E371 Turbine Engine Systems

Problem 2
The Great Squeeze
Axial Compressors
Axial compressors are rotating, airfoil based
compressors in which the working fluid
principally flows parallel to the axis of rotation.
Axial flow compressors produce a continuous
flow of compressed gas,
and have the benefits of
high efficiencies and large
mass flow capacity,
particularly in relation to
their cross-section. They
do, however, require
several rows of airfoils to
achieve large pressure
rises making them complex
and expensive relative to
other designs
Rotor
Stator
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Axial compressors are widely used in gas turbines, such as jet
engines and high speed ship engines.
Axial Compressors
Axial Compressors
In the axial flow compressor setup, the rotor is rotating and the
stator is stationary. A shaft drives a central shaft, retained by
bearings, which has a number of annular airfoil rows attached.
These rotate between a similar number of stationary airfoil rows
attached to a stationary tubular casing. The rows alternate between
the rotating airfoils (rotors) and stationary airfoils (stators),
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In the setup:
A pair of rotor and stator is called a stage.
The incoming air passes through a set of inlet guide vanes which
guide the airflow to enter the first stage of rotor blades.
The inlet guides cause a slight increase in velocity and a
corresponding small decrease in pressure.
Rotors impart kinetic energy to the air.
The stator vanes which form a series
of divergent ducts causes the pressure
to increase and velocity to drop. This
is called diffusion.
After the air passes through all the
compressors, it then exits through
a set of exit guide vanes.
Axial Compressors
Divergent Ducts
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Centrifugal Compressors
A typical centrifugal compressor consists of 3 components, the
impeller, the diffuser and the manifold.

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Air enters the eye of the fast rotating impeller
and is accelerated to a high velocity as it is
slung to the outer edge by centrifugal force.
The high velocity air then flows into the
diffuser which fits closely around the
periphery of the impeller.
It then flows through divergent ducts where
some of the velocity energy is changed into
pressure energy.
From the manifold, the air flows into the combustion section of the
engine.
When a large volume of air is needed, double entry
compressors are used.
The air which has slowed down and has had its pressure increased,
flows into the manifold through a series of turning vanes.
Centrifugal Compressors
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Fan Trim Balancing
For the purpose of fan trim balance in a Turbofan Engine, vibration
can be described as the unwanted, unproductive, cyclic oscillation
of the fan assembly about its rotational axis. One of the typical
reason to perform a balancing is when there is higher than normal
engine vibration.
Vibration is measured by
sensors fitted on the
engine. The vibration
indication is available in
the flight deck.
Left Engine Right Engine
Depending on the aircraft and engine type,
some balancing can be performed with the
engine installed on the aircraft and some
require the engine to be removed. There
is specialized equipment that is available
that can aid in balancing the fan on wing.
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Balance weight are
used on the air intake
spinner of the fan.
Depending on the
requirements, different
weights are removed or
installed.
Fan Trim Balancing
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Compressor Stall and Surge
A compressor stall is a situation of abnormal airflow resulting from
a stall of the aerofoils within the compressor of a jet engine. The
rotor blades are similar to those used on an airplane wing or a
helicopter rotor. The lift they produce is the aerodynamic force that
moves the air through the various stages of the compressor. As
aerofoils, they are subjects to stalls when their angle of attack
becomes excessive.
The angle of attack of an aerofoil
is the acute angle formed between
its chord line and the relative
wind. In an axial flow compressor,
the angle of attack is determined
by 2 parameters, the velocity of
the air flowing through the
compressor and the rotational
speed of the compressor.
Airflow reduction
RPM
remains
the same
Resultant
increases
angle of
attack
Common causes:
Obstruction of airflow to the inlet.
Abrupt flight maneuvers
High crosswind component
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When only a few blades stall, the effect is minimal and is noticed
by a rumbling sound when the engine is running. When the
compressor disk stalls, the effect can be a drastic slowing of the
airflow through the engine. This can result in a loud explosion,
with resulting RPM fluctuating and a serious increase in EGT. A
stall that affects the entire compressor and restricts the airflow
through the engine is called a surge.
Compressor Stall and Surge
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Airflow Control / Bleed Bands
An axial flow compressor with a
high compression ratio needs to
bleed excess air from the
mid-stages of the compressor
during start-up, to allow the
engine to accelerate
smoothly through the danger
regions of the start sequence.
This effectively lowers the risk
of a compressor stall or surge
during the different phases of
engine operation



Bleed Band
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Bleed Bands
One of the methods is by the use of bleed bands. Bleed bands are
simply a band drawn tight around a section of the compressor,
housing or case, covering a series of openings or ports in the case.
An actuator opens and closes the band as directed by the fuel
control unit and operated by bleed air
muscle pressure. When the band is
released, the bleed ports are opened
releasing excess compressor pressure
to the atmosphere. As RPM increases
and pressure builds up, the actuator
closes the band allowing full
compressor pressure and
efficiency to control the operating
range of the engine.

Bleed Band
Schedule
Airflow Control / Bleed Bands
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Airflow Control / Bleed Bands
Bleed Valves
They are essentially a set of floating poppet style bleed valves
positioned circumferentially around the compressor case, often
at two stages of the compressor(e.g. 8th and 13th Stage Bleed).
They are controlled by multiple parameters and are often auto
opened as compressor pressure builds up, and closed by bleed air
when the threat of an engine surge has subsided.
Bleed Valve
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Variable Inlet Guide Vanes
The function of these is to match the air angles to the rotor speed
to give the optimum angle of attack. The blades are actuated by a
control using fuel as a muscle pressure, with the mechanism
sensitive to RPM and ambient air temperature. The overall effect is
to change the characteristic of the compressor and cause the surge
line to move away from the operating line, thus increasing the
surge margin.
Linked together.
Open and close together
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Variable Stator Vanes
The VIGVs provide an optimum angle of attack for the 1
st
stage of
compressor, while the VSVs do the same for the remainder of the
stator blades. At low RPM the VSVs are in the closed position and
as the RPM rises, they pivot towards the open. They are fully open
at max RPM. If VIGVs and VSVs are fitted to the same engine,
they will normally be operated by the same mechanism.
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Variable Stator Vanes
The overall effect is to change the characteristics of
the compressor and cause the surge line to move
away from the operating line, thus increasing the surge
margin.
Airflow, RPM and
Cr in this area will
cause the engine
to stall/surge
Airflow, RPM and Cr
in this area, normal
operating range
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Compressor Ratio
In a turbine engine it is defined as the ratio of the
pressure of air at the discharge to the pressure of the air
at the inlet. The compression ratio varies with the
number of stages of an axial compressor and the RPM.
The mass flow is the weight of the air flowing through
the unit in a given time(eg. Lb./sec). In general an
increase in RPM at the higher end of the RPM range,
gives a much greater increase in compression ratio and
mass flow than a similar change in RPM near idling
condition.
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Compressor Ratio
Example
A 9 stage compressor has a pressure ratio across
each stage of 1.2 and an ambient inlet pressure of
14.7. What is the final pressure? What is the
compression ratio?
The final pressure is 76 psi
The compression ratio =
Final Pressure = 76 = 5.17 : 1
Initial Pressure 14.7
Pressure increase across 1
st
stage is 18-14.7 = 3.3psi
Pressure increase across 9
th
stage is 76-63 = 13 psi

The pressure ratio is the same in both cases but the
actual increase in pressure towards the rear of the
compressor is much higher than towards the front.
Final Pressure
14.7 X 1.2= 18
18 X 1.2= 21
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Honeywell TFE-731 Turbofan Engine
Low Pressure Group
In the TFE-731 engine, the construction consists of 4 stages of low
flow axial compressors housed within the LP case assembly.
Accordingly there are 4 stages of non-rotating stator rings. Each
stator consists of vanes which form a divergent duct allowing air
pressure to increase and serve to direct airflow
at the optimum angle to the succeeding wheel.

As airflow progresses through
the 4 stages of compression,
each stage becomes
smaller causing
a further increase
in pressure.
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Honeywell TFE-731 Turbofan Engine
High Pressure Group
Mounted to the back of the LP case, is the HP diffuser case. The high
pressure compressor shaft, and supporting bearings, accessory
gearbox towershaft, high pressure compressor impeller shroud are
contained within the HP diffuser case. The combustion plenum is
mounted to the HP diffuser case and houses the diffuser, the deswirl
and other combustion section components.
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Honeywell TFE-731 Turbofan Engine
Compressor Ratio
The TFE-731 engines are considered to be medium bypass engines,
combining the attributes of moderate mass airflow and moderate
velocity change to produce thrust.

The low pressure compressor ratio is 1.3 to 1 per stage and the high
pressure compressor ratio is 3.5 to 1 for all series of engines.
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Objectives
1. To understand constructional arrangement and
operations of a axial flow compressor.
2. To understand constructional arrangement and
operations of a centrifugal compressor.
3. To appreciate the purpose and basic concept
process of fan trim balancing
4. Understand compressor surge and the causes of it.
5. Understand the purpose of Airflow control and
components used in controlling it.
6. To understand the purpose of VIGVs and VSVs.
7. To know what is compressor ratio and know how to
calculate it.


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END