Experimental Investigation of Performance of an Air Blast Atomizer by Planar Laser Sheet Imaging Technique

Author(s):  
Cunxi Liu ◽  
Fuqiang Liu ◽  
Yanhui Mao ◽  
Yong Mu ◽  
Gang Xu

It is widely recognized that the fuel-air mixing process is a critical factor in improving combustion efficiency and in minimizing pollutants such as NOx. Enhancement of fuel-air mixing can lead to lower pollutant emissions and greater efficiency. However, swirling flows in lean combustors play the role of fuel-air mixing and flame stability. The complex fluid dynamic phenomena encountered in swirling two-phase flow contribute to the difficulty in complete understanding of the different processes occurring in combustors. Fortunately, optical and laser-based visualization techniques available in our lab are important nonintrusive tools for visualizing flow process, especially for fuel injection and fuel-air mixing. To provide for a better understanding of effects of counter-rotating flow on droplets in atomization process, this study is a detailed characterization of the spray generated by an airblast atomizer by planar laser sheet imaging method. Optical facility for spray diagnostics with fuel planar laser induced fluorescence (fuel-PLIF) method for fuel distribution and particle image velocimetry (PIV) method for the velocity of droplets is used to evaluate the performance of an airblast atomizer. The results show that the performance of secondary atomization is influenced by swirling flow and primary atomization simultaneously; the swirling flow exhibits significant influence on the droplet size and space distribution relative to that of primary atomization. The primary swirling air reopens the spray cone generated by pressure-swirl atomizer, and the secondary swirling air affects the fuel distribution by forming the recirculation zone. The results provide critical information for the design and development of combustion chambers.

Author(s):  
Cunxi Liu ◽  
Fuqiang Liu ◽  
Yanhui Mao ◽  
Yong Mu ◽  
Gang Xu

It is widely recognized that the fuel/air mixing process is a critical factor in improving combustion efficiency and in minimizing pollutants such as NOx. Enhancement of fuel/air mixing can lead to lower pollutant emissions and greater efficiency. However, swirling flows in lean combustors play the role of fuel/air mixing and flame stability. The complex fluid dynamic phenomena encountered in swirling two-phase flow contribute to the difficulty in complete understanding the different processes occurring in combustors. Fortunately, Optical and laser-based visualization techniques available in our lab are important non-intrusive tools for visualizing flow process, especially for fuel injection and fuel/air mixing. To provide for a better understanding of effects of counter-rotating flow on droplets in atomization process, this study is a detailed characterization of the spray generated by an airblast atomizer by planar laser sheet imaging method. Optical facility for spray diagnostics with fuel Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (fuel-PLIF) method for fuel distribution, and Particle Image Velocity (PIV) method for velocity of droplets, is used to evaluate the performance of an air-blast atomizer. The results show that the performance of secondary atomization is influenced by swirling flow and primary atomization simultaneously, the swirling flow exhibits significant influence on the droplet size and space distribution relative to that of primary atomization. The primary swirling air reopens the spray cone generated by pressure-swirl atomizer, and the secondary swirling air affects the fuel distribution by forming the recirculation zone. The results provide critical information for design and development of combustion chamber.


Author(s):  
Seung-chai Jung ◽  
Siwon Yang ◽  
Shaun Kim ◽  
Ik Soo Kim ◽  
Chul-ju Ahn ◽  
...  

Due to increasing environmental concerns, clean technology has become a key feature in industrial gas turbines. Swirler design is directly associated with the combustion performance for its roles in fuel distribution and flame stability. In this study, the development process of three new conceptual swirlers from Samsung Techwin is presented. Each swirler has unique features to enhance fuel-to-air mixing; Swirler 1 uses tangential air-bypass, Swirler 2 minimizes pressure loss using impeller-like design, and Swirler 3 has combined flow characteristics of axial and radial swirlers. Using extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, lead time and cost in manufacturing the prototypes were significantly reduced. The numerical methods were verified with a lab-scale combustion test; particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement of cold flow, direct flame images, and OH planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) images were compared with result of large-eddy simulation (LES), and they showed good agreement. After design optimization using CFD, full-scale combustion tests were performed for all three swirlers. Flame from each swirler was visualized using a cylindrical quartz liner; direct images and OH chemiluminescence images of flames were obtained. Flame stability and blow-off limit at various air load were examined by gradually lowering the equivalence ratio. NOx and CO concentration were measured at the exhaust. All three swirlers satisfied low NOx and CO levels at the design conditions. The performance maps bounded by the NOx and CO limits and blow-off limit were obtained for all swirlers. Further efforts to maximize the combustors performance will be made.


Author(s):  
Yan Zhao ◽  
Weiwei Shao ◽  
Yan Liu ◽  
Xiaodi Tang ◽  
Yunhan Xiao ◽  
...  

Abstract Swirling flow is widely used in gas turbine burners to promote fuel/air mixing uniformity and to stabilize lean premixed flames. In this study, numerical and experimental methods are utilized to investigate the effects of burner geometry on fuel/air mixing and combustion performance and to optimize the burner geometry. The premixed burner geometry parameters including air swirling angle and fuel injection diameter/angle are modified to achieve fuel/air mixture uniformity. Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) are adopted to examine the flow field, Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) for detecting OH radical distribution thus investigating the characteristics of the reaction field. Burners of different configurations are manufactured to conduct combustion experiments. The burner with the worst mixing performance can‘t ignite successfully. However, burners with better mixing performance have a homogeneous reaction field with less perturbance, and the NOX emission stays at a relatively low level around 2.5 ppm (15% O2) at the designed operating condition.


Computation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Shokri Amzin ◽  
Mohd Fairus Mohd Yasin

As emission legislation becomes more stringent, the modelling of turbulent lean premixed combustion is becoming an essential tool for designing efficient and environmentally friendly combustion systems. However, to predict emissions, reliable predictive models are required. Among the promising methods capable of predicting pollutant emissions with a long chemical time scale, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), is conditional moment closure (CMC). However, the practical application of this method to turbulent premixed flames depends on the precision of the conditional scalar dissipation rate,. In this study, an alternative closure for this term is implemented in the RANS-CMC method. The method is validated against the velocity, temperature, and gas composition measurements of lean premixed flames close to blow-off, within the limit of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) capability. Acceptable agreement is achieved between the predicted and measured values near the burner, with an average error of 15%. The model reproduces the flame characteristics; some discrepancies are found within the recirculation region due to significant turbulence intensity.


Author(s):  
Bo Wang ◽  
Chi Zhang ◽  
Yuzhen Lin ◽  
Xin Hui ◽  
Jibao Li

In order to balance the low emission and wide stabilization for lean premixed prevaporized (LPP) combustion, the centrally staged layout is preferred in advanced aero-engine combustors. However, compared with the conventional combustor, it is more difficult for the centrally staged combustor to light up as the main stage air layer will prevent the pilot fuel droplets arriving at igniter tip. The goal of the present paper is to study the effect of the main stage air on the ignition of the centrally staged combustor. Two cases of the main swirler vane angle of the TeLESS-II combustor, 20 deg and 30 deg are researched. The ignition results at room inlet temperature and pressure show that the ignition performance of the 30 deg vane angle case is better than that of the 20 deg vane angle case. High-speed camera, planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF), and computational fluids dynamics (CFD) are used to better understand the ignition results. The high-speed camera has recorded the ignition process, indicated that an initial kernel forms just adjacent the liner wall after the igniter is turned on, the kernel propagates along the radial direction to the combustor center and begins to grow into a big flame, and then it spreads to the exit of the pilot stage, and eventually stabilizes the flame. CFD of the cold flow field coupled with spray field is conducted. A verification of the CFD method has been applied with PLIF measurement, and the simulation results can qualitatively represent the experimental data in terms of fuel distribution. The CFD results show that the radial dimensions of the primary recirculation zone of the two cases are very similar, and the dominant cause of the different ignition results is the vapor distribution of the fuel. The concentration of kerosene vapor of the 30 deg vane angle case is much larger than that of the 20 deg vane angle case close to the igniter tip and along the propagation route of the kernel, therefore, the 30 deg vane angle case has a better ignition performance. For the consideration of the ignition performance, a larger main swirler vane angle of 30 deg is suggested for the better fuel distribution when designing a centrally staged combustor.


2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Shaiful Ashrul Ishak ◽  
Mohammad Nazri Mohd Jaafar

The main purpose of this paper is to study the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) prediction on CO-NO formation production inside the combustor close to burner throat while varying the swirl angle of the radial swirler. Air swirler adds sufficient swirling to the inlet flow to generate central recirculation region (CRZ) which is necessary for flame stability and fuel air mixing enhancement. Therefore, designing an appropriate air swirler is a challenge to produce stable, efficient and low emission combustion with low pressure losses. A liquid fuel burner system with different radial air swirler with 280 mm inside diameter combustor of 1000 mm length has been investigated. Analysis were carried out using four different radial air swirlers having 30°, 40°, 50° and 60° vane angles. The flow behavior was investigated numerically using CFD solver Ansys Fluent. This study has provided characteristic insight into the formation and production of CO and pollutant NO inside the combustion chamber. Results show that the swirling action is augmented with the increase in the swirl angle, which leads to increase in the center core reverse flow, therefore reducing the CO and pollutant NO formation. The outcome of this work will help in finding out the optimum swirling angle which will lead to less emission.  


Author(s):  
Shaji S. Manipurath

The development of higher thermal stability fuels and the development of onboard fuel deoxygenation systems may permit the preheating of fuel up to about 755 K before the onset of pyrolysis. At a sufficiently high fuel temperature for a given combustion chamber pressure, the flash vaporization of liquid or supercritical state fuel can ensue upon injection into the chamber. The performance of standard aviation turbine engine fuel nozzles, designed for mechanically breaking up liquid sprays, may thus be significantly altered by the employment of severely preheated fuel. An evaluation of heated and superheated Jet A-1 sprays from a pressure-swirl atomizer was implemented in a purpose-built test facility. Laser sheet imaging of the spray yielded simultaneous axial cross-sectional maps of Mie-scatter and fluorescence signals. In addition, particle image velocimetry was also used to measure the spray droplet velocity-field. The results indicated that increasing the fuel’s dimensionless level of superheat ΔT* from −1.8 to 0.6 yielded significant changes in the spray structure; specifically, finer droplet sizes, a more uniform dropsize distribution across the spray, increased spray cone angle till about ΔT* = −0.8 followed by a contraction thereafter, marginally increased spray penetration, and significantly higher localised near nozzle tip droplet velocities. The measurements supported the hypothesis that the initial hollow-cone spray structure evolves to a near solid-cone structure with a central vapour core as the fuel is superheated.


Energetika ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harun Yilmaz ◽  
Omer Cam ◽  
Ilker Yilmaz

Swirling flows increase combustion performance via favouring flame stability, pollutant emissions, and combustion intensity. The strength of a swirling flow is characterized by a parameter known as swirl number, which is highly related to the dh/do ratio. In this study, effects of the swirler dh/do ratio on combustion and emission characteristics of the synthetic gas flames of premixed 20%CNG/30%H2/30%CO/20%CO2 mixture were experimentally investigated in a laboratory-scale swirl stabilized combustor. For this purpose, twelve different swirl generators were designed and manufactured. dh/do ratios of these swirlers were set as 0.30 and 0.50, and the geometric swirl number was varied between the values of 0.4 and 1.4 (at 0.2 intervals). All experiments were conducted at a fuel-lean equivalence ratio (ϕ = 0.6), room temperature, and local atmospheric conditions of the city of Kayseri, Turkey. A data logger was utilized to plot axial and radial temperatures and NOx, CO, and CO2 profiles, which were exploited to assess combustion and emission performance. Results showed that the dh/do ratio had a non-monotonic effect on the behaviour of combustion and emission of the tested synthetic gas mixture. Depending on the swirl number, increments and decrements were observed in temperature and emission values.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ciani ◽  
J. P. Wood ◽  
M. Maurer ◽  
B. Bunkute ◽  
D. Pennell ◽  
...  

Abstract Modern gas turbines call for an ultra-high firing temperature and fuel flexibility while keeping emissions at very low levels. Sequential combustion has demonstrated its advantages toward such ambitious targets. A sequential combustion system, as deployed in the GT26 and GT36 engines, consists of two burners in series, the first one optimized to provide the optimum boundary condition for the second one, the sequential burner. This is the key component for the achievement of the required combustor performance dictated by F and H class engines, including versatile and robust operation with hydrogen-based fuels. This paper describes the key development considerations used to establish a new sequential burner surpassing state-of-the-art hardware in terms of emission reduction, fuel flexibility and load flexibility. A novel multi-point injector geometry was deployed based on combustion and fluid dynamic considerations to maximize fuel / air mixing quality at minimum pressure loss. Water channel experiments complemented by CFD describe the evolution of the fuel / air mixture fraction through the mixing section and combustion chamber to enable operation with major NOx reduction. Furthermore, Laser Doppler Anemometry and Laser Induced Fluorescence were used to best characterize the interaction between hot-air and fuel and the fuel / air mixing in the most critical regions of the system. To complete the overview of the key development steps, mechanical integrity and manufacturing considerations based on additive manufacturing are also presented. The outcome of 1D, CFD and fluid dynamic experimental findings were then validated through full-scale, full-pressure combustion tests. These demonstrate the novel Center Body Burner is enabling operation at lower emissions, both at part load and full load conditions. Furthermore, the validation of the burner was also extended to hydrogen-based fuels with a variety of hydrogen / natural gas blends.


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