Efficient Low-Fidelity Design Tool for Turbine-Integrated Wave Rotor Combustor

Abstract Pressure-gain combustion (PGC) has attracted attention for its potential for jet propulsion without turbomachinery. However, the wave rotor combustor is a type of PGC device that may be particularly suited to achieve lower specific fuel consumption and higher specific power in gas turbines. Furthermore, instabilities inherent in conventional gas turbine combustion chambers may be avoided, especially with hydrogen fuel. Wave phenomena and non-steady flow play a key role in most PGC devices, including the wave rotor combustor. The computation of wave effects can be an obstacle to preliminary design of engine-integrated prototypes. In this article, a preliminary model has been put forth to allow low-cost, fast-response design algorithms for the wave rotor combustor integrated with a turbocharger to create a small gas turbine engine. Applications would include emergency power generators or integration in hybrid vehicles. A thermodynamic model of the combustor is used in an algorithm to match the characteristics of an available turbocharger. Simplified sizing relations are presented to assess compatibility and feasibility. It is found that when integrated with a turbocharger at a compressor pressure ratio of 2.2, a pressure gain of 1.6 is possible across the combustor, resulting in a cycle efficiency of 18.8 percent.