Abstract: The comparison of combustor condition soot concentration and flame radiation in a small model gas turbine combustor were made for a swirl atomizer and an air-blast atomizer with different atomizer characteristics,and different spray angles. The soot concentration in the com-bustor was obtained with the technique of spectral radiance measurement.Experimental results showed that,under the normal combustion condition,the swirl atomizer could produce higher soot concentration and flame radiation in the combustor primary zone, and the trend was much more obvious as the fuel-air ratio in the primary zone was increased.A well-matched spray angle of the atomizer with the primary zone was one of the most important factors for normal combus-tion, and was also one of the most important factors for reducing soot concentration and flame ra-diation in the combustor.

Key words: turbine engines-combustion chambers, atomizers, soot-concentration (composition)flames-radiation