High Pressure Burner Rig (HPBR) High Pressure Burner Rig

 

The HPBR is a combustion test rig used for high-temperature environmental durability studies of materials for advanced aircraft. The facility burns jet fuel and air in controlled ratios to produce combustion gas chemistries and temperatures that are realistic to those in gas turbine engines. In addition, the test section is also capable of simulating the pressures and gas velocities representative of today’s aircraft.

The facility is typically used as a materials test rig best suited for testing various sized coupons, bars, and disks of candidate materials, including metals, ceramics, and plasma sprayed coatings. However, complex-shaped components can also be accommodated including cylinders, airfoils, vanes, and film-cooled end walls. The facility has also been used to evaluate thin-film temperature measurements, microwave sensors, and embedded thermocouples.

 

Schematic of High Pressure Burner Rig

 

Specifications:

This facility operates with a fuel-lean gas mixture. Test samples are easily accessible for ongoing inspection and documentation of weight change, thickness, cracking, and other metrics. Temperature measurements are available in the form of both Type 'B' and Type 'R' thermocouples as well as 2-color and 8 micron optical pyrometers. The facility is equipped with quartz windows for observation and video taping. The facility has a wide range of operating conditions including:

Up to 2.0 lbm/sec airflow(combustion and/or secondary cooling)
Equivalence ratios 0.5 - 1.0 (lean-burn)
Gas temperatures of 1500 oF - 3000 oF
Test pressures range 4 - 12 atmospheres
Gas flow velocities 30 - 100 ft/sec

List of fixtures for the High Pressure Burner Rig (Excel File)

Contact: Bob Pastel or Dr. James Smialek