Large-eddy simulation of a reacting swirling flow in a model combustion chamber

We perform Large-eddy simulations of a non-premixed swirling flame in a model of a combustion chamber with a swirling air bulk flow at Re = 15000 and a central pilot low-velocity jet with methane using the Flamelet-generated manifold model. The unsteady behaviour of this regime is well reproduced based on the flame dynamics. The distribution of turbulent kinetic energy suggests the presence of intensive vortical structures typical of high-swirl flows similar to the precessing vortex core.

Temperature measurements in a swirling impinging flame by planar laser-induced fluorescence

This article presents the results of approbation of the method for registering temperature distributions based on the planar laser-induced fluorescence of a hydroxyl radical (OH) when the band (1-0) of the A2Σ+–X2Π system is excited. The thermometry is based on the recording the ratio of the radiation intensity of the band (2-0) and the bands (0-0), (1-1). Numerical modelling of fluorescence spectra is performed using the LASKIN program for the most frequent excitation lines Q2(7), Q1(8), R1(14), P1(2). The temperature field of a swirling flame, impinging on a flat cold surface, for H/d = 1, 2 and 3 calibres (where H is the distance between the jet nozzle and the surface, d is the outlet diameter of the nozzle) is obtained. The results of the work demonstrate that when the transition Q1(8) is excited, the ratio of the intensity of fluorescence signals for the band (2-0) and the bands (0-0), (1-1) provides a high sensitivity to temperature and is not significantly affected by fluorescence quenching. The report also concludes that this method can be implemented using single pulsed laser illumination and is effective for the detecting the position of flow recirculation zones and registering hot heat release zones with the combustion products.

The effects of swirl number on the combustion characteristics in an internally-staged combustor

The three-dimensional turbulent swirling flame in an internally-staged combustor is numerically investigated. Four cases over a range of swirl intensities are explored by the Flamelet Generated Manifold model in this paper. Special attention is paid to analyzing the variation of the flow field, temperature, major species concentrations and emissions. The results clearly show the effects of swirl number on the size of the center recirculation zone, fuel distribution and combustion characteristics. When the third premixed stage swirl number increases from 0.6 to 1.2, the axial length of the center recirculation zone decreases by 3.7%, while the radial length increases by 6.9%. The characteristics of the flow field play an important role in the spatial distribution of the fuel, which further affects the temperature distribution in the combustor. The backflow effect is enhanced, resulting in a greater concentration of fuel at the outlet of the swirler. After the maximum temperature is reached at the exit position of the pilot stage, the temperature decreases compared to the peak temperature downstream as the proportion of premixed combustion mode increases. This creates a high concentration region of OH at the outlet of the pilot stage injector and the heat release region is squeezed upstream. At the same time, the volume of the high-temperature region downstream of the pilot stage is reduced. In addition, as the swirl number of the third premixed stage increases from 0.6 to 1.2, the emissions of NO and CO decrease by 28.7% and 75%, respectively.

CFD Analysis and NOx Prediction in H2 and Ch4 Turbulent Non-premixed Flame Compared with Swirling Flame

This work is devoted to the comparative study for the formation and dissociation of nitrogen oxides by the numerical simulation of turbulent combustion without premix in a combustion chamber having a cylindrical shape with two coaxial jets, two flames using the ANSYS fluent software16.0. The study focuses on the influence of the type of fuel on the composition of discharges in content with NOx, that is to say two cases are treated and compared. Turbulence is modeled by the k-ε model and the chemical aspect of combustion is treated by the PDF model for each flame. The calculation results relate to the characteristics of dynamic fields, temperature, the mass fractions of different species involved in the combustion process and the NOx prediction. The effect of the swirl is also tested in this study with a CFD prediction of non premixed swirling g flame. These results are compared with measurements and confrontations is satisfactory.

Heavy Fuel Oil Combustion Characteristics Evaluation in Various Swirling Flow Conditions

Heavy fuel oil (HFO) is an economical fuel alternative for power generation as its low production cost and high energy density. However, its incomplete combustion induced by the presence of long-chain petroleum molecules in the fuel results in high levels of emissions. Here, we investigate the influence of the swirl flow on the combustion and emissions of a spray HFO swirling flame. To this end, HFO is sprayed into a hot swirling air, using an air-blast nozzle. The flame blowout limits are tested under different swirl flows. An investigation of the in-flame temperature fields, gaseous emissions including CO, CO2, O2, NOX, SOX, UHC (Unburned Hydrocarbon) and solid particles in the form of cenospheres are used to quantify the performance of the HFO combustion. The influence of the HFO swirling flame is tested under different conditions of global equivalence ratio, swirling number, and tangential and axial airflow rates. A comparison of two different flame regimes that fuel-jet dominate flame and air-driven vortex flows are investigated and compared in various swirling flow conditions. The results show that the tangent air is the primary factor for preheating and evaporating the fuel, thus defining the flame operating regimes.