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Stage-stacking technique for predicting over-all performance in multistage axial flow turbojet compressor using interstage-air bleed
The aerodynamic performance of the inlet manifold and stator assembly of the compressor drive turbine was experimentally determined with cold air as the working fluid. The investigation included measurements of mass flow and stator-exit fluid torque as well as radial surveys of total pressure and flow angle at the stator inlet and annulus surveys of total pressure and flow angle at the stator exit. The stator-exit aftermixed flow conditions and overall stator efficiency were obtained and compared with their design values and the experimental results from three other stators. In addition, an analysis was made to determine the constituent aerodynamic losses that made up the stator kinetic energy loss.
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The air revitalization system of the International Space Station (ISS) operates in an open loop mode and relies on the resupply of oxygen and other consumables from earth for the life support of astronauts. A compressor is required for delivering the carbon dioxide from a removal assembly to a reduction unit to recover oxygen and thereby closing the air-loop. We have a developed a temperature-swing adsorption compressor (TSAC) for performing these tasks that is energy efficient, quiet, and has no wearing parts. This paper discusses the design features of a TSAC hardware that uses air as the cooling medium and has Space Station application.
The sizes and weights of the cores of heat exchangers were determined analytically for possible application for reducing turbine cooling-air temperatures of an engine designed for a Mach number of 2.5 and an altitude The sizes and weights of the cores of heat exchangers were determined analytically for possible application for reducing turbine cooling-air temperatures of an engine designed for a Mach number of 2.5 and an altitude of 70,000 feet. A compressor-bleed-air weight flow of 2.7 pounds per second was assumed for the coolant; ram air was considered as the other fluid. Pressure drops and inlet states of both fluids were prescribed, and ranges of compressor-bleed-air temperature reductions and of the ratio of compressor-bleed to ram-air weight flows were considered.
The aerodynamic performance of a redesigned compressor drive turbine of the gas turbine engine is determined in air at nominal inlet conditions of 325 K and 0.8 bar absolute. The turbine is designed with a lower flow factor, higher rotor reaction and a redesigned inlet volute compared to the first turbine. Comparisons between this turbine and the originally designed turbine show about 2.3 percentage points improvement in efficiency at the same rotor tip clearance. Two versions of the same rotor are tested: (1) an as cast rotor, and (2) the same rotor with reduced surface roughness. The effect of reducing surface roughness is about one half percentage point improvement in efficiency. Tests made to determine the effect of Reynolds number on the turbine performance show no effect for the range from 100,000 to 500,000.
The aerodynamic performance of the compressor-drive turbine of the DOE upgraded gas turbine engine was determined in low temperature air. The as-received cast rotor blading had a significantly thicker profile than design and a fairly rough surface finish. Because of these blading imperfections a series of stage tests with modified rotors were made. These included the as-cast rotor, a reduced-roughness rotor, and a rotor with blades thinned to near design. Significant performance changes were measured. Tests were also made to determine the effect of Reynolds number on the turbine performance. Comparisons are made between this turbine and the compressor-drive turbine of the DOE baseline gas turbine engine.
This report summarizes the technical effort of the Active Cooling for Enhanced Performance (ACEP) program sponsored by NASA. It covers the design, fabrication, and integrated systems testing of a jet engine auxiliary cooling system, or turbocooler, that significantly extends the use of conventional jet fuel as a heat sink. The turbocooler is designed to provide subcooled cooling air to the engine exhaust nozzle system or engine hot section. The turbocooler consists of three primary components: (1) a high-temperature air cycle machine driven by engine compressor discharge air, (2) a fuel/ air heat exchanger that transfers energy from the hot air to the fuel and uses a coating to mitigate fuel deposits, and (3) a high-temperature fuel injection system. The details of the turbocooler component designs and results of the integrated systems testing are documented. Industry Version-Data and information deemed subject to Limited Rights restrictions are omitted from this document.
General Aviation will benefit from turbine engines that are both fuel-efficient and reliable. Current engines fall short of their potential to achieve these attributes. The reason is compressor surge, which is a flow stability problem that develops when the compressor is subjected to conditions that are outside of its operating range. Compressor surge can occur when fuel flow to the engine is increased, temporarily back pressuring the compressor and pushing it past its stability limit, or when the compressor is subjected to inlet flow-field distortions that may occur during takeoff and landing. Compressor surge can result in the loss of an aircraft. As a result, engine designers include a margin of safety between the operating line of the engine and the stability limit line of the compressor. Unfortunately, the most efficient operating line for the compressor is usually closer to its stability limit line than it is to the line that provides an adequate margin of safety. A wider stable flow range will permit operation along the most efficient operating line of the compressor, improving the specific fuel consumption of the engine and reducing emissions. The NASA Glenn Research Center is working to extend the stable flow range of the compressor. Significant extension has been achieved in axial compressors by injecting air upstream of the compressor blade rows. Recently, the technique was successfully applied to a 4:1 pressure ratio centrifugal compressor by injecting streams of air into the diffuser. Both steady and controlled unsteady injection were used to inject air through the diffuser shroud surface and extend the range. Future work will evaluate the effect of air injection through the diffuser hub surface and diffuser vanes with the goal of maximizing the range extension while minimizing the amount of injected air that is required.
An injector for a multipoint combustor system includes an inner air swirler which defines an interior flow passage and a plurality of swirler inlet ports in an upstream portion thereof. The inlet ports are configured and adapted to impart swirl on flow in the interior flow passage. An outer air cap is mounted outboard of the inner swirler. A fuel passage is defined between the inner air swirler and the outer air cap, and includes a discharge outlet between downstream portions of the inner air swirler and the outer air cap for issuing fuel for combustion. The outer air cap defines an outer air circuit configured for substantially unswirled injection of compressor discharge air outboard of the interior flow passage.
Several methods of pumping air to an annular cooling passage surrounding a typical axial-flow turbojet-engine afterburner were evaluated and compared on the basis of thrust and specific fuel consumption of the systems. Each system was analyzed over a range of afterburner-wall temperatures, flight Mach numbers, and exhaust-gas temperatures at sea level and 35,000 feet. Ram pressure recovery, boundary-layer pressure recovery, and the engine-jet actuated ejector appear to be satisfactory systems at high Mach numbers. Cooling with compressor-exit air bleed was found to be unsatisfactory,but the use of compressor-exit bleed air as the primary fluid in a high-performance ejector was satisfactory. The use of an auxiliary compressor driven from the engine shaft increased the thrust and decreased the specific fuel consumption of the engine for many of the conditions investigated.
An investigation has been made to explore the possibilities of axial-flow compressors operating with supersonic velocities into the blade rows. Preliminary calculations showed that very high pressure ratios across a stage, together with somewhat increased mass flows, were apparently possible with compressors which decelerated air through the speed of sound in their blading. The first phase of the investigation was the development of efficient supersonic diffusers to decelerate air through the speed of sound. The present report is largely a general discussion of some of the essential aerodynamics of single-stage supersonic axial-flow compressors. As an approach to the study of supersonic compressors, three possible velocity diagrams are discussed briefly. Because of the encouraging results of this study, an experimental single-stage supersonic compressor has been constructed and tested in Freon-12. In this compressor, air decelerates through the speed of sound in the rotor blading and enters the stators at subsonic speeds. A pressure ratio of about 1.8 at an efficiency of about 80 percent has been obtained.
Wall design effects of air intake duct in axial compressor on sound propagation
Accumulation and subsequent compression of carbon dioxide that is removed from the space cabin are two important processes involved in a closed-loop air revitalization scheme of the International Space Station (ISS). The 4-Bed Molecular Sieve (4BMS) of ISS currently operates in an open loop mode without a compressor. The Sabatier Engineering Development Unit (EDU) processes waste CO2 to provide water to the crew. This paper reports the integrated 4BMS, air-cooled Temperature Swing Adsorption Compressor (TSAC), and Sabatier EDU testing. The TSAC prototype was developed at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC). The 4BMS was modified to a functionally flight-like condition at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Testing was conducted at MSFC. The paper provides details of the TSAC operation at various CO2 loadings and corresponding performance of the 4BMS and Sabatier.
Contaminant removal technology, such as the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) on the International Space Station (ISS), is critical to Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS), which enable humans to live and work in outer space. The CDRA includes an adsorbent bed, which absorbs CO 2 from the cabin air and releases it to a Sabatier reactor for water production when thermally cycled. An effective system would heat and cool the adsorbent quickly and uniformly to maximize the amount of CO 2 removed from the cabin and delivered to the Sabatier reactor. Air-Cooled Temperature Swing Adsorption Compressors (AC-TSAC) are promising for use downstream of the CDRA because they are a simple alternative to more mechanically-complex compressors, which are currently in use on the ISS. The current investigation addresses the thermal modeling of potential AC-TSAC designs. An initial thermal model was created and validated by comparing the model outputs to experimental data for the heating phase. Several design trades were conducted, including bed geometry (rectangular vs. cylindrical), bed structural material (i.e., the material that makes up the walls and shelves), and configuration of heat spreading elements within the bed. Also investigated is AC-TSAC performance sensitivity to the thermal conductivity of the adsorbent material and the heat pipes as well as the input power for heating. The results from these studies will inform the design of the next generation of the AC-TSAC, and the thermal modeling results will be further validated through testing.
Effect of inlet-air pressure and temperature on the performance of the X24-2 10-Stage Axial-Flow Compressor from the X24C-2 turbojet engine was evaluated. Speeds of 80, 89, and 100 percent of equivalent design speed with inlet-air pressures of 6 and 12 inches of mercury absolute and inlet-air temperaures of approximately 538 degrees, 459 degrees,and 419 degrees R ( 79 degrees, 0 degrees, and minus 40 degrees F). Results were compared with prior investigations.
An investigation was conducted to determine the flameholding capabilities of aerodynamic jets at afterburner operating conditions. Stability data for a number of aerodynamic flameholders were obtained in a 5- by 5-inch test section at inlet-air reference velocities up to 600 feet per second, an inlet-air temperature of 1250 F, and a combustor-inlet pressure of 15 inches of mercury absolute. Combustion efficiency and stability data of the more promising combinations were then obtained in a 10- by 12-inch test section at the same test conditions. Both air and stoichiometric mixtures of fuel and air were used in the jets; mixture flow rates were approximately 1 percent by weight of the total air-flow rate. Injection pressures were limited to values that might be available from compressor-bleed air. At a reference velocity of 600 feet per second, aerodynamic flame-holders alone were unable to maintain a stable flame at injection pressures up to 70 pounds per square inches large reductions in velocity were required to achieve flame stabilization. When the aerodynamic jets were used in combination with a V-gutter flameholder with approximately a 30 percent blocked area, flame stabilization was attained at a velocity of 600 feet per second; however, the combustion efficiencies of the various combinations were no greater than that obtained with the V-gutter alone.