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Fuel-Flexible Gas Turbine Combustor Flametube Facility
Facility modifications have been completed to an existing combustor flametube facility to enable testing with gaseous hydrogen propellants at the NASA Glenn Research Center. The purpose of the facility is to test a variety of fuel nozzle and flameholder hardware configurations for use in aircraft combustors. Facility capabilities have been expanded to include testing with gaseous hydrogen, along with the existing hydrocarbon-based jet fuel. Modifications have also been made to the facility air supply to provide heated air up to 350 psig, 1100 F, and 3.0 lbm/s. The facility can accommodate a wide variety of flametube and fuel nozzle configurations. Emissions and performance data are obtained via a variety of gas sample probe configurations and emissions measurement equipment.
Alternative Fuels and Their Potential Impact on Aviation
With a growing gap between the growth rate of petroleum production and demand, and with mounting environmental needs, the aircraft industry is investigating issues related to fuel availability, candidates for alternative fuels, and improved aircraft fuel efficiency. Bio-derived fuels, methanol, ethanol, liquid natural gas, liquid hydrogen, and synthetic fuels are considered in this study for their potential to replace or supplement conventional jet fuels. Most of these fuels present the airplane designers with safety, logistical, and performance challenges. Synthetic fuel made from coal, natural gas, or other hydrocarbon feedstock shows significant promise as a fuel that could be easily integrated into present and future aircraft with little or no modification to current aircraft designs. Alternatives, such as biofuel, and in the longer term hydrogen, have good potential but presently appear to be better suited for use in ground transportation. With the increased use of these fuels, a greater portion of a barrel of crude oil can be used for producing jet fuel because aircraft are not as fuel-flexible as ground vehicles.
Alternate-Fueled Combustor-Sector Performance: Part A: Combustor Performance Part B: Combustor Emissions
Alternate aviation fuels for military or commercial use are required to satisfy MIL-DTL-83133F(2008) or ASTM D 7566 (2010) standards, respectively, and are classified as drop-in fuel replacements. To satisfy legacy issues, blends to 50% alternate fuel with petroleum fuels are certified individually on the basis of feedstock. Adherence to alternate fuels and fuel blends requires smart fueling systems or advanced fuel-flexible systems, including combustors and engines without significant sacrifice in performance or emissions requirements. This paper provides preliminary performance (Part A) and emissions and particulates (Part B) combustor sector data for synthetic-parafinic-kerosene- (SPK-) type fuel and blends with JP-8+100 relative to JP-8+100 as baseline fueling.
Alternate-Fueled Combustor-Sector Performance: (A) Combustor Performance; (B) Combustor Emissions - Parts A and B
Alternate aviation fuels for military or commercial use are required to satisfy MIL-DTL-83133F(2008) or ASTM D 7566 (2010) standards, respectively, and are classified as "drop-in" fuel replacements. To satisfy legacy issues, blends to 50% alternate fuel with petroleum fuels are certified individually on the basis of processing and assumed to be feedstock agnostic. Adherence to alternate fuels and fuel blends requires "smart fueling systems" or advanced fuel-flexible systems, including combustors and engines, without significant sacrifice in performance or emissions requirements. This paper provides preliminary performance (Part A) and emissions and particulates (Part B) combustor sector data. The data are for nominal inlet conditions at 225 psia and 800 F (1.551 MPa and 700 K), for synthetic-paraffinic-kerosene- (SPK-) type (Fisher-Tropsch (FT)) fuel and blends with JP-8+100 relative to JP-8+100 as baseline fueling. Assessments are made of the change in combustor efficiency, wall temperatures, emissions, and luminosity with SPK of 0%, 50%, and 100% fueling composition at 3% combustor pressure drop. The performance results (Part A) indicate no quantifiable differences in combustor efficiency, a general trend to lower liner and higher core flow temperatures with increased FT fuel blends. In general, emissions data (Part B) show little differences, but with percent increase in FT-SPK-type fueling, particulate emissions and wall temperatures are less than with baseline JP-8. High-speed photography illustrates both luminosity and combustor dynamic flame characteristics.
A Comparison of Combustor-Noise Models
The present status of combustor-noise prediction in the NASA Aircraft Noise Prediction Program (ANOPP)1 for current-generation (N) turbofan engines is summarized. Several semi-empirical models for turbofan combustor noise are discussed, including best methods for near-term updates to ANOPP. An alternate turbine-transmission factor2 will appear as a user selectable option in the combustor-noise module GECOR in the next release. The three-spectrum model proposed by Stone et al.3 for GE turbofan-engine combustor noise is discussed and compared with ANOPP predictions for several relevant cases. Based on the results presented herein and in their report,3 it is recommended that the application of this fully empirical combustor-noise prediction method be limited to situations involving only General-Electric turbofan engines. Long-term needs and challenges for the N+1 through N+3 time frame are discussed. Because the impact of other propulsion-noise sources continues to be reduced due to turbofan design trends, advances in noise-mitigation techniques, and expected aircraft configuration changes, the relative importance of core noise is expected to greatly increase in the future. The noise-source structure in the combustor, including the indirect one, and the effects of the propagation path through the engine and exhaust nozzle need to be better understood. In particular, the acoustic consequences of the expected trends toward smaller, highly efficient gas-generator cores and low-emission fuel-flexible combustors need to be fully investigated since future designs are quite likely to fall outside of the parameter space of existing (semi-empirical) prediction tools.
NASA Project Develops Next-Generation Low-Emissions Combustor Technologies
NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project is working with industry to develop the fuel flexible combustor technologies for a new generation of low-emissions engine targeted for the 2020 timeframe. These new combustors will reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to half of current state-of-the-art (SOA) combustors, while simultaneously reducing noise and fuel burn. The purpose of the low NOx fuel-flexible combustor research is to advance the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and Integration Readiness Level (IRL) of a low NOx, fuel flexible combustor to the point where it can be integrated in the next generation of aircraft. To reduce project risk and optimize research benefit NASA chose to found two Phase 1 contracts. The first Phase 1 contracts went to engine manufactures and were awarded to: General Electric Company, and Pratt & Whitney Company. The second Phase 1 contracts went to fuel injector manufactures Goodrich Corporation, Parker Hannifin Corporation, and Woodward Fuel System Technology. In 2012, two sector combustors were tested at NASA's ASCR. The results indicated 75% NOx emission reduction below the 2004 CAEP/6 regulation level.
Effects of Burning Alternative Fuel in a 5-Cup Combustor Sector
A goal of NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) program is to develop a combustor that will reduce the NOx emissions and that can burn both standard and alternative fuels. To meet this goal, NASA partnered with General Electric Aviation to develop a 5-cup combustor sector; this sector was tested in NASA Glenn's Advanced Subsonic Combustion Rig (ASCR). To verify that the combustor sector was fuel-flexible, it was tested with a 50-50 blend of JP-8 and a biofuel made from the camelina sativa plant. Results from this test were compared to results from tests where the fuel was neat JP-8. Testing was done at three combustor inlet conditions: cruise, 30% power, and 7% power. When compared to burning JP-8, burning the 50-50 blend did not significantly affect emissions of NOx, CO, or total hydrocarbons. Furthermore, it did not significantly affect the magnitude and frequency of the dynamic pressure fluctuations.
Core/Combustor Noise - Research Overview
Contributions from the combustor to the overall propulsion noise of civilian transport aircraft are starting to become important due to turbofan design trends and advances in mitigation of other noise sources. Future propulsion systems for ultra-efficient commercial air vehicles are projected to be of increasingly higher bypass ratio from larger fans combined with much smaller cores, with ultra-clean burning fuel-flexible combustors. Unless effective noise-reduction strategies are developed, combustor noise is likely to become a prominent contributor to overall airport community noise in the future. This presentation gives a brief overview of the NASA outlook on pertinent issues and far-term research needs as well as current and planned research in the core/combustor-noise area. The research described herein is aligned with the NASA Ultra-Efficient Commercial Transport strategic thrust and is supported by the NASA Advanced Air Vehicle Program, Advanced Air Transport Technology Project, under the Aircraft Noise Reduction Subproject. The overarching goal of the Advanced Air Transport Technology (AATT) Project is to explore and develop technologies and concepts to revolutionize the energy efficiency and environmental compatibility of fixed wing transport aircrafts. These technological solutions are critical in reducing the impact of aviation on the environment even as this industry and the corresponding global transportation system continue to grow.
DART Core/Combustor-Noise Initial Test Results
Contributions from the combustor to the overall propulsion noise of civilian transport aircraft are starting to become important due to turbofan design trends and advances in mitigation of other noise sources. Future propulsion systems for ultra-efficient commercial air vehicles are projected to be of increasingly higher bypass ratio from larger fans combined with much smaller cores, with ultra-clean burning fuel-flexible combustors. Unless effective noise-reduction strategies are developed, combustor noise is likely to become a prominent contributor to overall airport community noise in the future. The new NASA DGEN Aero0propulsion Research Turbofan (DART) is a cost-efficient testbed for the study of core-noise physics and mitigation. This presentation gives a brief description of the recently completed DART core combustor-noise baseline test in the NASA GRC Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory (AAPL). Acoustic data was simultaneously acquired using the AAPL overhead microphone array in the engine aft quadrant far field, a single midfield microphone, and two semi-infinite-tube unsteady pressure sensors at the core-nozzle exit. An initial assessment shows that the data is of high quality and compares well with results from a quick 2014 feasibility test. Combustor noise components of measured total-noise signatures were educed using a two-signal source-separation method an dare found to occur in the expected frequency range. The research described herein is aligned with the NASA Ultra-Efficient Commercial Transport strategic thrust and is supported by the NASA Advanced Air Vehicle Program, Advanced Air Transport Technology Project, under the Aircraft Noise Reduction Subproject.
NASA Emissions Research Overview
NASA Aeronautics is advancing a variety of technologies toward the objective of reducing aviation fuel burn and emissions. Specifically, the Advanced Air Transport Technology Project under the Advanced Air Vehicles Program is investing in technologies such as small core engines, fuel-flexible combustors, and electrified aircraft propulsion, all of which offer potential for reduced fleet fuel usage and harmful emissions. This presentation will provide a brief overview of these technical approaches as well as a NASA Aeronautics budget outlook.
Core/Combustor-Noise Baseline Measurements for the DGEN Aeropropulsion Research Turbofan
Contributions from the combustor to the overall propulsion noise of civilian transport aircraft are starting to become important due to turbofan design trends and advances in mitigation of other noise sources. Future propulsion systems for ultra-efficient commercial air vehicles are projected to be of increasingly higher bypass ratio from larger fans combined with much smaller cores, with ultra-clean burning fuel-flexible combustors. Unless effective noise-reduction strategies are developed, combustor noise is likely to become a prominent contributor to overall airport community noise in the future. The new NASA DGEN Aeropropulsion Research Turbofan (DART) is a cost-efficient testbed for the study of core-noise physics and mitigation. This paper describes the recently completed DART core/combustor-noise baseline test in the NASA GRC Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory (AAPL). Acoustic data were simultaneously acquired using the AAPL overhead microphone array in the engine aft quadrant farfield, a single midfield microphone, and two semi-infinite-tube unsteady pressure sensors at the core-nozzle exit. Combustor-noise components of measured total-noise signatures were educed using a two-signal source-separation method and are found to occur in the expected frequency range. The acoustic data compare well with results from a limited 2014 feasibility test and will serve as a high-quality baseline for future research using the DART. The research described herein is aligned with the NASA Ultra-Efficient Commercial Transport strategic thrust and is supported by the NASA Advanced Air Vehicle Program, Advanced Air Transport Technology Project, under the Aircraft Noise Reduction Subproject.
Core/Combustor-Noise Baseline Measurements for the DGEN Aeropropulsion Research Turbofan
Contributions from the combustor to the overall propulsion noise of civilian transport aircraft are starting to become important due to turbofan design trends and advances in mitigation of other noise sources. Future propulsion systems for ultra-efficient commercial air vehicles are projected to be of increasingly higher bypass ratio from larger fans combined with much smaller cores, with ultra-clean burning fuel-flexible combustors. Unless effective noise-eduction strategies are developed, combustor noise is likely to become a prominent contributor to overall airport community noise in the future. The new NASA DGEN Aeropropulsion Research Turbofan (DART) is a cost-efficient testbed for the study of core-noise physics and mitigation. This paper describes the recently completed DART core/combustor-noise baseline test in the NASA GRC Aero-Acoustic Propulsion Laboratory (AAPL). Acoustic data was simultaneously acquired using the AAPL overhead microphone array in the engine aft quadrant far field, a single midfield microphone, and two semi-infinite-tube unsteady pressure sensors at the core-nozzle exit. Combustor-noise components of measured total-noise signatures were educed using a two-signal source-separation method and are found to occur in the expected frequency range. The acoustic data compares well with results from a limited 2014 feasibility test and will serve as a high-quality baseline for future research using the DART. The research described herein is aligned with the NASA Ultra-Efficient Commercial Transport strategic thrust and is supported by the NASA Advanced Air Vehicle Program, Advanced Air Transport Technology Project, under the Aircraft Noise Reduction Subproject.
Core/Combustor-Noise Update
Future propulsion systems for ultra-efficient commercial air vehicles are projected to be of increasingly higher bypass ratios resulting from larger fans combined with much smaller cores, with ultra-clean burning fuel-flexible combustors. Unless effective noise-reduction strategies are developed, combustor noise is likely to become a prominent contributor to overall airport community noise in the future. This presentation gives a brief overview of the NASA outlook on pertinent issues and far-term research needs as well as current and planned research in the core/combustor-noise area. The research described herein is aligned with the NASA Ultra-Efficient Commercial Transport strategic thrust and is supported by the NASA Advanced Air Vehicle Program, Advanced Air Transport Technology Project, under the Aircraft Noise Reduction Subproject. The overarching goal of the Advanced Air Transport Technology (AATT) Project is to explore and develop technologies and concepts to revolutionize the energy efficiency and environmental compatibility of fixed wing transport aircrafts. These technological solutions are critical in reducing the impact of aviation on the environment even as this industry and the corresponding global transportation system continue to grow.
Hybrid Electric MC-12 Ground Testing Plan Chapter
In the commercial aviation world, hybrid/electric propulsion is a promising technology for fuel, emissions, and noise reduction in support of the challenging goals established by 2050 EU Flightpath/SRIA, NASA ARMD Strategic Implementation Plan, and the US Air Force ATTAM programs. Ongoing results indicate operational benefits are possible in those three technical areas. Considering military applications, hybrid/electric propulsion may yield further significant improvements by enabling new, unorthodox mission capabilities. Potential benefits are expected in the areas of vehicle signature reduction (lower noise, lower exhaust signature), usage in enhanced flight environments, minimized human-in-the-loop workload by offering a platform compatible with future goals of autonomous operations facilitation, maintenance cost reductions, and performance burst/dash energy. Additional synergies are likely when used in conjunction with energy weapons. Some potential areas of mutual interest could include, dusty operations capability, remote supply capability, extended surveillance, dispatch able power, fuel-flexible vehicles, and autonomous rescue equipment. Many of the key technologies that have been demonstrated in ground operation must now be qualified for altitude conditions. We expect to have many flight qualified powertrain systems over the next decade for military planners to choose from for new future battlefield capability. This requires new flight-weight and flight-efficient powertrain components, fault tolerant power management, and electromagnetic interference mitigation technologies. Moreover, initial studies indicate some combination of ambient and cryogenic thermal management and relatively high bus voltages when compared to state of practice will be required to achieve a net system benefit. Developing all these powertrain technologies within a realistic aircraft architectural geometry and under realistic operational conditions requires a unique electric aircraft test bed. The MC-12 surveillance aircraft is an ideal military aircraft for demonstrating some of the benefits of incorporating hybrid electric propulsion. This report details an approach for full-scale ground-based altitude testing the hybrid electric MC-12 powertrain through a full flight profile.