Term of Award

Spring 2021

Degree Name

Master of Science, Mechanical Engineering

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Committee Chair

Marcel Ilie

Committee Member 1

Valentin Soloiu

Committee Member 2

Mosfequr Rahman

Abstract

In recent years research and development have been dedicated to designing and simulating models that accurately represent products that are difficult and expensive to manufacture and test. This is to reduce the manufacturing and maintenance costs of these particular machines. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effects of combustion efficiency and emissions quality, while also developing a numerical model that can be used to accurately determine the behavior of a single-stage jet engine using Jet-A fuel. Experimental data was collected from a research-based single-stage jet engine featuring integrated sensors for determining various performance parameters. Data was collected over the entire operating cycle of the engine with specific RPM ranges selected for emissions analysis. Fuel analysis was then performed through extensive means to analyze the fuel characteristics. A scale model of the engine was then modified and incorporated into a transient numerical simulation where the flow rates for the air and fuel injection system were adjusted in an effort to reflect the physical experimental data. This numerical simulation utilized the EDM method and a k-ε turbulence model to accurately simulate the entire engine cycle. The data collected was then processed and analyzed in four distinct cases to determine the overall behavior of the engine. Results showed that increasing the RPMs of the compressor stage caused an increase in TKE of approximately 45% from 47,000-70,000 RPM. This resulted in an increase in fluctuations in the velocity flow field ultimately increasing the velocity of the flow and simultaneously increasing the thrust output of the engine. At higher RPMs, A swirling effect was shown to occur in the combustion chamber causing disruption in the exhaust flow which may have hindered the results. Thrust and TSFC were shown to exhibit higher efficiency as RPMs increased however, more consistency between each case was displayed during numerical observation. The thrust-specific emissions for all species showed a reduction with an increase in RPMs, which can be attributed to an increase in combustion efficiency. Overall, the numerical and experimental data showed good agreeance and indicated that the hypothesis of this research was shown to be accurate and reliable in determining combustion efficiency and emissions.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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