Prediction of Gas Turbine Afterburner Performance Using CFD for Different Operating Conditions and Reheat Strength

A gas turbine afterburner is required to operate under severe conditions of pressure and temperature to meet the design requirements of next generation gas turbine engines. This fact, coupled with the current trends towards higher turbine discharge temperature and the requirement for satisfactory operation over extended fuel/air ratios and flight maps call for greater understanding of the internal aerodynamics for improving thrust developed by the afterburner. The present work focuses on prediction of performance of a practical afterburner for different altitude conditions and reheat strengths (i.e., fuel-air ratios) using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. Combustion efficiency and thrust boost at these conditions have been predicted. The reacting flow field has been analyzed and changes suggested for improving thrust at low performance points.