Optimization of Wave Rotors for Use as Gas Turbine Engine Topping Cycles

Wilson, James T.; Paxson, Daniel E.

doi:10.4271/951411

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…1. With respect to requirement 2, Wilson and Paxson (1995) point the way toward using the wave rotor to it's full advantage via optimization of the wave rotor. Rotor length, speed, and tube configuration are established in this way.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of a Wave Rotor Topped Demonstrator Gas Turbine Engine Concept

Snyder¹,

Fish²

1996

Volume 1: Turbomachinery

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A wave rotor topped gas turbine engine has been identified which incorporates five basic requirements of a successful demonstrator engine. Predicted performance maps of the wave rotor cycle have been used along with maps of existing gas turbine hardware in a design point study. The effects of wave rotor topping on the engine cycle and the subsequent need to rematch compressor and turbine sections in the topped engine are addressed. Comparison of performance of the resulting engine is made on the basis of wave rotor topped engine versus an appropriate baseline engine using common shaft compressor hardware. The topped engine design clearly demonstrates an improvement in shaft horsepower and SFC. Predicted off design part power engine performance for the wave rotor topped engine is presented including that at engine idle conditions. Operation of the engine at off design is closely examined with wave rotor operation at less than design burner outlet temperatures and rotor speeds. Challenges remaining in the development of a demonstrator engine are addressed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of a Wave Rotor Topped Demonstrator Gas Turbine Engine Concept

Snyder¹,

Fish²

1996

Volume 1: Turbomachinery

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“…Because unsteady combustion currently shows only modest pressure gains, the wave rotor approach seems preferable. Calculations show that increases of 20% in specific power, and reductions in specific fuel consumption of 18% are possible by using a wave rotor topping cycle (Wilson and Paxson, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Experimental Determination of Losses in a 3-Port Wave Rotor

Wilson¹

1996

Volume 1: Turbomachinery

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Wave rotors, used in a gas turbine topping cycle, offer a potential route to higher specific power and lower specific fuel consumption. In order to exploit this potential propedy, it is necessary to have some realistic means of calculating wave rotor performance, taking losses into account, so that wave rotors can be designed for good performance. This in turn requires a knowledge of the loss mechanisms. The experiment reported here was designed as a statistical experiment to identify the losses due to finite passage opening time, friction, and leakage. For simplicity, the experiment used a 3-port, flow divider, wave cycle, but the results should be applicable to other cycles. A 12" diameter rotor was used, with two different lengths, 9" and 18", and two different passage widths, 0.25" and 0.54", in order to vary friction and opening time. To vary leakage, moveable end-walls were provided so that the rotor to end-wall gap could be adjusted. The experiment is described, and the results are presented, together with a parametric fit to the data. The fit shows that there will be an optimum passage width for a given wave rotor, since, as the passage width increases, fdction losses decrease, but opening-time losses increase, and vice-versa. Leakage losses can be made small at reasonable gap sizes.

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“…Many design issues common to pressure-exchange and internal combustion wave rotors are discussed elsewhere (Snyder, 1996;Wilson and Paxson, 1995). These include rotation speed selection and matching, alternative cycles, and off-design performance.…”

Section: Application Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This result must be further modified to account for nonconstant-volume combustion and wave precompression. Using numerical simulations that include these corrections and all major losses, Wilson and Paxson (1995) estimate that an optimized pressure-gain wave rotor can increase the specific power of a typical small gas turbine by 23 percent and decrease its fuel consumption by 19 percent. Similar performance is predicted by numerical simulation of internal combustion (Nalim and Paxson, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This distinction is made with reference to the wave rotor; in the thermodynamic sense, combustion is always internal, i.e., within the working fluid. Past approaches have generally proposed external combustion, pressure-exchanger systems (Wilson and Paxson, 1995;Resler et al, 1994;Zauner et al, 1993), where low pressure, compressor-discharge air is further compressed in the wave rotor channels by compression or shock waves. The compression work is provided by hot gas from the external combustor, which expands in the wave rotor, and is then sent to the turbine at a lower temperature than the combustor exit.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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