Analysis on Turbine Cooling Air Bleeding of Intercooled Recuperated Turbofan Engine

In order to further improve the intercooled recuperated turbofan engine (IRT) performance, the possible high pressure turbine (HPT) cooling air bleeding schemes were analyzed. There are two HPT cooling air extraction sections, i.e. the high pressure compressor exit (forward to the recuperator cold section inlet) and the combustion chamber inlet (back from the recuperator cold section outlet). The analysis results indicate that, bleeding the HPT cooling air from the combustion chamber inlet has the potential to reduce the engine specific fuel consumption. And to determine the most suitable HPT cooling air bleeding scheme, effects of allowable turbine blade metal temperature, turbine cooling technology level, engine weight addition, different intercooler and recuperator effectiveness should be taken into account.