School and life have recently distracted me from my efforts to share my projects, but work on the gas turbine has continued.
I haven't been documenting the progress as closely as in earlier posts, so I'll do my best to pick up where I left off.
To start with, the evap system is finished. Here are some pics of the completed assembly:
The flame tube, also known as a combustor liner (the long tube within the combustor, which fits over the top ~3/4" of the evaporator plenum) has also been completed. This element serves a simple, yet crucial purpose. It allows for a uniform flow of air into the plume of burning fuel. This stabilizes the flamefront (prevents inlet air from "blowing out" the flame in the combustor), and controlls the heating of the air moving through.
Many belive that these engines run only by virtue of the expanding gasses resulting from combustion.
In fact, only a small percentage of the air moving through the engine is used to burn fuel. The majority of the air is simply a working fluid, which is heated by the combustion process at a constant pressure, and increases in volume (which translates in an increase in velocity, and inertia)
If you don't belive me, take a look at the T98-NT-XX gas turbine built by the guys at Nye Thermocynamics Corp.
Its a gas turbine which runs on wood!
The holes are all of a very specific placement and diameter, in order to provide the optimal mixing flow speed through each section. The holes on botom (towards the front end of the combustor) compose the primary mixing section. These small holes minimize turbulent flow of air into the flame tube, while maximizing the volume of air flowing, in order to burn all of the fuel spilling out of the evaporator. The medium-sized holes in the middle of the tube comprise the secondary mixing section. These are of a larger size, and total flow area, in order to provide a moderately turbulent flame/air mixing zone. This supports more complete combustion, and heating of the air flowing through. The tertiary zone (the large holes towards the top) provide a path for the rest of the air moving through the combustor to cool combustion gasses, and enter the turbine.
The last major component I've completed is the jet nozzle.
This nozzle gradually reduces the turbine outlet diameter from 5" to 3", inducing an increase in exhaust gas velocity, for the same mass flow leaving the exhaust.
The engine is running, but what good is that? Keep posted for more developments!
