Predictions of Fouling Phenomena in the Axial Compressor of Gas Turbine Using an Analytic Method

The performance of gas turbines is decreased as their operating hours increase. Fouling in the axial compressor is one of main reasons for the performance degradation of gas turbine. Airborne particles entering with air at the inlet into compressor adhere to the blade surface and result in the change of the blade shape, which is closely and sensitively related to the compressor performance. It is difficult to exactly analyze the mechanism of the compressor fouling because the growing process of the fouling is very slow and the dimension of the fouled depth on the blade surface is very small compared with blade dimensions. In this study, an improved analytic method to predict the motion of particles in compressor cascades and their deposition onto blade is proposed. Simulations using proposed method and their comparison with field data demonstrate the feasibility of the model. It if found that some important parameters such as chord length, solidity and number of stages, which represent the characteristics of compressor geometry, are closely related to the fouling phenomena. And, the particle sloe and patterns of their distributions are also Important factors to predict the fouling phenomena in the axial compressor of the gas turbine.