7.2 Design Parameters.

While the design of a combustion system depends largely upon a

combination of skill and trial and error, certain design parameters have
been established that can form the basis for a design. However, values of
these parameters can only be given as ranges in which successful designs
of combustion systems fall.
The most basic criteria are the heat release in terms of Btu/hr-sq ft-atm or
Btu/hr-cu ft-atm. Sometimes comparison is made without correcting for
the operating pressure in atmospheres. Usually, the pressure is taken as
atmospheres to the 1.8 power, i.e.
I = Btu/hr-cu ft-atm1.8

(5)

or
I = Btu/hr-sq ft-atm1.8

(6)

Values per cubic foot per atmosphere will range from 1 to 10 X 10 6 while,
if the pressure is taken as Atm 1.8, values will range from 0.5 or less to 5 X
106. Typical values per square foot of ow area inside the liner will run 4 X
106 Btu/hr per atmosphere.
In small chambers, the radiant heat ux will be of the order of 80,000
Btu/hr-sq ft, which increases with the size of the chamber due to the
greater thickness of the body of radiating ame. It also increases with the
luminosity of the ame. Liquid fuels, in general, give a more luminous
ame than gaseous fuels; the heavy oils, particularly the residuals known
as Bunker C, are very bad in this respect. The result is that large single
combustors intended to burn heavy oils are designed for rather low rates
of heat release compared to the small individual chambers used in some
designs.
Most combustion chambers are designed so that a small amount of
primary air is admitted, usually with some swirl velocity, at the upstream
end of the chamber in what is usually called the dome. In the dome the air
is mixed with the fuel, which then burns nearly stoichiometrically with
temperatures of 3000 to 3500 F. The quantity of air admitted in the
primary zone may give up to 20-30 percent excess air at that point. Of the
remaining air, part is used for cooling the liner (perhaps 15 to 30 percent
of the total air) and the balance is injected through mixing or dilution
holes to thoroughly mix with the products of combustion and reduce the
average temperature to the allowable turbine inlet temperature. The
overall fuel/air ratio will range from perhaps 0.005 to 0.020 depending
upon the operating cycle and the load on the unit.
Both the dilution air and the cooling air have important functions to
perform; the rst is to give as near as possible the desired uniform
temperature at the turbine. The second is to keep the metal walls of the

liner below the allowable temperature limits for the material. It is in the
balance of these two ows, with proper mixing in the primary zone, that
the secret of successful combustion chamber design lies.
Flow velocities, based on the combustor cross section, at the combustor
inlet temperature and pressure, range from 15-20 fps to 100120 fps in
some small compact designs. Annulus velocities (around the liner) run
from 30 to 250 fps or higher, with the velocities held as low as space
allows to keep the ow distribution problems into the liner to a minimum.
With the complicated aerodynamic conditions in the combustion system,
trial-and-error methods, sometimes involving rather long and expensive
experimental programs, are required to develop a fully satisfactory
design. The use of ow models, particularly water ow models, to help
visualize the ow reduces the deveIopment time considerably.
Combustion efciency in a gas turbine is normally so high (97 percent or
better) that the actual efciency is difcult to measure. Even considerable
smoke and carbon formation, otherwise very undesirable traits in a
combustion chamber, will not reduce the combustion efficiency
appreciably.