CREATION OF AFTERBURNING TURBOFAN ENGINE – HISTORY AND PRESENT

Abstract

The main problems of the creation of afterburning turbofan engines, among which the irremovable surge of the compressor, is disclosed by historical analysis. According to the published models, such surge is a hydrodynamic instability in the form of rotating stall mutual transitions to surge with the primary cause of instability in the form of stall or vibration combustion in the afterburner. The Pratt & Whitney F100 serial engine, which based on TF30 is one of the first in which the irremovable surge was detected. As a result, several planes F-15 crashed, so far as the compressor could not be restored to a stable state without stopping and restarting the engine. Dissection of the problem with this phenomenon led to the conclusion that this irremovable surge problem was generated by the engine design. To eliminate it, the company had to refine several systems, such as an electronic engine control system, fuel supply of the afterburner along with the nozzle locations, firing belt, combustion stabilization, an extension of flow separation along the contours, etc. According to the analysis of publications, particular difficulties arose with the recoverable unsurge operation of such engines. It is noteworthy that today, the F-135-PW100 engines have been installed on the F-35 aircraft, the predecessors of which are the F-100 engines with the same problems. The results of experimental studies of a fan are presented in the article to deepen in the stall flow mechanism and the occurrence of rotating stall of the fan blades. The perturbations from vibrational combustion in the afterburner combustion chamber to the fan stall boundary in the afterburning turbofan engine system at bench conditions were simulated by independent throttling of the duct over a wide range of the bypass ratio. Numerous monographs and publications according to vibrational combustion, in particular in afterburner combustion chambers TRDF AL-21F and TRDDF AL-31F, of A. M. Lulka, confirm the possibility of the propagation of perturbations against the flow in the bypass duct and the impossibility of their propagation through the turbines. The propagation of surge perturbations in the afterburning turbofan engine to the compressor of the internal duct behind the fan occurs through the interaction of the duct.  The more reliable way to prevent emergencies is to provide stability margin area of compressors. Estimation of the pre-stall state of the flow traditionally is carried out by the diffusivity factor of Lieblein FD, which is applicable in 2D calculations. The integral variational principle of nonequilibrium thermodynamics of the “maximum flow of mechanical energy” of V. N. Yershov was applied.