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GAS TURBINES : AN
INTRODUCTION TO FLOWNEX
Reducing turbine and system development cost
using commercial-off-the-shelf network codes
INTRODUCTION
Todays presentation:
• Matlab/Simulink coupling
• ANSYS coupling
• Relap (Thermal-hydraulic safety analysis software)
coupling
Designer
– Calculation of component sizes and capacities for a
number of specified system operating conditions
Optimizer
Easy to set up – Minimize or maximize system parameters
– Optimization methods :
Fast solve time • evolutionary (genetic) algorithm based optimizer
• quadratic approximation search method BOBYQA.
FLOWNEX IN GAS TURBINES
• Flownex is used for the preliminary and concept
design of combustion chambers and secondary air
flow systems
• The key driver for using Flownex is resultant cost
savings on account of reduced 3D CFD modelling
requirements and rig tests
• Additionally Flownex is used to provide boundary
conditions for localised more detailed models
• A third application of Flownex is the simulation of the
complete integrated gas turbine system with power
source
• In this category Flownex is used for system integration
and determining control strategies
COMBUSTOR PRELIMINARY DESIGN
• Liner wall melting temperatures are usually lower than the
flame temperature
• Cooling flow on liner walls keep metal temperatures within
acceptable limits
• Preliminary combustor design requires that an extensive
number of geometrical and operational conditions be
evaluated and compared in terms of
– Cooling air mass flow rate distribution through air admission
holes and pressure losses
– Combustion product composition
– Combustion flame temperature
– Gas-surface radiation heat transfer
– Surface-surface radiation heat transfer
– Film convection heat transfer
– Annular convection heat transfer
– Liner wall temperature distribution
WHY A 1D COMBUSTOR MODEL?
• Although powerful, CFD solutions of combustors are specialized, time consuming processes and
therefore seldom used during initial sizing of a combustor.
• Companies resort to using in-house developed procedures and correlations that are greatly
experience driven, costly to develop and also costly to maintain.
• Applying the Flownex flow network approach to combustor preliminary design enables the
integrated, conjugate flow and heat transfer networks to be modelled in parallel with
stoichiometric calculations.
• Ultimately Flownex offers a commercially-off-the-shelf combustor design tool that is easily set-
up and configured whilst:
– Maintaining full geometric flexibility, i.e. any geometry
– Fast solving times (within seconds)
– Allows optimization and parametric runs
• This results in substantial cost savings to the client since the number of detailed CFD simulations
and rig tests are substantially reduced
• Furthermore, results from the network model can be used for determining boundary conditions to
subsequent localised detailed models
FLOWNEX EXAMPLE COMBUSTOR
• As example case, consider the double-annular combustor from GE.
• First, develop the cold-flow case by constructing the flow network.
• Elements define actual geometrical features e.g. orifices and duct sections
in the domain of interest
• Overall governing equations are solved within the nodes
• While pressure drop–flow relationship is applied for every element, i.e using
orifice and duct elements.
Restrictor
duct with Cd
CONJUGATE FLOW AND HEAT TRANSFER NETWORK
• Construct the heat transfer network comprising the liner wall as
well as all heat transfer mechanisms using the application
specific Flownex heat transfer library.
• Connect to the flow network where relevant
CONJUGATE FLOW AND HEAT TRANSFER
NETWORK AT A COOLING SLOT EXIT
Main flow path
Q rad,f
Q cond,r
Liner wall
Film flow path
Q
Q cond,z
conv
Q rad,s
Q cond,r
Annulus wall
Q cond,z
COMBUSTION PROCESS MODELLING
The combustion process has to be accounted for when a 1-d
analysis is conducted
• Gas temperature effects fluid density, and therefore the flow
distributions and pressure loss
• Accurate gas temperature profile required for wall
temperature predictions
Inlet Inlet
Test Pressure Temperature Combustor Exit Mass Overall Fuel Pilot/Total Fuel
Point [psi] [K] Flow [pps] Air Ratio Mass Flow
1 174.9 637 57.1 0.0171 0.50
2 240.04 700 66.25 0.0173 0.40
3 240.04 745 68.65 0.0208 0.41
4 240.7 781 68.33 0.0229 0.35
5 241.3 788 67.78 0.0233 0.35
6 241.5 814 67.48 0.0246 0.40
Air flow distribution with 5.5% overall combustor pressure drop achieve with Flownex designer tool
METAL TEMPERATURE RESULTS
Test Point 1 Test Point 2 Test Point 3 Test Point 4 Test Point 5 Test Point 6
1200
Metal temperature [K]
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Axial distance from combustor inlet [in]
BENCHMARK TEST CASES
SECONDARY FLOW PATH DESIGN
• Coolant air continuously extracted in compressor stages to
supply film coolant air to turbine surfaces and internals.
• Flow rate vs pressure drop important.
• Windage temperature rise and heat transfer to surfaces
important.
• Enough cooling air should be supplied to maintain metal
temperatures but no more otherwise loss in efficiency.
SECONDARY FLOW PATH DESIGN
• Flownex features an application specific rotating
component library for predicting flow rates, pressures
and temperatures in the integrated secondary flow
path:
– Vortices
– Seals
– Cavities
– Nozzles
– Gaps
– Channels
CAVITIES
• Rotor-Rotor and Rotor-Stator
• Calculates core swirl ratio based on moment balance
• Can be discretised in radial direction to obtain swirl
ratio, temperature and pressure changes with radius
Discretized Cavity Pressure
• Disc surfaces can have any orientation Results
N
T0i
c
Surge line
p0 e N
p0 i T0i
m T0i
p0i
m T0i
p0i
GAS TURBINE INTEGRATED SYSTEM ANALYSIS
• All components required to model complete power
stations
• Brayton cycles (gas mixtures)
• Rankine cycles (two-phase)
• Combined cycles
THANK YOU