Surface Fouling in Aviation Fuels: An Isothermal Chemical Study

Surface fouling in aircraft fuel lines that results from autoxidation of aviation fuel remains a serious and very complicated problem. This area has been studied using two Jet-A fuels, POSF-2827 and POSF-2980. The results of a series of dynamic experiments conducted in a single-pass, tubular heat exchanger operated at very slow flow rates under near-isothermal conditions are reported herein. Such studies, by minimizing complications resulting from fluid dynamics and heat flow, constitute a simpler global approach to the chemistry of fouling. The basis for the selection of experimental test conditions is discussed, and data from measurements of dissolved oxygen and surface deposition as a function of fuel stress duration are presented. The effects of parameters such as reaction temperature, tube diameter, experimental test time, and fuel dopants are considered.

Development of Ceramic Composite Hot-Gas Filters

A novel type of hot-gas filter based on a ceramic fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix was developed and extended to full-size, 60-mm OD by 1.5-meter-long, candle filters. A commercially viable process for producing the filters was developed, and the filters are undergoing testing and demonstration throughout the world for applications in pressurized fluidized-bed combustion (PFBC) and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plants. Development activities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and at the 3M Company, and testing at the Westinghouse Science and Technology Center (STC) are presented. Demonstration tests at the Tidd PFBC are in progress. Issues identified during the testing and demonstration phases of the development are discussed. Resolution of the issues identified during testing and the status of commercialization of the filters are described.

NOx Emission Characteristics of a Catalytic Combustor Under High-Temperature Conditions

A catalytic combustor concept with short catalyst segments and a thermal reactor is investigated with regard to NOx production of this concept under high-temperature conditions. The maximum combustor exit temperature was more than 1800 K with catalyst temperatures below 1300 K. For combustion of iso-octane, NOx emissions of 4 ppm (dry, 15% O2) at a flame temperature of 1800 K were measured. No significant influence of catalyst length, reference velocity and overall residence time on NOx emissions was observed. Additionally, the test combustor was fuelled with commercial diesel and kerosene (Jet-A). In this case, NOx emissions were noticeable higher due to fuel-bound nitrogen. The emissions measured were for diesel, 12 ppm, and for kerosene, 7 ppm, (each dry, 15% O2), again at a flame temperature of 1800 K. To evaluate the conversion ratio of fuel-bound nitrogen to NOx iso-octane was doped with various amounts of ammonia and metyhlamine. The conversion rates were 70 to 90%, with a slight tendency to lower values (50%) for nitrogen mass fractions above 0.1%. Considering the NOx emission level of actual premix burners, the lower emission value of the presented catalytic combustor results from a perfect premixed plug-flow combustion system incorporating a catalyst herein and not from a specific advantage of the principle of catalytic combustion itself. Again similar to a premix-combustor are the NOx emission characteristics in the case of lean combustion of nitrogen bound fuels, which yield very high conversion rates.

Comparison of Test Measurements Taken on a Pipeline Compressor / Gas Turbine Unit in the Workshop and at Site

The first part of this paper describes the test installation of the gas turbine and the compressor in the workshop, test execution, measuring methods, evaluation and measuring uncertainties. The second part of this paper describes the site installation, execution of the test under full load conditions on natural gas, measuring methods, evaluation and measuring uncertainties. The third part of this paper compares both the measurements and the Reynolds number correction which was used for the evaluation of the pipeline compressor test results in the workshop.

Mars™ SoLoNOx Combustion System CFD Modeling

CFD analysis methods were successfully implemented and verified with ongoing industrial gas turbine engine lean premix combustion system development. Selected aspects of diffusion and lean premix combustion modeling, predictions, observations and validated CFD results associated with the Solar Turbines Mars™ SoLoNOx combustor are presented. CO and NOx emission formation modeling details applicable to parametric CFD analysis in an industrial design environment are discussed. This effort culminated in identifying phenomena and methods of potentially further reducing NOx and CO emissions while improving engine operability in the Mars™ SoLoNOx combustion system. A potential explanation for the abrupt rise in CO formation observed in many gas turbine lean premix combustion systems is presented.

Semi–Empirical Predictions and Correlations of NOx Emissions From Utility Combustion Turbines

Semi–empirical equations model the dominant subprocesses involved in pollutant emissions by assigning specific times to the fuel evaporation, chemistry, and turbulent mixing. They then employ linear ratios of these times with model constants established by correlating data from combustors with different geometries, inlet conditions, fuels, and fuel injectors to make a priori predictions. In this work, thermal NOx emissions from two heavy–duty, dual fuel (natural gas and fuel oil #2) diffusion flame combustors designated A and B operating without inert injection are first predicted, and then correlated using three existing semi–empirical approaches termed the Lefebvre (AHL) model, the Rizk–Mongia (RM) model, and the characteristic time model (CTM). Heterogeneous effects were found to be significant, as fuel droplet evaporation times were required to align the natural gas and fuel oil data. Only the RM model and CTM were employed to study this phenomenon. The CTM achieved the best overall prediction and correlation, as the data from both combustors fell within one standard deviation of the predicted line. The AHL and RM models were not able to account for the geometries of the two combustors. For Combustor A the CTM parameter correlated the data in a highly linear manner, as expected, but for Combustor B there was significant curvature. Using the CTM this was shown to be a residence time effect.

The Effects of Different Sulfur Compounds on Jet Fuel Oxidation and Deposition

This paper presents research which supports a proposed fuel oxidation/deposition mechanism involving acid: base reactions between “oxidizable” sulfur compounds, “basic” nitrogen compounds, and oxygen containing polymers. The reported research presents experiments which study the effects of different sulfur compounds on the high temperature (160–220°C) oxidation products and deposition tendencies of jet fuel. Surface analyses incorporating elemental analyses and depth profiles of deposits formed on steel surfaces were performed to identify the species involved in the initial stages of deposition by jet fuels. Experiments to study the effects of acid neutralizing compounds on the deposition tendencies of jet fuels are also presented.

Development of a Swirl and Bluff-Body Stabilized Burner for Low-NOx, Lean-Premixed Combustion

A burner configuration utilizing both swirl and bluff-body stabilization was developed and tested for dry low-NOx combustion of natural gas fuel. A multiple number of these burners can be used to make up a can combustor. The burner consisted of a central hub supporting an axial swirler and spoke-type fuel injectors mounted coaxially within a 100 mm diameter cylindrical tube. The swirl typically provided strong recirculation and mixing, while the flame was anchored physically to the center hub. Tests were conducted at typical heavy-duty gas turbine conditions of 620 K inlet temperature and 10 atmospheres pressure. Parametric studies were conducted with various configurations of the burner to determine the corresponding effects on fuel-air mixing, flame stability, and NOx and CO emissions. The results show that ultra-low NOx emissions can be obtained if the fuel injection is sufficiently well distributed. The compact flame produced by the highly mixed swirling flow results in very low CO emissions as well. The results suggest also that swirl-strength is reduced in an upstream swirler configuration.

Conversion of Liquid to Gaseous Fuels for Lean Premixed Combustion

The lean premixed combustion of gaseous fuels is an attractive technology to attain very low NOx emission levels in gas turbine engines. If liquid fuels are converted to gaseous fuels by vaporization, they also can be used in premix gas burners and similar low NOx emissions are achievable. Experiments were carried out in a test rig in which the three main process steps of liquid fuel combustion (vaporization of fuel, mixing of air and fuel vapor and combustion reaction) can be performed successively in three separate devices and examined independently. A wide range of liquid fuels (methanol, ethanol, heptane, gasoline, rape oil methyl ester and two diesel oil qualities) was vaporized in an externally heated tube in the presence of superheated steam. These fuel vapors were led to a Pyrocore® radiant burner operating in fully premixed mode at atmosperic pressure. For all fuels without bound nitrogen, NOx levels below 15 mg/m3 at 3% O2 in the dry exhaust gas (2.5 ppm at 15% O2) were measured at lean combustion conditions. However, the nitrogen particularly bound in higher boiling fuels like diesel oil was converted completely to NOx under these conditions. The fuel bound nitrogen (FBN) proved to be the major source of NOx when burning vaporized diesel oil.

The Nuclear Gas Turbine: Towards Realization After Half a Century of Evolution

This paper has been written exactly 50 years after the first disclosure of a closed-cycle gas turbine concept with a simplistic uranium heater. Clearly, this plant was ahead of its time in terms of technology readiness, and the closed-cycle gas turbine was initially deployed in a cogeneration mode burning dirty fuels (e.g., coal, furnace gases). In the 1950s through the mid 1980s about 20 of these plants operated providing electrical power and district heating for European cities. The basic concept of a nuclear gas turbine plant was demonstrated in the USA on a small scale in 1961 with a mobile closed-cycle nitrogen gas turbine [330 KW(e)] coupled with a nuclear reactor. In the last three decades, closed-cycle gas turbine research and development, particularly in the U.S. has focused on space power systems, but today the utility size gas turbine-modular helium reactor (GT-MHR) is on the verge of being realized. The theme of this paper traces the half century of closed-cycle gas turbine evolution, and discusses the recent enabling technologies (e.g., magnetic bearings, compact recuperator) that now make the GT-MHR close to realization. The author would like to dedicate this paper to the late Professor Curt Keller who in 1935 filed the first closed-cycle gas turbine patent in Switzerland, and who exactly 50 years ago, first described a power plant involving the coupling of a helium gas turbine with a uranium heater.