In this paper, we detail the development and goals of a brand new turboshaft engine called BEARCAT. “BEARCAT” is an acronyme for ‘’Banc d’Essai Avancé pour la Recherche en Combustion et Aérothermique des Turbomachines’’. BEARCAT is based on a MAKILA engine, a turboshaft developed by Safran Helicopter Engines (formerly Turboméca) and powering the H215 (2 Makila 1A1, 1820 SHP each) and the H225 (2 Makila 2A1, 2000 SHP each) of Airbus Helicopters. BEARCAT is developed by SAFRAN-Tech, the Research and Technology Center of the SAFRAN Group. This test engine is devoted to the fine characterization of aero-thermal phenomena occurring within the combustion chamber and the High Pressure Turbine as well as their interactions. Therefore, BEARCAT differs from a standard test engine by the implementation of metrologies inside the combustion chamber and the 2-stage High Pressure Turbine, in order to perform both steady and non-steady flow measurements which will be used to validate CFD codes and models. The engine instrumentation induces thorough modifications of several engine parts and also the development of original technical solutions to ensure metrologies integration in minimizing their impact on performances.
The present paper discusses the design methodology for a water-cooled fast-response wall-static pressure probe intended for measurements in the combustion chamber of gas turbines, as well as the results from a series of tests performed with the prototype of the probe mounted in the primary zone of the combustion chamber of a turboshaft engine test rig. The first part of the present paper reviews the design methodology of a water-cooled fast-response wall static pressure probe intended for measurements of combustion noise and instabilities in gas turbine combustors, describing the optimization of measurement performance in terms of frequency bandwidth ([0 – 40kHz]) as well as the design of the cooling layout ensuring the sensor’s integrity within a harsh environment. The second part of the paper focuses on the analysis of the results obtained from trial tests performed using the probe prototype mounted in the primary zone of the combustion chamber of a helicopter engine test rig. The strengths and strong potential for further growth of the current probe design are highlighted, while its shortcomings and (short-term) solutions to these shortcomings are also discussed.
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