🔥 Designing the Heart of Power: A Deep Dive into Small-Scale Gas-Turbine Combustion Chambers
In the pursuit of efficient and compact energy solutions, students at Kathmandu University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, have embarked on a pioneering project — Design and Simulation Study of Combustion Chamber of Gas-Turbine Engine. Led by Anmol Shrestha, Jeena Jha, Nepal Keshav, and Piyush K.C., the team set out to design an annular combustion chamber optimized for small-scale applications, especially for integration with automotive turbochargers.
💡 Why a Small-Scale Combustion Chamber?
While large-scale gas turbines are well-established in power generation, smaller counterparts remain underexplored. This project tackles the challenge by focusing on a compact annular combustion chamber — an essential step toward enabling small-scale gas-turbine power generators. These systems offer high power-to-weight ratios and fewer moving parts, making them ideal for mobile or remote power applications.
📘 Breaking Down the Chamber
The combustion chamber design revolves around five main components:
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Diffuser – Reduces incoming airflow speed while maintaining pressure.
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Fuel Injector – Precisely atomizes fuel for efficient mixing.
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Ignition System – Triggers initial combustion reliably.
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Combustion Liner – Manages airflow through three stages (primary, intermediate, dilution) for controlled combustion and heat management.
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Casing – Houses and protects all internal components.
Each component was meticulously modeled and studied, considering pressure losses, combustion stability, and thermal management.
🔬 Simulation & Methodology
To validate the design, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) was used to simulate airflow through the combustion liner and diffuser. While actual combustion modeling was limited due to software constraints, thermodynamic analyses provided insight into heat and flow behavior within the chamber.
A detailed conceptual framework, Gantt chart, and workflow models guided the project’s progress over several months — from literature review to full system design and simulation.
🎯 Expected Outcomes
The project aims to:
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Deepen understanding of gas-turbine engine mechanics.
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Develop a working model of an annular combustion chamber.
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Simulate air and fuel flow characteristics for design validation.
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Lay the groundwork for integrating small gas-turbine systems with automotive turbochargers.
🛠️ A Step Toward Local Innovation
This project not only addresses a technical challenge but also fills a research gap within the university's previous projects, many of which lacked a dedicated combustion chamber design. The outcome has the potential to transform small-scale energy generation, especially in remote or resource-limited settings.
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