Phillip Berndt

Shockless Explosion Combustion: An Innovative Way of Efficient Constant Volume Combustion in Gas Turbines

Constant volume combustion (CVC) in gas turbines is a promising way to achieve a step change in the efficiency of such systems. The most widely investigated technique to implement CVC in gas turbine systems is pulsed detonation combustion (PDC). Unfortunately, the PDC is associated with several disadvantages, such as sharp pressure transitions, entropy generation due to shock waves, and exergy losses due to kinetic energy. This work proposes a new way to implement CVC in a gas turbine combustion system: shockless explosion combustion (SEC). This technique utilizes acoustic waves inside the combustor to fill and purge the combustion tube. The combustion itself is controlled via the ignition delay time of the fuel/air mixture. By adjusting the ignition delay in a way such that the entire fuel/air volume undergoes homogeneous auto-ignition, no shock waves occur. Accordingly, the losses associated with a detonation wave are not present in the proposed system. Instead, a smooth pressure rise is created due to the heat release of the homogeneous combustion. The current article explains the SEC process in detail, and presents the identified challenges. Solutions to these challenges and the numerical and experimental approach are presented subsequently alongside with first preliminary results of the numerical studies.

A Kinetics Model For The Shockless Explosion Combustion

Constant-volume (pressure-gain) combustion cycles show much promise for further increasing the efficiency of modern gas turbines, which in the last decades have begun to reach the boundaries of modern technology in terms of pressure and temperature, as well as the ever more stringent demands on reducing exhaust gas emissions. The thermodynamic model of the gas turbine consists of a compressor with a polytropic efficiency of 90%, a combustor modeled as either a pulse detonation combustor (PDC) or as an isobaric homogeneous reactor, and a turbine, the efficiency of which is calculated using suitable turbine operational maps. A simulation is conducted using the one-dimensional reacting Euler equations to obtain the unsteady PDC outlet parameters for use as turbine inlet conditions. The efficiencies for the Fickett–Jacobs and Joule cycles are then compared. The Fickett–Jacobs cycle shows promise at relatively low compressor pressure ratios, whereas the importance of the harvesting of exhaust gas kinetic energy for the cycle performance is highlighted.

On the Use of the HLL-Scheme or the Simulation of the Multi-Species Euler Equations

The HLL approximate Riemann solver is a reliable, fast and easy to implement tool for the under-resolved computation of inviscid flows. When applied to multi-species flows, it generates pressure oscillations at material interfaces. This is a well-known behaviour of conservative solvers and has been addressed as a problem by several authors before. We show that for this particular solver, the generation of pressure oscillations can be desired and is consistent with the underlying physics.

Investigation of Fluidic Devices for Mixing Enhancement for the Shockless Explosion Combustion Process

Fuel-air mixing is a crucial process in low emission combustion systems. A higher mixing quality leads to lower emissions and higher combustion efficiencies. Especially for the innovative constant volume combustion processes ”Shockless Explosion Combustion” (SEC) the mixing of fuel and air is an important parameter, since the whole combustion process is triggered and controlled via the equivalence ratio. To enhance the passive scalar mixing, fluidic oscillators are investigated and compared to the standard jet in crossflow fuel injection configurations. The mixing quality of the different geometries is assessed in a water test-rig by making use of planar laser induced fluorescence. After a short introduction to the SEC-process, the test-rig and the different injection configurations are introduced. To verify whether the mixing quality is sufficient for the SEC-process, a numerical investigation using the experimentally determined unmixedness is conducted. It is not only shown that the fluidic oscillators are able to enhance the mixing quality and create an independence of the mixing quality from the jet in crossflow momentum, but it is also verified in a first numerical calculation that the achieved mixing quality might be good enough for the Shockless Explosion Combustion process.

Numerical Study on the Reduction of NOx Emissions From Pulse Detonation Combustion

A change in the combustion concept of gas turbines from conventional isobaric to constant volume combustion (CVC), such as in pulse detonation combustion (PDC), promises a significant increase in gas turbine efficiency. Current research focuses on the realization of reliable PDC operation and its challenging integration into a gas turbine. The topic of pollutant emissions from such systems has so far received very little attention. Few rare studies indicate that the extreme combustion conditions in PDC systems can lead to high emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). Therefore, it is essential already at this stage of development to begin working on primary measures for NOx emissions reduction, if commercialization is to be feasible. The present study evaluates the potential of different primary methods for reducing NOx emissions produced during pulsed detonation combustion of hydrogen. The considered primary methods involve utilization of lean combustion mixtures or its dilution by steam injection or exhaust gas recirculation. The influence of such measures on the detonability of the combustion mixture has been evaluated based on detonation cell sizes modelled with detailed chemistry. For the mixtures and operating conditions featuring promising detonability, NOx formation in the detonation wave has been simulated by solving the one-dimensional reacting Euler equations. The study enables an insight into the potential and limitations of considered measures for NOx emissions reduction and lays the groundwork for optimized operation of pulse detonation combustion systems.

Thermodynamic Evaluation of Pulse Detonation Combustion for Gas Turbine Power Cycles

Constant-volume (pressure-gain) combustion cycles show much promise for further increasing the efficiency of modern gas turbines, which in the last decades have begun to reach the boundaries of modern technology in terms of pressure and temperature, as well as the ever more stringent demands on reducing exhaust gas emissions. The thermodynamic model of the gas turbine consists of a compressor with a polytropic efficiency of 90%, a combustor modeled as either a pulse detonation combustor (PDC) or as an isobaric homogeneous reactor, and a turbine, the efficiency of which is calculated using suitable turbine operational maps. A simulation is conducted using the one-dimensional reacting Euler equations to obtain the unsteady PDC outlet parameters for use as turbine inlet conditions. The efficiencies for the Fickett–Jacobs and Joule cycles are then compared. The Fickett–Jacobs cycle shows promise at relatively low compressor pressure ratios, whereas the importance of the exhaust gas kinetic energy harvesting for the cycle performance is highlighted.

State Estimation for the Homogeneous 1-D Euler Equation by Unscented Kalman Filtering

In this article we present a dynamic state estimation method for a one dimensional flow field which is described by the homogeneous Euler equation. The estimated quantities include the pressure, velocity, density and temperature field, which are of interest, for instance, for some combustion concepts. The algorithm relies only on a small number of discrete pressure measurements from the flow field. The influence of the number of used pressure measurements on the convergence speed of the algorithm is investigated. For the state estimation, an Unscented Kalman Filter scheme is exploited. The proposed method is applied in numerical simulations to demonstrate its effectiveness.Copyright

Shockless explosion combustion

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Combustion Science and Technology on 30/09/2014, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00102202.2014.935624.