure. Generally, the designer of the
dilution zone is required to ensure a satisfactory
radial and circumferential profile.
The traverse quality (T. Q .) is often defined
5-8

as:

TO=~~~~_~~~E~r~~~re=Me~~_~~~perature
Mean Temperature R1se
x 100
For aircraft combustors values of T. Q. = 25%
are generally acceptable; for industrial combustors T. Q. = 10%is a requirement.
The peak temperature generally affects the life
of the nozzle guide vanes. The turbine blades
have their life more closely defined by the radial
temperature distribution, since the rapid rotation
of the turbine ensures that the blades "see" only
a radial profile. As a rule, this profile must be
tailored such that the turbine blades are cooler
at the roots than the tips, thereby minimizing
thermal stress.
2. 4 . 3 Wall Cooling
The early gas turbine engines operated with low
compressor exit temperature and low turbine inlet temperature. These conditions, together with
a low combustor loading, meant that the combustor was not the life-limiting component of the
engine. As the compression ratio increased and
higher turbine inlet temperatures became possible, the combustor wall temperatures correspondingly increased and began to limit combustor life.
To reduce combustor wall temperatures, film
cooling was introduced. The earliest form guided
cold air through a number of small drilled holes at
a local hot spot. More general cooling requirements were met by introducing splash cooling
devices, Fig. 3A, and later wigglestrips, Fig. 3B.
The latter showed superior cooling performance
and material strength [15] . In recent years, other
devices, e .g. machined rings, Fig. 3C , and
forced convective cooling have been introduced
for longer combustor life.

Figure 3. Film Cooling Devices

COMBUSTOR
The continual increase in combustor gas temperatures has demanded that more and more of
the total combustor air be utilized for film cooling. This can result in some reduction in overall
combustion performance due to:

An increased possibility of flame quenching near the combustor walls (resulting in

increased pollutants)
Less air available for effective dilution (resulting in high temperature distribution at
the outlet)
A reduction in primary zone performance

Figure 4 identifies the various zones and subzones within the combustor, together with typical
flow patterns and air/fuel distributions. For any
given combustor, both the sizes of the zones and
the air/fuel distributions will depend on the function of the combustor and the preferences of the
designer. One result of this is the proliferation of
combustor types, which are only superficially
dissimilar.
3.0 COMBUSTOR CONFIGURATIONS
To define a combustor, it is necessary to specify
three principal design features:

The inefficient use of the frontal area

available for combustion (which could result in a longer combustor)
The requirement for interconnectors for
ignition purposes
The likelihood of requiring a higher pressure loss

3 . 1.2 Annular Combustors

Annular combustors appear to have all the advantages. First, they make use of the entire
available combustion space (after allowance for
the shaft). Second, with the use of axial discharge cornpressors , the discharge is already
annular in form. Third, there is no need for
transition prior to delivery at the turbine. One
might also expect some savings in pressure
loss, but this is generally negated due to the
mismatch of the annular geometry with the fuel
injectors. Thus, if a good exhaust traverse quality is demanded, then additional pressure loss is
required to overcome the uneven pattern of
gases leaving the primary zone. Sometimes attempts are made to overcome this mismatching
by the use of fan sprays or similar devices. If the
engine is large, and if it has a high compression
ratio, the material thicknesses needed to overcome the strength problems may result in a system heavier than a corresponding tubo-system.

1. Geometric classification
2. Classification by air distribution
3. Classification by type of fuel injection

~
I
:

However, even this triple identification is

sometimes insufficient for a combustor for special applications.

COMBUSTION-t-

I:

**

0.3

**

<%l

0.2

2600
2300 12600 2300I 1700 800 NAX
2200
1100: 1900 950\ 1500 700 MEAN T
800
300 11100 450 I 1300 550 NIN. [K]
--1-1--lOa
100 100 100: 100 100 NAX. 71

. 7~ 4~: ~~
I

~~!::
:~
:~~N
["!oJ

T3 = BOOK
980'F

**T3=300K
80'F

The need for transition pieces from the

compressor to the combustor, and from
the latter to the turbine

:
!

0.4

2
0.5
0.1

I
I

3. 1 Combustors Classified by Geometry

There are four major geometries of combustors-multi-can,
annular, can-annular
and single
can as shown in Figs. 5 to 8. Variable geometry
combustors, and those employing staged combustion' represent specific cases of the above
types.
3.1.1 Multi-Can Combustors
The multi-can,
(or tubo-system) , has the advantages that the combustor geometry corres.ponds to the fuel injection geometry and that
damage to a single combustor does not necessitate replacement of the entire system. A further
advantage is that development work may be carried out using a single combustor, thereby requiring only a sixth or less of the total air flow,
which reduces development costs. The main
disadvantages are:

DILUTION---j

PRIMARY ISECONDARYI DILUTION

ZONE
I
ZONE I
ZONE

P3

= 2.5 MPo
365 psio

P3=150kPO
22 psio

Figure 4. Combustion Chamber Schematic

5-9

CHAPTER 5
such small dimensions that the performance of
the chamber would be adversely affected due to
the proximity of the combustor walls.
3 .2 Combustors Classified by Air
Distribution
3 .2. I Straight -Through Combustors
These may be regarded as the typical combustors in which the air proceeds in a direct line
from the compressor through the combustor to
the turbine. Figures 5 - 7 are examples of this
type. With this type of arrangement the air, after
diffusion, travels in only one direction and, in a
well designed combustor, at nearly uniform velocity. This minimizes air distribution problems.

Figure 5. Straight-Through Arrangement

Multi-Can System
3.1.3 Can-Annular Combustors
The can-annular
(tube-annular)
arrangement
attempts a compromise between the above arrangements and has both the good and bad features. However, its popularity is waning.
Experience has shown that many of the flame
characteristics approximate a linear scale. Thus,
the greater the number of fuel ports, the shorter
the flame. Hence, if for a specific purpose a very
short chamber is required, it is sometimes convenient to cluster the flame tubes. This is indicated
on Fig. 9, but it is really a specific type of multican arrangement. The disadvantages of clusters
are:

Some loss of stability

Manufacturing
complications
and the
matching of large numbers of fuel injectors
Possible deleterious effects at the walls
due to the small size of the individuai combustors

3 . I .4 Single Can Combustors

The single can combustor is most often found in
either industrial, or in very small engines. It is
simple to manufacture and maintain, and generally has a low cost fuel system. It has the added
advantage that it is easily replaced if an altern a tive fuel is required for which the original combustor would not be suitable. However, these
advantages are somewhat offset by the complicated flow path required to lead the hot gases to
the turbine. With large combustors of this type,
control of air distribution is sometimes difficult,
especially if a low pressure loss system is required. In the case of very small engines a
straight-through arrangement would necessitate
5-10

"

3 . 2 . 2 Reverse Flow Combustors

The main advantage of reverse flow combustors
is that they shorten the shaft length between the
compressor and the turbine. These combustors
can be folded over either the turbine or the compressor. An example is given in Fig. 10, which
illustrates an annular combustor folded over the
turbine and exhaust duct. Particular care must
be taken to obtain a satisfactory air distribution
with this type of combustor, although this style
can be less sensitive to a varying velocity profile
from the compressor than a straight-through
combustor.
3.2.3 Regenerative Combustors
In regenerative or recuperative engines, at
some downstream position, provision is made
for the hot exhaust gases to exchange heat with
the inlet gases to the combustor. This facilitates
the combustion process, but it is rarely possible
to feed the preheated inlet gases to the combustor in a straight-through manner. Usually, the
air flow ends up part straight-through, part reverse flow, and part cross flow. In this type of
combustor, the air distribution is often so poor
that ducts and liners have to be inserted at appropriate places. Added to the increased inlet
temperature of the combustion gases, this poor
distribution increases wall cooling difficulties.
However, if rotary regenerators are combined
with a can combustor, it is possible to obtain a
tolerable approach pattern.
3 .2.4 Single Vortex Combustors
Nearly all combustion systems have two recirculation regions but, from time to time configurations have been introduced in which only a single
vortex is induced within the primary zone. One of
the most interesting versions of this concept is
that of the LTS 101 engine models [16]. It is a
simple, inexpensive combustor which utilizes
only half the number of fuel injectors as the conventional combustor of the same duty. The flame
stabilization vortex is initiated perpendicular to

COMBUSTOR
trolled combustion zones. Originally, the concept was similar to that of cluster geometry: to
reduce flame length and thereby give rise to a
short (lightweight) engine. Currently the aim
has changed, so that the task of the modern
two-stage combustor is to reduce pollution at all
operating conditions. This may be .accomplished
in several ways. One way is to have a pilot zone
which burns very rich (say twice stoichiometric) . Under these conditions, the amount of NOx
formed is negligible. The rich hot gases then
pass into the second zone where enough additional air is admitted to ensure lean combustion.

the fuel injectors and flows away from each injector in both directions, carrying burning fuel in
the circumferential direction. Each end of the
vortex is aerodynamically forced to turn in the
axial direction. This gives rise to two secondary
vortices which complete the combustion prior to
being dissipated by the mixing jets in the conventional dilution zone, Fig. 11.
3.2.5 Two-Stage Combustors
The idea behind the two-stage combustion system is to have two (more in the case of a multistage system) separate,
independently conCOMBUSTION

flAME

OUTER

CASING

TUBE

/!~
HP

COMPRESSOR

GUIDE

OUTLET

VANES

"'=

,_"'=

COM8U~:~~~G'NNER

AIR

SPRAY FUEL INJECTOR

NOZZLE

CQMPRHSOR
MOUNTING

-=

CASING
FLANGE
fUEL MANIFOLD

Figure 6. Straight-Through
(Courtesy

Arrangement Annular System

of Rolls-Royce

Limited)

[19]

5-11

CHAPTER 5

OUTER AIR CASING

SWIRL YANES

Figure 7. Straight-Through
(Courtesy

Since a considerable portion of the fuel has already been consumed in the pilot zone, the time
for lean combustion is reduced and there is,
therefore, less formation of NOx than if the same
total fuel had been burned in a single stage.
In a second type, an attempt is made to control pollution in both stages. In the pilot zone,
combustion is arranged at an equivalence ratio
near unity when the engine is idling. This minimizes carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon production, the NOx being minimized by the low inlet
temperature and pressure associated with idling. At full load, both pilot and main zones are
designed to operate at weak mixture conditions
(say l = 0.7). With premixing, this results in
comparatively low temperatures and minimizes
5-12

Arrangement Can-Annular

of Rolls-Royce

Limited)

System

[19]

NOx. There are many possible variations of geometry; a typical one is shown in Fig. 12.
A particular form of two-stage combustor is
the "Vorbix" combustor conceived by Pratt &
Whitney under a NASA contract. The objective is
to provide a relatively long residence time at low
power settings to minimize carbon monoxide and
hydrocarbon emissions and to provide rapid
burning and quenching of the combustion reaction at high power levels thus minimizing the formation of NOx [17] . A sketch of the combustor is
giyen in Fig. 13. The pilot burner is a conventional swirl-stabilized, direct fuel injected combustor using 30 fuel injectors in an annular arrangement. It is sized to provide the required
heat release for idle operation at high efficiency,

COMBUSTOR
and operates at an equivalence ratio of about
idle. At take -off conditions, this value is
reduced to = 0.5, to minimize NOx formation.
At high power conditions, the main burner system is brought into operation. Either 30 or 60
main fuel injectors may be used, and dilution is
introduced through 60 swirlers positioned on
each side of the combustor. These entrain the
hot products from the pilot zone, providing partial premixing before auto-ignition of the main
fuel occurs. The main combustion occurs at the
interface of the swirling main burner jets and the
products from the pilot burner. This promotes
rapid combustion followed by rapid quenching,
which in turn reduces the formation of NOx'
Many variations of the design have been tried,
and the system has been well tested at conditions equivalent to the JT9D engine operating
conditions.

o . 7 at

Figure 10. Example of Reverse Flow

Annular Chamber
CombuslOf
Housing
Horseshoe
- Shaped
Mean Circulation Path

'0

<> <>

Figure 8. Combustor Arrangement Single

Can System [92]

Figure 11. Circumferentially Stirred

Combustor Flow Pattern
(Courtesy

of AVCO

Lycoming

Division)

[16]

:-::--::
0
~

Multo-C."
.,.

C"n .A"""w,
11-4

..... : .....
'

Figure 9. Combustion Liner Arrangements

Figure 12. Two-Stage

Combustor

5-13

CHAPTER 5

Cylindriul

M~in Air

Pi'ol

Swirlen

Zone

combustion. Such a system, combined with variable geometry so that combustion always occurs
at the optimum mixture ratio, provides optimum
combustion conditions (assuming that the normal
pressure loss restrictions apply). Premixing also
reduces the amount of heat transfer by flame radiation and improves dilution mixing, because the
gases leaving the primary zone are at a relatively
uniform temperature. It thus offers all the advantages needed for efficient and clean combustion.

Figure 13. "Vorbix" Combustor

(Courtesy

of Pratt and Whitney

Group)
[93]

Aircraft

3 .2.8 Catalytic Combustors

Recent studies have indicated that catalytic reactors might be used advantageously within gas
turbine engines. Such reactors may be used either in conjunction with the combustor or with an
afterburner. Their major function is to reduce
the pollutants emitted at the exhaust and to enable the system to burn weak mixtures.
The catalytic burner consists of three parts:
1. A means of vaporizing and premixing the
fuel before entering the reactor
2. The catalyst
3. A supporting substrate

Figure 14. Combustor with Variable

Geometry [18]
3 .2.6 Variable Geometry Combustors
An alternative to staging combustion is to have a
variable geometry component within the combustor. The air supply to the primary zone can
be varied so that the quantities of air and fuel are
always kept at near optimum conditions, for
good combustion with minimum pollutant formation. A simple method of accomplishing this is to
design the combustor with a conical entry and to
use a baffle as stabilizer. By moving the baffle
within the conical section, the air admitted to the
primary zone can be controlled to match the operating conditions. In this way, it is possible to
maintain weak mixture combustion at all conditions, thereby minimizing pollutants. Variable
geometry systems of all types should be designed with a fail-safe mechanism so that, if the
variable geometry movement fails, combustion
will be maintained and engine failure prevented.
An alternative control would be to restrict the
gases in the outer annulus. Such a scheme is
indicated in Fig. 14, [18]. It has the advantage
of having no moving components in the hot zone
of the combustor, but the control is, perhaps
less sensitive. In addition, variable swirler vanes
and valves have been used over liner air entry
holes.
3 . 2 .7 Fully Premixed Combustors
The optimum control of combustion is achieved by
prevaporizing the fuel and mixing it with air before
5'-14

"

The vaporizer/premix system is required to

avoid damaging the catalyst by locally produced
excessive temperatures. Thus, in a sense, the
catalytic combustor is a particular form of the
premixed/prevaporized combustor. Its main advantage is that the use of a catalyst enables very
weak mixtures (say ct> = 0.35) to be burned effectively. Because of this, the combustor temperatures are kept at such a low level that the
formation of NOx is negligible.
3 . 3 Combustors Classified by Fuel Injection
3.3.1 Liquid Fuels-Downstream Injection
In the simplest form of atomizer, the fuel is
pumped tangentially from the outside to the inside of the swirl chamber where it is deposited as
a thin sheet on the walls. It then travels down a
conical section to the swirler orifice where it is
discharged at a very high velocity. At this point,
the fuel has both axial and tangential velocities,
and is ejected as a hollow conical sheet. The
conical sheet rapidly thins and is disrupted into
small filaments which then form droplets. The
size of the droplets depends upon the velocity of
injection (i . e., pressure loss through the atomizer) , the viscous shearing forces, and the surface tension of the fuel. This type of atomizer
conforms (approximately) to the orifice law, and
the flow rate is thus proportional to the square
root of the atomizing pressure across the nozzle.
The use of a simple atomizer demands a pump
capable of efficient operation over a wide range
of pressure and flow to cover the operating conditions of the gas turbine engine.

COMBUSTOR
For early engines, the simple atomizer was
sufficient, but as the range of operating conditions increased, a more sophisticated injection
system was required. The first (and still widely
used) technique was to construct two concentric
nozzles. The inner one was small, and covered
the low flows; the outer one was larger for higher
flows. A difficulty of this type of atomizer is that
somewhere along the operating line of the engine, there is a fuel flow which demands that the
main nozzle operate with relatively low through
flow (and hence very large droplets). Under
these conditions there may be a considerable
drop in combustion efficiency. In designing the
combustor, care should be taken to ensure that
such conditions are only transient.
An alternative to this concentric nozzle type is
a spill atomizer. Using this type, a larger quantity of fuel is discharged at a reasonably high
pressure through tangential slots, so that at all
conditions a high velocity exists. The bulk of this
fuel is then removed through a hole in the rear of
the swirl chamber and returned to the low pressure side of the fuel system. The small amount
of fuel which is not returned is ejected with a
high swirl velocity through the nozzle and into the
combustor. A disadvantage of this system is that
the fuel pump has to have large capacity at all
operating conditions. Additionally, the atomizer
characteristics seem to be less well defined than
those of the previous system.
3.3.2 Slinger-Type Fuel Injection
A sketch of this system developed by Turbomeca
is given in Fig. 15. It necessitates the use of an
annular combustor. The fuel is injected radially
outwards from holes in the hollow shaft. The centrifugal action generates very high fuel pressures, even at low speed engine conditions such
as idling, thereby ensuring good atomization over
the entire operating range. However, since the
strength of the hollow shaft is weakened by the
fuel injection holes, it must be kept as short as
possible. The chamber has its primary zone normal to the shaft, and the gases are directed
through a right angle to the dilution zone.
3.3.3 Two-Fluid Atomizers
It is possible to use a stream of high velocity air
to assist in the breakup of the liquid sheet. Two
general forms are recognized: air- assist and air
blast. The former system uses a relatively high
air pressure drop, while the latter uses the pressure drop available in the engine, usually across
the combustor liner. When air-assist is used for
only a portion of the operating range, say low
power, it is usually called an air-boost system.
The main function of the air atomizer is to improve the quality of atomization at low fuel flows.
To achieve this, a small amount of air is ar-

ranged so that it blows across the fuel nozzle at

about the same angle as the fuel spray cone.
The quantity of air is about half that of the mass
of the fuel at the low flow conditions. By contrast, the use of an airblast atomizer implies that
the air is largely responsible for the atomization
at all operating conditions. The amount of air to
fuel ratio is usually between 4/1 to 5/1. Below
the lower figure, atomization begins to decline;
above the higher figure, there is generally little
to be gained. Both types extend the flow range
and may be used to atomize viscous fuels. Both
also reduce the tendency toward amoke formation and the formation of oxides of nitrogen.
They can generally reduce the latter by about a
factor of two.
3 . 3.4 Vaporizers
The term vaporizer is really a misnomer since at
nearly all conditions there is insufficient heat
transfer surface to heat and fully vaporize the
fuel, even with the assistance of the inlet air
which is admitted within the vaporizer tubes.
Hence the device as a whole functions as a cross
between a carburetor, an airblast atomizer, and
a true vaporizer. A typical arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 16 [19]. The relative merits of
spray system versus vaporizer have been argued
for years. From a combustion viewpoint, there is
probably little to choose. The main objection to
vaporizers lies in the complexity of the system
and the slow response to changes in operating
conditions. They are also less amenable to the
use of alternative fuels.
3 . 3 . 5 Gaseous Fuels
Gaseous fuels are divided into three types: high,
medium, and low calorific value. For the first
type, the fuel injector is usually simple, and of a

__
A
B
C

o
E
f
G

Cold Ai,

~Hot

Gas

Air enters from Compressor

Out . casino
HoUow nonle guidevanes (cold air mside)
Primary lone
Dilutionzone
Fuel fed through holes in hollow shaft
Hot gAs exit via turbine

Figure 15. Slinger Combustor Schematic

5-15

CHAPTER 5

COOLING

AI"

AI'-

GILLS

MIXING

BAFFLES

rut.L

~~;; ,. 'fE R~

SECO",,[,)AR1

AIR NOZZLE!>

""

INHRCO

..">IECT()"

Figure 16. Early Vaporizer Combustion Chamber

(Courtesy

of Rolls-Royce

"pepper pot" type construction. If diffusion is a

problem, as for example when hydrogen is the
fuel (it burns so rapidly that the hot products
remain "undiffused"), then it may be necessary
to replace the pepper pot with a "spider" or multi -ring type of injector. Very wide burning limits
sometimes require twin injectors. These are,
similar to the dual orifice liquid fuel injectors.
One of the major difficulties in designing gas
nozzles is ensuring that, on shutdown, the residual gas cannot become mixed with air inside
the injector to form an explosive mixture. The low
calorific gases present a special problem in that
their volume flow (to ensure good combustion)
is much higher than high calorific gases, and is
substantial in comparison with the air flow requirements. Consequently, the whole front end
of the combustor has to be redesigned to ensure
good distribution of fuel and air. The low calorific value gases usually have the advantage that
flame temperatures are low and hence the oxides
of nitrogen present no problem (unless there are
nitrogen compounds in the gas) .
3 . 3 .6 Liquid - Gaseous System
An industrial combustor is often required to operate with either liquid or gaseous fuels. This
may generally be accomplished by using concentric injectors. Usually, the liquid injector is
in the center, the gaseous fuel injector having
the form of an annular pepper pot. If methane
(natural gas) is the gaseous fuel, then there are
substantial differences in the combustion properties of the two fuels, and careful attention must
be paid to matching the flame tube to the gaseous fuel rather than the liquid one. Past experience has shown that a flame tube developed pri5-16

Limited)

[19]

marily for the liquid fuel may have only a comparatively short life when operated on the gaseous fuel. Although combustion appears to be
satisfactory, it has been claimed that the difference in the frequency of the flame oscillation has
brought about failure of the combustor walls.
4.0 THE DESIGN METHOD
4.1 Combustor Performance
Performance of the gas turbine combustor is defined here to include all those characteristics
which affect engine performance: combustion
efficiency,
pressure loss, outlet temperature
profile, and limits of stable operation.
Combustion efficiency is important because it
influences specific fuel consumption; pressure
loss affects both specific fuel consumption and
power output and, thus, engine size and weight.
Outlet temperature profile affects mean turbine
inlet temperature and, thus, limits power output
and efficiency. Stability limits and altitude limits
define the operating limits of the engine which
may limit its application.
4. 1. 1 Combustion Efficiency
Combustion efficiency should always be close to
100%if fuel and air are well mixed in proper proportions, ignited, and given time to burn. In the
usual industrial apparatus these conditions are
easily met. In the gas turbine, and especially in
turbojet engines, however, combustor size is
critical, and it has proven advantageous to design for operation near the limits of combustion
intensity. Furthermore, turbojet combustors operate over a wide range of altitudes, inlet temperatures, and fuel- air ratios, with the result

COMBUSTOR
that combustion may deteriorate at high altitude
and under lean conditions. A principal objective
of combustor design and development has been
to assure satisfactory performance up to the
specified engine altitude limit, with minimum
combustor volume and pressure drop.
, A great deal of systematic testing of turbojet
combustors has been carried out to correlate
combustion efficiency with design variables and
operating conditions. Much of the significant results are reported in [2], [20], [21] and [22].
Combustion efficiency in typical combustors
has been found to be adversely affected by high
reference velocity (small combustion volume),
low inlet air temperature, and low pressure. In
an annular combustor for a turbojet of early design, combustion efficiency fell rapidly at reference .velocities above 28 mls (92 fps) , inlet
temperature below 290 K (65 F), and pressure
below 82.7 kPa (12 psia). One way to correlate
combustion efficiency over a range of operating
conditions is to plot it against PT IV where P is
absolute pressure, T is combustion inlet temperature, and V is reference velocity.
Combustion efficiency has also been found to
vary considerably with fuel type [23] . However,
much of this variation can be traced to differences in atomization resulting from differences
in viscosity, and to differences in evaporation
rate resulting from differences in volatility. It appears possible to obtain good efficiency with .any
usual fuel by close attention to fuel atomization
and dispersion.
4 . 1. 2 Pressure Drop
Pressure drop in combustion systems is usually
defined as the difference in total pressure between the compressor outlet and the turbine inlet. It consists of three components: the diffusion loss associated with slowing the high velocity air from the compressor outlet, the friction
loss taken as pressure drop through the combustion chamber if unheated, and the momentum loss associated with accelerating the inlet,
low temperature air to a higher exit velocity.
Representative values of these losses are 40%
for diffusion loss, 40% for friction loss, and 20%
for momentum loss.
Total pressure loss is usually in the range of 2
to 8% of static pressure. This loss has the same
effect as a decrease in compressor efficiency; it
results in both lower power output and higher
specific fuel consumption. Pressure loss of 1%
results in a loss of about 1%in output power and
a 1%increase in specific fuel consumption, depending upon the engine cycle. Although there
are several ways of expressing and correlating
combustor pressure drop, the only expression
which has significance relative to engine performance is percentage of static .pressure. Ef-

fects of pressure drop on engine performance

are discussed in [2], [3] and [4].
4 . I . 3 Temperature Profile
The average gas temperature level for satisfactory turbine life is limited by the peak gas temperature, so that a large temperature gradient
reduces the average gas temperature and, thus,
limits turbine output and efficiency.
For purposes of turbine design, it is necessary to provide for a reasonable variation of gas
temperature at the turbine nozzles in both radial
and circumferential directions. Turbine nozzles
are directly exposed t.o local gas temperatures,
and the highest local gas temperature can affect
the life of the nozzle on which it impinges. Thus,
the highest local gas temperature
limits. nozzle
design. Turbine buckets, however, rotate past
the entire nozzle ring, and effectively average
out circumferential temperature gradients. For
bucket design, the average radial temperature
profile, as compared with a stress-limited theoretical radial profile, is of interest. However,
large circumferential
temperature
differences
must be avoided to minimize excitation of bucket
vibration by differences in gas velocity.
Temperature profiles are frequently described,
for turbine design purposes, in terms of a "Temperature Factor" or a "Traverse number." For
nozzle design, the Traverse number would be defined as peak gas temperature minus mean gas
temperature divided by mean temperature rise.
For bucket design, the Traverse number would be
the difference between the highest average radial
temperature and the mean. radial temperature,
based on either a flat radial profile or a tilted
profile with the higher temperature at the bucket
tip. The usual range of Traverse number is between 0.05 and O. 30, and is the result of optimizing all cycle variables. For example, it is possible to improve turbine output and efficiency by
improving Traverse number, but this improvement requires greater combustor
pressure drop
and length, so that a limiting point is soon
reached where loss overbalances gain.
The Traverse number may grow larger with
turbine age if the combustor structure is such
that areas of various film -cooling slots, joints,
or other gaps can change as the result of warping or other deterioration. Thus, the effect of
age on the combustor is an important aspect of
selecting a realistic temperature factor for the
life of the gas turbine.
Good mixing, as indicated by a good Traverse
number, is most important for operation at full
load with maximum turbine inlet temperature,
since turbine life can vary significantly with small
differences in local metal temperatures. Larger
variations can be tolerated at lower levels of turbine inlet temperature.
5-17

CHAPTER 5
4.1.4 Stability Limits
Combustor stability limits are the limits of fuelair ratio, or temperature rise, within which a
combustor can operate. If air flow through a
combustor is constant and fuel flow is varied,
rich blowout will occur at some high fuel rate and
lean blowout will occur at some low fuel rate.
The fuel-air ratios at which blowout occurs
must be relatively far from steady-state operating conditions to permit engine acceleration and
deceleration. For example, a step change from
full load to idling will reduce fuel flow by about
70%, but the corresponding change in air flow
will take place gradually as turbine speed
changes. The instantaneous combustor temperature rise will also decrease 70%, then gradually
reach equilibrium as air flow drops, Likewise,
acceleration from idling to full power requires
momentary operation with a temperature rise
well above that for steady-state operation, Fortunately, most combustors have an extremely
wide operating range and are hard to blowout by
normal changes in fuel flow, However, at high
altitudes the operating range of turbojet combustors narrows, so that the useful power range
of the engine is narrowed,
Combustor blowout can also occur as the result of compressor surge, During acceleration,
a large increase in fuel rate without a corresponding increase in air flow will reduce flow
through the compressor. If the compressor goes'
into surge, the air flow will be reduced still more
which may cause rich blowout of the combustor
or excessive turbine inlet temperatures, Many
turbojet engine control systems schedule the
rate of change of fuel flow with altitude to avoid
compressor surge or blowout during accelerations and decelerations.
4 .1. 5 Altitude Limits
The altitude limit of a turbojet engine is determined primarily by combustor limitations, Although Reynolds number effects result in some
loss in compressor and turbine efficiency, this is
minor compared to the large loss in combustor
efficiency which takes place as the altitude limit
is approached, With increasing altitude, the rich
and lean blowout limits converge gradually, narrowing the usable thrust range of the engine,
Combustion efficiency also declines gradually,
and. at the altitude limit, becomes so low that
the turbine inlet gas temperature needed for
continued operation cannot be generated.
The loss of efficiency at high altitude occurs
because the volume required for combustion becomes larger at extremely low pressures, Consequently, combustion reactions are only partially completed by the time the burning mixture
is quenched in the dilution zone [2], [20-22],
Thus, the altitude specification for the engine
5-18

determines, to a large extent, the reference v

locity or combustion volume required in U
combustor.
Since altitude limit is primarily
lower limit of combustor pressure, engines ha
ing very high pressure ratios also have superi
altitude performance,
Poor fuel atomization may also contribute
poor combustion at high altitude, Fuel rates
which are proportional to ambient pressure, ai
only 7 to 10% of those at sea level, and fu
pressure may be too low for satisfactory atomiz
tion. It is especially important to size the primal
and secondary orifices of a dual- orifice nozz
so that the flow-divider opening pressure do
not fall within the high altitude operating regim

4,2 Design Specifications

Hitherto, it was often acceptable to select a si
gle operating condition as the design point for t
combustor and to accept the performance oli
tained at the other conditions, Since, generall
the combustion efficiency was high at all co
ditions other than idling, this did not significant
detract from the overall engine performanc
With the added requirement of minimum poll
tion, this technique is no longer acceptable, a
many conditions must be examined in order t
ensure satisfactory performance from all view:
points,
Currently, the status of combustor desi
does not impose significant performance re
straints upon the engine. However, dependi
upon the application, there are still some per
formance requirements which demand greate
attention than others. Attention to these detail
can assist in defining the type of combustor an
fuel system required, Next it is necessary to re
fine the information required to specify the type
size, and design of the combustor, Because 0
the emphasis on controlling air pollution, th
variables within the combustor have to be can
sidered for as many operating conditions as pas,
sible . The items to be specified at each condi
tion are:

Air mass flows

Fuel mass flows
Combustor inlet conditions of temperature, pressure and velocity distribution
Turbine inlet temperature and traverse
quality
Pressure loss limitations
Combustion efficiency limitations
Pollutant types and permitted levels
Allowable wall temperature

The design engineer has to decide how manj

of the operating conditions are relevant, For example, in considering a possible aircraft application, the following represents the minimum

COMBUSTOR
conditions which require investigation:

Maximum thrust
Normal cruise
Maximum altitude
Windmilling conditions at maximum altitude
for relight
Ground idling
Approach cruise

In addition to specifying the above performance variables, it is also necessary, at this

stage, to specify the physical limitations within
which the combustor designer will have to operate. These are:

Space limitations
Weight limitations
Total life requirements and life between
overhauls
Fuel types
Any other special restrictions or requirements, for example, compressor speed limitations at lightup , any thrust augmentation,
or special acceleration requirements

4.3 Design Sequence

With the information outlined above, the designer
is now in a position to decide on the type, size,
and design features of the combustor needed to
meet the specifications. Before attempting a detailed design, there exists simple empirical formulae which will enable the designer to arrive at
the overall and zone sizes, the air/fuel distribution, and the film cooling requirements of the
combustor. A preliminary approach is as follows:

Select the combustor type. This will be defined by the engine application and space
limitations.
Specify the casing and combustor cross- sections. These may be limited by the
available engine space. If, so the engine
designer should be warned of any possible
performance losses.
Specify the fuel system. Again, this is
largely defined by the engine application
(and, possibly, by pollutant restrictions) .
Specify the primary zone dimensions and
operating air/fuel ratios.
Specify primary zone film cooling air requirements. Sometimes it is better to define all the film cooling requirements after
establishing the combustor zone requirements.
Specify secondary zone size and air requirements '.
Specify secondary zone film cooling requirements,
Specify dilution zone size and air require-

ments.
Specify dilution zone film cooling requirements.
Specify ignition requirements and type of
system.
Specify interconnectors, etc.

The complete design of a combustor involves

the following steps:

Preliminary design and sizmg

Evaluation of preliminary design at all operating conditions
Modifications to preliminary design to meet
all operating conditions
Detailed design
Evaluation of detailed design at all operating conditions
Modifications to detailed design to meet all
operating conditions

On completing the above steps, the design is

ready for hardware procurement and the start of
the development cycle.
To illustrate the method, a hypothetical example
will be given. This design represents neither a
currently used combustor nor a future design. The
selected conditions are not applicable to any real
engine; they are used here for illustration only.
It will be seen that, even with the simple design
formulae proposed here, an iterative procedure is
required in order to achieve a combustor which
represents the best compromise betweenaerodynamic and combustion requirements.
Basically, the method for both aircraft and industrial combustors is to utilize a series of simple correlation formulae to achieve a "first-design." It is then supposed that a limited amount
of test rig development will be carried out. At this
point, the original correlation formulae may be
modified to enable firmer predictions of performance to be made at operating conditions other
than those tested. If required, experimental information may be used to obtain more accurate
predictions.
5.0 SELECTION OF COMBUSTOR TYPE
5 . 1 Introduction
Currently, there is no known method for designing a combustor that will guarantee that no development will be required. The aim of the present technique is simply to minimize the development time. The logical arrangement of the major
steps is indicated in Fig. 17.
The selection of combustor type is usually
predetermined by the overall engine specific a tions but, in cases of doubt, it may be necessary
to conduct a design study for two or more types
of combustors. The essential points of the major
5-19

CHAPTER 5
types of designs are summarized here.

hp or 3.4xl06

5 .2 Aircraft Systems
The combustor space of an aircraft engine is the
annular volume between the compressor and the
turbine, with the inner dimensions limited by the
shaft and bearings and the outer dimensions by
the diameters of the turbine and/or the compressor casing.
Although there are no specific
restrictions on the choice of combustor type,
over the years certain trends have evolved. In
the older engines, multi-can combustors were
generally employed, especially for those engines having compression ratios up to about
15/1. While they do not fully use the maximum
available combustion area, can-annular combustors offer some of the advantages of both annular and multi-can units. They are currently
used in some medium sized aircraft engines.
The current trend is toward annular combustors.
Generally,
straight-through
combustors
are used for the larger engines; for helicopter
engines, because of length limitations, reverseflow combustors are favored.
For air pollution purposes, EPA classifies gas
turbine aircraft engines as follows (Federal Register,
Vol. 43, No. 58, March 24, 1978):

Large units, over 15 Mw (over 20,000 hp

5lxl06 Btu/h)

"Class P2" means all aircraft turboprop

gines.

en-

"Class Tl" means all aircraft turbofan or turbojet engines except engines of Class T5 of rated
power less than 35,600 Newtons thrust.
"Class T2" means all turbofan or turbojet aircraft engines except engines of Class T3, T4 and
T5 of rated power of 35,600 Newtons thrust or
greater.
"Class T3" means all aircraft gas turbine engines of the JT3D model family.
"Class T4" means all aircraft gas turbine engines of the JT8D model family.
"Class T5" means all gas turbine engines employed for propulsion of aircraft designed to operate at supersonic flight speeds.
5 . 3 Industrial and Other Engines
It is convenient to classify non-aviation gas turbines into three categories by power output. For
the purposes of this report, the division is arbitrarily defined as follows:
Small units, less than 1 Mw (appro x . 1340 hp
or 3. 4xl06 Btu/h)
Medium units, 1 Mw to 15 Mw (1340 to 20,000

to 5lxl06

Btu/h)
0

5 . 3 . 1 Small Units (Includes Automotive

and APU Applications)
Since the frontal area of the combustor for sma
units is not as important as in aircraft practice
the size of the combustor is often determined b
the limitations of the fuel system. In order t
avoid difficulties in manufacturing very small at
omizers (which may block in use), the size 0
the combustor is often set by prior choice of th
smallest convenient and most economical atom
izer. Hence, single flame tubes or reverse -flo
systems are quite normal especially for engine
of about 0.2 Mw or less. Annular combustors
also find application for small engines, but fO
very narrow annuli some loss in performance
may occur, and there may be difficulties with filn
cooling. If pollution legislation is applied to smal
engines, it may become necessary to use the
single combustor concept due to the quenchinj
action of the walls of a narrow annular combus
tor. Currently, it is not known at what level war
quenching becomes significant, but evidence il
accumulating that it is of the order of 25 to 4(
mm gap width (about 1.0 to 1.5 in).

5.3.2 Medium and Large Units

In this category there is considerable choice,
When designing a combustor specifically for industrial application, the usual choice is betweer
multi -can and single can systems. However,
annular combustors, originally designed for aircraft use, have been found to be satisfactory fo
industrial application after suitable modification.
Primarily, the selection between multi-can 0:
single can combustors depends on the econom
ics of manufacturing and development.
Where space is limited, the multi -can systerr
is usually employed, often with reverse flow ir
order to minimize the length of the engine shaft.
Development costs are also reduced, since (
single combustor may be tested using only (
fraction of the main air flow. However, manufacturing costs are higher, accessibility for repair:
and maintenance is reduced, and a more com
plex fuel system is required.
Of all the combustors, the single can is probably cheapest to manufacture. The use of a single large atomizer is particularly advantageou:
with heavy high -viscosity fuels, which require
preheating in the lines.
Development of single cans is often accom
plished using scaled models, but particular can
is required in scaling heat transfer results, anc
final development is required on the full scak
combustor. The single can combustor has founc

COMBUSTOR

Design specifications
(All operating conditions).

Select combustor type.

Provisionally select
fuel injector.
Determine reference area
and other reference values.
Determine combustor area.

Determine Primary Zone air

requirements and size.

Select
ignition
system.

Determine Secondary Zone

air requirements and size.

Estimate total film

cooling air.

Estimate Dilution Zone

air and size.

Design
combustor
holes.

Est. pressure
loss due to
combustion.

Figure 17. Preliminary Design Procedure

5-21

CHAPTER 5
application in all the ranges of industrial engines
and, because of its favorable cost and accessibility, it is particularly favored for very large
units, for units which have to be adapted for
multi-fuel
application,
or for dual-fuel use
(e. g . liquid/gas).
For the latter two applications, the ease of interchanging fuel injection
systems is particularly advantageous.
6.0 THE FUEL INJECTION

SYSTEM

6 . I Introduction
To achieve rapid burning of a liquid fuel, it must
be thoroughly mixed with the air in roughly stoichiometric proportions. However, before mixing
and combustion can proceed, the fuel must be
vaporized With the vaporizing system type of
fuel injector, the fuel is mixed with some air and
vaporized before admission to the combustion
zone. In other types, the fuel is atomized into a
large number of small drops, thereby producing
a liquid spray of high surface-to-volume
ratio
and hence a high rate of fuel evaporation. Both
methods of fuel injection have found widespread
application in aircraft engines, but the current
trend is towards a greater use of atomizers in
one form or another.
Considerable experience has now been gained
on fuel atomizers in both aircraft andIndustrial
engines. For conventional combustors, the fuel
spray should contain a reasonable proportion of
drops in the size range below 50 micrometers.
These small drops of high specific surface area
readily evaporate and burn to provide a source of
high temperature products that initiate and sustain combustion of the spray. In general, fuel/air
mists composed of drops less than 20 micrometers in diameter behave as perfectly uniform mixtures. To realize the high rates of heat release
associated with uniform mixtures, it might be argued that the spray should be composed entirely
of finely atomized drops. Unfortunately, uniform
mixtures are also characterized by a very narrow
burning range. In practice, therefore, some imperfections in fuel/air mixing may be desirable in
order to attain stable burning over a wide range of
mixture strengths.
The atomizers used in gas turbines are often of
the pressure swirl type, in which fuel is Iorced
through tangential ports into a swirl chamber from
which it is discharged in the form of a conical
sheet. With the early "simplex" types of swirl atomizer used on aircraft gas turbines, stable
burning was possible only over a fairly narrow
range
fuel flow. Various limitations on performance were experienced, notably in terms of
low combustion efficiency and inadequate relighting capability at extreme altitudes. To eliminate the shortcomings of the "simplex" atomizer,
various "wide -range" atomizers were developed,

0'

5-22

outstanding examples of which were probably the

so-called "duple" or "dual-orifice," and "duplex"
spray atomizers. These developments,
along
with parallel advances in the performance of vaporizing systems, provided a period of many
years in which fuel injection was one of the most
satisfactory and trouble-free aspects of combustor operation.
However, with the continuing trend towards
engines of higher compression ratio, combustors using pressure atomizers increasingly suffered from excessive exhaust smoke and poor
pattern factor. Vaporizing systems, on the other
hand, began to pose serious mechanical problems due to overheating and coking of the vaporizing tubes. These problems led to a revival
of interest in the airblast atomizer, in which atomization is achieved by injecting the fuel into a
high velocity airstream. This type of fuel injector
is ideally suited for gas turbine applications,
since high velocity air is always available due to
the pressure drop across the liner. An important
feature of the airblast atomizer is that it provides
an element of fuel/air mixing prior to combustion, which leads to worthwhile reductions in exhaust smoke and in the emissions of oxides of
nitrogen.
INJECTOR

REQUIREMENTS

Ideally, a fuel injector should possess all of the

following characteristics:

Good atomization over the entire range of

fuel flow
Rapid response to changes in thrust or
load
Low cost, light weight, ease of manufacture and ease of removal for servicing
Freedom from flow instabilities
Low susceptibility to blockage by contaminants and low carbon buildup on tip
Low susceptibility to gum formation by heat
soakage
Be capable of scaling to provide design
flexibility
The injector should also provide:

An easily ignitable mixture

A ratio of maximum to minimum fuel flow
that exceeds the ratio of maximum to minimum engine air flow
Rapid evaporation and dispersion of the
fuel throughout the primary combustion
zone
An exhaust gas temperature distribution
that is insensitive to the amount of fuel
supplied

6 . 2 Selection of Fuel Injection System

At this stage it is useful to consider the likely fuel
injection system for the combustor. For liquid

COMBUSTOR
fuels the choice is large, ranging from a simple
pressure atomizer, to the complicated system
required for a premixed, prevaporized system.
For most modern combustors it is necessary to
utilize some form of airblast or air-assist atomizers in order to comply with environmental restrictions on HC and CO emissions. Although the
choice may be made at this stage, the initial calculations of combustor size will ignore the effects
of the fuel injector. Little difficulty is anticipated
when high Btu gaseous fuels are used, but for
low Btu gases, the fuel injector must be accepted as an integral part of the combustor,
since it significantly affects the design of the
head of the combustor.
7.0 COMBUSTOR

DIMENSIONS

7.1 Determination of Reference Area

The reference area, Aref, is selected by considering the possibility of either chemical or pressure loss limitations. Each operating condition is
considered and, from the tabulated answers,
the optimum value is assessed. The technique
will be illustrated with a simple example. It applies equally to aircraft and industrial combustors. The calculations are made even for combustors where there is no outer casing (e. g. an
industrial combustor with regenerator) to estimate the combustor liner dimensions. (This is
based upon the assumption that Aft = 0.7 Aref) .
The data for the example are given in Table 1.
They have been chosen for the purely hypothetical case of a multi-can combustor. The data are
for six single cans. The engine bears no relation
to any known combustor and is not necessarily
typical. This particular engine also contains
fewer operating conditions than a real case. The
aircraft operates at Mach 1.4 condition, and an
exit velocity of 150 ms-1 has been assumed for
the compressor, which also has an exit cross
section area of O. 096 m 2. The fuel is assumed
to be a typical aviation kerosene. The permissible pressure loss for this combustor is higher
than usual. Table 2 lists representative values of
pressure loss terms for aircraft combustors.
7 . 1. 1 Aerodynamic Considerations
The dimensions of a combustor might be determined either by aerodynamic or by reaction rate
control. Generally, if the combustor is sized to
meet a specific pressure loss, it will be large
enough to accommodate the chemical reactions. However, it is necessary to consider all
the possible factors before making a final choice
of size. The combustor and casing diameters
are estimated using the equations which follow.
The values obtained, see Tables 3 and 4, are
then assessed against the value derived from
Eq , (1) below. This latter has been fixed by the

specification given in Table 1 and is repeated

here only for completeness.
Equation (1) is used to calculate the value of
(m -If 3) / Aref p 3 in Table 2.

ref
( 1)

The constant, k , has the value of 143.5 in SI

units and 0.83 in lb ft R units. Based upon the
data of Table 1, the corresponding diameters
are given in Table 3.
Sometimes, at one or more conditions, the
diameter corresponding to one or another of the
reaction rate equations exceeds that determined
by aerodynamic considerations. When this occurs, it calls for a judgment by the combustion
engineer as to which is more correct.
7.1.2

Chemical (Combustion)
Considerations
For any given fuel/air ratio, the combustion efficiency, 1}, is given as a function of the correlating parameter, (), [24] where:

P 1.75 A
nO.75 exp(T /b)
3
ref
3
-------------------------m3

(2)

All combustors have combustion efficiencies

close to 100%at a value of () = 73 X 106 (SI
units), Fig. 18. Values of the temperature correction factor, b , for a constant overall air/fuel
ratio have been defined by Eq , (3), [25].
b = 245 (1. 39 + .tn <t>pZ)
for 0.6
b

<

<t>PZ< 1.0

(Kelvin)

170 (2.00 - .tn <t>pZ)

for 1. 0

<

<t>PZ< 1. 4

(Kelvin)
(3)

To obtain the appropriate value of <t>PZ(the

primary zone equivalence ratio), the following
simple analysis is performed.
For most hydrocarbon gases burning ~in air,
examination of the determined flame limit temperatures for weak mixtures (assuming no
quenching at the wall) shows that they lie around
1600 K. Pressure is assumed to have no effect
upon these limits. Thus, the limiting equivalence
5-23

CHAPTER 5

Table 1. Hypothetical

Operating Conditions for a Fictitious

Combustor

The engine is assumed to be a multi-can configuration having six combustors.

cruise

Mach

number

is assumed

as 1.4;

the

compressor

exit

has

art

area

The aircraft's
m2,

of 0.096

and

the

exit velocity is 150 ms+ I at the normal cruise .condition. Pressure loss characteristics
the design point are assumed to be:

llP _
3 4

llP _
3 4

7%

~
Condition

Condo

p)

p)

MPa

MPa

Design Point
Thrust

Ground Idle

llP _
3 4

Turbine Inlet Data

T3

m3

T4

-1
kg. s

Q %
Pattern

overall

Fac tor

Comb.
Eft.
% min

kg.s

-1

1.93

814

18.1

1600

0.347

20

99.7

0.427

0.070

0.7

0.68

707

6.8

1387

0.286

20

99.5

0.132

0.070

308

0.22

20

99.5

0.140

0.070

99.0

0.0091

0.017

Relight Alt. 0.030 0.0298

Windmi 11ing
Normal

-3

2.0

Max.

Note:

P
ref 3

SLS

Max. Altitude

).0 x 10

Compressor Outlet Data

for a single combustor

Number

Max.

mvT3

53

qref

at

1.8

1.77

1060

14.2

1393

0.145

0.15

0.148

343

1.05

703

0.128

Cruise

One condition is selected as preemptive and referred to as the 'Design Point'.

this is Max. Thrust SLS (as chosen he~e).

Usually

",

Table 3. Outer Casing Airflow

Reference Values

Table 2. Representative Values of

Pressure- Loss Terms for Aircraft
Engine Combustors

OUTER

Chamber Type

llP _
3 4
qref

llPJ_4
PJ

5.3

Multi-can

Annular

40

6.0

Can annular

llP _
J 4
P3

5.4

143.5

ref PJ

30

3.5 x 10-J

(~y

AIRFLOW

REFERENCE

VALUES

0
---1&

~
Eqn 1
m

Eqn 2
m

Eqn

Eqn 2

0.335

0.076

1.

2
8.81 x 10-

4.54

2.

-2
8.76 x 10

-2
1.47 x 10

0.334

0.137

3.

-2
4.26 x 10

-1
1.69 x 10

0.233

0.464

4.

-2
8.605 x 10

9.079 x 10-4

0.331

0.034

5.

-2
4.26 x 10

0.234

0.201

x 10-3

-2

3.173 x 10

ref PJ

ratio (weak mixture) corresponding to any condition will be given by a mixture having a temperature rise of (1600 - T 3)' Let 1600 - T 3 = t.T.
Using Fig. 19, the value of t.T is read against
the appropriate curve corresponding to the inlet
temperature (T 3)' The corresponding value of 4>
yields the equivalence ratio for the weak extinction .' The corresponding rich extinction value is
obtained in a similar way using Fig. 20. This
particular figure has been chosen to minimize
the possible effects of chemical dissociation.
5-24

Condo
No.

J.O x 10-J
4.5 x 10-3

qref

20

llP3_4

CASING

m/f3_

Table 5 is derived in this way.

From Table 5, if the primary zone is designed
to use between 14 and 24%of the total air, then
the combustor should remain lit at the four major
operating conditions.
To design for minimum
smoke, CO, and HC, it is desirable that the primary zone equivalence ratio never be richer than
4> = I. 5 at any single operating condition. =
I.5 corresponds to 23% of the air entering the
primary zone at Condition 1. Since this is the
richest condition (i . e., probability of maximum

COMBUSTOR

Table 4. Combustor Liner Airflow Reference Values

2

Aft m

ft

Condo
No.
__
Eqn
1 & 4
1

6.17xlO

6.13xlO

2.98xlO

6.02xlO

2.98xlO

Eqn
2
-2

-3

3.18xlO

-2

-1

1.18xlO

-2

6.36xlO

-2

3.73xlO

-2

1.03xlO

-2

Egn
5

&

-4

2.221xlO

-2

Eqn
7
-2

6.88xlO

NA

4.38xlO

NA

2.35xlO

NA

2.41xlO

NA

1.81xlO

Note - Selected value of d

ft

1. 0

Eqn

Eqn
1 & 4
-2
-2
-1
-2
-1

2.80xlO
2.79xlO
1.95xlO
2.77xlO
1.95xlO

2.80 x 10

-1

&

-,

-1

6.36xlO -

-1

1.15xlO

-1

3.88xlO

-1

2.85xlO

-1

1.68xlO

Eqn
7

Eqn
5

2.18xlO

-1
-1
-1
-1

-1-

2.96xlO

NA

2.50xlO

NA

5.47xlO

NA

1. 75xlO

NA

4;80xlO

-1
-1
-1
-1
-1

m.

obtain Aref for each operating condition. For

comparison with the earlier aerodynamic values,
the results are indicated in Table 3. It will be
noted that there are considerable differences in
the estimated values for each condition.

,....----.---r--,-----r---,

7.2 Determination of Combustor Area

There are several methods which yield the combustor area, Aft. A simple relationship is:
Aftl Aref

2U

iu

30

Theta
l bm ,
l bm ,

-**

Sl

lbf,
l bf ,

40
t

ft,
in,

R units
K n t c s

s,
s ,

so

50

Pu rame

e r- -

70

HOxIOb

IJ

units

Figure 18. Theta Parameter Correlation

smoke formation), it is recommended that this
value (23% of the total air) be the minimum
used. Since some form of fuel spray injection 'is
envisaged, the real limits of combustion will be
considerably wider than those determined here,
and hence it will probably be safe to use an even
weaker mixture at take-off. For initial design
purposes, a split of 25%will be assumed. Table
6 indicates the predictions based upon this split.
Using the value of b determined in this manner, and making use of the fact that Ar~f =
(17D2)/4,
it is now possible to solve Eq , (2) to

(4)

O. 7

This seems to be quite satisfactory for single

can, multi-can, and annular combustors, but
for can-annular combustors, a value of about
0.65-0.67 is more appropriate, since it becomes necessary to "draw-in" the combustors.
Using Eq , (4), the data of Table 3 have been
used to derive the equivalent combustor data of
Table 4. It is recommended that the following
techniques also be used to estimate the combust or dimensions. The value finally selected will
then be made on the basis of engineering
judgment.
An alternative method of predicting combustor
size was determined by Bragg [26]:

-2

1.621 x 10

m
f

ff

0.5

3
3
-----(--)
P
6P

(5)

The combustor diameters calculated using the

above formulae are listed in Table 4.
Yet another possibility is to utilize the OdgersCarrier equation [27]. Substituting a value of
5-25

CHAPTER 5
Table 5. Equivalence Ratio Limits for Sample Combustor
Condo
No.

T3
deg

6T =
1600-T
deg K 3

Theoret ieal
limits ()

Operating

Ratio

()

Overall/ Limit

Ovrnll
wea.k

rich

weak

rich

l.

814

786

0.345

2.52

o , 347

1.

2.

707

891

0.391

2.38

0.286

0.7J

0.12

3.

308

1292

0.550

2.01

4.

1060

540

0.240

2.68

0.145

0.60

0.05

5.

343

1257

0.525

7.17

0.128

0.24 **

0.06

zone will
operating

en su r

*
**

14 per cent of the air in the primary

combustor will remain lit at all rich

oi

0.14*

the
cnodittoo.

24 per cent of the air in the primary zone will ensure the
combustor will remain lit at all weak operating condition.

T3 -

300

550

200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000

AT
K

500
T3
100
4 00

fJ

200

/,

AT
K

T3

200
300
400
500
600
700

1000

6 00
8 00
1000
K

1100

900

800
900
1000

400

A
'I

~Z
1'/
V
100

700

3UO

500.~t=

500
200

.,HH-+-+-+-+++-+-H

400

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.08

0.1

0.2

0.15

0.3

0.2

0.4

Equivalence
UNDISSOClATED
(all

TEMPERATURE

RISE

pressures)

Figure 19. Undissociated Temperature

99% for the combustion efficiency, and making
the assumption that the primary zone volume is
given by:

v
then,
5-26

(1714)

d;t

with 11 = 0.99,

Ratio

Rise

duces (in SI units) to:

log "300 = -1. 39 - 4.40n

(6)

the original equation re-

-1. 10 D*
(7)

where n (reaction order)

2 J (weak) or 2/J

COMBUSTOR

2~00

2000

1800

1400

.... :::1::'
...........
10')0

,'".

'''1: ' ::+.

"::'::~ ,:"i:: ';:L:

iliSJ ,...

..... '
:F

"""".r

,;

~'I.~ "': ::' ''I

.,:1:,:::::; :'~f....,,'
::.:::::Y

.. .... :".'1

.'::V'"

::.:::
:~ ;~-;i-~~:; :::::::: .... :: ::::j:::: :~~:g:'::I;::

0.4

0.5

0.6

I::

33:::;"~:

3 MPa

- ='~:~I:::

(29.6 atm)

E5=t~:

. . . .. . . ..

=:. "" ~,~""

,: .::j' :: :':r:::
::: ::=:1 --: ':::t:::-!

E "'" :c:F:
.::=:-:

.......
:.:1":1: I.c.LjeJ J':J::vrLLiJ::I:,

0.7

0.8

0.9

Equivalence

Ratio

j~ :-:~~~._

EEF.,-s'~

....;ii:I::~l'1.:l

:Ft~l"'FLTTl'.TTcFoTc.r

.................J'

J :::;:i:J.

0.3

"'11

RISE

(Chemical Equilibrium)

P3

::::i

600 I

TEMPERATURE

..........
:::1'''::':L:

>i:,::
'I::',
::~:::,:
:T:' :::'i:: :::J :: >L

I ::':, ::::'1':1

- ADIABATIC

::'::',,'
"'":,:,::~,::,
,

:J :;;':.1 ,.::'

81)0

...........

1.0

1.1

1.2

-!:: ::.+::-

JCJ~~:::;,::~~~

14, ..:J:.:

1.3

1.4

1.5

Figure 20. Adiabatic Temperature Rise

Table 6. Initial Combustor Air
Distribution
Overall

Condo

No.

Primary
Zone

b
(Eqn

3)

Predicted
Premixed
gas
Extinction

Weak

o
A/F

o
A/F

log 7/1'300
is corrected to 7/l'T using the following
equation, [28].
3

Rich

o
A/F

(T 3

0.347
42.36

1.39
10.59

272

170

23.3

where:

0.286
51.40

1.14
12.85

318

206

24.7

0.145
101.38

0.58
25.35

207

245

22.0

0.128
114.84

0.51
28.71

176

112

28.7

o
A/F

17/1'
T3

205

(1O-3.054y-1.

300
1.2327y-1.205

= 4>

Finally,

A/F

(9)

for

4>

,,1.0;

1.0 for

4>

> 1.0.

the value of dft is obtained from:

4m

1/3

(-------_.- )
11 'l/l'T P3

(10)

(rich). The value of the empirical constant D*

may be obtained from [28].
D*

0.736 - 0.0173

(p3/~P)

(8)

D* refers only to the design point values, (i . e. ,

Condition 1, Table 1).

Values calculated in this way are also listed in

Table 4.
7.3 Selection of Appropriate Casing
and Combustor Areas
Tables 3 and 4 indicate that there are considerable discrepancies between the four methods,
5-27

CHAPTER 5
suggesting that the methods available for prediction are not of high accuracy. Furthermore,
some of the curves (e. g. e curve) are asymptotic as the combustion efficiency approaches
100%. Hence, the engineer must use some discretion in interpreting the results.
Consider first the range of combustor diameters. For Condition 1, Table 1, pressure loss
considerations are met by a combustor having a
diameter of 0.28 m; it is, however, desirable to
justify this value against others calculated from
the alternative equations.
First, the above diameter suffices for most of
the reaction -based estimates.
Second, it is not possible to specify the relight
condition since it is a transient condition with a
varying fuel/air ratio. It is possible that, if the
igniter is adequate for inducing initiation, subsequent acceleration would move the combustion into a stable condition. In the extreme, a
starter assist could be considered.
Third, Eq . (7) suggests that a diameter of
o . 48 m is required to meet the specified idling
combustor efficiency (Condition 5). Acceptance
of this latter value would demand a total revision
of design and probably require higher pressure
loss commitments.
This value should, therefore, be noted as an area of probable difficulty
which would require development and possible
modification of the fuel injection systems. Th:is
latter approach would be the lesser of two evils.
Fourth, the other diameters, O. 28 5 for Condition 4, and 0.296 for Condition 1, may be regarded as being within prediction error and in
satisfactory agreement with the "aerodynamic"
value of 0.28 m first considered.
Based upon the above evidence, the following
dimensions are chosen for the combustor:
Aft

6.17

x 10- 2 m2

Dft

2.80

x 10-1 m

Aref

8.81

x 10- 2 m2

Dref

3.35 x 10-1 m

where T 3 is the design point condition. This is

generally taken to be the maximum thrust S. L. S.
condition (Condition I, Table 1); substitution
yields a value of 51.4% of the total air required
for film cooling. This is a considerable quantity
of the available air, but it must be remembered
that some fraction of it will be used in the various
zones of the combustor; it is not all parasitic.
The primary zone air flow has already been
estimated at 25%; the length of this zone may be
assessed initially as being equal to 2/3 to 3/4 of
the combustor diameter. The latter value has
been selected here since it is commensurate
with a high combustion efficiency.
The secondary zone air is determined by considering the richest operating condition. The
gases leaving the secondary zone at this condition should not be richer than 4> = O. 8. The
richest overall operating condition is Condition
1, Table 1. At Condition 1, 4>overall = 0.347.
Hence, the percent air going into primary and
secondary zones is given by:
0.347 x 100

----O~8---

43.38%

The length of the secondary zone is taken as

half the combustor diameter.
With respect to the dilution zone, if all the film
cooling air were parasitic, the amount left would
be 5.2%. This clearly demonstrates the designer's problem--to cool the walls adequately but,
at the same time, to use a major portion of the
film cooling air for combustion or dilution purposes. At this stage, the dilution air will be
specified.
However,
the design requirement
(Table 1) calls for a traverse quality of 20%, and
knowledge of this enables the length of the dilution zone to be estimated. From Table 1, the
value of:

Inserting this value into Fig. 21 yields LDZ/Dft

1. 3.

Primary zone air = 25% of total air flow.

7 .4 Preliminary Estimate of Remaining'
Features of Combustor
At this stage it is useful to estimate the size of the
combustor zones and the remaining air distribution. The amount of film cooling air may be estimated from [28].
Percent film cooling air = 0.1 T 3

30
(11)

The role that the transition piece (from combustor to nozzle guide vanes) plays in the definition of traverse quality is controversial. Obviously, it has some effect, even though the gas is
accelerating. It is suggested that , for can -type
combustors, if the transition is short in comparison with the length of the dilution section, it may
be neglected. Otherwise, it is suggested that
half of the length of the transition be included in
the length of the dilution zone. For the present
example, the transition piece has been assumed
to be short.

COMBUSTOR
they cannot be changed, then the combustor
size must be adjusted to obtain the maximum use
of space, although the LID of the outer casing
should be maintained within the range of 1.5 to
2.2 so as to enable the air flow to be controlled
adequately. Similarly Aftl Aref should be kept
within the range of 0.6 to O.72 .

Thus, by using simple empirical relationships,

the primary elements of the combustor have
emerged, Fig. 22, together with some zone requirements for the air distribution. To complete
the design, the first step is to design the diffuser
so that it has a minimum pressure loss, thereby
giving maximum design possibilities for the air
distribution and usage within the combustor.
It will be noted that the above dimensions take
no account of the engine space limitations. If the
space limitations enable a longer combustor to
be used, this is advantageous. Similarly some
increase in the outer casing diameter might be
useful. Finally, if the space limitations do not
allow a combustor of the estimated size, and if

30

8.0 DIFFUSER DESIGN

Analytical techniques for the design of diffusers
which can adequately describe the non-uniform
turbulent flow issuing from the compressor are
still not available. Hence, an empirical approach based upon experimental data is necessary. Available theory, together with adequate
references to the sources of diffuser maps,
etc., are in [1].
The design of the diffuser is usually dictated by
the space restrictions of the engine. Therefore,
the objective of the designer is to generate the
most efficient diffuser within that space, consistent with a minimum pressure loss. Hence, the
final design will represent a compromise among
the restrictions of available space, pressure
loss, and uniformity of the exit flow.
The following method represents a very simple
approach but one that is adequate to take the
combustor design to the development stage" For
the present example, it will be assumed that
space limitations are not restrictive and that a
pressure loss of 1%is acceptable for the diffuser. The two main generic types of diffusers are
illustrated in Fig. 23. For most practical applications the shortage of space will preclude the
use of, a plain diffuser', and either a snout must

1111I
PUSSUR! LOSS
FACTOR

"p)./qnt

15

".'+~'

0.25

20

;::.

'~ 0.20

7~

__

~.

.::::c: .;..;...:. ,~::-; "-.:.j:.

~:'"::..:....'"

0.

,~.

__:~

.~"..

._

,.-_:~

)0

:-.;::::=:

:,._.

~~~.~-";;;:j-:
i D.ISt::1~~"~~=~c_~':"F.,'SS:";2T~!::.::;tI==::-:~:~~:2,<;tF==.:'::;j'I:i:::~+:$'~=='~:::!.=c..~=--,;:~'
~

~'::~~':';:i::::c~""c

~
~

<:~::I::"~r:::::

;::1::' :i:T:K !,J:i'<-~l

0.10

",'-

'

....

:,.

~~::::~::c;-=:::~:~

0.05

ii":...~i:~~~:

I'

.,1::;

~~~,.~:~~
:~;'~:~:i:i:~i
: ~ii::

E~:':"'~:::~:~~""~:~"
~~-::-'!~~j;'~:

:~::~~:c~":-:I:~
; ,.: ..

-.-,"';::'~J=~
o

j'

:<::1-

tol

1.8
RATIO

or

DILUTIOM

ZOM!

I...DmI

TO

!.O
F"l.AKE

TU!IE

::-:-rr--

2.2

2.4

DIAKETR-~z/Oft

Figure 21. Dilution Zone Mixing

Performance

SZ Air
18.4%
PZ Air

co

25%

...,
...,
on

I
I
I

Film

0.21

Cooling Air

51.4%

0.14

0.364

Figure 22. Preliminary Air Distribution

5-29

or, for the example here,

------=

("/4) (0.335

Aan

Aan

- 0.280)

(0.335

+ 0.280),

0.0266

m2

Fig. 22
(13)

0_0266 x (100/87)
Pre-Diffuser

0.0306 m2

Ar rengeeenr

(14)
=

'Oiffuser

(15)

Figures 25, 26 and 27 give the relationships

between the divergence angles and the various
characteristics of geometry and area ratios for
both annular and simple conical diffusers.
For the diffuser required in the combustor example under consideration, the expansion ratio
(based on a single combustor) may be derived
as follows:
0.0960
A
---6-= 0.0160 m 2
3

.,--.~-

Parallel

0.197

Arrangement

Figure 23 _ Diffuser Arrangements

(from Table
0.0306
0.0160

1)

(16)

1.913

------

(17)

AR

The curves given in Figs. 25, 26 and 27 may

be used to define the pressure loss coefficient if
the divergence angle is known, and vice versa.
For a diffuser having the following characteristics (see Figs. 25 and 26 for definition):

Figure 24. Characteristic Dimensions

for a Diffuser
be fitted to the combustor or else the combustor
must be located in the diffuser.
A schematic of the diffuser, showing the essential elements, is given in Fig _ 24. At this
stage of the design, the compressor profile is
generally unknown and ill usually assumed to be
uniform.
In the preliminary estimate, 25% of the air was
assigned to the primary zone. Assuming a conventional design, about half of this quantity
would be admitted through the swirler and as
dome-cooling (say 13%) _ Thus, 87% of the total air would pass through the section Aan. At
the design point condition (Condition 1, Table
1), the corresponding velocities in Aan and A 3
are 71.1 ms "! and 136 ms-1. At the area Ao,
Fig. 24, the velocity of the total air flow should
be equal to the velocity in Aan; hence:

Geometry

lti

Area Ratio

Variable

o
7/1'0

and based upon a formula cited in [29], Kretschmer [30] has derived:
t.P

diff

------

1.75R

(tan

[~.3_p~] 2
3

7/1')1.22
A

[ 1
2

_ AA3]

(18)
(12)

5-30

1. 75 R
a

502.4 J/kgK

(19)

COMBUSTOR

~ 0.8

'M

-0

'I'

-c

4:

0.6

:1',: I

:.:
Iii:

-1 "r '.-+t,,:t-r-It'
1-++t~t-+"

1-+-

ltT""i1.,
:--tT,i

:-t----r,

H-t-I

-+-,

IffI 1i' t
:;

I'-I-It. rl -H"- !-H!

j-+-tf-M

::': ,i ',II:::.::'
::::l*(':'
/1'
d :,." !!,
i
.

:1 '.111'I[

I'

I'"

Iii ~
i II i!
I I j II l' i i i!l! i
i

:;;i

,i'T

!:

I,)' . :

::

0: ' ~'

-, t

1 '1

j ,

H:t-rltl':'j
...t-

1..
1"

I;

0.2

,::;:t:i:
, .. "
J"I;

-+,

' ,,-

~!'!

::, ..
..

Iii:;'

-t;

"
'I:

1...
:'"

.,:,::,,1

i I:",

.:

,.

If,

._._._-

I:!:..

":'

,.

~~

20

i!:'

I I I

'I'

__

.: i. ,I" ; i~~

:1'

,II,

,I:

1 i

'1,11;,1
""

1III

j :'. :

,t-t-t

'i:"
,;"

; I:

; ;-j 1

'.

__

"II
: "
I; I I

,,1,
II: I "i'
~,': II: "::

~~~

I'

!I!i

I'!!!

11:1

~I

,! 1111'

,I:

I lIt

11

~. . i ; I

lill'!!!!::i:
1,1'1

11

II :I!

.'11

11'1,1

:'11
tt '

-+ tt1 T ,t +ttftHtr: 'i H

I, ': 1111'1:
II! I".
I'" II 1'1'11' 'I"

40

SO
Angle

60
2 t/J

70

'.

!,.I

"

I'"

,,"

I'~.

!',:

:'
I
': ' ,.- t~ .,'.

'I'0 =

'1'.

2.56

0.625

'I' 0

= '1'.

3.38

0.625

'I' 0 =

'1'.

4.30

0.625

'I'0

= '1'.

5.20

0.625

90

--J

100

Di3/Do3

and final annulus

area

Figure 25. Effect of Divergence Angle on Pressure Loss for Annular Diffusers

Inserting a value of 1%'for the pressure loss,

together with the appropriate values for the other
terms, the solution to Eq , (18) yields 7/f = 21
Snout area, As, is given by:

120

degrees

Area Ratio*

on initial

,'i,

: I.

80

Geometry

Based

I :: I' t I i r I, 'II i ;, iI
:,' . , ,
~~~!~'wl'~II~t~lt~I~llu'~"~'~"~"~'~il~;L'_'~;~'

Divergence

r-~

!I'I'
I: .:

30

Curve

; V ! I 'i i
-+1]..II::;r"
"'1
,:',
,n;.
" ,,:ll~h+rrrt1T ,,' +-+-r'" __: : ! r-- ..---.~-~-'

l l : 'I III'
t,

I ,!

;!, t~,

I,'

I'

'~I

III

""

, , :,

"

~'I __ '___"_~

'~!'

,I

to,.:,

:,:::;

I : [;

!:II " i 'i. II; : [II ','I!:, :::: ;:1: I!i! :::1' ,
Iii ,.; I Ii: ii, " III; ,i; I : i I,':i! i,"

:;: i .i
,

:;Ii" ,,

II

, lil i ' "

!'It
l'!!

",.

1'1'

1':

!;: I:::

i . .

..

-[-t-ll ' : , "

I'

2 p.

~ ~

i1
.
! I
!I
l l ,! I' I: 'iA!rI; " "
,...-r-J
1;r-.t~;:!
::!:I::'
:':: i:!; :,!: 11i[::;:I1!::~?"::~ ,:~.,) ~
0.4Hr--~,
~HT--~+---~----~~++~+M+H~~~~~~~~~~+-~~~
',~:

I:

I!

[Assume

d,s

[94]

1.0]

1
C

AS= 0.0306 x 0.13

-3

3.978 x 10

0.0712 m
(20)

d,s

5-31

CHAPTER 5

...
~
<ll

.,-;
u

.,-;
...
...
<ll

o
U
<ll
<ll

o
.....l
<ll

~
;j

<ll
<ll
<ll

Po

rl
<Q

...
o

40
Divergence

Angle
Used

2.0

0.55

If'

IJ'.= 0

3.8

0.55

If'

IJ'.=

2.0

0.55

21J1

3.8

0.55

21J1

3.2

0.75

21J1

3.2

0.75

21J1

Geometry

IJ'.= 0

2
3

5
6

-If'

0
IJI.= -IJI
1
0
IJI.= -IJI
1
0
IJI.= -IJI
1
0
1

Based

Ratio=

Area

on initial and

80 100

degrees

Di3/D03

Curve

Angle,

60

final annulus

area

Figure 26. Effect of Divergence Angle on Pressure Loss for Annular Diffusers

5-32

COMBUSTOR

0.8

...

...u

ii,

I
I'

0.6

I' I
;

. I '

to:

.~

i I !

I'
I
r

"'"
"'~
"

o
u

~
~
~

0.4

CJl

~
~
~

0.2

Divergence

10

Angle

20

40

60

80

2'" , degrees

Figure 27. Effect of Divergence Angle on Pressure Loss for Two-Dimensional

Conical Diffusers [95]
Using these values, the essential geometry of
the diffuser may now be sketched, Fig. 24.
The entry to the snout should be well roundedoff and located as shown. For a uniform compressor delivery, the coefficient of discharge of
the snout mouth should approach unity. In the
example given here, full expansion occurs upstream of the snout mouth. If this is not possible, allow for a minimum of 20%expansion in
order to minimize pressure loss. From these dimensions, and the diffuser angle, the diffuser
length Ldiff may be estimated. From the point of
entry to the snout, the air flowing in the annulus
should be maintained at a constant velocity. The
performance of the diffuser can now be estimated for all conditions. If it is unsatisfactory,
the divergence angles can be adjusted ..
As indicated in Fig. 23, two types of in -line
diffusers are possible. Generally, a combination
of the two is required. If support struts are required, they should be of airfoil section to minimize flow disturbance. Fuel pipes are best 10-

100

and

cated around the combustor dome, where the air

is highly turbulent.
9.0 SWIRLER DESIGN
The usual type of swirler consists of a number of
blades (8 to 10 are typical) set at a stagger angle (asw) in an annulus around the atomizer.
For operation with typical pressure losses, the
recirculation zone created by the swirler is a
function of the degree of swirl, the pressure
loss, and the surrounding wall divergence angle. Under such divergence conditions (i . e. ,
without any effects due to secondary air admission) , the length of the recirculation zone approximates two swirler diameters, with a maximum entrainment ratio of about 30%of the swirler flow.
In the typical combustor, swirl-induced recirculation is augmented by the airflow through the
holes within the primary zone, a certain amount
of which has been shown to be actively involved.
5-33

CHAPTER 5
The quantity of recirculated air has been estimated at between 30 and 70%of the total air admitted through the holes in the primary zone. A
useful working estimate is 50%. If two rows of
primary zone holes are used, two-thirds of the
air should be admitted through the first row and
one -third of the air through the second row. The
position of these holes may affect the length of
the recirculation zone. A rule of thumb, based
upon flow visualization measurements, is to locate the holes (if only a single row is required)
in a place tangential to the downstream portion
of the "magic-circle," Fig. 28. This term roughly defines the recirculation zone and is formed by
a circle half the combustor diameter, abutting
the inner dome (flare).
In many cases the swirler diameter is half the
diameter of this circle. For satisfactory performance, both the blade stagger angle, asw, and
the blade length should be made large enough
that one can no longer see through the swirler.
The amount of air to be passed by the swirler is
not clearly defined. Experiments have shown that
the combustor will perform well for amounts

ranging from 3 to 12%of the total air. The selected quantity should be such that its momentum equals that of the air entering the recirculation via the primary zone holes. Experience has
shown that it is usually satisfactory to have onethird of the total recirculation air admitted via the
swirler.
Most swirlers are made with straight blades set
at a constant angle, and experiments show that
the turning angle of the air flow, Psw, approximates the stagger angle, asw. Values of P generally lie between 45 and 70. For this example,
it will be assumed thatasw = Psw = 60 and that
msw = 7% of m3.
Knight and Walker [31] give the following pressure -loss relationship:
AP

SW

qref

msw
(---)

ref
(----)

Aft

.....
-110
----00-1

'MAGIC

CIRCLE'

~--------180--------~~i
~-------250---------~i

Figure 28. Combustor Front End

5-34

'I~

- -e--e-

If)
r<l--r<l

-e-

(21)

COMBUSTOR
where:

This value may then be inserted into Eq , (21)

to obtain Asw (Ksw = 1.30); this yields Asw ""
2 .14 x 10- 3 m2. Allowing for 50%more air flow>

1 . 30 (thin straight blades)

Asw

1 . 15 (thin curved blades)

AP
sw
qref

Psw - Pft

--------qref
(22)
AP

AP

AP

qref

qref

3 4
s
diff
----- ---- ------

qref

where APs is the total pressure loss inside the

snout. APs is typically about 25%of the dynamic
pressure at the snout mouth. This value may be
increased by controlling the snout flow by an orifice or a perforated plate. The increased pressure loss from this type of control is offset by the
improved flow distribution.
Because of the uncertainty in the balance between the swirler air and the air admitted in the
primary zone> the swirler is designed to take
50% more air than required and then to fit a
blanking plate for development. The largest diameter is regarded as the mechanical size of the
swirler , but for calculating air distribution> the
original (blanked) air flow is assumed.
It has been claimed that the use of a blanking
plate offers increased turbulence and improved
mixing of air and fuel and> at the same time
causes> the air to "stick" to the flare. For the
present example:

Since APdiff represents a 1% loss in pressure> then from the design point (Condition 1)
of Table 1:

------

7.686

qref
0.25q

-----qref

0.25

A
2
ref
(----)
Ao
2.072

Hence,

from Eq , (22):

AP

sw
qref

10-3 m2

(23)

Next> it is desirable to estimate the diameter

of the fuel atomizer casing. This may have to be
adjusted at a later stage but, for a combustor of
this size> a value of 42 mm is acceptable. A very
rough guide is that the diameter of the atomizer
is 10 to 15%of Dref. If an air blast system is selected, these values are invalid. Assuming an
atomizer diameter of 42 mm and an inner swirler
diameter of 45 mm 0.5 mm wall), the swirler
outer diameter Dsw becomes 78 mm. Thus,
Dsw/Dft

0.28

Typically> the swirler outer diameter is about

30%of the combustor liner diameter. The calculation is therefore considered to be satisfactory.
The geometry and dimensions of the diffuser and
swirler region are given in Fig. 28.
10.0 CALCULATION
OF FLAME
TEMPERATURE
For this purpose> the combustor is divided into
four zones: recirculation zone> primary zone,
secondary zone and dilution zone. For each
zone> unless otherwise noted> the local flame
temperature will be assumed to vary .Iinearly between Tin and Tout.

Tin

(24)

T3

(25)

APdiff

s
qref

10 . 1 Recirculation Zone
Both the efficiency, 71> and ideal temperature
rise, AT, refer to the volume between the inlet
and appropriate zone. The temperatures are estimated using the following equations:

AP
--~=.!"" 53
qref

AP

3.21

53 - 2.072 - 7.686

43.2

71RZ = 0.56 + 0.44 tanh [1. 5475 x 10- 3

(T3+ 108 in P3-l863)]

(26)

The highest temperature in the zone is given

by Eq , (25) > and the combustion efficiency is
given by Eq , (26). As this zone is only partly
stirred> this temperature can exist only locally,
and a mean outlet temperature of [113 T 3 + 2/3
TRZ] is assumed as a reasonable value of
Tout ,RZ
In order to account for the finite reaction rate
and the addition of cold air> a linear relationship
from T 3 at the atomizer face to Tout at the end of
5-35

CHAPTER 5
the recirculation zone is assumed. This relationship is somewhat doubtful, and there are indications that the temperature used near the atomizer face should be somewhat higher than T 3 .
Therefore, in the forward part of this zone, Tw
will be limited to about 1250 K, compared with
1300 K elsewhere.

For rich mixtures,

(35)

71 = lI<l>SZ

10 . 2 Remainder of Primary Zone

(27)

= T 3 + 71pz t-TpZ

Tout,PZ

and <l>is the equivalence ratio in the zone. Equation (33) is applicable to a wide range of operating
conditions and combustor types (ranging from
spherical combustors to practical gas turbines).

10.4 Dilution Zone Temperature

(36)

Tin ,DZ = Tout ,SZ

71pZ = 0.71 + 0.29 tanh

x 10-3

[1.5475

(T 3+ 108 in P3 - 1863)]

(29)

= Tout,PZ

Tout,SZ

71SZ is given by:

log log 1/71 = 0.911 log ?f300 +

8.02 <l>- 1.097 + D* (31)
The value of D* is best determined experimentally, but if this cannot be done, then an approximate value, for weak mixture, may be obtained
from:
D*

0.736

- 0.0173

(37)

In the secondary and dilution zone, 71is given

by Eq. (31).
For the four conditions of the present example , the calculated flame temperatures are listed
in Table 7.

(30)

= T 3 + 71SZt-TSZ

For weak mixtures,

T3 + 71DZ t-TDZ

(28)

10 . 3 Secondary Zone Temperature

Tin,SZ

Tout,DZ=

(P31t-P)

(32)

Equation (32) is based upon scanty data and

should be used cautiously.

10.5 The "Equivalent" Gas Temperature

Adjacent to the Film Tg ,
The hot gas temperature, Tg, 1S assumed to folIowa linear relationship from the entrance to the
exit of a zone.
From the viewpoint of radiation, it seems valid
to use the mean local hot gas temperature, Tg'
In determining the film coolant temperature, Tc,
some consideration must be given to the residual
effects of changes of local hot gas temperature
as the film progresses from its source. This introduces the concept of the "equivalent" hot gas
temperature, T s ": This is defined as the mean
temperature of the hot gas local to the start of
the film cooling and the temperature of the hot
gas local to the point in question.
For an uninterrupted film,

?f300 is defined

as

f
----n

If measurements of combustion efficiency exist

(or values of air loadings are required) for inlet
temperatures other than 300 K, the following
correction is valid [32]:
10-3.054Y

-1.205

1.2327Y

(at x=any value)

= -g----------g---------------2

For a film which crosses two zones (e ig , PZ

and SZ), Tg' is obtained as a mean value from
the areas under the curves Tg versus x.
In some instances (e. g. around the flare),
Tg' will be significantly lower than Tg' In many
regions it will be close to T ' but, in zones
where the gas temperature fans (e. g. dilution
zone), it may well be higher than Tg .

(33)

11 . 0 HEAT TRANSFER TO
COMBUSTOR WALLS

(34)

11 . 1 Uncooled Wall Temperature

The combustor walls receive heat by convection
and radiation from the hot gases within the combustor, and they lose heat by convection to the

-1.205

. T

T (at x=O)+T

at 300 K

VpZP

where y
and y
5-36

<l>for <l>~ I,
1 for <l>> 1

COMBUSTOR

Table 7. Combustor Temperature Distri bution

Condo
No.
1

Recirculation

Tin
T
T

out
mean

Tin
T
T

out
mean

2226 deg K

Tin

2384 deg K

23S4 deg K

1639 deg K

T.
1n

2142 deg K

2142 deg K

2252 deg K

T3

814 deg K

2303 deg K

2226 deg K

out

out

1807 deg K

707 deg K

T3

2038 deg K

707 deg K

out

out

2252 deg K

in

1422 deg K

out

1594 deg K

Tin

1060 deg K

T3

1060 deg K

Tin

2150 deg K

T.
1n

1890 deg K

2572 deg K

2150 deg K

1890 deg K

1420 deg K

343 deg K

1086 deg K

T.
1n

1086 deg K

1191 deg K

Tin

814 deg K

out

Dilution Zone

Secondary Zone

Primary Zone

Zone

out
mean

T.
1n
T

out

T
mean

out

out

out

2068 deg K

343 deg K
1137 deg K

T3
T

out

in
out

1191 deg K
726 deg K

out

872 de g K

incoming air contained within the casing and by

radiation from the combustor wall to the casing
wall. Under these circumstances (and in the absence of longitudinal conduction), the calculation of the wall temperature involves the following
heat balance:

(mgl Ag) 0 8 dha - 0

. 2

(40)

(Tg-Tw1)

(41)

(38)
The situation to be considered is a combustor
burning a typical commercial liquid hydrocarbon. The combustor can be annular, canannular, or multi-can, but proven results have
been obtained only for combustors with a pressure injection atomizer or with a simple diffusion
gas injection system. No published literature exists for predicting wall temperatures for systems
which are uncooled and use air-blast or airassist atomizers. Conduction will be limited to
that across the wall. Under these circumstances, Eq , (38) may be solved, using the
equations proposed by Lefebvre and Herbert
[33], plus the standard conduction equation:
Rl

(112) a(1
.

+ w) g Tgl.

(Tg25-Tw12.S)

(39)

C2

0.02

(ka/~aO.8)T
3

(mal Aa)

0 .8

(TW2

Ta)

dha - 0

.2

(42)
(43)

If the wall is thin, then Tw 1 approximates Tw 2 .

Equation (43) is then eliminated, and the only
unknowns are R 1, R 2' C 1, C 2 and Tw. Typical
values of predicted and measured wall temperatures for an uncooled combustor are given in
Figs. 29, 30 and 31, [33]. The technique seems
satisfactory for uncooled combustors, but requires modification for combustors having some
form of air cooling at the walls .
II . 2 Film Cooling
The three common ways of cooling walls are indicated schematically in Fig. 32. Convection
5-37

CHAPTER 5

10

0_

18

000

0-0-

/'"

_o~

16

14 a:

o/V

o
o

~u

/0

12
ellperlmental

--

calculated

60

100
PRESSURE p.

10

140
k Po

180

cooling has already been discussed, and cooling by transpiration will be discussed later. This
section will be limited to the theory and practice
of film cooling .
Figure 32b indicates the film cooling process.
An air stream is blown through a slot in a direction tangential to the surface and parallel to the
hot gas. The cool air thus forms a protective
barrier to separate the wall from the hot gases.
The cool film gradually mixes with the hot gas
and, in the process its effectiveness as a coolant
depreciates. Therefore. when the wall reaches
its maximum safe temperature, the film will have
to be renewed. In order to derive suitable analytical expressions describing heat transfer by
film cooling, certain simplifying assumptions are
needed. These are:

Flame tube

diameter

Reference

flow rate

mass

Primary

air mass flow rate

Total

air mass flow rate

Inlet

temperature
air-fuel

rl)

0 r-ef

= l72 mm (0.89

rt)

man/ma

= 0.9

Drl

Diameter

Annulus

Overall

= 22!.J mm (0.75

m
m

ratio

1m

0.16

(2.2

kgls

Ibis)

T3

= 498 deg K (897 deg R)

Figure 29. Comparison of Calculated

and Experimental Wall Temperatures Effect of Air Pressure [33]

The hot gas will be assumed to be of uniform temperature and velocity, and it will
be assumed to be transparent (i . e., no
heat transfer by radiation}.
The coolant will be assumed to completely
occupy the film cooling slot, to be transparent, and to have uniform temperature
and velocity as it leaves the slot.
The wall temperature will be assumed to be
equal to that of the film adjacent to it and to
be adiabatic.
An adiabatic film effectiveness (film cooling efficiency) will be defined as follows:
T

_9.

"'c

100 OR

x
o
o

9
I

o~

- 13

/'
""",,-

,/1

a:

-110

"I~

eo

-- ,

3
4
INLET TEMPERATURE

Inlet
Other

pressure
conditions

.pe-rlmeotal

- -9

calculated

I
5

T3 (l00

P3 = 84.4 kPa (12.2

as shown in Figure

OK)

psia)
29

Figure 30. Comparison of Calculated

and Experimental Wall Temperatures Effect of Inlet Temperature [33]

5-38

- T~

( 44)

- T
9
c

11 .2. 1 Film Cooling Calculations

It would appear logical to begin the calculations
by estimating the characteristics of the flare
cooling section. However, at the flare, the values of Aa and ma are defined by the geometry
and flow characteristics of the first wall cooling
device. Hence, it is better to choose and design
the first wall cooling device before going to the
flare cooling.
For the example here, a wigglestrip design
has been selected and, to simplify production, it
will be assumed that all the film cooling devices
will have the same form and gap width. The slot
height, w, will be set at 2. 5 mrn , the material
will be Nimonic 75, the material emissivity will be
0.8, and the maximum permissible operating
temperature for the wall will be 1300 K. The permissible temperature of 1300 K may seem high,
but the aircraft is designed for supersonic cruise
and is probably for military application. Hence,
a long -Iife engine is not a primary consideration. The normal blockage for wigglestrips
ranges from about 30 to about 50%; here a value

COMBUSTOR
of 50%will be assumed. There is little published
information on the coefficients of discharge for
film cooling devices other than that of Venneman
[32, 34]. However, reasonable agreement of
calculated with measured wall temperatures
suggests the following values are appropriate for
through-flow combustors with reasonable air
distribution:

Ib Is
1

0.85

Splash device

0.65

"

11

Q
fo-

Total head device

12'

....

a::

10

a::
....
Q.

-.

..J
..J

- 20

-18

0-

-14

conditions

toP

80

237 kPa (34.4

psia)

= 475 deg K (855 deg R)

as shown on Figure

29

Figure 31. Comparison of Calculated

Experimental Wall Temperatures Effect of Air Mass Flow Rate [33]

Gas

0W4W4~4Co",bustor

sw

Coolant

= 43.2,

2.55 x 103 Pa

Therefore:

0.057

Cooling

Film Cooling

(46)

All values are now known for insertion in Eq .

(45) to give mc i : The data may then be used to
calculate mc , 1 at the other operating conditions.
11. 2. 1. 2 Calculation
of Hot
Mass Flow, mg

Convection

Casrnq

Ae is computed as being equal to the area of

the film cooling gap less the blockage factor, B,
and multiplied by Cd, i. e. ,
Ac (1 - B) Cd

--..

0M:;S:~~~

qref

=
T3

kg/s

(SI Units)

qref

Ae

P3

ma

RATE

ratio Z

air-fuel

Inlet temperature
Other

2
MASS FLOW

Inlet pressure

(45)

143.5

-16

r---t-2-

Hot

0.07,

AIR

Because this first device takes its air from the

snout, the pressure losses will depend upon the
latter and are calculated with respect to the design condition (Condition 1).

toP
P3

~~

)2

.
a::

Overall

p2(A

calculated

k m T
-------

f?llpenmentill

~
....
fo-

Used in conjunction with film' cooling parameters, the subscripts 1, 2, 3, etc. , refer to the
number of the film cooling device, counting from
the head of the combustor.
The pressu.re loss characteristics of the device
may be expressed as:
toP

__

::;)
f0ot

11. 2. 1. 1 Calculation
of Cooling
Air Mass Flow, mc 1

Transpiration

Cooling

Gas

The hot gas mass flow is defined as that flow

within the recirculation region. Although it is not

Figure 32. Types of Wall Cooling

5-39

CHAPTER 5
(mcl Ac)

precisely known at this stage, it is possible to

estimate it with sufficient accuracy. The distribution assumed is:

0 .8

dhc - 0

.2

rr, - TW1)

(52)

(53)

(1/2) nH.PZ ~'PZ

(47)

o . 02

(kal ILa 0

. 8)

where; msw is known mc. f is typically 0.03 m 3 .

(mal Aa)

0 .8

The air coming through the primary zone holes

is given by:

(TW2

Ta)

a
dha - 0

.2

(54)

(55)

The method of solving Eqs , (51) to (55) is:

Equations (47) and (48) assume a single row

of primary zone holes. If two rows are used, then
the final terms of Eq , (47) will be defined as the
mass flow obtained by assuming that two-thirds
of the mass flow entered the recirculation zone
from the upstream row, and one-third of the
mass flow, from the downstream row of holes.
11. 2. 1. 3 Calculation
Air

Mass

of Annulus
Flow.
=

Here ma is the air flow entering the annulus and

is equal to the total air flow less that entering the
snout.
11. 2. 1. 4 Calculation
Ac.

Ag

of the Areas.
Aa

AC=l7dcw

(49)

where dc is the arithmetic mean diameter of the

gap. Ag is the flame tube cross-section inside
the cooling film [1.25 17 (dft - 2w) 2]; Aa is the
cross-section of the gap between flame tube and
casing (dft increases with the addition of film
cooling devices).
11. 2. 1. 5 Calculation
Temperature.

of

1. Specify the combustor

Tinlet = Ta, in K.

inlet

condition

Pinlet = Pa = Pg = Pc (pressure losses are

neglected) in Pa.
2 . Air Partitioning: ma, mc and m are derived from the estimates discusse'a above,
in kg/s.
3. Specify fuel type: a knowledge of the elH
ratio is required for flame radiation calculation. For this example a kerosene is assumed, see Table 8.
4. Estimate the hot gas temperature,
T' g' as given previously.

Tg and

5. Estimate the coolant gas entry temperatures, Ta, as given previously.

11. 2. 1. 6 Estimate

of Coolant

Temperature

See [35].
o8
X

o
W

Wall
Tw

( 56)

The heat transfer equations to be solved are:

where:

(50)
K

u
1 for -1 ~ 0.8
u

( 57)

(51)

( 58)

5-40

COMBUSTOR

Table 8. Fuel Properties Assumed for Worked Example

Aniline

157.6

Point

Aniline/Gravity

7092

Constant

45.9

API Gravity
IBP
10%
50%
90%
FBP
percent recovered
percent residue

ASTM Distillation

Average

B.P.

Calorific

Volumetric
Bolar

Value

390
380

4721<
466K
43.26 f1,T/kq
6.14

Temperature
Pressure

Flash Point

423K
437K
468y
S14K
533K

Ratio

Cloud Point
Critical

302
327
383
466
500
98.5
1.0

18600 Btu/lbm

Carbon/Hydroqen
Critical

of

(Closed)

-58

OF

223K

661

of

623K

72.1 x 103 lbf/ft2

111) OF

3.45 ~~.Pa
316K
3.64

Luminosity
Holecular

160

Weight

~roma~ic

Content

Percent

Specific

Gravity

(60/60 OF)

Stoichiometric

18
0.800
14.72

Air/Fuel

Density

by mass

Surface Tension

at
at
at
at

32P/273K
77F/298K
100F/311K
122F/323K

49.91 Ibm/ft3 799.4 kg/m

-3
30 x 10 _~/m
26.3 x 10
N/m
23.3 x 10-3 N/m
24.2 x 10-3 N/m

Ultimate AnalvsisCarbon-percent
Hydrogen-percent
Viscosity

11 . 2. 1. 7 Estimate

86.0
14.0
1.27 x 10-6 m2/s
1.80 x 10-6 m2/s
6.70 x 10-6 m2/s

(liquid) at 122F/323K
at 77P/298K
at -22F/243K

of Flame

Emissivity.

= 1 - exp [-0.286 Lu P

11.2.

1.8

Estimate
ka/J1.aO8

of Conductivity

74.811 + l.674
(59)

with
Lu

0.0081599 T1.
10-5

0.0691 (C/H ~ 1.82)2.71

(60)

T2.25

10- 8 T3

Term.

TO.75
5

+ 2.2539 x

2.5287 x
(61)
5-41

CHAPTER 5

Table 9. Air Distribution and Geometry of Film Cooling

Air

Film
Cooling
Device
m

per
cent

per
cent

14.0

7.0

2.92

5.94xlO

1st Wall 14.0

83.0

7.01

5.94xl0

2nd Wall 21.0

25.0

75.6
67.7

7.38

6.25xl0

32.4
3rd Wall 43.4

60.1
49.1

7.55

6.56xl0

4th Wall 50.9

76.3

41. 3
16.0

7.73

6.88xl0

5th Wall 84.0

8.10

7.92

7.22xlO

Flare

cent

per

Hydraulic Mean Diam.

Areas

-2 Varies -3
o2.5xlO

-2

-2

2.57xl0

2.25xl0

-2

1.93xl0

-2

1.60xl0

-2

Note - d

2.45xl0

-2

2.23xl0

2.29xl0

2.34xl0

2.40xl0

cross-sectional

'wetted'

wall

ha

-3

-3

-3

-3

-3

0.001

0.165

0.0020

hc

0.275

Varies
0.01
0.004
to
0.005

0.275

0.053

0.005

0.001

0.165

0.0025

0.282

0.046

0.005

0.001

0.169

0.0025

0.289

0.039

0.005

0.001

0.173

0.0025

0.296

0.032

0.005

0.001

0.178

0.0025

0.303

0.005

0.005

0.001

0.184

0.0025

area

perimeter

The data given in Tables 1 and 8 enable all of

the above equations to be solved using an iteration technique. The results of the gas temperature calculations are also given in Table 7. Using Eqs . (45) to (61) it is then possible to calculate the wall temperatures for the conditions
listed in Table I.
Similarly, it is possible to predict the wall temperatures for the remaining wall cooling devices
along the combustor. (For the remaining devices the pressure loss available will be that
across the combustor.) Some caution must be
observed in the use of temperatures for the cooling strip (or strips) that span two regions,
(e. g. cooling ring no. 3 cools the latter part of
the primary zone and the early part of the seeondary zone). In such cases, the relevant gas
temperatures must be used for each zone.
The results of the film cooling calculation are
summarized in Tables 9 and 10. Condition No. 3
has been neglected, because of its transient nature, and so has Condition No. 5 (idling) because of the very low temperatures involved.
5-42

hg

2.18xlO

-2

-2

Varies -3
1.5xl0

-2

-2

12.0 DESIGN OF AIR

ADMISSION HOLES
Figure 33 illustrates the geometric arrangement
and definitions for the holes. Although the annulus air flow is generally parallel to the plane of the
holes, considerable deflection of the streamlines
occurs in their immediate vicinity. The amount of
disturbance depends upon:

Hole
Liner
Liner
Hole

geometry
pressure loss
geometry
bleed ratio

If x is the hole area ratio, /3 is the hole bleed

ratio, K is the hole pressure loss factor, and J1.
/31 a, then [36],
e,

K=

1 +

02

(t./.2/02)

{2t./.2

[4t./.4

(4/3_/32))

0 . 5}

(62)

COMBUSTOR

Table 10. Film Cooling Performance Data

Device

Distance
from
Injector
Face

Condo
No.

nun

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

68
to
143

1
2
4

143
to
168
168
to
189

4th

lll2
1229
1345
1410

829
861
909
943

967
988
1001
ll58

973
1077
ll81
1239

720
749
792
821

872
891
901
901

1371
1480
1598
1664

1078
1106
ll56
ll91

1279
1302
1313
1314

'

814

0.139

1594

707

0.0704

2068

1060

75
75
75

0.168
0.139
0.0704

1659
1462
1918

814
707
1060

1438
1264
1693

885
770
ll31

955
856
1256

4
1
2
4

25
25
25
46
46
46

0.168
0.139
0.0704
0.0943
0.0776
0.0394

1807
1594
2068
2017
1868
2109

814
707
1060
814
707
1060

1733
1528
1993
1815
1621
2037

853
742
llOO
893
778
ll38

978
882
1293
1070
966
1299

189
to
210
210
to
280

1
2
4
1
2
4

21
21
21
91
91
91

0.0943
0.0776
o .039!f
0.0543
0.0447
0.0227

2226
2142
2150
2305
2196
2133

814
707
1060
814
707
1060

2122
2005
2130
2233
2131
2095

861
753
llOl
1021
906
1230

ll40
1062
1293
ll96
1048
1275

280
to
350
350

1
2
4
1
2
4
1
2
4

70
70
70
120
120
120
170
170
170

0.0543
0.0447
0.0227
0.0309
0.0255
0.0129
0.0309
0.0255
0.0129

2384
2252
1890
2282
2138
1825
2179
2024
1761

814
707
1060
814
707
1060
814
707
1060

2345
2224
1955
2340
2212
1915
2308
2173
1879

978
863
ll74
ll44
1054
1242
1271
ll84
1312

1200
1039
1218
ll87
1044
1227
1229
1094
1255

1
2
4

264
264
264

0.0281
0.0231
0.01l7

1639
1422
1420

814
707
1060

1909
1723
1250

1287
ll58
ll62

1077
942
H18

to
450
5th

g
a
g
c
w
dt.:g
K deg K deg K deg K deg K
1807

Cooling

3rd

25
50
75
89

0.168

Flare

2nd

Local
f/a

rnrn

1st

450
to
714

25
50
75
89
25
50
75
89

5-43

CHAPTER 5

The annulus loss is generally neglected l

should it be required for cylindrical combust.
the following equation is suggested [38]:

where:
() =

momentum loss factor.

This) in turn) leads to:

+

p2

= ------~-=-!~------2
() [4K

The jet angle)

sin

[1

is given by:

<t

K - 1
----K

<t>

p)2

(63)

K(2 _ p)2]O.5

(1 _

(64)

Kaddah [36] established that () varies from

0.75 to 0.9 over a wide range of K. Figure 34
illustrates the relationship between f.1. and K for
various plain holes.
Inserting the value of 0 appropriate to plain and
plunged holes yields the following equations:
For plain holes:

0.028(x

- x )

+ --D-'(J=-~-K)-! ]

where Dh is the local flame tube hydraulic di

eter.
For each row of holes) the first step is to t
mate the total air through the holes. The tota
entering the primary zone is 25 percent. '
comprises:

7.00%
2.92%
7.01%
8.07%
(by differen

Swirler
Flare Cooling
First Wall Cooling
Primary Zone Holes

(65)
y
PLANE

K - 1
-----------------0.8 [4K2 - K(2 _ p)2]O.5

sin

1
----1.6C
d

<t>

PLANE

L,

(66)

I
I

I
I

CASING

.1

(67)

For plunged holes:

LINER

1 + 0.36 {2f.1.2

+ (4f.1.4

HOLE

2.77

./
,/
./

(4P - p2)]O.5}

(68)

(VENA

PLANE 3
,/
CONTRACTA)

Definitions:

K -

------------------------

0.6 [4K2

(69)

K(2 _ p)2]O.5

<t>

1
----1.2C

(70)

Equations (66) and (69) are shown graphically in Fig. 35. The effect of bleed upon Cd
becomes significant only as p .. 1.0.
Data on the discharge coefficients of a large
number of hole geometries are given in [37].
This) together with Eqs . (62) to (70) makes it
possible to specify the Cd for most types of holes
in current combustors.
5-44

Hole

ffi

Bleed

Ratio

~ = --

sin

7:

Hole Area

Ratio

-Hole Pressure
Jet

Annulus

an

Ah
Ratio a = -Aan

Bleed/ Area

Mass

Flow

Mass

Flow

Hole Are"
-----Annulus
Area

;.

~/a

Loss

Fuc tor-

Dynamic

Pressure

= ---------------Annulus

Dynamic

Pressure

Figure 33. Geometric Arrangement

and Definitions for Liner Hole
Flow Analysis

COMBUSTOR
A maximum fraction of the primary air is recirculated for a primary hole position that is 0.5 to
o .6 liner diameters downstream of the dome.
For conventional combustors this also coincides
(approximately) with a line normal to the combustor centerline and tangential to the "magic
circles," (which correspond approximately to the
toroidal recirculation regions within the primary
zone) .
The amount of recirculation is related to the
geometry and pressure loss of the hole and the
annulus. A simple analysis suggests that optimum recirculation is produced by six holes, with

e. 0
la.aamg~~

'.

4.a~~~~

1: +~'/
2 .01---+--+-7-t--'-;-++-++1 ~~'7-"'---~----1
' ...kI1./
:. .t'l;if'A'
.y.

' I:;

0.8

;:: 0.6

~~EEt~~=
o

4~

f--Pi'1J._-+...;.'~'-r'
.

CIRCULAR

OVAL

_' ~ _.

1/

02

I'

I:

~1

;1

EaUATlON

'!

': I: ' : t

PLAIN

'HOLES

R_EC:::~~~;:

_.-

S '08
S. 1.0

: !

0.1~l.a:-'---::2.:::-0
.........
-'-:':4.a~6::':.ac'c.~.a~,a;::--~7.:2a;-'--+4~a---;6:::-a
'-;:.::'::0
100
HOLE

PRESSuRE

LOSS

FACTORI(

Figure 34. Relationship Between

Bleed/ Area Ratio and Pressure Loss
Factor for Various Liner Holes [36]

1.0

a .a
0.7

o. 6
0.'
0.4

a. 1
a.
2 /

,'~ '

i/'
'/l' ~

i
I

PLUN1GED

lY

M
! i
,

I
I

I
i

!
20

PRESSURE

(72)

--h

Here (6Ph) /P 3 is taken as 6% at the design

point (Condition 1, Table 1). Before commencing the calculation, it is necessary to specify the
type of holes. The holes easiest to manufacture
are plain-circular,
but plunged holes give a
higher Cd and better penetration characteristics.
If the annulus width is relatively narrow (as in this
example) and the amount of air is relatively
small, then plunged holes are preferred. These
are selected for the present example. The method of calculating the hole size is an iterative procedure as follows:

If Cd of Step 6 = Cd of Step 2, then the correct

value has been selected. If not, an iterative procedure must be followed until the correct values
are found.
If six holes are used, the comparatively large
diameter (20 mm) makes them difficult to position
inside the short ring of the flame tube; therefore,
eight holes are selected, each having a diameter
of 17 mm. Plunging is done using a plunge radius
of dh/6.
Holes in the secondary and dilution zones are
calculated in the same manner.
13.0 IGNITION

LOSS

FACTOR

i
J040

CONSIDERATIONS

Rapid ignition is required at ground level start up to

minimize the starter power requirements; and for
aircraft engines, it must be possible to relight at
altitude if flame-out has occurred.
The process may be considered as occurring in
several stages:

346810
HOLE

"~LES

p C A.

I
i,

T3

---------2 2 2

,
;
PLAI~

i I
,
i

I
HOL~S

"11
a

! I

I I I I

0.9

143.5 ~

Step 1
Calculate p (p = mh/man).
Step 2
Guess a reasonable value of Cd .
Step 3 - Use this value and Eq , (72) to determine Ah t
Calculate' a and /I..
Step 4
Step 5
Calculate K using Eq , (68).
Step 6 - Insert K into Eq , (69), or use Fig. 34,
to estimate Cd.

~I.ag~~~
"
~

dh/dft = 0.17. This ideal is seldom approached

in practice.
For incompressible flow, the standard equation for pressure loss through a hole is:

I
6080100

Figure 35. Variation of Discharge

Coefficient with Hole Pressure Loss
Factor [36]

Supply of sufficient ignition energy

Establishment of a flame kernel
Establishment of a flame throughout the
combustor
If more than one combustor exists, the flame
must be transmitted from one combustor to
another via an interconnector
5-45

CHAPTER 5
13.1 Selection of Igniter Type
The igniter will be determined by the type of engine
and its function. Thus, for engines operated only
at ground conditions, a low energy system will
generally be satisfactory. For aircraft operating at
moderately low altitudes (e. g. helicopters), a
high-tension air-gap system may be satisfactory,
or a low-energy surface discharge system may be
used. For aircraft operating at high altitude, highenergy surface discharge systems will be necessary. Vaporizer combustors will utilize some form
of torch igniter. In addition, for very arduous conditions, glow-plugs or oxygen addition may be
necessary to assist relight at altitude. In the future, premixed, prevaporized systems may demand a more elegant high energy igniter such as
that provided by a plasma jet.
13 . 2 Igniter Location
A suitable location for the plug must be found in the
recirculation zone. The first stage in the light-up
process is a satisfactory electrical discharge.
This, in turn, ignites a neighboring pocket of
fueVair mixture to produce a flame kernel. For the
flame to spread throughout the chamber, it is
essential that this kernel be recirculated back
towards the atomizer face in such a way that the
incoming mixture will ignite and establish a stable
flame.
A useful position for the plug is adjacent to the
fuel nozzle at the flare. Unfortunately, such a
position has poor accessibility. It has also been
found that such proximity to the fuel nozzle can
foul the surface of the plug with cracked fuel or
carbon. The next best possibility, and the one
generally used, is to locate the plug on the cylindrical part of the combustor, so that the
ejected flame kernel shoots across to the center
of the combustor, where it is entrained for recirculation towards the atomizer face.
If a high-energy surface discharge plug is being used, the exposure of the plug tip to the combustor gases becomes particularly important.
The tip should be clear of the cooling layer and,
according to the manufacturers, the temperature
at the plug tip shouldnot exceed 850 K. However,
in this example, the 1030 K inlet temperature for
the supersonic cruise condition must be accepted, and the plug life will be correspondingly
short. One has to find a compromise depth, with
sufficient immersion but still cool enough to obtain the desired life of the plug.

be little to be gained in prediction accuracy from

the more complex methods, two simple correlations will be proposed to estimate combustion efficiency and stability.
Models for the prediction of pollutants range
from simple empirical relationships to complex
numerical techniques and, once again, because
of their similar accuracy, three very simple equations have been selected. For fuels containing
nitrogen a simple correction factor is used. The
accuracy of these predictions is generally within a
factor of two.
If the prediction of CO, HC and NOx are poor,
that of carbon is even worse, and the scheme
proposed here is only tentative. Since almost all
the sulfur within the fuel appears as sulfur oxides, it may be assumed, for all practical purposes, that 95%of any sulfur in the fuel is converted to sulfur dioxide. Similarly it may be assumed that all the ash-forming elements will be
converted to ash.
14. 1 Combustion Efficiency, Stability
and Ignition
The demand for pollutant reduction may be expressed in terms of combustion efficiency.
Thus, a very high combustion efficiency (say >
99.7) would indicate a satisfactory pollutant
emission. It follows that the combustion efficiency, while not specific, does represent a measure of pollution and is thus important for making
predictions. Any changes introduced to improve
the combustion efficiency may also alter the stability and ignition characteristics of the combustor, and it is desirable to predict such changes.
Two simple but effective indicators of combustion efficiency and stability are the e parameter
and the Odgers-Carrier parameter.
The e parameter is defined by:

e
where b (in K) is given by:
b

for
b

14.0 PERFORMANCE AND POLLUTANT

PREDICTIONS
The combustor performance
by one of the many models
simple empirical equations to
numerical techniques. Since
5-46

may be estimated
which range from
extremely complex
there appears to

+ In 4>pz)

245(1.39
0.6

<

4> ~ 1.0

- In 4>pz)
1. 0 < 4> < 1.4

170(2.00
for

Kelvin

If the example given is now reintroduced, we

have:
Aref

8 . 81 x 10- 2 m 2

Dref

3.35 x 10-1 m

COMBUSTOR

Table 11. Efficiency Predictions at Operating Conditions

Condo Condition
No.

P **
...l

m3
-1

Fuel/Air
Overall

MFa

kgs

Design Point
Max. Thrust
SLS

1.93

18.1

0.0230

Max. Alt.

0.68

6.8

kgO.75 ms-3.5

deg K

deg K

1.39

284

814

3.75 x 109

0.0195

1.14

317

707

834

308

29.5 x 10

392 x 10

n%
based on--based on
e value Odgers/Carrier
Eqns 74 to 83
99

99.2

> 99

99.2

90

87.2

> 99

99.6

99

94.1

>

x 10

Cruise

Max. Relight
Alt.
Windmill.

0.0298

0.22

0.0170*

1.00*

340*

Normal
Cruise

1.77

1.42

0.0099

0.58

207

1060

Ground
Idle

0.148

1.05

0.0087

0.51

177

343

Operating conditions given in

*
**

Table

288

x 10

>

These values have been assumed and represent the most favorable conditions for light-up.
have confidence in the possibility of light-up, a combustion efficiency of at least 70 %
should be indicated by the a value.
In this volume P3'
losses.

P3 l' where P3.1

is the combustor static pressure i.e. P3.1

To

P3 - diffuser

.'

From the conditions given in 'Table 1 plus the

zone air splits, it is possible to calculate the values of e for the same conditions. The results are
given in Table 11.
In the design section it was stated that a combustor having a value of e in excess of 73 x 106
would, in all probability, have a reasonable efficiency (say T} > 99% ). With the exception of the
transient light-up condition, this value is well
exceeded, and the combustor should give little
trouble with combustion efficiency at the four
continuous operating points. As a further source
of confidence, it is often possible to use data
from a geometrically similar chamber, having a
similar primary zone split, and to express such
data in the form e versus T}.
The combustion efficiency at the stable operating point for the relight condition, is 95% or
less. Hence, provided that ignition can be established, the flame would be likely to propagate.
As a check, or if e data are not available, one
should resort to the Odgers- Carrier equation.
log log liT}

= II = 0.911 log -'300

II

0.911 log -'300 +

8/>pZ

- 1.097

D*ri (rich mixtures)

(75)
The empirical constant, D*, may differ for
weak and rich mixtures and, where possible, it
should be determined experimentally as a mean
of three measured values. If for any reason D* is
not available, it may be estimated from:
D*we-

0.736 - 0.0173(p/t.P)

(74)

D *we (weak mixtures)

(76)

where t.P/p is the combustor pressure loss

Examination of five different combustors suggests that D*we > D*ri If experimental values of
D*ri are not available, one may assume that
D*ri

0.7 D*we

Reverting to the text design example,

since no experimental data are available,
obtains (for t.P/p = 0.06):

8 >PZ - 1. 097 +

log log liT}

D*we
D*ri

=
=

(77) .
and
one

0.448
0.328
5-47

'CHAPTER 5
Inserting these values for D* into Eqs . (74) and
(75) yields:
II =

0.911 log "'300 + 8 Ct>PZ- 0.649

(weak mixtures)

II =

(78)

0.911 log lY300 + 8/ct>pZ - 0.769

(rich mixtures)

II =

log log

(79)

1171

To convert values of 'If at temperatures other

than 300 K to 'If 300' the following equations are
used:

-1.205
T31.2327Y

[---~LnJ
vPZ P

lYT
3

(80)

(81)

14.2.1 Carbon Monoxide

Where no base points exist, the following empirical expression will predict the CO within about a
factor of two for aircraft engines using pressure
jet liquid fuel atomizers [39]:

3
=

13.477-4.5270

loglo T3

2 Ct>PZ(weak mixtures)

2/Ct>PZ

ct>when ct>~ 1

1 when ct>> 1

mf

fuel flow in kg/s

(7T14)

rJ

(84)

(rich mixtures)

The primary zone volume

0.2802

(82a)

where:
EI

(82b)
1S

given as:

x 0.152 x 0.2802
x 0.058 m3

VPZ .....0.106 m3

+ (7T/12)
(83a)

Emission Index, gCO/kg fuel

For the combustor used in our example, Eq.

(84) indicates that the CO will range from about
EI = 100 g/kg at idling to about EI = 2 g/kg at full
load. Hence, some improvement is required.
14.2.2 Hydrocarbons
Almost the same comments apply to hydrocarbons as to carbon monoxide. For hydrocarbons, the corresponding equation is:
10glO [EI]HC

= 19.730-7.1915

10glO T3

(83b)

The predicted values of combustion efficiency

relevant to the operating conditions and based
on Eqs . (74) to (83) are given in Table 11. The
agreement between the e predictions and those
of Odgers- Carrier is considered adequate. As a
result of the above analysis, it would seem that
the efficiency is likely to be satisfactory at other
than the ground idling condition.
The general approach to stability is to utilize a
e curve for a comparable combustor (if one exists) , and this has been done here, Fig. 36.
5-48

Pollutant Prediction (With

No Test Data Available)
This section will be limited to simple semiempirical empirical techniques. Discussion of
alternative and more elegant models will be deferred to Section 15.0, A Review of Modeling
Techniques.
14.2

10glO [EIJCO

where:
n

VPZ

-1
J

The values of Ct>PZand e from Table 11 fall well

within the stability limits of the diagram.
If the stability loop must be predicted, a fair
approximation to the extinction limits may be obtained by extrapolating the e values to 7J = 0 or by
using the Odgers - Carrier equation, setting the
combustion efficiency at 50% and solving for 4>.
It now remains to establish the feasibility of
ignition at the relight condition. The limited
amount of ignition data available is shown in Fig.
36 and, at the light-up condition, this suggests
that ignition is possible using an ignition system
similar to that of Fig. 36.

(85)
For the sample case, the amounts of hydrocarbon range from about EI = 31 g/kg fuel at
idling to EI = O. 1 g/kg fuel at full load . The corresponding combustion efficiencies may be calculated (assuming a kerosene type fuel) from:
7J

IV

1 - 10-3 (0.24 EICO + EIHC)

which yields:
7J =

94.5% at idling

(86)

md
TJ .,

99.9% at full load

Equation (86) implies that the hydrocarbon is

.he parent fuel, and that the combustion ineff'i.iency is caused solely by CO and HC. Actually,
iurther losses may occur due to carbon (smoke,
ioot) , hydrogen and to partial oxidation prodicts such as aldehydes, ketones, and acids. Of
:hese, only hydrogen has been found to be sigiificant and its presence modifies Eq , (86) to:
TJ =

1 - 10-3 (0.24 EICO + EIHC +

2.82 EIH2)

(87a)

The order of magnitude of EIH

EIH2

(0.005 to 0.05)

Stability

(87b)

TJ)

7.20 x 109

= ---------T 4.5270
3

m/ s 3.5

~ 7 . 7 kPa

)(.1 7 J k.Pa

41.J
14

<2~)
C> 16.7

<>
Ign t t i on

Loop

Equations (84) to (87) are based upon the

effects of compression ratio, assuming an ambient temperature of 300 K.

THETA PARAMETER IJ kg 0.75

68 kPa
,H. I kP"

5.37 X 1016
+ ----------T 7.1915
(88)

LOOp

0102 kPa

+
o

(1 -

Equation (88) does not attempt to take into

account variations of fuel/air ratios or atomizing
efficiency. At idling conditions, both the operating fuel/air ratio and the degree of atomization
(evaporation) differ considerably from engine to

IS:

EICO

The calculations (for details see Table 12) indicate the need to improve the combustion efficiency at the idling condition, which substantiates
the results of combustion efficiency calculations.
From Eqs . (84) to (87),

kPe
kPo

kPa
kP.1

102 kPa

Figure 36. Ignition and Extinction Characteristics

CHAPTER 5

Table 12. Pollutant Predictions for Design Conditions

(a)

Condo
NQ.""

Condition

Design Point
Max. Thrust

CO

MPA

deg K

DlS

814

1.93

2594

16.0

99.95

2.0

0.06

94.4

707

0.68

2507

16.0

99.89

3.8

0.17

35.5

1060

1.77

2710

18.6

99.98

0.6

0.01

128.7

343

0.148

2293

44.7

94.46

99.9

31.4

5.9

deg K
1

Pollutants E.!.
NOx
HC

(b)

T
max

P3

T3

n%
(Eqn

88)

(Eqn

84) (Eqn 85) (Eqn 91)

SLS

Hax. Alt.
Cruise
4

Normal
Cruise

Ground
Idle

(a)

T
based upon maximum dissociated temperature estimated at inlet conditions.
max

(b)

T;

pZ + TSZ

and where

and

engine. In particular, older engines can be very

inefficient at idling conditions, and considerable
scatter exists when the engine data are plotted.
The amounts of pollutants predicted (plus
predicted combustion efficiencies from the e and
Odgers+Carrier correlation) indicate that, during development, modification will be required to
improve the combustion efficiency at idling.
14.2.3 Carbon and Smoke. Formation
The formation of smoke and carbon is sensitive
to the equivalence ratio in the primary zone, the
pressure, the degree of premix, and the type of
fuel used. Provided that the primary zone operates at lean conditions, smoke should not be a
problem. The effects of fuel type upon smoke are
demonstrated in Fig. 37. Because of these effects' the equivalence ratio will have to be even
weaker than stoichiometric to ensure no smoke
in a multi-fuel combustor. A review of the factors
controlling smoke in a gas turbine is given by
Toone [40].
Appleton [41] has considered the rates of soot
oxidation within temperature regimes akin to
those of combustors. In particular, he compared
shock-tube investigations of carbon pyrolytic
graphite. It was concluded that the surface oxidation rates were similar, and that the Nagle and
Strickland - Constable rate equation could be
used to define the rates. This equation is:
5-50

~Po

(1

x)

(89)

where:
w

surface oxidation rate

(kg m 2 s-1)

MC

molecular weight of carbon

(12 kg/kg mole)

[1 + kTI (PO
(dimensionless'

Po

kB) l " 1

oxygen partial pressure

(Pa)

kA

1.97 x 10-3 exp [-1. 26

( - 151OO/T) ] (s m " ")

kB

4.40 x 10-7 exp [-6.36

(-7640/T) ] (s m -1)

kT

1 . 51 x 106 exp [-4.06

(-48800/T) ] (kg S-1 m '

kZ

2.10 X 10-4 exp [1.72

(2060/T) ] (Pa-1)

2)

COMBUSTOR

10

!~

II

~
:s

=t

_6

,~~---

~
5~

.~

0"""-

"...4

/'

"

COMBUSTOR

fULL

8
C

o. 1

-I
CAR8OH-

I
H'tOROGlN

IDliNG

ro0

--

MASS

"

RATIO

Figure 37. Effect of Carbon-Hydrogen

Ratio on Carbon Formation in
Gas Turbine Combustors
This expression provides a method of estimating soot oxidation rates that is suitable for use in
the performance studies of most practical combustion systems such as gas turbines.
The recession rate of a spherical soot particle
may be written as:
dr/dt = -w/p

(90)

where p is the density of soot (p varies according

to formation; a value of 1800 kg m - J is reasonable) .
The work suggests that, within typical gas turbine combustors, only soot particles having a
diameter of less than O. 4 micrometers can be
expected to be consumed within the combustor.
This size is about the same as the initial size at
soot formation and suggests that the success of
a "clean-combustor" may be marginal. It is interesting to note that the maximum rate of soot
removal occurs at ,..., 0.75, which would suggest that as much length as possible should be
given to that part of the combustor having =
0.75. Usually this will be the secondary zone.
Because of this sensitivity to equivalence ratio. improvements of the mixing process in the
secondary zone will also help reduce the exhaust
soot concentration.
While the burn-out rate of carbon is known
(even if somewhat inaccurately), the rate of formation is completely unknown. Thus, any knowledge of carbon or smoke formation is qualitative. Consequently, the prevention of carbon or
smoke must also be of a qualitative nature.
Apart from the design of a combustor, the
tendency to form carbon is affected by the operating conditions and the fuel composition. Macfarlane et al. [42] found that. for many hydrocarbons (premixed flames), the threshold of

carbon formation appears to be attained at an

equivalence ratio of about 1.5. This threshold
seems to be relatively independent of temperature or pressure but. beyond the threshold, increases in pressure greatly accelerate the rate
of carbon formation. Similarly the rate at which
carbon is produced is a strong function of the
hydrogen content of the fuel: the more hydrogen, the less the tendency to form carbon [43].
Because of the spectrum of air/fuel ratio, a diffusion flame produces carbon much more easily
than a premixed flame. This is demonstrated for
kerosene flames in Fig. 38 [44]. The difference
in trend for the spray system between the 2. 1
and I. 1 and 1.6 MPa lines may not be significant and may represent the difficulty of measuring carbon in the burned gas.
The effect of hydrogen content is shown in
Fig. 39 [44]. The results are for premixed
flames, but similar behavior has been noted for
diffusion flames - - although ,in the latter case,
the differences may be magnified.
From all the foregoing, it is obvious that there
are no correlations of soot or carbon or smoke
with any of the operating parameters. The difficulty of measurement, the unknown mechanisms
of formation, plus the variety of variables which
are known to affect carbon formation (e.g. ,
P J. T J. mixing, turbulence, fuel type) currently
preclude all but the most qualitative predictions.
The basic rule for preventing carbon formation is
to design the combustor to have a well mixed primary zone operating under as lean conditions as
possible and (with liquid fuels) never richer than
=1.5.
14.2.4 Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)
Three types of NOx have been identified:
1. Thermal NOx which originates from the
high -temperature reaction between oxygen
and nitrogen

0.8
Pre ura
-Spray
---

Injecz:1on

1.1

I're.lxed

MPa

1.6

0.6

0.2

0.6
0.8

1.0

1.2
Equlvahnc<I

1.4

1.6

1.8

R.Uo.

Figure 38. Soot Formation in Kerosene

Flames [44]
5-51

CHAPTER 5
than stoichiometric but richer than the mean primary zone equivalence ratio.
In order to reduce scatter, the following equation has been derived [46]:

[1 - exp

'"
Figure 39. Carbon Formation
Flames [44]

"

in Premixed

2. Fuel NOx,

which ortgmates from the oxidation of nitrogen compounds present in

the fuel
3. A third possible origin for NOx, prompt
NO, is of considerable scientific interest
and may be important for rich mixture
flames. However, because of the overall
lean operation of gas turbine combustors,
its contribution to the total exhaust NOx is
not significant

THERMAL

NOx

The major factors controlling

NOx are:

Temperature
Pressure
Time
Turbulence

the formation

of

Predominant
Secondary
Secondary
Weak

Because of the predominant effect of temperature, a simple effective correlation may be obtained by plotting the NOx emission index against
the maximum flame temperature within the cornbustion zone. This was done in [45] and [46],
and the resultant correlation is illustrated in Fig.
40. The correlation may be used to predict NOx
for all conventional spray-fed combustors and
for fully premixed, prevaporized systems. For
the conventional combustor,
the temperature
used is the highest possible theoretical temperature corresponding to dissociated conditions.
This approximates the theoretical temperature
corresponding to an equivalence ratio slightly
richer (> = 1.05) than unity. For premixed, prevaporized conditions, the dissociated temperature corresponds to the premixed equivalence
ratio. The correlation ceases to hold for partially
premixed systems such as the Vorbix combustor,
where one operates at some condition leaner
5-52

(-250

T)]

(91)

Tg is the maximum adiabatic flame temperature which may be calculated or (for most fuels)
read from temperature rise curves.
The value of T is usually defined as the calculated hot residence time based upon the appropriate air flows within the primary and secondary
zones of the combustor.
Equation (91) has been tested against a large
number of points [46] to [59]. Using Eq. (91),
predictions may be made with a maximum discrepancy of about a factor of two. However, the
majority of predictions are within 30% . Much of
the inaccuracy is associated with experimental
scatter. In at least one experiment using premixed, prevaporized combustion, the reproductibility of the experiments indicated differences of
about 2: 1. Both Fig. 40 and Eq , (91) predict the
effects of changes in ambient conditions (temperature, pressure and humidity) by their effects
upon temperature (predominantly) and pressure
(negligibly) .
The same correlations may also be used to
predict the effects of steam or water injection by
calculating the new maximum adiabatic flame
temperature with steam or water addition. The
calculation is best performed using standard enthalpy data such as that given in [60] or elsewhere. The predictions agree well with the data
of Shaw, Fig. 41, [61].
The data of Fig. 41 may be expressed as:
NOx ,REDUC

= 0.2 (% water/air
mass)

(valid between
by mass)

by

0 . 602

(92)

1 - 9% water or steam

Equation (92) is not recommended for predicting the effects of humidity, since the .amounts
are too small to be estimated in this way, and a
more detailed calculation of the gas temperature
is required.
FUEL

NOx

Currently fuel-bound nitrogen is a problem only

for gas turbines burning heavy distillates. However, it is anticipated that, as liquid fuel supplies
begin to be derived from oil-shales, coal, tar-

COMBUSTOR

APPROXIMATE

COMPRESSION

RATIO

io

l5

20

25

lOO

1
/

it

~I

lO

-"
-"

00

<iJjl'/i

S/

/FJ

......R

o
z

,...FI
/~

",//
/

V/

;-)

'"

"

JLJI!

/'

,,/'.j

'J'

IJ

8
..

0.6

::J

'"""
""

0.4

.)-'

/
/

0.2

y/
......

0/
0

"",
0

/'
/

0.8

a~/I

cf,.

00

t"YJ,";r
/

/.

--l
OJ
::J
to.

(/00

'"

//0

0.03

0.06

0.09

//

O.l

WATER/ A IR

1800

2200
THEORETICAl.

MAXIMUM

deg

sands and "heavy-oil" deposits, some fuelbound nitrogen in the lighter distillates' will
result.
The mode of formation of NOx from fuel- bound
nitrogen compounds is not well known. It is generally held that it occurs via the formation of CN
and NH compounds, which are then oxidized to
NOx' The final mechanism is assumed to be
similar to the Zeldovich reaction. Because of
this, there is close competition for the available
oxygen, and hence:

RATIO

2600
TEMPERATURE

Figure 40. NOx Found in Gas Turbine

Exhausts (as N02)
[46]

MASS

There is conversion of a large fraction of

fuel- bound nitrogen at weak mixture burning conditions.
There is conversion of a large fraction of
fuel- bound nitrogen if the latter content is
small (say less than O. 5% by mass).
At rich mixture conditions the fraction converted is small.
The fraction converted is only weakly dependent
upon temperature,
increasing
slowly as temperature increases (contrast
this with thermal NOx) .
The composition of the fuel-bound nitrogen does not significantly affect the conversion rates.

Currently, there is no developed technique for

eliminating fuel-bound NOx, although promising

Figure 41. Effect of Water on

Thermal NOx [61]
results have been obtained from fuel staging experiments. The general treatment is to burn at
rich condition ( = 1.3 to 1.5 or even richer)
and then, to attempt to quench any further reaction by rapid addition of air. The mixture, now
about = 0.7 or weaker, is burned in a "premixed" combustion zone. Dilution is then used to
reduce the burned gas to the turbine inlet temperature. In theory, such a system could result
in negligible amounts of NOx.
14.2.5 Oxides of Sulfur
There are no known techniques for preventing
the combustion of sulfur or any of its compounds
which may be present in the fuel. It is usual to
assume a 95% conversion to SOx, calculated as
S02 .
If X is the percentage of sulfur present in the
fuel by mass, then the emission index (expressed as SO 2) will be given by:
EISO 2

19X

(93)

14.2.6 Ash
Because of the low ash content of most gas turbine fuels, this is not generally a problem, but
heavy fuels raise difficulties.
The best solution to the problem is to remove
the ash prior to combustion. If this is not done at
5-53

CHAPTER 5
the refinery, the ash may often be extracted by
washing. If no treatment is given prior to combustion, one must assume that all the inorganic
salts will be converted to ash. If high enough
combustion temperatures are achieved, the ash
may melt or fuse to form a slag (since silicates
melt at 1250-1300 K). If these slags adhere to
the hot components, corrosion is likely to occur.
If the ash components contain sodium chloride
(e. g., in atmospheres adjacent to salt water) or
vanadium, corrosion will increase considerably.
For example, at 1300 K, alloys that exhibited a
test life of 200 hours due to corrosion by sodium
sulfate gave 20 hours and 8 hours when 10%of
sodium chloride and vanadium pentoxide respectively were added to the sodium sulfate [62] .
The only effects of combustion upon ash are to
determine the state of oxidation and slagging .
The combustion engineer's first objective is to
control other emissions,
(e. g. CO, HC, C,
NOx) , rather than to control ash or slag formation within the combustor. Slag problems should
be "cured" before combustion,
or else some
form of protective coating must be used.
15.0 A REVIEW OF MODELING
TECHNIQUES
To a large degree, the justification
is based upon the following:

equations are simple, but the accuracy depends

upon the degree of homogeneity.
Longwell, et aI., [65] attempted to design and
operate a device which approximated a PSR.
This resulted in the spherical combustor, in
which the premixed fuel and air are fed into a
spherical burning volume at very high velocities
such that the burning gases are so well stirred
that they approximate a PSR. The blowout characteristics of the system can be described with a
simple one-step reaction equation of the form
(for weak mixtures of iso-octane/air) :
-E/RT

4.76k -----e
----n-05
n
T
R

12~_1!_=_~11~_l!_=_~~1(n-f
~

(94)

Odgers, et al. [66-69] experimented with a

similar type of combustor and several fuels. Over
a wide range of conditions they obtained the following reaction equation:

----------0.082

l~~_~_!ll~_l!_=_~~lll~_=_~~
y [5 (m* + 1) + ~ + y]n
-e/T
~----- molls
Tn-05

5-54

atmn

(95)

volume in liters
pressure in atmospheres

Using Eq , (95) as a basis, the stability and

combustion efficiency of a number of aircraft engine combustors [27] were correlated (for weak
mixtures in the primary zone) by:
II =

15.1 Zero-Dimensional
Models
This type of model treats the entire reaction zone
as a single unit, typified by the Perfectly Stirred
Reactor (PSR) concept, in which velocities,
temperatures, heat flux densities, and compositions are uniform throughout the zone. It is often
convenient to describe the performance of such
a reactor in terms of a simple one-step reaction
equation. Its application to combustion phenomena was first enunciated by Bragg [26], Avery
and Hart [63], and Vulis [64]. The derived rate

where:
V

Generally the first and last questions are the

most important.
Some models are so complex
that they demand a specialist to ensure successful application.
Models may be classified as 0-, 1-, 2-, and 3dimensional models. In general, the complexity of
the model increases with the dimensionality.

. 1010
n

1.29

of any model

Does it predict performance with the required accuracy?

Is the theory of the model adequate, and
how easy is it to interpret the implications
of the results?
How much skill is required to use the model, and how much time does it require to
program and calculate the result?
What is the financial cost of the solution?

[4.76 + ~ (1.36 _ )]n

0.911 log 7#'300 + 4.56n

1.097 + D*

- l.l~

(96)

The constant D* is best obtained by experiment, but is approximately given by the following
equation [70]:
D*

0.736

- 0.0173(p/6p)

(97)

Greenhough and Lefebvre have derived a

loading parameter similar to that of Longwell

CHAPTER 5
densities along the x- axis are predictable.
The models considered thus far pay no attention to any possible effects of droplet evaporation. Mellor [78] attempts to take such effects
into account by characterizing modules defined
as residence times within the combustor. The
modules are defined as:

The fuel drop lifetime

The eddy dissipation time, for the injected
fluid (this represents small scale mixing
near the fuel injector in the recirculation
zone)
The eddy dissipation time in the shear layer (representative of the large scale turbulent mixing of fresh air and recirculated
burning gas)
The fuel ignition and burning time
The NO formation time

Providing that the various residence times can

be defined with sufficient precision so that they
apply to a wide range of conditions and geometries, this approach is very promising. To date,
the experimental data used to confirm the predictions are scarce, but the predictions of NO
and CO have correlated well with their respective
functions, except when the fuel atomization is
poor. The results also suggest that the homogeneous combustion and the ignition delay times
are much shorter than either the droplet evaporation time or the mixing time.
Because of the unique dependence of the rate
of NOx formation on temperature, the main application for one-dimensional models has been
the prediction of NOx. Heywood ,.et al. [79] have
modeled the secondary zone of a combustor by
assuming instantaneous mixing of the secondary
air, and have obtained predicted values of NOx
of the same order as those obtained in aircraft
gas turbines. For a number of combustors of the
same type, Hung [80-83] suggests a diffusion
limited model, and has used it to predict NOx
formation in gas turbine combustors burning
fuels with, or without, fuel- bound nitrogen compounds and with, or without, water or steam injection . The predictions ha ve been in good
agreement with experiments. One of the assumptions is that the flow pattern in the primary
zone is similar to that described by Clarke [84];
this means that the three-dimensional effect can
be accounted for by the use of a quasi onedimensional model. Kollrack and Aceto [85] have
studied the effects of recirculation in a combustor ha ving a premixed system. Their model
shows that hot gas recirculation resulted in the
earlier formation of NO x , but that the total NOx is
about the same as that formed using un-recirculated gas. Cold gas entering recirculation
could reduce NOx formation by about an order of
magnitude.
5-56

15.3 Two-Dimensional Models

These models are suitable for gas turbine combustor application, at least for those combustors
which exhibit axisymmetry. The Patankar-Spalding method [86] and its modifications have been
the subject of a great deal of research, and numerous successful, or semi-successful, applications have been reported. In its simplest form,
the model is applied to the prediction of a simple
confined turbulent flame having uni-directional
flow, without recirculation. Even with such simplifications, the flows are still very complex and
an adequate digital computer is required. The
following features must be described:

Turbulence
Reaction rate
Possible two-phase effects
Radiation phenomena (sometimes)

In the GENMIXComputer Code, six simultaneous, differential equations are solved for velocity,
turbulence energy, turbulence scale,
stagnation enthalpy, fuel concentration, and concentration fluctuations.
Unfortunately, gas turbine combustors exhibit
recirculation, and the procedure must be considerably modified using iterative procedures instead of marching integration. Good qualitative
agreement has been shown by models of this type
for the relatively simple configurations of axisymmetrical furnaces. Recently [87] , a more complicated procedure has been suggested to describe a system having prevaporized fuel injected
with swirling air into a film -cooled combustor. This
particular model utilizes turbulence, concentration fluctuation, radiation, simple combustion kinetic scheme, and NOx kinetics. The computer
code is EASI (steady state model) , and qualitative
agreement is obtained with the experimental data.
Some of the differences are attributed to the fact
that the combustor is, in reality, only partly axisymmetric.
Pratt [88, 89] has published a computer program for the calculation of steady-flow, homogeneous, reaction kinetics, and it is thought that
the use of this could improve the predictions.
Spalding, et al. [90] have predicted the aerodynamic properties of flow relevant to a jet engine
after- burner. The flow is two-dimensional axisymmetric, unsteady, compressible and chemically reacting. A fuel spray analysis is included. It
is reported that the numerical solution procedure
is a useful tool for investigating the "buzz" in the
engine after-burner.
15.4 Three-Dimensional Models
This type of model should be capable of yielding
perfect predictions throughout the combustor.

COMBUSTOR
Models currently exist which will predict species,
concentrations, temperatures and velocities within any part of the combustor. It is also possible to
include flame radiation and wall temperature predictions (both with and without film cooling) at the
price of a more complicated program. The major
difficulties which prevent the general introduction
of these models are:

Assumptions involving flow and turbulence

predictions are suspect.
The reaction kinetics are not perfect.
Factors governing carbon formation are not
known, a factor which affects the accuracy of
the prediction of flame radiation.
For reasonably accurate prediction, a very
fine mesh is required which greatly increases the computer time and cost.
A specialist engineer or programmer is
needed, or else the work must be given to a
specialized consultant.
A large computer must be available.

ously , provide the designer with powerful tools

that will substantially reduce the cost of development and help achieve a design superior to that
achieved by conventional cut and try methods.
16 .0 REFERENCES
1.

2.

3.

Combustion
Chambers for Jet Propulsion
Engines, translated from Russian by W. E.

4.
As a result of these difficulties, the use of such
models to date has only resulted in qualitative
agreement with experimental data. Perhaps the
most promising models are those of Spalding and
Swithenbank. The former [91] uses a finite difference computation to predict the local flow, heat
transfer,
and combustion processes within a
three-dimensional can combustor where the flow
is swirling and recirculating. A gaseous fuel injection system is used. Twelve simultaneous differential equations are solved using a finite difference technique. The results have not been
verified experimentally, but it is noted that the
physical models used have all been shown to be
valid in simpler two-dimensional and three-dimensional situations.
It is suggested that the
procedure now seems to be ready to be used
within industry. Swithenbank 's model [76] is
somewhat similar and predicts the dependent
variables in a steady, turbulent, chemically reacting environment. Turbulence is simulated via
models which incorporate the distribution of kinetic energy and its dissipation rate. Spray combustion is computed from the droplet trajectories
and evaporation,
and chemical reaction is assumed to proceed in two distinct steps, thereby
enabling the local concentrations of CO, CO 2 ,
O2, N 2' H20, and fuel to be evaluated. Predictions have also been made for premixed, prevaporized fuel. Predictions made by this technique
are reported to be "in remarkably good agreement with experiments. " This model is still being
evaluated and developed.
The design of a combustor is as much an art
as a science. Successful designs will require the
knowledge and intuition of an experienced engineer. Mathematical models can, if used judici-

Melconian, J. 0 ., Editor, "The Design

and Development of Gas Turbine Combustors," Volumes I and II, Northern Research
and Engineering Corporation Report Nos.
1344-1 and 2, 1980. (Available through
joint sponsorship only .)
Hawthorne, W.R. and Olsen, W.T., Editors, Design and Performance of Gas Turbine Power Plants,
Princeton University
Press, Princeton, NJ, 1960, p. 563.
Zuyev, V. S. and Skubachevskii , L. S. ,

5.

6.

7.

8.
9.

10.

11.

12.
13.

Jones and B .B . McMullens , Pergamon

Press, 1964.
Clarke, J.S. and Jackson, S.R., "General
Considerations in the Design of Combustion
Chambers for Aircraft and Industrial Gas
Turbines," SAE Paper No. 444A, 1962.
Clarke, J. S. and Large, H .E., "The Performance and Reliability of Aero Gas Turbine Combustion Chambers, '.' ASME Paper
No. 58-GTP-13,
1958.
Haasis , J. M ., "Design Considerations and
Performance Characteristics of Combustors for Small Gas Turbine Engines," SAE
Paper No. 444B, 1962.
Dooley, P. G ., "Design and Development
of Combustion Chambers for Turbine Engines," ASME Paper No. 64-WA/GTP-8,
1964.
Strong, R.E. and Hussey, C.E., "Combustion Chambers for Turbine Engines,"
ASME Paper No. 64-GTP-2,
1964.
Schiefer, R. B., "Combustion Systems,"
Gas Turbine Reference Library Publication
No. GER-2190, available from General
Electric Company, Gas Turbine Department, Schenectady, NY.
Taylor, W. G., "Fuel Nozzles and Combustion Systems," Gas Turbine Reference
Library Publication No. GER-219l, available from General Electric Company, Gas
Turbine Department, Schenectady, NY.
Watson, E.A. and Clarke, J.S., "Combustion and Combustion Equipment for
Aero Gas Turbines, " Journal of the Institute
of Fuel, Vo1. 2, October 1947, pp. 2-34.
Clarke, J.S.,
"Gas Turbine Combustion
Problems," Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Vol. 60, April 1956, p. 32.
Nerad , A. J ., "Some Aspects of Turbojet
Combustion,"
Aero Engineering
Review,
5-57

CHAPTER 5

14.

15.

Vol. 8, December 1949, p. 24.

Clarke, J. S., "Review of Some Combustion Problems Associated with the Aero Gas
Turbine, " Journal of the Roy"al Aeronautical
Society, Vol. 60, No. 544, April 1956, pp.
221-240.
Jackson, S. R. and Odgers, J., "Factors
Influencing Heat Release in Combustion
Chambers and Consideration of the Related Materials and Structures," Combustion

16.

17.

18.

19.

--

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

in

AGARD

25.

26.

5-58

Advanced

Gas

Turbine

Systems,

ed. by I. E. Smith, Cranfield International

Symposium Series, Vol. X, Pergamon
Press Ltd., London, 1968, pp. 173-208.
Submittal
to Environmental
Protection
Agency Hearing on Control of Air Pollution
from Aircraft and Aircraft Engines, 27-28
January, AVCO Lycoming, Stratford, CT.
Roberts, R., Peduzzi, A. and Vitti, G .E.,
"Experimental Clean Combustor Program,
Phase I Final Report," NASA CR-134736,
October 1975.
Saintsbury,
J. A. and Sampath,
P.,
"Emissions Research on a Simple Variable
Geometry Gas Turbine Combustor, " ASME
Paper No. 75-WA/GT-12.
The Jet Engine,
Reference T. S .D. 1302,
2nd ed. Rolls-Royce Publications, Derby,
England, July 1966.
Olson, W.J.
and Childs, H.J.,
"The
Combustion Efficiency Problem of the Turbojet at High Altitudes, " ASME Paper No.
54-SA-24, 1954.
Childs, H.J. and Graves, C.C., "Correlation of Turbine-Engine Combustion Efficiency with Theoretical Equations," Proc.
Sixth Symposium on Combustion, 1956.
Childs, H. J. and Graves, C. C., "Relation
of Turbine-Engine Combustion Efficiency
to Second - Order Reaction Kinetics and
Fundamental Flame Speed," NACA Research Memorandum E54G23, 1954.
Sharp, J. G ., "Effects of Fuel Type on the
Performance of Aero Gas Turbine Combustion Chambers and the Influence of Design Features, " Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Vol. 58, Dec. 1954, pp.
813-825.
Lefebvre, A.H. and Halls, G.A., "Some
Experiences
in
Combustion
Scaling,"
Advanced

Aero

Engine

27.

ASME Journal

28.
29.
30.
31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

Testing,

AGARDograph 37, Pergamon Press, New

York, 1959, pp. 177-204.
Herbert, M. V ., "A Theoretical Analysis of
Reaction Rate Controlled Systems, Part
II," Eighth Symposium (International>
on
Combustion,
Williams and Wilkins Company' Baltimore, 1962, pp. 970-982.
Bragg, S . L., "Application of Reaction
Rate Theory to Combustion Chamber Anal-

ysis ," ARC 16170, Aeronautical Research

Council, England, Sept. 1953.
Odgers, J. and Carrier, C., "Modeling of
Gas Turbine Combustors; Considerations
of Combustion Efficiency and Stability,"

38.
39.

40.

of Engineering

for

Power,

Vol. 95, No.2, April 1973, pp. 105-113.

Odgers, J., "Combustion Modeling within
Gas Turbine Engines," AIAA Paper No.
77-52.
Perry, J. H., ed., The Chemical Engineers Handbook,
3rd ed., McGraw Hill
Book Company, New York, 1950, p. 388.
Kretschmer, D., Private Correspondence,
February 1979.
Knight, H.A. and Walker, R.B., "The
Component Pressure Losses in Combustion
Chambers, "NGTER.143, ARCR&M2987,
Aeronautical Research Council, England,
1957.
Venneman, W. F., "Flow Coefficients and
Jet Deflection Angles for Combustor Liner
Air-Entry Holes, Part I," 59GL25, General
Electric Company,
Schenectady,
NY,
April 1959.
Lefebvre, A. H. and Herbert, M. V., "Heat
Transfer Processes in Gas Turbine Combustion Chambers," Proceedings,
Institution of Mechanical
Engineers,
Vol. 174,
No. 12, 1960, pp. 463-477.
Venneman, W.F., "Flow Coefficients and
Jet Deflection Angles for Combustor Liner
Air-Entry Holes, Part II," 60GL184, General Electric Company, Schenectady, NY,
September 1960.
Odgers, J. and Winter, J.,
"Aircraft
Combustor Wall Cooling - Some Notes on
Practical Applications," Lucas Report No.
B48 502, Lucas Gas Turbine Equipment
Ltd., Burnley, England, Nov. 1965.
Kaddah, K. S ., "Disch arge Coefficent and
Jet Deflection Studies for Combustor Liner
Air-Entry Holes," M. S. Thesis, Cranfield
Institute of Technology, College of Aeronautics, Bedford, England, June 1974.
"The Design and Performance Analysis of
Gas Turbine Combustion Chambers, Vol.
II - Design Methods and Development
Techniques," Northern Research and Engineering Corporation Report No. 1082-2,
Cambridge, MA, 1964.
Royal Aeronautical Society, "Flow Through
Sudden Enlargement in a Pipe, " Aero Data
Sheet (00.03.29),
London, Jan. 1964.
Roy, P., Schlader, A. F. and Odgers,
J.,
"Premixed Combustion in a Baffle
Combustor and the Effect of Steam Injection," ASME Paper No. 74-GT-8, 1974.
Toone, B., "A Review of Aero Engine
Smoke Emissions," Combustion
in Ad-

COMBUSTOR

41.

42.

43.

44.

vanced Gas Turbine Systems. ed. by I. E.

Smith. Cranfield International Symposium
Series. Vol. X. Pergamon Press Ltd .
London. 1968. pp. 271-294.
Appleton. 1. P . "Soot Oxidation Kinetics at
Combustion Temperatures."
Paper No.
20. Atmospheric Pollution by Aircraft Engines.
AGARD CP-125. Advisory Group
for Aerospace Research and Development.
1973.
Macfarlane. 1.1.. Holderness. F.H. and
Whitcher. F. S . E.. "Soot Formation m
Premixed C5 and C6 Hydrocarbon/Air
Flames at Pressures up to 20 Atmospheres." Combustion and Flame. Vol. 8.
No.3.
September 1964. pp. 215-229.
Platt. M. and N orster , E. R.. "Time Degradation Factors for Turbine Engine Emissions." FAA-RD-79-8.
Vol. I. NREC
1238. April 1979. U. S.
Department of
Transportation.
Washington. D. C.
Macfarlane. 1.1 . "The Role of Fundamental Research in the Future
Aviation
Fuels Program." Paper No.4.
Aircraft
Engine
vation.

45.

47.
48.

49.

50.

51.

Future

Fuels

and

Energy

52.

53.

54.

Atmospheric

55.

Conser-

AGARD Lecture Series No. 96.

Advisory Group for Aerospace Research
and Development. 1978.
Kretschmer. D. and Odgers. 1 . "Modelling of Combustors: The Effects of Ambient
Conditions Upon Performance."
ASME
Paper No. 73-WA/GT-6.
1973.
Odgers. 1.. "Environmental Restrictions
and the Gas Turbine." paper presented at
the Third Symposium on Gas Turbine Operations and Maintenance, Halifax. Nova
Scotia. 17-18 September 1979.
Lipfert , F. W. : "Correlation of Gas Turbine
Emissions Data." ASME Paper No. 72GT-60, 1972.
Nelson. A.W . "Detailed Exhaust Emission Measurements of Three Different Turbofan Designs." Paper No. 36. Atmo-

56.

spheric

60.

Pollution

by

Aircraft

Engines.

AGARD CP-125. Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development. 1973.
Singh. P.P . Young. W.E. and Ambrose.
M.1., "Formation and Control of Oxides of
Nitrogen Emissions from Gas Turbine
Combustion Systems." ASME Paper No.
72-GT-22.
1972.
Bahr , D. W ., "Technology for the Reduction of Aircraft Turbine Engine Exhaust
Emissions." Paper No. 29. Atmospheric
Pollution by Aircraft Engines. AGARD CP125. Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development. 1973.
Norster, E. R. and Lefebvre. A. H., "Effects of Fuel Injection Method on Gas Turbine Combustor Emissions,"
Emissions

Combustion Systems. ed.

by W. Cornelius and W. G. Agnew. Plenum
Press. New York. 1972, pp. 255-278.
Fenimore. C. P . Hilt. M. B. and Johnson. R.H..
"Formation and Measurements of Nitrogen Oxides in Gas Turbines." ASME Paper No. 70-WA/GT-3.
1970.
Friswell , N.1 . "Emissions From Gas Turbine Type Combustors." Emissions From
Continuous
Combustion
Systems.
ed. by
W. Cornelius and W. G. Agnew. Plenum
Press. New York. 1972. pp. 161-175.
Lefebvre, A.H. and Fletcher. R.S . "A
Preliminary Study on the Influence of Fuel
Staging on Nitric Oxide Emissions from
Gas Turbine Combustors," Paper No. 30.
from Continuous

57.

58.

59.

61.

62.

63.

64.

Pollution

by Aircraft

Engines.

AGARD CP - 125, Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development. 1973.
Longwell, 1. P . "General Discussion to
Session I," Emissions from Continuous
Combustion Systems. ed. by W. Cornelius
and W. G. Agnew, Plenum Press. New
York. 1972. pp. 91-94.
Marzeski, 1. W. and Blazowski , W. S .
"Ambient Temperature and Pressure Corrections for Aircraft Gas Turbine Idle Pollutant Emissions," ASME Paper No. 76GT-130, 1976.
Roffe, G. and Ferri, A . "Effect of Pre-'
mixing Quality on Oxides of Nitrogen in Gas
Turbine Combustors,"
NASA CR-2657.
February 1976.
Anderson, D., "Effect of Equivalence Ratio and Dwell Time on Exhaust Emissions
from an Experimental Premixing Prevaporizing Burner," ASME Paper No. 75- GT69, 1975.
Roffe. G. and Venkatrarnani , K.S . "Experimental Study of the Effect of Cycle
Pressure on Lean Combustor Emissions."
NASA CR-3032, July 1978.
Keenan, J. H. and Kaye , J . Gas Tables,
John Wiley & Sons Inc . New York, 1948.
Shaw. H . "The Effect of Water on Nitric
Oxide Production in Gas Turbine Combustors. " ASME Paper No. 75- GT -70. 1975.
Patarini , V.. Bornstein, N. S. and DeCrescente, M. A., "Hot Corrosion of Gas
Turbine Components," ASME Paper No.
78-GT-82,
1978.
Avery. W.H. and Hart. R.W . "Combustor Performance with Instantaneous Mixing," Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Vol. 45, No.8,
August 1953, pp.
1634-1637.
Vulis , L. A . Thermal Regions of Combustion.
translated by M. D. Friedman, ed.
by G. C. Williams. McGraw-Hill Book
5-59

CHAPTER 5

65.

66.

67.

Company, New York, 1961.

Longwell, J.P. and Weiss, M.A.,
"High
Temperature
Reaction
Rates in Hydrocarbon Combustion,"
Industrial
and Engineering Chemistry,
Vol. 47, No.8,
August 1956, p. 1634-1643.
Clarke, A.E.,
Harrison,
A.J. and Odgers, J.,
"Combustion
Stability
in a
Spherical
Combustor,"
Seventh Symposium (International)
on Combustion,
Butterworth Scientific Publications,
London,
1959, pp. 664-673.
Clarke, A.E.,
Odgers, J. and Ryan, P.,
"Further Studies of Combustion Phenomena in a Spherical Combustor,"
Eighth
Symposium
(Interne onei)
on
tion,
William and Wilkins,

68.

69.

70.

71 .

72.

73.

(International)

on

Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, 1965, pp. 1151-1166.

Kretschmer,
D. and Odgers, J., "Modeling of Gas Turbine Combustors - A Convenient Reaction Rate Equation,"
ASME
Journal of Engineering
for Power, Vol. 94,
No.3,
July 1972, pp. 173-180.
Kretschmer, D. and Odgers, J., "A Simple Method for the Prediction of Wall Temperatures in Gas Turbines,"
ASME Paper
No. 78-GT-90,
1978.
Edelman, R. B. and Harsha, P. T ., "Some
Observations
on Turbulent
Mixing with
Chemical Reactions, " AIAA Paper No. 77142, 1977.
Hammond, D.C., Jr. and Mellor, A.M.,
"Analytical
Calculations
for the Performance and Pollutant Emissions of Gas
Turbine Combustors, " AIAA Paper No. 71711, 1971.
Odgers, J., "Current Theories of Combustion within Gas Turbine Chambers,"
Fifburgh, 1975, pp. 1321-1338.
Essenhigh , R. H ., "An Introduction
to
Stirred Reactor Theory Applied to Design
of Combustion
Chambers,"
Combustion
Technology:

75.

76.
5-60

Some Modern

79.

80.

Com-

teenth Symposium (International)

on Combustion,
The Combustion Institute, Pitts-

74 .

78 .

Combus-

Baltimore,

1962, pp. 982-994.

Clarke, A. E., Odgers, J., Stringer, F.
W. and Harrison, A.I., "Combustion Processes in a Spherical Combustor,"
Tenth
Symposium
bustion,
The

77.

81.

82.

83.

84.

ceedings of the 1955 IME-ASME Joint Conference on Combustion,

Institution of Me-

85.
86 .

chanical Engineers,
1955, pp. 354-361.
Kollrack, R. and Aceto, L. D., "Recirculation Effects in Gas Turbine Combustors,"
ASME Paper No. 74-WA/GT-3,
1974.
Spalding, D. B. and Patankar, S. V . , Heat
and

Developments,

ed. by H. B. Palmer and J. M . Beer,

Academic Press, 1974, pp. 374-415.
Swithenbank, J. , Poll, I. , Vincent, M. W.
and Wright, D. D., "Combustion
Design
Fundamentals, " Fourteenth
Symposium
(International)
on Combustion,
The Combustion Institute,
Pittsburgh,
1973, pp.
627-638.
Swithenbank,
J., Turan , A. and Felton.

P . G . , "Three - Dimensional
Two -Phase
Mathematical
Modeling of Gas Turbine
Combustors,"
paper presented
to the
Workshop on Gas Turbine Combustor Design Problems, Project SQUID (Office of
Naval Research), Purdue University, West
Lafayette,
IN, 31 May-1 June 1978.
Hottel, H. C. and Sarofim, A. F., Radiative Heat Transfer,
McGraw-Hill
Book
Company, New York, 1967.
Tuttle,
J . H.,
Shisler,
R. A.,
Bilger,
R. W. and Mellor, A. M ., "Emissions from
Aircraft Fuel Nozzle Flames, " PURDU -CL75-04, The Combustion Laboratory, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, July
1975.
Fletcher, R. S. and Heywood, J. B., "A
Model for Nitric Oxide Emissions from Aircraft Gas Turbines," AIAA Paper No. 71123, 1971.
Hung, W.S:Y.,
"Accurate Method of Predicting the Effect of Humidity or Injected
Water on NOx Emissions from Industrial
Gas Turbines,"
ASME Paper No. 74WA/GT-6,
1974.
Hung, W. S. Y., "An Experimentally Verified NOx Emission Model for Gas Turbine
Combustors,"
ASME Paper No. 7S-GT71, 1975.
Hung, W. S . Y . , "A Diffusion Limited Model
that Accurately Predicts the NOx Emissions
from Gas Turbine Combustors
Including
the Use of Nitrogen Containing Fuels,"
ASME Paper No. 75-Pwr-11,
1975.
Hung, W. S. Y., "Modeling and Measurement of NOx Emissions from Burning Synthetic Coal Gas in Gas Turbine Combustors," ASME Paper No. 75- WA/GT-3,
1975.
Clarke, J. S ., "The Relation of Specific
Heat Release to Pressure Drop in AeroGas-Turbine Combustion Chambers," Pro-

87.

Mass

Transfer

in

Boundary

Layers,

2nd ed., Intertext Books, London, 1970.

Spalding, D. B., "Numerical Computation
of Practical Combustion Chamber Flows,"
Paper No.1. 1, Analytical and Numerical
Methods for the Investigation
of Flow Fields
with Chemical
Reactions
Especially
Related to Combustion,
AGARD CP-l64,

88.

Advisory Group for Aerospace Research

and Development,
1974.
Pratt, D. T., "PSR - A Computer Program

COMBUSTOR
for Calculation of Steady Flow, Homogeneous Combustion Reaction Kinetics,"
Bulletin 336, Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Washington State University,
Pullman, 1974.
Pratt, D. T. and Wormeck, J.J., "CREKA Computer Program for the Calculation of
Combustion Reaction Equilibrium and Kinetics in Laminar or in Turbulent Flow,"
WSU -ME- TEL-76 -1, Thermal Energy Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Washington
State University,
Pullman, March 1976.
Elghobashi, S., Pratt, D. T., Spalding,
D .B . and Srivatsa,
S .K.,
"Unsteady
Combustion of Fuel Spray in Jet Engine
Afterburners," Third International Symposium on Air Breathing
Engines,
Deutsche
Gesellschaft fuer Luft und Raumfahrt,
1976, pp. 447-471.
Serag- Eldin, M. A. and Spalding, D. B. ,
"Prediction of the Flow and Combustion
Processes in a Three -Dimensional Combustion
Chamber, " Third
International
Symposium

on

Air

Breathing

Engines,

Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Luft und Raumfahrt, 1976, pp. 489-Sl4.

92.

93.
94.

9S.
96.

Turbines a Gaz Industrielles,

HispanoSuiza, Division de la SNECMA, France,
pamphlet
par Desgrandchamps,
Paris,
circa 1970.
Notes on constant volume combustors
based upon a private communication from
J.A.C.
Kentfield, 8 March 1978.
Livesey, J.L., Jones, P.K., Parker, E.
and Shaw, J.P., "Aerodynamics of TubeType Gas Turbine Combustion Chamber
Entry Sections," Journal of Mechanical
Engineering
Science,
Vol. 2, No.3,
September 1960, pp. 202- 226.
Henry, J.R.,
Wood, C.C. and Wilbur,
S. W., "Summary of Subsonic Diffuser
Data," NACA RM LS6FOS, 19S6.
Hazard, H.R., Sawyer's Gas Turbine Engineering
Handbook,
2nd ed., Turbomachinery International Publications, Norwalk, CT, 1976, p. lSl.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors wish to thank Northern Research
and Engineering Corporation for permission to
abstract freely from Reference [1], and the many
engine manufacturers who contributed figures
and illustrations.

BIOGRAPHY
Jerry O. Melconian
President,

SOL-3

Resources,

Inc.

Jerry a. Melconian graduated from the University of London in 19S9 with a B.Sc(Eng) degree
in Aeronautics. He joined Rolls-Royce Ltd. in
1961 and was responsible for the development of
the combustor on the SPEY (TF41) engine. After
moving to the U. S .A. and Avca Lycoming, he
headed the group which designed and developed
the combustors for the TSS, ALFS02, AGTlSOO,
and STAG G engines. Ultimately he was in
charge of the research and development of the
STAGG engine. In 1974 he joined the General
Electric Company as Manager of the TF34 Design -to - Cost program. As Program Manager at
NREC in 1977, the jointly sponsored program.
titled "Design and Development of Gas Turbine
Combustors" resulted in a two-volume design
reference book. He later became Manager of
Marketing.
In 1982 he formed SaL-3 Resources, Inc.
which does consulting on combustors as well as
developing innovative ideas and products for
aerospace applications.
5-61

CHAPTER 5
Ashok T. Modak
Vice President
of Research
SOL-3 Resources.
Inc.

Ashok T. Modak has a broad experimental an

theoretical background in the fluid mechani
and chemistry of combustion phenomena and in
heat and mass transfer in reacting flows. Befor
joining SOL-3 Resources, Inc. he worked f
NREC, Factory Mutual Research Corp. and the
Ford Motor Company, where he conducted a
number of research projects on combustion phenomena in flames, fires. and engines. His experience is in fluid mechanics. diffusion flame
structure. chemical kinetics of soot formation
and oxidation. modeling of large scale turbulent
fires. turbulence phenomena. radiative and convective heat transfer. adsorption and desorption
of gas atoms on catalysts. and control of automotive exhaust and evaporative emissions.
He received his Ph. D. degree in Mechanical
Engineering from the University of California,
Berkeley. He is a member of ASME. Sigma Xi.
the Combustion Institute. the New York Academy
of Sciences. Who' s Who in the East, American
Men and Women of Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science. and
the Combustion and Fuels Committee of the
ASME.

5-62