Studies on a micro combustor for gas turbine engines

The design, fabrication and characterization of a silicon-based micro combustor for gas turbine engines are reported in this paper. The micro combustor consists of seven-layer microstructures fabricated from silicon wafers, and it adopts a novel fuel–air recirculation channel for extending gas flow path. Numerical simulations based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) demonstrate a guideline for selecting parameters during combustor operation and indicate that the flame temperature inside the combustor reaches 1700 K. Experimental investigations have demonstrated that a stable combustion can be sustained inside the micro combustor. The highest temperature measured at the edge of the combustor exit has reached 1700 K, and the average temperature recorded near the exit ranges from 1200 K to 1600 K.