Byung Chul Choi

Soot Reduction Under DC Electric Fields in Counterflow Non-Premixed Laminar Ethylene Flames

The effects of DC electric fields on non-premixed ethylene flames in a counterflow burner were studied experimentally with a focus on the reduction of soot particles. The experiment was conducted by connecting a high voltage terminal and a ground terminal to a lower (fuel) and upper (oxidizer) nozzle, respectively. We applied direct current (DC) potentials in a range of -5 kV < Vdc < 5 kV. Uniform electric fields were then generated in the gap between the two nozzles. The experimental conditions were selected to cover both soot formation (SF) and soot formation oxidation (SFO) flames. The flames subjected to the negative electric fields moved toward the fuel nozzle because of an ionic wind due to the Lorentz force acting on the positive ions in the flames. In addition, the yellow luminosity significantly decreased, indicating changes in the sooting characteristics. To analyze the sooting characteristics under the electric fields, planar laser induced incandescence (PLII) and fluorescence (PLIF) techniques were used to visualize the soot, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and OH radicals. The sooting limits in terms of the fuel and oxygen mole fractions were measured. No substantial soot formation due to the effects of the DC electric fields for the tested range of voltages and reactant mole fractions could be identified. The detailed flame behaviors and sooting characteristics under the DC electric fields are discussed.

Characteristics of Autoignited Laminar Lifted Flames in Heated Coflow Jets of Carbon Monoxide/Hydrogen Mixtures

The characteristics of autoignited lifted flames in laminar jets of carbon monoxide/hydrogen fuels have been investigated experimentally in heated coflow air. In result, as the jet velocity increased, the blowoff was directly occurred from the nozzle-attached flame without experiencing a stabilized lifted flame, in the non-autoignited regime. In the autoignited regime, the autoignited lifted flame of carbon monoxide diluted by nitrogen was affected by the water vapor content in the compressed air oxidizer, as evidenced by the variation of the ignition delay time estimated by numerical calculation. In particular, in the autoignition regime at low temperatures with added hydrogen, the liftoff height of the autoignited lifted flames decreased and then increased as the jet velocity increased. Based on the mechanism in which the autoignited laminar lifted flame is stabilized by ignition delay time, the liftoff height can be influenced not only by the heat loss, but also by the preferential diffusion between momentum and mass diffusion in fuel jets during the autoignition process.

Effect of AC Electric Fields on Counterflow Diffusion Flame of Methane

The effect of electric fields on the response of diffusion flames in a counterflow has been investigated experimentally by varying the AC voltage and frequency. The result showed that the flame was stationary with high AC frequency above the threshold frequency, and it increased with the applied voltage and then leveled off at 35 Hz. Below the threshold frequency, however, the flame oscillated with a frequency that was synchronized with the applied AC frequency. This oscillation can be attributed to the ionic wind effect due to the generation of bulk flow, which arises from the momentum transfer by molecular collisions between neutral molecules and ions, where the ions in the reaction zone were accelerated by the Lorentz force.

Theoretical Study on Fuel Savings of Marine Diesel Engine by Exhaust-Gas Heat-Recovery System of Combined Cycle

The thermodynamic characteristics of a combined cycle applied with a topping cycle such as a trilateral cycle at relatively high temperatures and a bottoming cycle such as an organic Rankine cycle at relatively low temperatures have been theoretically investigated. This is an electric generation system used to recover the waste heat of the exhaust gas from a diesel engine used for the propulsion of a large ship. As a result, when the boundary temperature between the topping and the bottoming cycles increased, the system efficiencies of energy and exergy were simultaneously maximized because the total exergy destruction rate () and exergy loss () decreased, respectively. In the case of a marine diesel engine, the waste heat recovery electric generation system can be utilized for additional propulsion power, and the propulsion efficiency was found to be improved by an average of 9.17 % according to the engine load variation, as compared to the case with only the base engine. In this case, the specific fuel consumption and specific emission of the diesel engine were reduced by an average of 8.4% and 8.37%, respectively.

Thermodynamic Analysis of Trilateral Cycle Applied to Exhaust Gas of Marine Diesel Engine

The thermodynamic characteristics of a trilateral cycle with water as a working fluid have been theoretically investigated for an electric generation system to recover the waste heat of the exhaust gas from a diesel engine used for the propulsion of a large ship. As a result, when a heat source was given, the efficiencies of energy and exergy were maximized by the specific conditions of the pressure and mass flow rate for the working fluid at the turbine(expander) inlet. In this case, as the condensation temperature increased, the volume expansion ratio of the turbine could be reduced properly; however, the exergy loss of the heat source and exergy destruction of the condenser increased. Therefore, in order to recover the waste exergy from the topping cycle, the combined cycle with a bottoming cycle such as an organic Rankine cycle, which is utilized at relatively low temperatures, was found to be useful.

Impacts of initial temperature and cylindrical obstacles on the dispersing flammable limits of accidental methane releases in an LNG bunkering terminal

This paper presents a numerical study on the dispersing flammable limits with respect to the initial methane releases at TCH4,0 = -50 and -150 °C in the crosswind of ambient air according to the arrangement of (a) No Tank, (b) Tank I, (c) Tank II, and (d) Tank I and II on the ground. To provide a better physical insight on the dispersion behaviors of the methane releases, the spatial distributions of the quasi-averaged methane concentration and flow fields were mainly analyzed using 3-D large eddy simulations. Consequently, the results of both the parameters can be summarized in that the vortex characteristics of the rotating direction and vorticity generated by the interactions not only between the crosswind and cylindrical obstacles but also between the crosswind and releasing methane flows played important roles in determining the dispersing flammable limits depending on the mixing characteristics.

Comparison of Fuel-NOxFormation Characteristics in Conventional Air and Oxyfuel Combustion Conditions

Nitric oxide () formation characteristics in non-premixed diffusion flames of methane fuels have been investigated experimentally and numerically by adding 10% ammonia to the fuel stream, according to the variation of the oxygen ratio in the oxidizer with oxygen/carbon dioxide and oxygen/nitrogen mixtures. In an experiment of coflow jet flames, in the case of an oxidizer with oxygen/carbon dioxide, the emission increased slightly as the oxygen ratio increased. On the other hand, in case of an oxygen/nitrogen oxidizer, the emission was the maximum at an oxygen ratio of 0.7, and it exhibited non-monotonic behavior according to the oxygen ratio. Consequently, the emission in the condition of oxyfuel combustion was overestimated as compared to that in the condition of conventional air combustion. To elucidate the characteristics of formation for various oxidizer compositions, 1D and 2D numerical simulations have been conducted by adopting one kinetic mechanism. The result of 2D simulation for an oxidizer with oxygen/nitrogen well predicted the trend of experimentally measured emissions.

Optimization of Design Pressure Ratio of Positive Displacement Expander for Engine Waste Heat Recovery of Vehicle

The effect of built-in volume ratio of expander on the performance of a two-loop Rankine cycle system for engine waste heat recovery of vehicle has been investigated. In the case of positive displacement expander in the various operating condition of the vehicle, it can operate in both under-expansion and over-expansion conditions. Therefore, the analysis of off-design performance for the expander is very important. Furthermore, the volume and weight of the expander as well as the efficiency must be considered in the optimization of the expander. This study shows that the built-in volume ratio of expander causing under-expansion at a target condition is more desirable considering the off-design performance and size of the expander, based on the simple modeling of off-design operation of the expander.