PULSE COMBUSTOR DRIVEN RECUPERATED OR REGENERATED GAS TURBINE FEASIBILITY STUDY

THE GOAL OF ACHIEVING MINIMUM VOLUME, LIGHT WEIGHT, EFFICIENT AND ENVIRONMENTALLY CLEAN "SMALL" GAS TURBINE SYSTEMS FOR AEROPROPULSION CANNOT BE MET WITH CONVENTIONAL DESIGN STRATEGIES. AN INNOVATIVE PULSED COMBUSTOR DRIVEN RECUPERATED OR REGENERATED GAS TURBINE (PCRGT) CONCEPT IS PROPOSED WHICH WILL SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE HEAT EXCHANGER SIZEAND WEIGHT, OPERATE AT HIGH CYCLE EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCE LESS EMISSIONS. PULSATING COMBUSTION GENERATES VELOCITY FLUCTUATIONS WHICH PROPAGATE THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM AND INCREASE HEAT AND MASS TRANSPORT. COMBUSTION AND DILUTION AIR MIXING ARE INTENSIFIED BY THE PULSATIONS, THEREBY LEADING TO GREATER COMBUSTION EFFICIENCY AND SMALLER AND LIGHTER COMBUSTORS. PRESSURE IS GAINED ACROSS THE COMBUSTOR, WHICH DIRECTLY INCREASES CYCLE EFFICIENCY. HEAT EXCHANGER HEAT TRANSPORT IS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED, LEADING TO SMALLER AND LIGHTER HEAT EXCHANGERS. UNDER THE UNDER THE PROPOSED PROGRAM, THE BENEFITS OF THE PCRGT WILL BE QUANTIFIED BY APPLYING PROVEN GAS TURBINE ANALYSIS TOOLS TO BOTH PCRGT AND CONVENTIONAL GAS TURBINE CONCEPTS FOR A SPECIFIC NASA NEED. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE EFFORT, A HIGHPOTENTIAL PCRGT CONCEPT WILL BE RECOMMENDED FOR COMPONENT DEVELOPMENT IN A PHASE II EFFORT.