Influence of Fouling on Compressor Dynamics: Experimental and Modeling Approach

Abstract

The effect of compressor fouling on the performance of a gas turbine has been the subject of several papers; however, the goal of this paper is to address a more fundamental question of the effect of fouling, which is the onset of unstable operation of the compressor. Compressor fouling experiments have been carried out on a test rig refitted with TJ100 small jet engine with centrifugal compressor. Fouling on the compressor blade was simulated with texturized paint with average roughness value of 6 μm. Compressor characteristic was measured for both the clean (baseline) and fouled compressor blades at several rotational speeds by throttling the engine with variable exhaust nozzle. A Greitzer-type compression system model has been applied based on the geometric and performance parameters of the TJ100 small jet engine test rig. Frequency of plenum pressure fluctuation, the mean disturbance flow coefficient, and pressure-rise coefficient at the onset of plenum flow field disturbance predicted by the model was compared with the measurement for both the baseline and fouled engine. Model prediction of the flow field parameters at inception of unstable operation in the compressor showed good agreement with the experimental data. The results proved that used simple Greitzer model is suitable for prediction of the engine compressor unstable behavior and prediction of the mild surge inception point for both the clean and the fouled compressor.