Combustor Air-Fuel Delivery System

Overview

The team’s goal was to provide Wabtec with two viable fuel delivery systems that improve the overall performance of the testing cell. The systems designed utilized a positive displacement pump, like what is currently in use, and a centrifugal pump. Additional flow controls, such as actuated valves, were added where appropriate.

Objectives

The objective of this project is to develop a new fuel delivery system design. Microsoft Excel was utilized to perform calculations and store data for the duration of the project. Several iterations of concept generation were preformed, ranging from overall system schematics to individual component selection. Once two final designs were generated, fluid and cost analysis were done to determine the best system to be implemented by Wabtec.

Approach

• Researched how different diesel fuel systems operate
• Performed fluid analysis calculations to determine head loss in the designs with Microsoft Excel
• Developed a computational fluid dynamic model with ANSYS Fluent to validate calculations
• Created CAD models of both systems with Autodesk Inventor
• Researched different pump, valve and fuel types to determine the optimal components for the system
• Determined the best components and designs with the assistance of selection matrices
• Generated a bill of materials for each system

Outcomes

After analyzing the two systems, it was determined that the system implementing the positive displacement pump would be the best option for Wabtec. This design met many of the customer’s needs, such as improving overall performance and reliability of the test cell, and will only cost Wabtec $3,310.30 to build.