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Turbomachinery

Project Description & Objectives

  • Step of RL-10 expander cycle engine design space for optimization options and performance trades

  • Assessing existing RL-10-3-3A turbopump configurations and investigating avenues of increasing turbine performance

  • ​Turbine performance investigation completed by me, pump side performance investigation completed by my colleague, Utkarsh Pandey​

Accomplishments & Work Completed

  • Assumptions/constants:​

    • ​Turbine inlet gas properties​

    • Design point shaft speed​

    • Velocity ratio/axial flow velocity

    • Enthalpy change

    • Inlet/outlet flow is completely axial

  • Turbine design parameters swept:

    • Rotor degree of reaction (impulse to reaction)​

    • Nozzle/stator spouting angle

  • Performance metrics compared:

    • Outlet pressure​

    • Turbine mean-line diameter

    • Single stage vs. double stage

  • Won GT Research Symposium for presentation of paper

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