Technology Development for Next Generation of Gas Turbine Engines: Turbulent Combustion Science and Thermoacoustics

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Aircraft and electric power generation industries contributed to about $70B CAD revenue for the government of Canada in 2016. Today, these industries face two main challenges relating to their use of gas turbine engines. First, they operate with fossil fuels which are limited natural resources and need to be replaced by future alternative fuels (e.g. non-edible biomass). Current knowledge related to both fossil and alternative fuels burning rates relevant to gas turbine engine conditions is limited, and this limitation has hindered our capability of developing the next generation of gas turbine engines. Both knowledge and technology need to be developed to estimate and enhance the burning rate of fossil and future alternative fuels in gas turbine engines.The second challenge these industries face is the emission of pollutants, e.g. nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. These partly contributed to about 722 mega tonnes of greenhouse gas emission in 2016; and, through international agreements, Canada has committed to reduce this emission by about 80% in thirty years. Today, reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter has been made possible by utilizing fuel injection technology that allows for enhanced fuel and air premixing prior to combustion. However, premixed flames are prone to thermoacoustic oscillations (which are detrimental to engine operation) and technology that allows for mitigation of these oscillations needs to be developed.The proposed research program will pursue two parallel fronts: (I) enhancing burning rate of premixed flames (for both gaseous as well as liquid fossil/alternative fuels), and (II) mitigating thermoacoustic oscillations. For gaseous fuels, dynamics of intense turbulent flow and premixed flames interaction (which is relevant to engine applications) will be first investigated. The generated knowledge will then be used to develop a novel flow control apparatus that allows for enhanced gaseous fuel burning rate. This apparatus will be integrated with a lean premixing and prevaporizing unit to study burning rate of both fossil and alternative liquid fuels. Models for the corresponding burning rate will be developed and transferred to the relevant industry. On the second front, dynamics of thermoacoustic oscillations in spray flames will be first investigated. Then, this study will be complemented by development of a novel fuel injection technology that allows for mitigation of thermoacoustic oscillations.The proposed program will generate knowledge and technology required for development of future gas turbines that feature enhanced fuel burning rate, reduced greenhouse gas emission, and improved engine life-time. These will save Canadian natural resources, help the government of Canada comply with its international agreements related to pollutants emission, decelerate global warming, and enhance aircraft engines safety.