Browsing by Author "Oppong, F."

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    Micro gas turbine performance evaluation.
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-12) Oppong, F.; Van der Spuy, S. J.; Von Backstrom, Theo W.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The performance of the BMT 120 KS micro gas turbine engine is investigated in this thesis. The study includes component matching of the engine elements using compressor and turbine characteristic maps to analyse the engine’s performance. Analytical and numerical calculations were used to assess the various thermodynamic parameters of the engine and loss of engine power exacerbated by poor performance of the engine components. Engine performance was modelled using commercial simulation software GasTurb and Flownex SE and an in-house one-dimensional code. Using the numerical computations, a component sensitivity and matching analysis was performed for the engine using the various engine components. The theoretical performance of the engine was validated with experimental engine tests. The comparison of engine simulation results and experimental test data showed a consistent trend. A thrust difference of between 0.5% and 6% was achieved between the experimental and simulated results for the baseline engine. The experimental and simulated exhaust gas temperature of the BMT engine showed differences between 1.4% and 6%. Furthermore, a mean-line turbine design analysis was undertaken to study the possibility of improving the performance of the engine’s axial turbine. Simulations that made use of the mean-line turbine predicted a thrust of approximately 190 N and exhaust gas temperature of 993 K at a speed of 120 000 rpm.