LES Based CFD Investigation of the Ignition Process in Lean Spray Burner

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Andreini ◽  
M. Amerighi ◽  
L. Palanti ◽  
B. Facchini
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbines ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Direct Injection ◽  
Flame Structure ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Ignition Process ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
New Formulation

Abstract During the last decades several new technologies were investigated in order to reduce the pollutant emissions and increase the overall engine efficiency. Unluckily, some of them including the lean direct injection spray combustion hinder the ignition performances of the combustor. Moreover, several expensive tests under very challenging operating conditions must be carried out to obtain the required certifications and assess the combustor behaviour with respect to the ignition process. Therefore, a deeper knowledge of the phenomena involved in the flame onset is mandatory to shorten the design process and achieve the required performances from the very beginning. In the last years, CFD simulations established as valid alternative to the experiments to investigate the complex phenomena involved in the ignition process. In fact, several examples are available in scientific literature about the use of simulations to predict the development of the flame starting from an initial kernel. In particular, LES proved to be a reliable tool to uncover new mechanisms of ignition and flame stabilization in gas turbines. In this work, two reactive LES of the ignition process were attempted using ANSYS Fluent 2019R1, with the aim of testing the Thickened Flame Model already implemented in the solver. In fact, compared to the previous versions, a new formulation for the efficiency function based on the pioneering work of Colin was made available. Such promising tool was validated against some detailed experimental results of a lean swirled flame, known as KIAI-CORIA spray flame. At first, a non-reactive and reactive LES were carried out to validate the cold field and the stabilized flame structure respectively. Finally, two ignition simulations were performed, from initial spark deposition up to flame stabilization or kernel quenching. All the obtained results have been extensively compared against the available experimental data showing that the employed simulation setup is fairly capable of describing the phenomena involved in the rig ignition.

Numerical Investigation on the Cavity Implementation Methods in Trapped Vortex Combustor

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nisanth M S ◽  
Pratikash P. Panda ◽  
Ravikrishna R V
Keyword(s):  
Direct Injection ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Flux Ratio ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Cavity Depth ◽  
Flow Parameters ◽  
Inlet Conditions ◽  
Trapped Vortex

Abstract Well-stabilized vortices inside a physical cavity using direct injection of reactants can be used to provide stable combustion with performance benefits. The adaptation of the Trapped Vortex Combustion (TVC) concept involves the placement of the cavity-based flame stabilization device in the main duct of the combustor using annular or planar geometric configurations. In this work, we compare the performance of inner annular, outer annular and planar arrangements of the cavity with dual-vortex structure configuration enabled by a single injection port on the upstream wall of the cavity. The comparison is done using Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations. The effect of cavity implementation methods on the flame stabilization, temperature distribution at the exit of the combustor and pollutant emissions are analyzed with three combustor operating conditions based on the flow parameters. Significant differences in the flame stabilization are observed in the combustors due to the dissimilarity of the velocity and fuel distribution. The parameter, jet momentum flux ratio, denoted by J, is defined based on the inlet conditions and the estimate of actual cavity flow velocity from numerical results. This parameter is used to correlate the combustor performance among the various configurations studied. The inner annular combustor can be scaled to higher power by increasing the combustor radius (R) with same cavity size, flow parameters and chemical parameters, however, the flame stabilization and performance are affected by the geometric parameters, combustor radius (R) and cavity depth (D). Strategies to scale-up the combustor to obtain the required performance are discussed along with the challenges faced in comparing results of the various configurations studied.

scholarly journals Dynamic Flame Structure in a Low NOx Premixed Combustor

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torger J. Anderson ◽  
William A. Sowa ◽  
Stephen A. Morford
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Flame Structure ◽  
Outer Region ◽  
Optical Probe ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Central Vortex ◽  
Acoustic Coupling ◽  
Industrial Gas Turbines

Flame emittance images phase-locked to acoustic fluctuations have been acquired to study flame structure variations in lean premixed gas-fueled swirl-stabilized combustor systems used in industrial gas turbines. Images have been acquired through a specially-designed optical probe that makes use of the limited optical access typical of these combustors. A number of observations appear to be consistent under widely varying operating conditions. While flame stabilization was anticipated in the central vortex and outer recirculation zone of the nozzle, no optical emissions have been observed in the outer region. Oscillations in the flame emittance appear to be primarily in intensity rather than structure suggesting that the major contributor to acoustic coupling may be equivalence ratio variations rather than the motions of large scale fluid structures.

Prediction of gaseous pollutant emissions from a spark-ignition direct-injection engine with gas-exchange simulation

2021 ◽  
pp. 146808742110050
Author(s):  
Stefania Esposito ◽  
Lutz Diekhoff ◽  
Stefan Pischinger
Keyword(s):  
Gas Exchange ◽  
Combustion Chamber ◽  
Direct Injection ◽  
Spark Ignition ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Operating Parameters ◽  
Gaseous Pollutant ◽  
Fuel Ratio ◽  
No Emissions

With the further tightening of emission regulations and the introduction of real driving emission tests (RDE), the simulative prediction of emissions is becoming increasingly important for the development of future low-emission internal combustion engines. In this context, gas-exchange simulation can be used as a powerful tool for the evaluation of new design concepts. However, the simplified description of the combustion chamber can make the prediction of complex in-cylinder phenomena like emission formation quite challenging. The present work focuses on the prediction of gaseous pollutants from a spark-ignition (SI) direct injection (DI) engine with 1D–0D gas-exchange simulations. The accuracy of the simulative prediction regarding gaseous pollutant emissions is assessed based on the comparison with measurement data obtained with a research single cylinder engine (SCE). Multiple variations of engine operating parameters – for example, load, speed, air-to-fuel ratio, valve timing – are taken into account to verify the predictivity of the simulation toward changing engine operating conditions. Regarding the unburned hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, phenomenological models are used to estimate the contribution of the piston top-land crevice as well as flame wall-quenching and oil-film fuel adsorption-desorption mechanisms. Regarding CO and NO emissions, multiple approaches to describe the burned zone kinetics in combination with a two-zone 0D combustion chamber model are evaluated. In particular, calculations with reduced reaction kinetics are compared with simplified kinetic descriptions. At engine warm operation, the HC models show an accuracy mainly within 20%. The predictions for the NO emissions follow the trend of the measurements with changing engine operating parameters and all modeled results are mainly within ±20%. Regarding CO emissions, the simplified kinetic models are not capable to predict CO at stoichiometric conditions with errors below 30%. With the usage of a reduced kinetic mechanism, a better prediction capability of CO at stoichiometric air-to-fuel ratio could be achieved.

scholarly journals The Influence of Carrier Air Preheating on Autoignition of Inline-Injected Hydrogen–Nitrogen Mixtures in Vitiated Air of High Temperature

2017 ◽  
Vol 140 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph A. Schmalhofer ◽  
Peter Griebel ◽  
Manfred Aigner
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Content ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Promoting Effect ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Lean Premixed Combustion ◽  
Image Velocimetry ◽  
Fuel Mixtures

The use of highly reactive hydrogen-rich fuels in lean premixed combustion systems strongly affects the operability of stationary gas turbines (GT) resulting in higher autoignition and flashback risks. The present study investigates the autoignition behavior and ignition kernel evolution of hydrogen–nitrogen fuel mixtures in an inline co-flow injector configuration at relevant reheat combustor operating conditions. High-speed luminosity and particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements in an optically accessible reheat combustor are employed. Autoignition and flame stabilization limits strongly depend on temperatures of vitiated air and carrier preheating. Higher hydrogen content significantly promotes the formation and development of different types of autoignition kernels: More autoignition kernels evolve with higher hydrogen content showing the promoting effect of equivalence ratio on local ignition events. Autoignition kernels develop downstream a certain distance from the injector, indicating the influence of ignition delay on kernel development. The development of autoignition kernels is linked to the shear layer development derived from global experimental conditions.

scholarly journals Measurement of Air-Fuel Ratio Fluctuations Caused by Combustor Driven Oscillations

1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajiv Mongia ◽  
Robert Dibble ◽  
Jeff Lovett
Keyword(s):  
Power Spectrum ◽  
Mole Fraction ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Premixed Combustion ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Combustion Instabilities ◽  
Pressure Oscillations ◽  
Lean Premixed Combustion ◽  
Lean Premixed

Lean premixed combustion has emerged as a method of achieving low pollutant emissions from gas turbines. A common problem of lean premixed combustion is combustion instability. As conditions inside lean premixed combustors approach the lean flammability limit, large pressure variations are encountered. As a consequence, certain desirable gas turbine operating regimes are not approachable. In minimizing these regimes, combustor designers must rely upon trial and error because combustion instabilities are not well understood (and thus difficult to model). When they occur, pressure oscillations in the combustor can induce fluctuations in fuel mole fraction that can augment the pressure oscillations (undesirable) or dampen the pressure oscillations (desirable). In this paper, we demonstrate a method for measuring the fuel mole fraction oscillations which occur in the premixing section during combustion instabilities produced in the combustor that is downstream of the premixer. The fuel mole fraction in the premixer is measured with kHz resolution by the absorption of light from a 3.39 μm He-Ne laser. A sudden expansion combustor is constructed to demonstrate this fuel mole fraction measurement technique. Under several operating conditions, we measure significant fuel mole fraction fluctuations that are caused by pressure oscillations in the combustion chamber. Since the fuel mole fraction is sampled continuously, a power spectrum is easily generated. The fuel mole fraction power spectrum clearly indicates fuel mole fraction fluctuation frequencies are the same as the pressure fluctuation frequencies under some operating conditions.

Effects of Pilot Fuel and Liner Cooling on the Flame Structure in a Full Scale Swirl-Stabilized Combustion Setup

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Fa¨rber ◽  
Rainer Koch ◽  
Hans-Jo¨rg Bauer ◽  
Matthias Hase ◽  
Werner Krebs
Keyword(s):  
Combustion Chamber ◽  
Fuel Injection ◽  
Flame Structure ◽  
Cone Angle ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Combustion Noise ◽  
Pilot Fuel ◽  
Combustor Liner

The flame structure and the limits of operation of a lean premixed swirl flame were experimentally investigated under piloted and non-piloted conditions. Flame stabilization and blow out limits are discussed with respect to pilot fuel injection and combustor liner cooling for lean operating conditions. Two distinctly different flow patterns are found to develop depending on piloting and liner cooling parameters. These flow patterns are characterized with respect to flame stability, blow out limits, combustion noise and emissions. The combustion system explored consists of a single burner similar to the burners used in Siemens annular combustion systems. The burner feeds a distinctively non-adiabatic combustion chamber operated with natural gas under atmospheric pressure. Liner cooling is mimicked by purely convective cooling and an additional flow of ‘leakage air’ injected into the combustion chamber. Both, this additional air flow and the pilot fuel ratio were found to have a strong influence on the flow structure and stability of the flame close to the lean blow off limit (LBO). It is shown by Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) that the angle of the swirl cone is strongly affected by pilot fuel injection. Two distinct types of flow patterns are observed close to LBO in this large scale setup: While non-piloted flames exhibit tight cone angles and small inner recirculation zones (IRZ), sufficient piloting results in a wide cone angle and a large IRZ. Only in the latter case, the main flow becomes attached to the combustor liner. Flame structures deduced from flow fields and CH-Chemiluminescence images depend on both the pilot fuel injection and liner cooling.

scholarly journals Characterization of the Acoustic Interactions in a Two-Staged Multi-Injection Combustor Fed With Liquid Fuel

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Providakis ◽  
L. Zimmer ◽  
P. Scouflaire ◽  
S. Ducruix
Keyword(s):  
Velocity Field ◽  
Acoustic Field ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Fuel Injection ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Fuel Distribution ◽  
Droplet Behavior

Burners operating in lean premixed prevaporized (LPP) regimes are considered as good candidates to reduce pollutant emissions from gas turbines. Lean combustion regimes result in lower burnt gas temperatures and therefore a reduction on the NOx emissions, one of the main pollutant species. However, these burners usually show strong flame dynamics, making them prone to various stabilization problems (combustion instabilities, flashback, flame extinction). To face this issue, multi-injection staged combustion can be envisaged. Staging procedures enable fuel distribution control, while multipoint injections can lead to a fast and efficient mixing. A laboratory-scale staged multipoint combustor is developed in the present study, in the framework of LPP combustion, with an injection device close to the industrial one. Using a staging procedure between the primary pilot stage and the secondary multipoint one, droplet and velocity field distributions can be varied in the spray that is formed at the entrance of the combustion chamber. The resulting spray and the flame are characterized using OH-Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence, High Speed Particle Image Velocimetry and Phase Doppler Anemometry measurements. Three staging values, corresponding to three different flame stabilization processes, are analyzed, while power is kept constant. It is shown that mean values are strongly influenced by the fuel distribution and the flame position. Using adequate post-processing, the interaction between the acoustic field and the droplet behavior is characterized. Spectral analysis reveals a strong acoustic-flame coupling leading to a low frequency oscillation of both the velocity field and the spray droplet distribution. In addition, acoustic measurements in the feeding line show that a strong oscillation of the acoustic field leading to a change in fuel injection, and hence droplet behavior.

Modeling of Turbulent Combustion and Radiative Heat Transfer in a Object-Oriented CFD Code for Gas Turbine Application

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Andreini ◽  
Matteo Cerutti ◽  
Bruno Facchini ◽  
Luca Mangani
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Radiative Heat Transfer ◽  
Turbulent Combustion ◽  
Radiative Heat ◽  
Object Oriented ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Combustion Models

One of the driving requirements in gas turbine design is the combustion analysis. The reduction of exhaust pollutant emissions is in fact the main design constraint of modern gas turbine engines, requiring a detailed investigation of flame stabilization criteria and temperature distribution within combustion chamber. At the same time, the prediction of thermal loads on liner walls continues to represent a critical issue especially with diffusion flame combustors which are still widely used in aeroengines. To meet such requirement, design techniques have to take advantage also of the most recent CFD tools that have to supply advanced combustion models according to the specific application demand. Even if LES approach represents a very accurate approach for the analysis of reactive flows, RANS computation still represents a fundamental tool in industrial gas turbine development, thanks to its optimal tradeoff between accuracy and computational costs. This paper describes the development and the validation of both combustion and radiation models in a object-oriented RANS CFD code: several turbulent combustion models were considered, all based on a generalized presumed PDF flamelet approach, valid for premixed and non premixed flames. Concerning radiative heat transfer calculations, two directional models based on the P1-Approximation and the Finite Volume Method were treated. Accuracy and reliability of developed models have been proved by performing several computations on well known literature test-cases. Selected cases investigate several turbulent flame types and regimes allowing to prove code affordability in a wide range of possible gas turbine operating conditions.

Effect of Fuel Composition on Emissions From a Low-Swirl Burner

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Sequera ◽  
Ajay K. Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Bluff Body ◽  
Swirling Flow ◽  
Flame Temperature ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Recirculation Region ◽  
Fuel Composition ◽  
High Hydrogen ◽  
Flow Recirculation

Lean Premixed Combustion (LPM) is a widely used approach to effectively reduce pollutant emissions in advanced gas turbines. Most LPM combustion systems employ the swirling flow with a bluff body at the center to stabilize the flame. The flow recirculation region established downstream of the bluff-body brings combustion products in contact with fresh reactants to sustain the reactions. However, such systems are prone to combustion oscillations and flame flashback, especially if high hydrogen containing fuels are used. Low-Swirl Injector (LSI) is an innovative approach, whereby a freely propagating LPM flame is stabilized in a diverging flow field surrounded by a weakly-swirling flow. The LSI is devoid of the flow recirculation region in the reaction zone. In the present study, emissions measurements are reported for a LSI operated on mixtures of methane (CH4), hydrogen (H2), and carbon monoxide (CO) to simulate H2 synthetic gas produced by coal gasification. For a fixed adiabatic flame temperature and air flow rate, CH4 content of the fuel in atmospheric pressure experiments is varied from 100% to 50% (by volume) with the remainder of the fuel containing equal amounts of CO and H2. For each test case, the CO and nitric oxide (NOx) emissions are measured axially at the combustor center and radially at several axial locations. Results show that the LSI provides stable flame for a range of operating conditions and fuel mixtures. The emissions are relatively insensitive to the fuel composition within the operational range of the present experiments.

Numerical Simulation for the Preliminary Design of Fuel Flexible Stationary Gas Turbine Combustors Using Conventional and Alternative Fuels

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Washington Orlando Irrazabal Bohorquez ◽  
João Roberto Barbosa ◽  
Rob Johan Maria Bastiaans ◽  
Philip de Goey
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Gas Turbine Combustor ◽  
Primary Zone

Currently, high efficiency and low emissions are most important requisites for the design of modern gas turbines due to the strong environmental restrictions around the world. In the past years, alternative fuels have been considered for application in industrial gas turbines. Therefore, combustor performance, pollutant emissions and the ability to burn several fuels became of much concern and high priority has been given to the combustor design. This paper describes a methodology focused on the design of stationary gas turbines combustion chambers with the ability to efficiently burn conventional and alternative fuels. A simplified methodology is used for the calculations of the equilibrium temperature and chemical species in the primary zone of a gas turbine combustor. Direct fuel injection and diffusion flames, together with numerical methods like Newton-Raphson, LU Factorization and Lagrange Polynomials, are used for the calculations. Diesel, ethanol and methanol fuels were chosen for the numerical study. A computer code sequentially calculates the main geometry of the combustor. From the numerical simulation it is concluded that the basic gas turbine combustor geometry, for some operating conditions and burning diesel, ethanol or methanol, are of similar sizes, because the development of aerodynamic characteristics predominate over the thermochemical properties. It is worth to note that the type of fuel has a marked effect on the stability and combustion advancement in the combustor. This can be seen when the primary zone is analyzed under a steady-state operating condition. At full power, the pressure is 1.8 MPa and the temperature 1,000 K at the combustor inlet. Then, the equivalence ratios in the primary zone are 1.3933 (diesel), 1.4352 (ethanol) and 1.3977 (methanol) and the equilibrium temperatures for the same operating conditions are 2,809 K (diesel), 2,754 K (ethanol) and 2,702 K (methanol). This means that the combustor can reach similar flame stability conditions, whereas the combustion efficiency will require richer fuel/air mixtures of ethanol or methanol are burnt instead of diesel. Another important result from the numerical study is that the concentration of the main pollutants (CO, CO2, NO, NO2) is reduced when ethanol or methanol are burnt, in place of diesel.

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