Development of a Multilayer Mesoscale Burner Array for Gas Turbine Reheat

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Lee ◽  
C. F. Edwards ◽  
C. T. Bowman
Keyword(s):  
Bluff Body ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Liquid Fuels ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Fluid Inertia ◽  
Fuel Distribution ◽  
Design Changes ◽  
Partially Premixed ◽  
Swirl Flame ◽  
Diffusive Processes

Mesoscale burner arrays allow combustion to be conducted in a distributed fashion at the millimeter (meso) scale. At this scale, diffusive processes are fast, but not yet dominant, such that a number of advantages over conventional burners can be achieved without giving up the possibility to use fluid inertia to advantage. Since the scale of the reaction zone follows from the scale at which the reactants are mixed, very compact flames result. We expect that this compact, distributed form of combustion can provide not only the opportunity of inter-turbine reheat, but also the potential for lean premixed or highly vitiated combustion to suppress NOX emissions. In previous work, a 4×4 array, with burner elements on 5-mm centers, was fabricated in silicon nitride using shape deposition manufacturing. Results from both fully premixed (mixing prior to the array) and partially premixed (mixing in the array) configurations demonstrated the degree to which premixed performance can be achieved with this design and pointed to ways in which the array design could be improved. In the present work, a next-generation 6×6 array has been developed and tested. Major design changes in this array include use of a combination of bluff-body and swirl flame stabilization and a multilayer architecture with a separate fuel manifold for more uniform fuel distribution. In this multilayer design, the array is fabricated in three separate pieces, one of which is a vaporization layer designed for use with liquid fuels. Results using gaseous fuel (methane) in a fully premixed operating condition, including pressure drop, flame stability, temperature distribution in the burned gas, and NOx emissions, are reported for both bluff-body and no-bluff-body configurations. Tests for a partially premixed configuration are being carried out to evaluate the potential of the design modifications.

scholarly journals Experimental investigation of distance between v-gutters on flame stabilization and NOx emissions

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (5 Part B) ◽  
pp. 2971-2981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dias Umyshev ◽  
Abay Dostiyarov ◽  
Andrey Kibarin ◽  
Galya Tyutebayeva ◽  
Gaziza Katranova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bluff Body ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Temperature Fields ◽  
Flame Stability ◽  
Bluff Bodies ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Exhaust Gas ◽  
Gas Temperature ◽  
Inlet Velocity ◽  
Exhaust Gas Temperature

Blow-off performance and NOx emissions of the propane and air mixture in a rectangular combustion chamber with bluff bodies were investigated experimentally and numerically. The effects of distance between bluff bodies on NOx emissions, the blow-off limit, and exhaust gas temperature were examined. It was observed that NOx emissions are highly dependent on distance between V-gutters. The re-circulation zone behind the bluff body expands in width based on the decrease of distance between V-gutters, and expands in length with the increase of inlet velocity. The temperature fields behind the bluff body show a similar change, the temperature behind the bluff body reaches its highest when the distance between V-gutters reaches 20 mm, meaning it has better flame stability. The blow-off limit is significantly improved with the decrease of distance between V-gutters. The blow-off limit is greatly improved by reducing the distance between the V-gutters. Maximum blow-off limit of 0.11 is reached in the case of 20 mm, compared with 0.16 at 50 mm at a speed of 10 m/s.

Dynamics of Flame Stabilized by Triangular Bluff Body in Partially Premixed Methane-Air Combustion

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. V. Santosh Kumar ◽  
P. R. Alemela ◽  
J. B. W. Kok
Keyword(s):  
Heat Release ◽  
Vortex Shedding ◽  
Bluff Body ◽  
Reaction Rates ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Premixed Combustion ◽  
Partially Premixed Combustion ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis ◽  
Partially Premixed

In the design and operational tuning of gas turbine combustors it is important to be able to predict the interaction of the flame stabilization recirculation area with the burner aerodynamics. In the present paper transient computational fluid dynamics analysis is used to study these effects. Vortex interactions with the flame play a key role in many practical combustion systems. The interactions drive a large class of combustion instabilities and are responsible for changing the reaction rates, shape of the flame and the global heat release rate. The evolution of vortex shedding in reactive flows and its effects on the dynamics of the flame are important to be predicted. The present study describes dynamics of bluff body stabilized flames in a partially premixed combustion system. The bluff body is an equilateral wedge that induces the flame recirculation zone. The wedge is positioned at one-third length of the duct, which, is acoustically closed at the bottom end and open at the top. Transient computational modeling of partially premixed combustion is carried out using the commercial ANSYS CFX code and the results show that the vortex shedding has a destabilizing effect on the combustion process. Scale Adaptive Simulation turbulence model is used to compare between non-reacting cases and combustion flows to show the effects of aerodynamics-combustion coupling. The transient data reveals that frequency peaks of pressure and temperature spectra and is consistent with the longitudinal natural frequencies and Kelvin-Helmholtz instability frequency for reactive flow simulations. The same phenomenon is observed at different operating conditions of varying power. It has also been shown that the pressure and heat release are in phase, satisfying the Rayleigh criterion and therefore indicating the presence of aerodynamic-combustion instability. The data are compared to the scarce data on experiments and simulations available in literature.

The Civic: A Concept in Vortex Induced Combustion for the Solar Gemini 10 kW Gas Turbine

1981 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Shekleton
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Diffusion Flames ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Fuel Injector ◽  
Combustion Chambers ◽  
Turbine Generator ◽  
Fuel Injectors ◽  
Swirl Flame ◽  
Combustion Processes

The Radial Engine Division of Solar Turbines International, an Operating Group of International Harvester, under contract to the U.S. Army Mobility Equipment Research & Development Command, developed and qualified a 10 kW gas turbine generator set. The very small size of the gas turbine created problems and, in the combustor, novel solutions were necessary. Differing types of fuel injectors, combustion chambers, and flame stabilizing methods were investigated. The arrangement chosen had a rotating cup fuel injector, in a can combustor, with conventional swirl flame stabilization but was devoid of the usual jet stirred recirculation. The use of centrifugal force to control combustion conferred substantial benefit (Rayleigh Instability Criteria). Three types of combustion processes were identified: stratified and unstratified charge (diffusion flames) and pre-mix. Emphasis is placed on five nondimensional groups (Richardson, Bagnold, Damko¨hler, Mach, and Reynolds numbers) for the better control of these combustion processes.

Scale Resolving CFD Investigations of Aerothermal Field and Emissions of a Lean Burn Aeroengine Combustor

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Paccati ◽  
L. Mazzei ◽  
A. Andreini ◽  
S. Patil ◽  
S. Shrivastava ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Fluctuations ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Tetrahedral Mesh ◽  
Main Stream ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Lean Burn ◽  
Emission Data ◽  
Hexahedral Elements

Abstract Due to the increasingly stringent international limitations in terms of NOx emissions, the development of new combustor concepts has become extremely important in order for aircraft engines to comply with these regulations. In this framework, lean-burn technology represents a promising solution and several studies and emission data from production engines have proven that it is more promising in reducing NOx emissions than rich-burn technology. Considering the drawbacks of this combustion strategy (flame stabilization, flashback or blowout or the occurrence of large pressure fluctuations causing thermo-acoustics phenomena) as well as the difficulties and the high costs related to experimental campaigns at relevant operating conditions, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) plays a key role in deepening understanding of the complex phenomena that are involved in such reactive conditions. During last years, large research efforts have been devoted to develop new advanced numerical strategies for high-fidelity predictions in simulating reactive flows that feature strong unsteadiness and high levels of turbulence intensity with affordable computational resources. In this sense, hybrid RANS-LES models represent a good compromise between accurate prediction of flame behaviour and computational cost with respect to fully-LES approaches. Stress-Blended Eddy Simulation (SBES) is a new global hybrid RANS-LES methodology which ensures an improved shielding of RANS boundary layers and a more rapid RANS-LES “transition” compared to other hybrid RANS-LES formulations. In the present work, a full annular aeronautical lean-burn combustor operated at real conditions is investigated from a numerical point of view employing the new SBES approach using poly-hexcore mesh topology, which allows to adopt an isotropic grid for more accurate scale-resolving calculations by means of fully regular hexahedral elements in the main stream. The results are compared to experimental data and to previous reference numerical results obtained with Scale Adaptive Simulation formulation on a tetrahedral mesh grid in order to underline the improvements achieved with the new advanced numerical setup.

scholarly journals Detailed Examination of a Modified Two-Stage Micro Gas Turbine Combustor

2017 ◽  
Vol 140 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Schwärzle ◽  
Thomas O. Monz ◽  
Andreas Huber ◽  
Manfred Aigner
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Gas Turbine Combustor ◽  
Two Stage ◽  
Micro Gas Turbine ◽  
Previous Design ◽  
Recirculation Zones ◽  
Asme Paper

Jet-stabilized combustion is a promising technology for fuel flexible, reliable, highly efficient combustion systems. The aim of this work is a reduction of NOx emissions of a previously published two-stage micro gas turbine (MGT) combustor (Zanger et al., 2015, “Experimental Investigation of the Combustion Characteristics of a Double-Staged FLOX-Based Combustor on an Atmospheric and a Micro Gas Turbine Test Rig,” ASME Paper No. GT2015-42313 and Schwärzle et al., 2016, “Detailed Examination of Two-Stage Micro Gas Turbine Combustor,” ASME Paper No. GT2016-57730), where the pilot stage (PS) of the combustor was identified as the main contributor to NOx emissions. The geometry optimization was carried out regarding the shape of the pilot dome and the interface between PS and main stage (MS) in order to prevent the formation of high-temperature recirculation zones. Both stages have been run separately to allow a detailed understanding of the flame stabilization within the combustor, its range of stable combustion, the interaction between both stages, and the influence of the modified geometry. All experiments were conducted at atmospheric pressure and an air preheat temperature of 650  °C. The flame was analyzed in terms of shape, length, and lift-off height, using OH* chemiluminescence (OH-CL) images. Emission measurements for NOx, CO, and unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) emissions were carried out. At a global air number of λ = 2, a fuel split variation was carried out from 0 (only PS) to 1 (only MS). The modification of the geometry leads to a decrease in NOx and CO emissions throughout the fuel split variation in comparison with the previous design. Regarding CO emissions, the PS operations are beneficial for a fuel split above 0.8. The local maximum in NOx emissions observed for the previous combustor design at a fuel split of 0.78 was not apparent for the modified design. NOx emissions were increasing, when the local air number of the PS was below the global air number. In order to evaluate the influence of the modified design on the flow field and identify the origin of the emission reduction compared to the previous design, unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations were carried out for both geometries at fuel splits of 0.93 and 0.78, respectively, using the DLR (German Aerospace Center) in-house code turbulent heat release extension of the tau code (theta) with the k–ω shear stress transport turbulence model and the DRM22 (Kazakov and Frenklach, 1995, “DRM22,” University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, accessed Sept. 21, 2017, http://www.me.berkeley.edu/drm/) detailed reaction mechanism. The numerical results showed a strong influence of the recirculation zones on the PS reaction zone.

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