Assessment of a radiative heat transfer model for gas turbine combustor preliminary design

The early stages of gas turbine combustor design represent a challenging combination of analytical analysis, numerical simulation, and rig testing. The objective of this work is the development of a versatile radiation submodel within the constraints of a preliminary gas turbine combustor simulation tool. A network approach forms the basis of the design solution algorithm, dividing the domain into a number of independent semiempirical interconnected subsections. A novel application of the pressure correction methodology more commonly employed by computational fluid dynamics codes is utilized to solve the combined continuity equation and pressure-drop/flow-rate relationships. A coupled conjugate heat transfer analysis is employed to determine heat transfer to the combustor liner. Radiation represents the most difficult mode of heat transfer to simulate in the combustor environment. A novel variation of the discrete transfer radiation model is presented and validated for use within the network solver. The effect of the radiation model on the prediction of liner wall temperature is evaluated in an annular gas turbine combustor at a typical high-power operating condition. The importance of radial distributions of temperature and soot are evaluated by examining the flametube wall heat transfer mechanism.