Effects of Combustion Chamber Geometry Upon Exit Temperature Profiles

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of combustion chamber geometry on exit temperature fields using an ambient pressure test rig. The apparatus contained a 120° sector of a combustion section of a Rolls Royce (previously Allison) T56-A-15 gas turbine engine. A thermocouple rake acquired high-resolution temperature measurements in the combustion chamber exit plane. Rig test conditions were set to simulate an engine operating condition of 463 km/h (250 knots) at 7620 m (25000ft) by matching the Mach number, the equivalence ratio and the Sauter mean diameter of the fuel spray. To quantify the geometric deviations of the combustion chamber specimens, which varied in service conditions, a three-dimensional laser scanning system was used. Combustion chamber geometric deviations were extracted through comparison of the scanned data to a reference model using the selected software. The relationship between combustion chamber exit temperature profile and geometric deviation was then compared. The main conclusion of this research was that small deviations from nominal dimensions in the dilution zone of the combustion chamber correlated to an increase in pattern factor. A decrease in the mixing of the products of combustion and dilution air was observed as damage in the dilution zone increased. This reduction in mixing created a more compact, higher temperature core flow. The results obtained from this research were compared to past studies.