Improving Stability Limits of Natural Gas Buoyant Diffusion Flames With Co-Flow of Air

Author(s):  
Hamidreza G. Darabkhani ◽  
John E. Oakey ◽  
Yang Zhang

In this paper we report on experimental investigation of co-flow air velocity effects on the flickering behavior and stabilization mechanism of laminar natural gas diffusion flames (with more than 96% methane in the fuel composition). In this study, chemiluminescence and high speed photography along with digital image processing techniques have been used to study the change in global flame shape, the instability initiation point, the frequency and magnitude of the flame oscillation. It is found that the co-flow air is able to shift the location of the initiation point of the outer toroidal vortices created by Kevin Helmholtz types of instability. It then reaches a stage when outer toroidal vortices interact only with hot plume of gases further downstream of the visible flame. Once the toroidal structure is out of the flame zone the flickering of the flame will disappear naturally. This is in contrast with the effect of pressure which enhances formation and interaction of outer toroidal vortices with the flame due to essential changes at flow densities. It is observed that a higher co-flow rate is needed in order to suppress the flame flickering at a higher fuel flow rate. Therefore the ratio of the air velocity to the fuel velocity is a stability controlling parameter. It has been found that a non-lifted laminar diffusion flame can be stabilized with a co-flow air velocity even less than half of the fuel jet exit velocity. The oscillation frequency was observed to increase with the co-flow rate. The frequency amplitudes, however, were observed to continuously decrease as the co-flow air was increasing. The oscillation magnitude and the oscillation wavelength were observed to decrease towards zero as the co-flow air was increasing. Whereas the average oscillating flame height behavior was observed to be bimodal. It was initially enhanced by the co-flow air then starts to decrease towards the stabilized level. This height was observed to remain almost constant after stabilization, despite further increase at air flow rate.

Author(s):  
Afshin Goharzadeh ◽  
Keegan Fernandes

This paper presents an experimental investigation on a modified airlift pump. Experiments were undertaken as a function of air-water flow rate for two submergence ratios (ε=0.58 and 0.74), and two different riser geometries (i) straight pipe with a constant inner diameter of 19 mm and (ii) enlarged pipe with a sudden expanded diameter of 19 to 32 mm. These transparent vertical pipes, of 1 m length, were submerged in a transparent rectangular tank (0.45×0.45×1.1 m3). The compressed air was injected into the vertical pipe to lift the water from the reservoir. The flow map regime is established for both configurations and compared with previous studies. The two phase air-water flow structure at the expansion region is experimentally characterized. Pipeline geometry is found to have a significant influence on the output water flow rate. Using high speed photography and electrical conductivity probes, new flow regimes, such as “slug to churn” and “annular to churn” flow, are observed and their influence on the output water flow rate and efficiency are discussed. These experimental results provide fundamental insights into the physics of modified airlift pump.


2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarek Mekhail ◽  
Zhang Li ◽  
Du Zhaohui ◽  
Willem Jansen ◽  
Chen Hanping

Abstract The PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) technology is a brand-new technique of measuring velocity. It started in the 1980’s with the development of high-speed photography and the image processing technique of computers. This article deals with PIV applied to the study of unsteady impeller-vaneless diffuser interaction in centrifugal fen. Experiments were carried out at The Turbomachinery Laboratory of Shanghai Jiaotong University. The test rig consists of a centrifugal, shrouded impeller, diffuser and volute casing all made of plexiglass. A series of performance measurements were carried out at different speeds and different vaneless diffuser widths. PIV measurements were applied to measure the unsteady flow at the exit part of the impeller and the inlet part of the diffuser for the case of the same width vaneless diffuser. The absolute flow field is measured at medium flow rate and at maximum flow rate. It is informative to capture the whole flow field at the same instant of time, and it might be more revealing to observe the unstable flow in real time.


Author(s):  
Guangtai Shi ◽  
Zongku Liu ◽  
Yexiang Xiao ◽  
Helin Li ◽  
Xiaobing Liu

To investigate the effect of tip clearance on the velocity distribution in a multiphase pump, the internal flow and velocity distribution characteristics in pump under different tip clearances are studied using experimental and numerical methods. Simulations based on the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations (RANS) and the standard k-ε turbulence model are carried out using ANSYS CFX. Under conditions of inlet gas void fraction (IGVF) is 5% at the flow rate of 0.6Q, 0.7Q and 0.8Q (Q is the design flow rate), the accuracy of the numerical method is verified by comparing with the experimental data using high-speed photography. Results show that the leakage flow interacts with the main flow and evolves into the tip leakage vortex (TLV). Due to the TLV, the pressure, velocity, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), vorticity and streamlines on the S2 stream surface in the impeller and diffuser are changed greatly under different tip clearances. The velocities at the impeller outlet and diffuser inlet along the radial direction are also changed. The axial velocity distribution is similar to the meridional velocity distribution at the impeller blade outlet. While the relative velocity and absolute velocity distribution show the opposite trends. In addition, the vorticity is larger near the tip separated vortex and the hydraulic loss in pump is also increased due to the TLV.


Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 760
Author(s):  
Kai Wang ◽  
Jianbin Hu ◽  
Houlin Liu ◽  
Zixu Zhang ◽  
Li Zou ◽  
...  

Based on the discrete phase model (DPM) solid–liquid two-phase flow model and MATLAB image processing technology, an integrated prefabricated pumping station was taken as the research object to study deposition characteristics under different flow rates, different particle diameters, and different liquid levels. Considering the incomplete symmetry of the internal flow of the prefabricated pumping station, deposition characteristics of the prefabricated pumping station under single/double pumps were also analyzed. Double pumps were symmetrically distributed in the integrated prefabricated pump station, and the movement trajectories of particles at the bottom of the pump pit under the closing inlet valve were measured through the use of a high-speed photography experiment. Results showed that with the increase of the flow rate, the deposition rate of the separated prefabricated pumping station decreased. With an increase of the particle diameter, the movement of particles was farther away from the vertical barrier weir. In the range of particle diameter of 6 to 10 mm, the deposition rate decreased with the increase of the particle diameter. With the increase of the liquid level, the deposition rate decreased, first, and then increased again. In the case of the single pump operation, the deposition rate of the right pump operation was smaller than that of the left pump operation. The variation of the deposition rate when the right pump operated was basically the same as that when the dual pumps operated. The movement path of particle N1 was longer. With the decrease of the flow rate and the increase of the particle diameter, the following feature of the particle decreased, and it was easier to impact the walls and edges, which caused long-term deposition. The research results could provide some suggestions for the design of anti-deposition performance of prefabricated pumping station.


2000 ◽  
Vol 24 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 419-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.H. Liakos ◽  
M.A. Founti ◽  
N.C. Markatos

Author(s):  
S. F. Goh ◽  
S. R. Gollahalli

An experimental study to compare the smoking characteristics of diffusion flames of propylene diluted nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide and helium was performed. The mass flow rate of propylene at smoke point condition, which was defined as the critical fuel mass flow rate (CFMFR), was first determined. Then, CFMFR was divided into ten different fractions for the study of the mechanism of inert gas dilution on smoke point. The mass flow rate of each different inert gas to achieve the smoke point condition was then determined in the same manner. Flame radiation and the visible flame height for all the diluted fuel flames were measured. The axial soot concentration profiles of nitrogen-diluted smoke point flames were also measured using the laser induced incandescence (LII) method for selective conditions. The inert gas dilution study showed two distinct regions (chemical and momentum controlled regions). The study shows the amount diluent needed to achieve smoke point was in the decreasing order of Ar, CO2, N2 and He on mass basis. The analysis of the results showed that the main reason for this phenomenon was the heat sink capability of the gas. Hence, the specific heat of the gas was an important parameter. In general, nitrogen-diluted flames had higher flame length than other inert gas diluted flames. At higher CFMFR, in helium-diluted flames radiation was higher than in other flames.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongsheng Zheng ◽  
Xin Hui ◽  
Xin Xue ◽  
Weitao Liu

Abstract The synergistic effect of soot formation refers to the interaction between different fuels during soot forming processes, which results in higher soot formation than any individual fuels. The present study experimentally investigates the synergistic effect of soot formation in co-flow diffusion flames of propane/ethylene fuel mixtures. The total carbon mass flow rate of the propane/ethylene mixture was kept constant at 0.5 mg/s, and the propane carbon ratio (RC) was defined as the ratio of carbon mass flow rate of propane to the total carbon mass flow rate. The laser-induced incandescence (LII) and light extinction (LE) techniques were applied to measure the soot volume fractions (SVF) at pressures of 0.1–0.5 MPa. The results showed strong synergistic effect in propane/ethylene mixtures at atmospheric conditions; however, increasing pressure weakens the synergistic effect. The LII intensity contours showed that the soot formation zone extends when synergistic effect occurs at RC = 0.1 and 0.2 for 0.1 and 0.3 Mpa. The normalized peak SVF showed that synergistic effect monotonically becomes weak with increasing pressure from 0.1 to 0.3 Mpa; meanwhile, the it still stayed strong at 0.2 Mpa when using normalized maximum soot yield, and then turned to be weaker as pressure increases. Further comparison analysis of the SVF profiles between RC = 0 and 0.1 revealed that the synergistic effect occurs at the two-wing area of the sooty flame at low axial flame height, and then gradually becomes stronger with increasing axial flame height in the soot zone for 0.1–0.3 Mpa. To illustrate the pressure effects on synergistic soot formation, numerical analysis in homogeneous closed reactor was conducted and it was found that The PAHs formation competition between C3H3 pathway and HACA mechanism results in the different soot formation phenomenon of ethylene/propane flames.


Author(s):  
H. Sapmaz ◽  
C. Ghenai

Laser-Induced Incandescence (LII) is used in this study to measure soot volume fractions in steady and flickering ethylene diffusion flames burning at atmospheric pressure. Better understanding of flickering flame behavior also promises to improve understanding of turbulent combustion systems. A very-high-speed solenoid valve is used to force the fuel flow rate with frequencies between 10 Hz and 200 Hz with the same mean fuel flow rate of steady flame. Periodic flame flickers are captured by two-dimensional phase-locked emission and LII images for eight phases (0°–360°) covering each period. LII spectra scan for minimizing C2 swan band emission and broadband molecular florescence, a calibration procedure using extinction measurements, and corrections for laser extinction and LII signal trapping are carried out towards developing reliable LII for quantitative applications. A comparison between the steady and pulsed flames results and the effect of the oscillation frequency on soot volume fraction for the pulsed flames are presented.


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