Klaus Peter Geigle

Large-eddy simulation and experimental study of heat transfer, nitric oxide emissions and combustion instability in a swirled turbulent high-pressure burner

Nitric oxide formation in gas turbine combustion depends on four key factors: flame stabilization, heat transfer, fuel–air mixing and combustion instability. The design of modern gas turbine burners requires delicate compromises between fuel efficiency, emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) and combustion stability. Burner designs allowing substantial NO x reduction are often prone to combustion oscillations. These oscillations also change the NO x fields. Being able to predict not only the main species field in a burner but also the pollutant and the oscillation levels is now a major challenge for combustion modelling. This must include a realistic treatment of unsteady acoustic phenomena (which create instabilities) and also of heat transfer mechanisms (convection and radiation) which control NO x generation. In this work, large-eddy simulation (LES) is applied to a realistic gas turbine combustion chamber configuration where pure methane is injected through multiple holes in a cone-shaped burner. In addition to a non-reactive simulation, this article presents three reactive simulations and compares them to experimental results. The first reactive simulation neglects effects of cooling air on flame stabilization and heat losses by radiation and convection. The second reactive simulation shows how cooling air and heat transfer affect nitric oxide emissions. Finally, the third reactive simulation shows the effects of combustion instability on nitric oxide emissions. Additionally, the combustion instability is analysed in detail, including the evaluation of the terms in the acoustic energy equation and the identification of the mechanism driving the oscillation. Results confirm that LES of gas turbine combustion requires not only an accurate chemical scheme and realistic heat transfer models but also a proper description of the acoustics in order to predict nitric oxide emissions and pressure oscillation levels simultaneously.

LASER-BASED INVESTIGATION OF SOOT FORMATION IN LAMINAR PREMIXED FLAMES AT ATMOSPHERIC AND ELEVATED PRESSURES

ABSTRACT An experimental investigation into soot formation in laminar premixed flames at atmospheric and elevated pressures (1–5 bar) has been conducted. The flames were produced in a dual-flame burner enclosed in a pressure housing. Quantitative soot volume fraction measurements were obtained using laser-induced incandescence coupled with a quasi-simultaneous absorption measurement for calibration; the data were corrected for signal trapping using an “onion peeling” algorithm. Temperature measurements were obtained using shifted vibrational coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering, which yields well-resolved, accurate temperature measurements in sooting and nonsooting environments. Results are presented for stable homogeneous flames using air as oxidizer and ethylene, propylene, and toluene as fuels. The variation of soot volume fraction and temperature with height above burner and as a function of fuel, equivalence ratio, and pressure are presented and discussed. The present soot data are well represented by a first-order growth rate law. The data identify trends and features useful for the validation of numerical models of soot formation.

Comparison of laser-induced incandescence method with scanning mobility particle sizer technique: the influence of probe sampling and laser heating on soot particle size distribution

We present a simple method for comparing particle size measurements, obtained with laser-induced incandescence (LII) and a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) in a premixed laminar sooting flame. A quartz cell was installed in line with the SMPS probe to allow LII measurements within the SMPS sample line. In this configuration, the LII and SMPS measurements gave similar results in terms of mean particle size. After the probe, the soot particles appear to be made of tight compact particles. In addition, with this experimental configuration, the influence of the probe in the flame is studied for different particle size ranges by applying LII before and after the probe. Application of SMPS with and without LII in the quartz cell shows that laser heating during LII measurements has an influence on the soot particle size distribution. The method could be used to improve probe sampling of particulate matter in reactive fields as well as to validate the interpretation of relevant physical mechanisms involved in the LII process.

Soot Formation and Flame Characterization of an Aero-Engine Model Combustor Burning Ethylene at Elevated Pressure

Swirl-stabilized, non-premixed ethylene/air flames were investigated at pressures up to 5 bars to study the effect of different operating parameters on soot formation and oxidation. Focus of the experiments was the establishment of a data base describing well defined flames, serving for validation of numerical simulation. Good optical access via pressure chamber windows and combustion chamber windows enables application of laser-induced incandescence to derive soot volume fractions after suitable calibration. This results in ensemble averaged as well as instantaneous soot distributions. Beyond pressure, parameters under study were the equivalence ratio, thermal power and amount of oxidation air. Latter could be injected radially into the combustor downstream of the main reaction zone through holes in the combustion chamber posts. Combustion air was introduced through a dual swirl injector whose two flow rates were controlled separately. The split of those air flows provided an additional parameter variation. Nominal power of the operating points was approximately 10 kW/bar leading to a maximum power of roughly 50 kW, not including oxidation air.Copyright

Numerical Investigation of Transient Soot Evolution Processes in an Aero-Engine Model Combustor

This article presents unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes simulations (URANS) of a well-characterized aero-engine model combustor with finite-rate chemistry (FRC). The simulations give insight into the complex formation and destruction processes of soot at technically relevant conditions. It will be shown that a recently developed PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and soot model is able to predict soot under complex combustion conditions at elevated pressure. Finite-rate chemistry is employed for the gas phase, a sectional approach for PAHs and a two-equation model for soot. Thus, feedback effects, such as the consumption of gaseous soot precursors by growth of soot and PAHs, are inherently captured accurately. In agreement with the experiment a precessing vortex core (PVC) is observed in the ethylene fueled combustor. This requires that the computational grid covers swirlers. The PVC intensifies mixing of fuel, primary air, and hot burned gas from the inner recirculation zone, thereby supporting flame stabilization and subsequently influencing soot. The numerical results (velocity components, temperature, and soot volume fraction) compare well with experimental data. Details of soot evolution and remaining differences to the experiment are analyzed.

PLIF Thermometry Based on Measurements of Absolute Concentrations of the OH Radical

Abstract A method for measurements of planar temperature distributions based on planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of the OH radiacal is described. The technique was developed specifically for the application in lean combustion systems, where OH equilibrium concentrations are largely independent on equivalence ratio and a function of temperature only. It is thus possible to derive a temperature information from measurements of absolute OH concentration, which can be obtained from a combined PLIF/absorption measurement. This paper discusses the basics of the method, and describes validation experiments in high pressure laminar premixed flames which were performed to asses its applicability and accuracy. Therefore, we compared our LIF based results with CARS measurements performed in the same flames. Finally, an example for the application in a lean gas turbine model combustor is discussed.

Phase-Resolved Laser Diagnostic Measurements of a Downscaled, Fuel-Staged Gas Turbine Combustor at Elevated Pressure and Comparison to LES Predictions

A technical gas turbine combustor has been studied in detail with optical diagnostics for validation of large-eddy simulations (LES). OH* chemiluminescence, OH laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and particle image velocimetry (PIV) have been applied to stable and pulsating flames up to 8 bar. The combination of all results yielded good insight into the combustion process with this type of burner and forms a database that was used for the validation of complex numerical combustion simulations. LES, including radiation, convective cooling, and air cooling, were combined with a reduced chemical scheme that predicts NO x emissions. Good agreement of the calculated flame position and shape with experimental data was found.

Investigation of Soot Formation and Oxidation in a High-Pressure Gas Turbine Model Combustor by Laser Techniques

Swirl-stabilized, non-premixed C2 H4 /air flames were investigated at pressures up to 9 bar in order to contribute to a better understanding of soot formation and oxidation under gas turbine like conditions. The flames had a thermal power of up to 45 kW and were confined by a squared combustion chamber with quartz windows. Secondary air could be injected into the post-flame zone to study the influence of cooling air on the oxidation of soot. The good optical access to the flame enabled the application of optical and laser measuring techniques. Temperatures were measured by coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) and soot concentrations by 2D laser induced incandescence (LII). The influence of the flow field characteristics, known from previous measurements in similar configurations, on the soot distributions is discussed. Furthermore, the effects of pressure, equivalence ratio and secondary oxidation air on the instantaneous and mean soot distributions were studied. All measurements were performed under well-defined and documented conditions, so that the data sets are suitable for the validation of numerical simulations.© 2007 ASME

Investigations of a SYNGAS-FIRED Gas Turbine Model Combustor by Planar Laser Techniques

In order to investigate the combustion behavior of gas turbine flames fired with low-caloric syngases, a model combustor with good optical access for confined, non-premixed swirl flames was developed. The measuring techniques applied were particle image velocimetry, OH* chemiluminescence detection and laser-induced fluorescence of OH. Two different fuel compositions of H2 , CO, N2 and CH4 , with similar laminar burning velocities, were chosen. Their combustion behavior was studied at two different pressures, two thermal loads and two combustion air temperatures. The overall lean flames (equivalence ratio 0.5) burned very stably and their shapes and combustion behavior were hardly influenced by the fuel composition or by the different operating conditions. The experimental results constitute a data-base that will be used for the validation of numerical combustion models and form a part of a co-operative EC project aiming at the development of highly efficient gas turbines for IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) power plants.Copyright

Soot Predictions in an Aero-Engine Model Combustor at Elevated Pressure Using URANS and Finite-Rate Chemistry

Unsteady numerical simulations of an aero-engine model combustor are presented. The combustor is fueled by ethylene instead of the more complex realistic fuel kerosene to provide well defined inflow conditions. Comprehensive validation data obtained by several laser diagnostics is available. Turbulence is treated by the SST model. A finite-rate chemistry model, where a separate transport equation is solved for each species, is applied in order to treat combustion accurately. Chemistry-turbulence interaction is modeled by an assumed probability density function model (APDF). A sectional model is applied for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, while soot is modeled by a two-equation model. Velocity components and temperature are predicted with good to excellent agreement against measurements. Reasonable agreement between measured and calculated soot volume fraction is found, remaining differences are discussed by time-resolved data analysis. A proper resolution of unsteady motion is identified to be crucial for accurate soot predictions.