Neha Patil (Editor)

Zero stage

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Jet engines and other gas turbine engines are often uprated by adding a zero-stage, sometimes written '0' stage, to the front of a compressor.

At a given core size, adding a stage to the front of the compressor not only increases the cycle overall pressure ratio, but increases the core mass flow. A further uprating may be done by adding another stage in front of the previously-added zero stage, in which case the new one may be known as a zero-zero stage.

A comparison with other ways of uprating an existing engine without drastically redesigning the engine shows for a particular case, eg the Rolls-Royce/SNECMA M45H, the thrust could have been increased by 25% with a zero-staged l-p compressor or 10% with either an improved HP turbine or with water injection.

Zero-staging is also combined with other modifications to provide increased thrust or lower turbine temperature. It may be required for an existing aircraft weight increase, or for a new application, as shown by the following examples.

A 15-stage Rolls-Royce Avon powered the Lightning F.1. A zero-stage, together with a new turbine, was added (total 16 stages) for the Caravelle III. A zero-zero stage was added (total 17 stages) for the Caravelle VI.

The 7-stage Snecma Atar D was used in the Mystere II. A zero-stage was added (total 8 stages) for the E and G used in the Vautour and Super Mystere B.2. A zero-zero stage (total 9 stages), together with a 2-stage turbine was added for the Atar 8 and 9 used in the Mirage III.

The Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 started with a 6-stage LP compressor. As the Concorde increased in weight during the design phase the take-off thrust requirement increased. The engine was given a zero-stage to the compressor, a redesigned turbine and partial reheat.

Examples of zero-staging for land-based gas turbines are the aeroderivative GE LM2500+ and the heavy-duty GE MS5002B. An alternative to zero-staging used by some OEMs is supercharging the compressor with a fan driven by an electric motor.


Zero-staging is demonstrated by the following relationship:

w 2 = ( w 2 T 3 / P 3 ) ( P 3 / P 2 ) ( T 2 / T 3 ) ( P 2 / T 2 )

where:

core mass flow = w 2

core size = ( w 2 T 3 / P 3 )

core total head pressure ratio = ( P 3 / P 2 )

inverse of core total head temperature ratio = T 2 / T 3 i.e. ( P 3 / P 2 )

core entry total pressure = P 2

core entry total temperature = T 2

So basically, increasing ( P 3 / P 2 ) increases w 2 .

On the other hand, adding a stage to the rear of the compressor increases overall pressure ratio, decreases core size, but has no effect on core flow. This option also needs a Turbine with a significantly smaller flow capacity to drive the compressor.

References

Zero-stage Wikipedia