The flow inside a model gas turbine combustor: calculations

The present study assesses the ability of the k-Epsilon turbulence model to calculate the flow inside gas turbine combustors. Results of calculations using a cylindrical system of coordinates, hybrid differencing, and a mesh with about 40,000 nodes are compared with velocity measurements of the flow inside a perspex model of can-type gas turbine combustor. The larger discrepancies between measurements and predictions were found in the primary region. The complexity of the flow near the primary jet impingement led to underprediction of the maximum negative axial velocity and turbulence kinetic energy by about 35 and 20 percent, respectively. The calculated results exhibited higher levels of momentum diffusion compared to the experiments and did not show the two contrarotating vortices created between the primary jets; no qualitative agreement with the azimuthal velocity downstream of the primary jets could be achieved. Despite these deficiencies, the model gave acceptable results in other regions of the combustor and correct prediction of the main features of the combustor flow was possible.