Buckling Analysis of Afterburner Liner of an Aero Gas Turbine Engine

The afterburner in an aero-engine is employed for augmentation of the basic thrust of the engine to improve the fighter aircraft take-off, climb and combat performance. The liner forms one of the main components of the afterburner system. Buckling is a dominant mode of failure for the afterburner structure due to its inherent slender geometry and external pressure loading system in addition to low stiffness due to high temperature. This paper deals with design aspects involved in the afterburner structure — the augmenter liner where combustion takes place during reheat. The liner therefore experiences high thermal loads, variable differential pressure and severe loads as encountered during an engine flameout condition. This paper describes the approach adopted for the design of an afterburner liner for buckling strength which assures safety and producibility by fulfillment of design and fabrication constraints. The design methodology is validated through flame out test on full-scale component. Further in pursuit of weight efficient design, the liner configuration with corrugations is attempted.