Numerical investigation of influence of radial vane cavity on turbine inter-vane burner performance

Two turbine inter-vane burner (TIB) models with different radial vane cavities (RVC) were designed to investigate the influence of RVC on TIB. Computational fluid dynamic method was carried out to simulate the turbulent flow and combustion in the TIB. Comparisons show that the simulation results accord well with the experimental data. TIB performs well with 97.5% or higher combustion efficiency and 5.7% pressure loss. Airflow is detached from the convex surface of the vane with RVC in the same surface and the flow field is changed drastically. The RVC in the concave surface can alleviate the detachment and mitigate the radial profile of velocity distribution at the outlet. In the TIB with RVC in the concave surface of the vane, the combustion efficiency is relatively higher; the vane temperature is lower and the temperature distribution is more uniform in the passage and outlet. The emission of CO and unburned hydrocarbon is lower in the TIB with RVC in the concave surface. However, the emission of NO will increase. ©, 2014, BUAA Press. All right reserved.