Non-planar Combustor Liner Panel Geometry
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Solution Overview
Problem
The combustor section of gas turbine engines faces challenges with durability and aerodynamics due to steps, dead regions, and cooling inefficiencies at interfaces between liner panels, which can lead to adverse local aerodynamics and reduced performance.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates liner panels with a forward section and an aft section that define a profile with an angle between 150 to 175 degrees, mounted via studs to a support shell with a complementary bend, enhancing durability and flow path optimization by eliminating steps and improving cooling efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional quadrilateral liner panels with straight edges are used, then manufacturing and assembly are simplified, but steps and dead regions form at panel interfaces causing adverse aerodynamics and reduced durability
Solution Approach 1:
The liner panel employs a non-planar curved surface design with a circumferential arc and an axial bend, replacing traditional straight-edged quadrilateral panels. This curvature eliminates steps and dead regions at panel interfaces, improving aerodynamic flow and durability while maintaining manufacturability through standardized arc and bend parameters.
2Productivity
If liner panels are designed with non-planar curved surfaces, then aerodynamic flow and cooling efficiency are improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The combustor liner is divided into multiple identical or similar curved panel segments, each with standardized arc and bend parameters. This segmentation allows for modular manufacturing with controlled precision requirements for each panel, while the overall system achieves improved cooling efficiency through the non-planar geometry of each segment.
3Reliability
If panel interfaces are reduced through non-planar design, then dead regions and cooling challenges are eliminated, but panel mounting complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The axial bend in the panel design allows the panels to conform to the combustor geometry while maintaining consistent interface configurations. The curved surface is defined by specific geometric parameters (circumferential arc, axial bend angle) that standardize the mounting requirements despite the non-planar shape, reducing overall mounting complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A combustor for a gas turbine engine including a liner panel mounted to a support shell via a multiple of studs, the liner panel including a forward section and an aft section that defines an angle therebetween in the axial profile between the forward section and the aft section.