A Third-Generation Swirl-Venturi Lean Direct Injection Combustor with a Prefilming Pilot Injector

This paper presents experimental results for a low-NOxaero gas turbine combustor, in particular, a third-generationswirl-venturi lean direct injection (SV-LDI-3) combustor conceptcalled V4. The purpose of testing was three-fold. First,to evaluate the combustor against the 80% NOx reduction goalset by NASA’s AATT project. Second, to compare V4 to a previousSV-LDI-3 combustor concept called V3, especially at lowpower conditions. Third, to examine the accuracy of a type ofcorrelation equation frequently used by engine systems analysisgroups to estimate NOx emissions. All three testing goals weremet. For the first testing goal, with an estimated NOx reductionof 85%-90%, SV-LDI-3 V4 surpassed the AATT goal. For thesecond goal, however, V4 did not perform better than V3 at lowpower conditions. For the third goal, it was found that a majorassumption of the correlation equations — a simple dependenceon combustor inlet pressure — did not hold.