HotSection

The combustor consists of an outer case and an inner liner. Airflow is separated
into a primary and secondary flow. Primary flow are is invloved in the combustion
process and secondary flow are that is used for cooling and keeps the hot primary
flow air away from the combustor surfaces. Primary air is 25-35% of the total flow,
while the remaining 65-75% is used for cooling.

Charles' Law: Provided pressure mains constant, the volume of a gas is directly
proportional to its temperature. This means the gas expands it is heated by
combustion.

There are three types of combustors:

Can - Ease of access for maintenance or replacement, used on the A250.

Annular - The combustor is ring shaped, used on the PT-6. Most efficient, more
compact and lighter. Do not remove both the nozzles and the ignitors, as they are
used to locate the inner combustion liner. Annular combustors come in two flavors:
annular flow (T-58) and reverse flow (PTT6, TFE731, TPE331). Reverse flow is
somewhat less efficient, but more compact.
Can-annular - several interconnected cans arranged in a ring. Older technology, not
as space efficient as annular. Typically have a fuel nozzle for each can, but only
two igniters.

Holes, slots and louvers direct secondary air through the can and prevent direct
contact between the hot combustion gasses and the combustor structure.

Combustion chambers have to have:

1. High combustion efficiency,
2. Stable operation free from blowouts
3. Low pressure loss
4. Uniform temperature to prevent hot spots
5. Easy starting at high temperature
6. Low smoke output prevents sooting up the turbine section
and to comply with EPA regulations

Outer housing inspection: look for corrosion, chaffing, warping, security of

attachmentdiscoloration, hot spots

Inner liner inspection: cracks (there is an acceptable standard for crack length,
depening on engine and manufacturer), hot streaks

ASA 8114: The combustion section is where proper mixing of fuel and air occurs.
ASA 8115: Combustion occurs at a constant pressure.

Flame out: A loss of combustion flame due to various conditions

Lean die out: usually due to low fuel pressures, low engine speeds and/or high
altitude operation, creating a weak mixture which is easily extinguished.
Rich blow out: Too much fuel, not enough air. Usually occurs when the pilot
accelerates the eingine very quickly, dumping excess fuel in the combustion chamber
and quenching the flame as the fuel removes heat to force the phase change from
liquid to vapor.
Flameout due to turbulent inlet conditions: Caused by violent flight maneuvers,
wake turbulence injestion or severe crosswinds. This can cause a compressor stall,
which in turn causes a loss of combustor flame. This is dramatized in the movie
"Top Gun", where Maverick has a flame-out and ends up ditching the plane.
Flameout due to combustor instability: caused by low pressure fluctuations in the
combustor that grow to cause an increasing amount of turbulence and may be
correctable with a change in engine controls or flight conditions. Monitor engine
instruments to ensure proper operting conditions.

Turbine Section: converts airflow
section drives the compressor and
gas velocity and the highest heat
engine is the first stage turbine
limiting factor in turbine engine
velocity into mechanical motion. The turbine
accessories. The turbine section has the highest
to metal contact. The most critical part of the
guide vanes and first stage wheel and is the
performance.

First stage turbine nozzles: direct the air over the first stage turbine wheel to
extract the maximum amount of energy. The turbine wheel is subjected to the highest
stresses in the engine due to heat and centrifugal loads.

Two basic types of turbines.

Radial inflow: used on small, low cost simple designs (APU & turbochargers).
Advantage: extracts nearly 100% of the kenetic energy produced by the combustor.
Disadvantage: short service life.
Axial flow turbine: Used almost exclusively in flight engines. Like a compressor,
it uses stator vanes and rotor blades.

Three types of turbine blades

Impulse: form neither convergent or divergent ducts, extract energy much like a
water wheel or a bucket.
Reaction: blades form a convergent duct and extract energy by the reaction force
from accelerating gas flow.
Impulse-reaction: combines the previous two concepts; impulse design at the root,
reaction design at the tip. Most common type. Helps to maintain an even pressure
drop and airflow velocity from blade root to tip.

Turbine components
Stationary component (turbine nozzle vanes, AKA nozzle diaphragm, AKA turbine inlet
guide vanes) directs the airflow. Area of highest gas velocity and highest heat to
metal contact.
Rotating component (turbine rotor blades) turns some of the airflow into mechanical
motion.

A turbine stage is one set of stator vanes and one set of rotor blades. Turbines
may be single stage, multiple stage or split multiple stage (dual spool).

Rotor blades are assembled onto the rotor disk, making up the turbine wheel
assembly. Blades are fabricated of an alloy (inconel) which has a high thermal
shock resistance, creep strength, and corrosion resistance and attached to the
wheel with a fir tree root. a fir tree root provides the maximum surface areaa for
attachment which is needed due to the high cnetrifugal loads and to increase heat
transfer to the wheel. If blades are removed, they must be installed back into the
same slot to maintain balance.

Turbine blades may incorporte a shrouded tip, such that when assembled, the blades
form a band or a shroud around the outer circumpherence. Predictably, this design
is known as a shrouded turbine. Shrouded tips improve efficiency by minimizing tip
losses and reduce vibration.
Turbine blades without a shroud are known as open type blades.

Blades may be cooled using compressor bleed air, which is ported through the engine
and directed through specially designed hollow blades and vanes. Transpiration
cooling utilizes a porous surface to provide an attached boundary layer of cooler
bleed air against the element, These holes are known as gill holes.
_Note, this type of cooling does not lower EGT/TIT.
Do note mark blades with graphite or wax pencil. Use chalk, permanent marker or
layout dye.
Stress rupture crwacks occur perpendicular to the blade length at the leading or
trailing edges and indicate overtemperature operation.

A dirty or damaged turbine section can cause low RPM, high fuel flow and high EGT.
High EGT can be caused by an improperly adjusted fuel metering sytem and can weaken
blades over time.

Creep is the term used to describe the elongation of turbine blades caused by time,
temperature and centrifugal loading. Creep is normal and acceptable if within
published limits.

Straw discoloration may indicate leaded gasoline was used as a fuel. Sulfidation
may also build up on the turbine section from jet fuel and will degrade performance
over time if not cleaned. Using the manual as a reference, check for erosion,
discoloration, security, warping or chafing.

Materials: more heat = more thrust, subject to material limitiations.

Turbine section: high creep strength & high thermal shock resistance
Hot section: low coefficient of thermal expansion & high corrosion resistance.
Metals and properties
Aluminum alloys - high strength to weight ratio
Magnesium alloys - high strength to weight ratio
Titanium alloys - very high strength to weight ratio. Used in compressor impellers,
fans, etc
Steel alloys - used throughout the engine
Nickel alloys - high corrosion and thermal shock resistance. Used in combustion
liners and turbines
Cobalt - used on military variable geometry nozzles
Inconel - Used in exhausts and combustion chamber outer cases due to high corrosion
resistance and low thermal expansion coefficient.

Need to know:
The highest heat to metal contact is in the turbine inlet guide vanes. This is also
the highest gas velocity.
The purpose of the turbine is to drive the compressor and accessories.
The highest gas pressure is between the compressor and combustor, sometimes called
the diffuser.