Structural Design and High-Pressure Test of a Ceramic Combustor for 1500°C Class Industrial Gas Turbine

A ceramic combustor for a 1500°C, 20 MW class industrial gas turbine was developed and tested. This combustor has a hybrid ceramic/metal structure. To improve the durability of the combustor, the ceramic parts were made of silicon carbide (SiC), which has excellent oxidation resistance under high-temperature conditions as compared to silicon nitride (Si₃N₄), although the fracture toughness of SiC is lower than that of Si₃N₄. Structural improvements to allow the use of materials with low fracture toughness were made to the fastening structure of the ceramic parts. Also, the combustion design of the combustor was improved. Combustor tests using low-Btu gaseous fuel of a composition that simulated coal gas were carried out under high pressure. The test results demonstrated that the structural improvements were effective because the ceramic parts exhibited no damage even in the fuel cutoff tests from rated load conditions. It also indicated that the combustion efficiency was almost 100 percent even under part-load conditions.