Engineers at the Rybinsk plant ODK-Saturn proposed a new combustion chamber design that addresses one of the key problems of gas turbine engines — reducing pressure loss. The new annular chamber completely redesigned the air flow system.
In classic designs, the flow at the inlet to the flame tube separates and changes direction, which reduces efficiency.
In the new scheme, Rybinsk designers rigidly separated the flows into external and internal annular channels using a partition. This avoids unnecessary turns and makes the air supply to the combustion zone more stable.
Additionally, the location of the air supply holes has been changed. The inner row is shifted downstream by 1.2–2.5 diameters, which enhances vortex formation and improves fuel mixture.
The cooling of the front device has been separately redesigned. The upper zones receive air from the external channel, the lower ones from the internal. The flows are directed along the gas movement. This reduces thermal loads and evens out the temperature field.
