Design, integration and operation of a rotating combustor-turbine-interaction test rig within the scope of EC FP7 project factor

Abstract

Following the industrial trend of increasingly integrative design and analysis of the combustor-turbine interface, the EC FP7 project FACTOR was launched many years ago. The project ended in late 2017 after successful completion of the experimental test campaign involving blank-sheet design rotating turbine rig hardware, which was assembled, integrated and operated in DLR's turbine test facility NG-Turb in Göttingen, Germany. This paper highlights the DLR contribution to FACTOR including the 1.5 stage turbine rig's mechanical design, instrumentation and integration as well as final part assembly to a working rig. Additionally, DLR was responsible for rig operation and overall measurement campaign fulfilment including the acquisition of static pressure and temperature data as well as aerothermal 5-hole-probe traverses in different measurement planes. The implemented combustor simulator created a characteristic flow profile to and through the turbine with strongly varying flow angles and temperatures, that posed a challenge for the applied measurement techniques.