Introduction

Reasons for Combustion Diagnostics

The first component in the Gas Turbine is the compressor. It raises the pressure of the air flowing through the engine. The efficiency of the engine is dependent on the quality of the compressor flow. Blade vibration caused by the flow can lead to a premature engine failure. A good design now requires very large investments in testing, because the flow that occur in compressors are not yet adequately predictable. A goal of manufactures is to be able to predict the complex turbulent flow in an entire compressor. Also, to determine the compressors performance under all possible operating conditions and the investigation of flow-driven blade vibration problems. Thereby dramatically reducing the need for costly testing.

The second stage, is to keep the chance of the combustion chamber from melting minimised. Accurate simulations of the turbulence and chemical reactions help researchers to lead to new configurations. These should operate safely with reduced emissions and improved engine performance.

The final stage of a gas turbine engine is the turbine itself. It extracts power from the hot gas emerging from the combustion chamber. The hot turbulent flow requires that the turbine blades are cooled. With more accurate simulation capabilities, the amount of cooling required can be reduced, leading to higher engine efficiency.

The power generated from the turbine is used to run the compressor and the fan. This moves most of the air that propels an airplane. The fan, which is what one sees when looking into the front of a modern jet engine, is itself a large low-pressure compressor. Its design is critical for good aircraft performance.

Gas turbine engines are a relatively mature technology. Therefore new improvements come very hard, but they are still crucial. As little as !% improved performance of a gas turbine engine can be the different in the purchasing of engines.

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