LABORATORY TESTING OF A GAS-TURBINE VAPORIZER

A laboratory test apparatus was constructed for assessing the metal temperature and the state of different air-fuel mixtures at the outlet of a gas turbine vaporizer fuel injector. The performance of the apparatus was according to the imposed requirements for idle engine operation. Fuels tested were JP5, JP7, and Diesel Fuel Marine. Data consisted of vaporizer metal temperatures, inlet and exit mixture temperatures, as well as power input to the vaporizer. Photographic observations of the exit mixture showed that the liquid phase consisted of droplets, ligaments, as well as irregularly shaped particles originating as pendant droplets around the vaporizer exit. There was no observable difference between the results for JP5 and JP7. The liquid exit temperature, however, for these two fuels appeared to be lower than that for the diesel fuel. The computed extent of vaporization was in qualitative agreement with the experimental observations.