Session: 06-02 Pressure Gain Combustion I

Paper Number: 127816

127816 - Performance Comparison of Gas Turbine Layouts With Pressure Gain Combustion for Propulsion Applications 

Pressure gain combustion has established itself as the most sought-after propulsion technology for replacing the conventional gas turbines. Different pressure gain combustion methods such as constant pressure combustion (CVC), pulse detonation combustion (PDC), rotating detonation combustion (RDC) and Oblique Detonation Wave combustion (ODWC) are being explored not only in universities and research labs, but also by mainstream engine manufacturers and space agencies. With a significant number of technology demonstrator vehicles for both aeronautical and astronautical applications in recent years, it is evident that the transition into this new technology is a real possibility.

In order to fully utilize the benefits of pressure gain combustion, it is necessary to analyse the propulsion engine from a system level. This includes the study of integrating pressure gain combustor with other components such as compressors and turbines, investigantinginvestigating the effects of combustor and turbine cooling, as well as and theengine performance of the engine under different operating conditions. As the performance of engine differs from one layout to the other, a comparison of different possible configurations of components is essential for the selection of the most suitable engine layout. This also serves as the design driver for the engine components.

In this paper, the performance of different engine layouts which employing pressure gain combustion is studied. A rotating detonation combustion chamber is chosen as the reference combustor technologysource of pressure gain, which interactings dynamically with compressors, turbines, ejectors, and other engine components to provide performance data under different design points. All layouts are designed to provide a maximum design thrust of 100 kN, which is typical of a high by-pass commercial turbofan engine. The combustor dynamic model is based on theoretical pressure gain combustion maps with a wide range of operational envelope, while the compressors and turbines are based on actual engine data, scaled to match the combustor operation. The inclusion of compressor bleed,  and combustion chamber cooling and turbine blade cooling makes the performance prediction close to a real engine as much as possible. The results of this study show the benefits and drawbacks limitations of using pressure gain combustion in propulsion system in these the most promising engine layouts.

Presenting Author: Sreenath Purushothaman University of Genova

Presenting Author Biography: Sreenath is a PhD student from University of Genova, Italy, working under the Marie Curie INSPIRE Project. His research is on Pressure Gain Combustion for propulsion applications with dynamic modelling & part load analysis. He is from India and obtained his Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering & Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering with specialization in Aircraft Propulsion from India. He had worked with CSIR – National Aerospace Laboratories and Centre for Airborne Systems, DRDO, India on several projects involving aircraft engines, ergonomic design & structural analysis of aircraft components, and CFD studies on wide body aircrafts for aerodynamics and ice accretion.

Authors:

Sreenath Purushothaman University of Genova
Alessandro Sorce University of Genova
Alberto Traverso University of Genova
Thomas Gaillard DMPE, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay