Influence of Combustor Flow With Swirl on Integrated Combustor Vane Concept Full-Stage Performance

The integrated combustor vane concept for power generation gas turbines with can combustors has been shown to have significant benefits compared to conventional nozzle guide vanes (NGV). Aerodynamic loss, heat transfer levels, and cooling requirements are reduced while stage efficiency is improved by approximately 1.5% (for a no-swirl scenario). Engine realistic combustor flow with swirl, however, leads to increased turning nonuniformity downstream of the integrated vanes. This paper thus illustrates the altered integrated vane stage performance caused by inlet swirl. The study shows a distinct performance penalty for the integrated vane rotor as a result of increased rotor incidence and the rotor's interaction with the residual swirl core. The stage efficiency advantage of the integrated combustor vane concept compared to the conventional design is thus reduced to 0.7%. It is furthermore illustrated how integrated vane profiling is suitable to reduce the turning variation across the span downstream of the vane, further improve stage efficiency (in this case by 0.23%) and thus mitigate the distinct impact of inlet swirl on integrated vane stage performance.