Numerical simulation of partial flame failure in gas turbine engine

A mathematical model for the simulation of engine start-up thermodynamics has been developed and validated against engine test data. This numerical model has been validated using engine test results for both single and multiple combustor flameouts, and reasonable agreement between test and simulation data has been observed. Numerical simulations have then been generated for flameout cases that have not been available from engine tests, such as flame failure in different combinations of combustors, and at different engine operating conditions. The mathematical model features object modeling of engine components with three gas compositions, being air, fuel, and combustion products. The combustion system has been represented by six combustors, and the gas stream from each combustor has been divided according to the number of the gas path thermocouples downstream from the combustion system. The effects of heat transfer within the combustors and turbine have been modeled. Two sets of thermocouples have been considered, the first being thermocouples installed in multiple combustor burners, and the second being an array of thermocouple probes which are circumferentially positioned in the engine hot gas path. All thermocouples have been modeled as first order dynamic systems. The numerical simulations have been successfully used to support development of a new partial flame failure detection method, which is based on the combined measurements from both sets of thermocouples. A range of numerical simulations have been conducted in order to assess the ability of this new detection algorithm to detect different partial flame failure scenarios, and to examine the sensitivity of the detection algorithm with respect to thermocouples faults.