Shigeru Hayashi

Suppression of NOx Emission of a Lean Staged Combustor for an Aircraft Engine

Due to the increasing demands for environment protection, the regulation of NOx emissions from aircraft engines specified by ICAO have become more stringent year by year. A combustor with lean staged fuel injectors is one of the effective methods to reduce NOx emissions. Kawasaki heavy industries Ltd GTBC and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have been conducting joint research on a lean staged concentric fuel nozzle for a high pressure ratio aero engine. High pressure combustion tests were performed to clarify the effect of the contour of the air flow passage of the main premix duct, the arrangement of the swilers and the fuel injection position on the NOx emission especially at high power. Visualization of the fuel spray at elevated pressure inside of the premix duct using a model with transparent walls and a laser diagnostics technique showed clear relationship between the distribution of the fuel spray and the NOx emission.Copyright

Optimization of a Small Aircraft Combustor to Reduce NOx Emissions Under Practical Conditions

A series of research experiments under practical conditions has been conducted to develop a combustor for a small-class aircraft engine (with the pressure ratio of about 20). In the previous research experiments, including ignition and emission tests under atmospheric pressure, we applied a single airblast fuel nozzle and utilized the rich-burn quick-quench lean-burn (RQL) combustion approach. The combustor was tuned to show the behavior of the RQL under the atmospheric condition. In this paper, the results of single-sector combustor experiments under the practical temperature and pressure conditions are presented, in which RQL behavior is observed and NOx emissions in the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) LTO (Landing and Take-Off) cycle are reduced to 45% of the ICAO CAEP4 (Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection 4) standard. Also the results of successive multi-sector combustor tests to optimize combustion performances with a more practical combustor configuration under the practical conditions are presented. The emission characteristics which are obtained are compared with those of the single-sector tests, and combustor size and configuration, air mass flow ratio and air hole positions are tuned through a series of multi-sector experiments. After the optimization, the combustor achieved the following performances; NOx emissions are reduced to less than 42% of the ICAO CAEP4 standard, CO and THC (Total Hydrocarbon) are reduced to those of 2% and 50% respectively, the lean blowout limit is kept over 220 AFR (Air to Fuel Ratio) at the idle condition and the exit temperature profile at the full load condition is sufficiently uniform (P.T.F.<0.15). The process of optimization will be discussed in this report.Copyright

Preliminary Experimental Research to Develop a Combustor for Small Class Aircraft Engine Utilizing Primary Rich Combustion Approach

A series of experimental researches, including ignition and combustion tests at atmospheric pressure conditions, were conducted to develop a combustor for a small class aircraft engine (with pressure ratio about 20). Under restrictions of the combustor size and cost, in order to satisfy the requirement for ignition and blowout performance with sufficient combustion efficiency and NOx reduction for wide range of operating conditions, we applied single fuel nozzles and utilized the rich-burn-quick quench-lean-burn (RQL) combustion approach. Preliminary combustion tests were conducted to optimize the ignition and blowout characteristics, approximately determining positions of air holes and igniter, and selecting fuel nozzle parameters. Consequently, tubular combustor tests with exhaust gas analysis were also conducted to optimize the air mass flow ratio and the air holes’ positions to suppress NOx emissions. Obtained results showing the RQL characteristics of the combustion, decreasing NOx emissions at high equivalence ratio range, are presented in this report, and the optimized air mass flow ratio and position of air holes, which will be applied to a single sector combustor for the testing at practical pressure and temperature conditions, are also presented.© 2006 ASME

Development of a Liquid-Fueled Dry Low Emissions Combustor for 300kW Class Recuperated Cycle Gas Turbine Engines

The authors have developed a liquid-fueled, low-emissions, and single can combustor for the RGT3R, Niigata’s 300 kW class industrial gas turbine engine, with the goal of satisfying the most stringent environmental requirements for distributed power generation systems in Japan. This paper describes these development efforts, which included non-reacting Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis and component and engine tests. The emissions target is less than 24 ppm nitrogen oxides (NOx), 60 ppm carbon monoxide (CO) and 60 ppm unburned hydrocarbons (UHCs) at dry 15% O2 correction for kerosene, while operating above 50% load. A lean premixed, pre-vaporized, axially staged combustion concept is used to minimize emissions levels to the strictest emissions regulations in urban areas such as Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, Yokohama, and Osaka. This combustion system involves two pilot burners and two main mixture injection tubes that are extending into the combustion chamber to inject lean to ultra-lean premixed mixtures into the hot burned gas from pilot burners. Counter rotational swirl vanes are provided to pilot burners and main mixture injection tubes to prevent flashback into the premixing tubes. The RGT3R gas turbine engine operates smoothly with the developed DLE combustion system from idle to full load without combustion-driven pressure oscillations. A two-stage fuel control system employs liquid fuel supply for the pilot and main atomizers. As this paper describes, the emissions data from this engine meet the emissions goals.© 2005 ASME

Low-NOx Emissions Over an Enlarged Range of Overall Equivalence Ratios by Staged Lean Premixed Tubular Flame Combustion

One of the inherent problems of lean premixed combustion is a narrow range of combustion-zone fuel-air ratios where low NOx emissions and complete combustion can be simultaneously achieved. The use of the reaction of lean to ultra-lean mixtures injected into the hot burned gas produced in the upstream lean-burn combustion zone can alleviate the abovementioned problem. The combustion characteristics of staged model gas turbine combustors with arranging two or three cylindrical swirl combustion chambers in series were investigated at atmospheric pressure. Tubular flame was stabilized in the primary stage and homogeneous mixture was injected into the burned gas from the upstream stage. It is shown that the lean multi-staged premixed tubular flame combustion has a potential to extend the range of gas turbine operation where both complete combustion and ultra-low NOx emissions can be achieved.Copyright