Experimental Study on Combustion Characteristics of Conventional and Alternative Liquid Fuels

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlade Vukadinovic ◽  
Peter Habisreuther ◽  
Nikolaos Zarzalis
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Burning Velocity ◽  
Turbulent Flame ◽  
Combustion Characteristics ◽  
Flame Velocity ◽  
Laser Method ◽  
Markstein Number

Gas turbine combustor design relies strongly on the turbulent flame velocity over the whole turbine operation range. Due to the fact that turbulent flame velocity depends strongly on the laminar one, its characterisation at different thermodynamic conditions is necessary for further optimisation of gas turbines. The Markstein number, which quantifies the response of the flame to the stretch, also has to be considered. Additionally, the Markstein number can be utilised as an indicator for laminar and turbulent flame front stability. The current attempts to replace conventional fuels, such as kerosene, with alternative ones, obtrude their comparison in order to find the most appropriate substitute. Additionally, significant differences in the flame behaviour, which could be recognised through different combustion characteristics, can lead to modification of currently used gas turbine design. Even so, the experimental data of alternative fuels are scarce, especially at elevated pressure conditions. So, the combustion characteristics, laminar burning velocity and Markstein number of kerosene Jet A-1 and several alternative fuels (GTL and GTL blends) are investigated experimentally in an explosion vessel. For this purpose an optical laser method is employed based on the Mie-scattering of the laser light by smoke particles. Within this experimental study the influence of three crucial parameters: initial temperature, initial pressure and mixture composition on the burning velocity and Markstein number are investigated. The experiments were performed at three different pressures 1, 2, 4bar; three different temperatures 100°C, 150°C, 200°C; and for a range of equivalence ratio 0.67–1.67. The observed results are compared and discussed in detail.

Experimental Study on Combustion Characteristics of Conventional and Alternative Liquid Fuels

2012 ◽  
Vol 134 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlade Vukadinovic ◽  
Peter Habisreuther ◽  
Nikolaos Zarzalis
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Burning Velocity ◽  
Turbulent Flame ◽  
Combustion Characteristics ◽  
Flame Velocity ◽  
Laser Method ◽  
Markstein Number

Gas turbine combustor design relies strongly on the turbulent flame velocity over the whole turbine operation range. Due to the fact that turbulent flame velocity depends strongly on the laminar one, its characterization at different thermodynamic conditions is necessary for further optimization of gas turbines. The Markstein number, which quantifies the response of the flame to the stretch, also has to be considered. Additionally, the Markstein number can be utilized as an indicator for laminar and turbulent flame front stability. Current attempts to replace conventional fuels, such as kerosene, with alternative ones, obtrude their comparison in order to find the most appropriate substitute. Additionally, significant differences in the flame behavior, which could be recognized through different combustion characteristics, can lead to modification of currently used gas turbine design. Even so, the experimental data of alternative fuels are scarce, especially at elevated pressure conditions. So, the combustion characteristics, laminar burning velocity, and Markstein number of kerosene Jet A-1 and several alternative fuels (gas to liquid (GTL) and GTL blends) are investigated experimentally in an explosion vessel. For this purpose an optical laser method is employed based on the Mie-scattering of the laser light by smoke particles. Within this experimental study the influence of three crucial parameters, initial temperature, initial pressure, and mixture composition on the burning velocity and Markstein number, are investigated. The experiments are performed at three different pressures 1, 2, and 4 bar; three different temperatures 100 °C, 150 °C, and 200 °C; and for a range of equivalence ratio 0.67–1.67. The observed results are compared and discussed in detail.

Experimental Study on the Influence of Pressure and Temperature on the Burning Velocity and Markstein Number of Jet A-1 Kerosene

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlade Vukadinovic ◽  
Peter Habisreuther ◽  
Nikolaos Zarzalis
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Flame Front ◽  
Laminar Flame ◽  
Burning Velocity ◽  
Laminar Burning Velocity ◽  
Laser Method ◽  
Gaseous State ◽  
Markstein Number ◽  
Laminar Flame Front ◽  
Front Stability

For accurate prediction of the laminar flame front propagation the influence of the stretch effect on the burning velocity has to be considered. Thus, only burning velocity and Markstein number together give complete information about the laminar flame front behavior. The Markstein number quantifies the influence of the stretch effect on the burning velocity and accordingly, indicates the flame front stability. Due to the analogy between the laminar and the turbulent flames these two parameters, laminar burning velocity and Markstein number must be also considered as essential for describing the turbulent flame front stability [1]. Nevertheless, the experimental data of commercial liquid fuels regarding these parameters are scarce, especially at elevated pressure. Combustion characteristics (laminar burning velocity and Markstein number) of Kerosene Jet A-1 are investigated experimentally in an explosion bomb vessel. For this purpose an optical laser method is employed based on the Mie-scattering of the laser light by smoke particles. Unlike analogous experiments conducted with gaseous fuels [1], the major challenge connected with the present experiments arises from the liquid state of the investigated fuel at ambient condition. Thus, a main difficulty in the present experiments is pre-evaporation of the fuel and achieving of homogeneous gaseous fuel/air mixture prior to ignition. This is solved by mounting a heating system into the walls of the bomb vessel that provides a homogeneous temperature distribution in the vessel and therewith of the mixture itself. The experimental investigation is practically done through the following steps: heating the vessel up to the requested temperature; filling the vessel with an appropriate mixture by the partial pressure method (providing a fuel in gaseous state through the liquid fuel injection and its instantaneous evaporation due to the elevated temperature); attaining an uniform mixture by means of fans; ignition and acquisition of the data; post-processing and data analyses. Within the experimental study influence on the burning velocity and Markstein number of three crucial parameters — initial temperature, initial pressure and mixture composition — are investigated. Observed results for the burning velocity and Markstein number follow the theoretically expected tendencies resulting from the variation of the initial parameters in almost all cases. Where that was not the case the reasons for discrepancies are discussed. Impact of the results on emissions influenced by different operating modes of jet turbines is considered. Due to the common substitution of the kerosene with n-decane in numerical simulations their burning velocities are compared.

Experimental and numerical study of flame structure and emissions in a micro gas turbine combustor

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vedant Dwivedi ◽  
Srikanth Hari ◽  
S. M. Kumaran ◽  
B. V. S. S. S. Prasad ◽  
Vasudevan Raghavan
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Emission Characteristics ◽  
Nitric Oxides ◽  
Gas Turbine Combustor ◽  
Micro Gas Turbine

Abstract Experimental and numerical study of flame and emission characteristics in a tubular micro gas turbine combustor is reported. Micro gas turbines are used for distributed power (DP) generation using alternative fuels in rural areas. The combustion and emission characteristics from the combustor have to be studied for proper design using different fuel types. In this study methane, representing fossil natural gas, and biogas, a renewable fuel that is a mixture of methane and carbon-dioxide, are used. Primary air flow (with swirl component) and secondary aeration have been varied. Experiments have been conducted to measure the exit temperatures. Turbulent reactive flow model is used to simulate the methane and biogas flames. Numerical results are validated against the experimental data. Parametric studies to reveal the effects of primary flow, secondary flow and swirl have been conducted and results are systematically presented. An analysis of nitric-oxides emission for different fuels and operating conditions has been presented subsequently.

Combustion Characteristics of Isolated Free-Falling Droplets of Jet A Blended With Ethanol and Butanol

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Álvaro Muelas ◽  
Pilar Remacha ◽  
Javier Ballester
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Droplet Diameter ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Combustion Characteristics ◽  
Shell Size ◽  
Pure Ethanol ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Burning Rates ◽  
Alcohol Mixtures

Recent studies on experimental gas turbines suggest that the addition of ethanol or butanol to Jet A are viable alternatives for reducing CO and NOx emissions while maintaining similar performance to that of pure Jet A. In light of this potential, experimental data regarding the burning characteristics of Jet A/ethanol and Jet A/butanol blends are required in order to better understand their combustion process. Following a previous study on Jet A/butanol droplet combustion, the scope has been extended in order to also include ethanol and a Jet A/ethanol mixture as well as to perform a more detailed characterization. In this work the combustion characteristics of Jet A, butanol, ethanol and their mixtures (20% vol. alcohol in kerosene) are presented for different test conditions. The evaluated combustion characteristics include droplet, flame and soot shell size evolutions, burning rates and image-based soot estimations. The influence of oxygen availability is also ascertained. The evolution of droplet diameter and burning rates for Jet A and its blends with both alcohols are very similar, whereas pure ethanol and butanol display more distinct behaviors. Soot indices are found to be quite different, with a clear reduction in the sooting propensity of the Jet A/alcohol mixtures when compared to neat kerosene. These results support the feasibility of kerosene-alcohol mixtures as promising alternative fuels with similar combustion characteristics, but with much lower sooting propensity than pure kerosene.

Numerical Simulation for the Preliminary Design of Fuel Flexible Stationary Gas Turbine Combustors Using Conventional and Alternative Fuels

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Washington Orlando Irrazabal Bohorquez ◽  
João Roberto Barbosa ◽  
Rob Johan Maria Bastiaans ◽  
Philip de Goey
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Gas Turbine Combustor ◽  
Primary Zone

Currently, high efficiency and low emissions are most important requisites for the design of modern gas turbines due to the strong environmental restrictions around the world. In the past years, alternative fuels have been considered for application in industrial gas turbines. Therefore, combustor performance, pollutant emissions and the ability to burn several fuels became of much concern and high priority has been given to the combustor design. This paper describes a methodology focused on the design of stationary gas turbines combustion chambers with the ability to efficiently burn conventional and alternative fuels. A simplified methodology is used for the calculations of the equilibrium temperature and chemical species in the primary zone of a gas turbine combustor. Direct fuel injection and diffusion flames, together with numerical methods like Newton-Raphson, LU Factorization and Lagrange Polynomials, are used for the calculations. Diesel, ethanol and methanol fuels were chosen for the numerical study. A computer code sequentially calculates the main geometry of the combustor. From the numerical simulation it is concluded that the basic gas turbine combustor geometry, for some operating conditions and burning diesel, ethanol or methanol, are of similar sizes, because the development of aerodynamic characteristics predominate over the thermochemical properties. It is worth to note that the type of fuel has a marked effect on the stability and combustion advancement in the combustor. This can be seen when the primary zone is analyzed under a steady-state operating condition. At full power, the pressure is 1.8 MPa and the temperature 1,000 K at the combustor inlet. Then, the equivalence ratios in the primary zone are 1.3933 (diesel), 1.4352 (ethanol) and 1.3977 (methanol) and the equilibrium temperatures for the same operating conditions are 2,809 K (diesel), 2,754 K (ethanol) and 2,702 K (methanol). This means that the combustor can reach similar flame stability conditions, whereas the combustion efficiency will require richer fuel/air mixtures of ethanol or methanol are burnt instead of diesel. Another important result from the numerical study is that the concentration of the main pollutants (CO, CO2, NO, NO2) is reduced when ethanol or methanol are burnt, in place of diesel.

DME as a Potential Alternative Fuel for Gas Turbines: A Numerical Approach to Combustion and Oxidation Kinetics

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre A. Glaude ◽  
Rene´ Fournet ◽  
Roda Bounaceur ◽  
Michel Molie`re
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Heat Input ◽  
Ignition Delay ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Ignition Temperature ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Ignition Delay Times ◽  
Auto Ignition ◽  
Delay Times

Many investigations are currently carried out in order to reduce CO2 emissions in power generation. Among alternative fuels to natural gas and gasoil in gas turbine applications, dimethyl ether (DME; formula: CH3-O-CH3) represents a possible candidate in the next years. This chemical compound can be produced from natural gas or coal/biomass gasification. DME is a good substitute for gasoil in diesel engine. Its Lower Heating Value is close to that of ethanol but it offers some advantages compared to alcohols in terms of stability and miscibility with hydrocarbons. While numerous studies have been devoted to the combustion of DME in diesel engines, results are scarce as far as boilers and gas turbines are concerned. Some safety aspects must be addressed before feeding a combustion device with DME because of its low flash point (as low as −83°C), its low auto-ignition temperature and large domain of explosivity in air. As far as emissions are concerned, the existing literature shows that in non premixed flames, DME produces less NOx than ethane taken as parent molecular structure, based on an equivalent heat input to the burner. During a field test performed in a gas turbine, a change-over from methane to DME led to a higher fuel nozzle temperature but to a lower exhaust gas temperature. NOx emissions decreased over the whole range of heat input studied but a dramatic increase of CO emissions was observed. This work aims to study the combustion behavior of DME in gas turbine conditions with the help of a detailed kinetic modeling. Several important combustion parameters, such as the auto-ignition temperature (AIT), ignition delay times, laminar burning velocities of premixed flames, adiabatic flame temperatures, and the formation of pollutants like CO and NOx have been investigated. These data have been compared with those calculated in the case of methane combustion. The model was built starting from a well validated mechanism taken from the literature and already used to predict the behavior of other alternative fuels. In flame conditions, DME forms formaldehyde as the major intermediate, the consumption of which leads in few steps to CO then CO2. The lower amount of CH2 radicals in comparison with methane flames seems to decrease the possibility of prompt-NO formation. This paper covers the low temperature oxidation chemistry of DME which is necessary to properly predict ignition temperatures and auto-ignition delay times that are important parameters for safety.

Development and Experimental Investigation of a Tubular Combustor for Pyrolysis Oil Burning

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Beran ◽  
Lars-Uno Axelsson
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Droplet Size ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
Pyrolysis Oil ◽  
Load Range ◽  
Air Blast

The growing demand for more economical and environmentally friendly power generation forces the industry to search for fuels that can replace the conventional fossil fuels. This has led to significant developments in the production of alternative fuels during the last years, which have made them a reliable and relatively efficient source of energy. One example of these alternative fuels is the pyrolysis oil. However, higher viscosity, lower heat content, limited chemical stability and its ability to create sediment make pyrolysis oil challenging for gas turbines. The OPRA OP16 gas turbine is an all radial single-shaft gas turbine rated at 1.9 MW. The all radial design, together with the lack of intricate cooling geometries in the hot section, makes this gas turbine suitable for operation on these fuels. This paper presents an experimental investigation of pyrolysis oil combustion in a tubular combustor developed especially for low-calorific fuels. The experiments have been performed in an atmospheric combustion test rig and the results have been compared to the results obtained from ethanol and diesel combustion. It was found that it was possible to burn pure pyrolysis oil in the load range between 70 to 100% with a combustion efficiency exceeding 99% and without creation of sediments on the combustor inner wall. It was found that the NOx emissions were similar for pyrolysis oil and diesel, whereas the CO emissions were twice as high for pyrolysis oil. A comparison between the air blast nozzle and the pressure nozzle was performed. The air blast nozzle was found to be more suitable due to its better performance over a wider operating range and that it is more resistant to erosion and abrasion. It was found that the maximum allowed droplet size of the pyrolysis oil spray should be about 50–70% of the droplet size for diesel fuel.

The Challenges Facing the Utility Gas Turbine

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Juergen Kiesow ◽  
Gerard McQuiggan
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Future Price ◽  
Electricity Supply ◽  
Market Place ◽  
Capital Costs

The object of this paper will be to examine the market place and some of the consequential technical challenges facing large frame utility gas turbines (greater than 100MW’s) over the next decade. The significant and rapid increase in the price of oil and gas and restrictions in fuel and electricity supply are posing many obstacles to the successful application of the gas turbine in the electricity supply market in both North America and worldwide. The paper will examine the historical background leading up to these changes and will discuss the predicted future price levels for gas turbine fuels. Alternative fuels will also be discussed. The paper will also discuss the challenges facing the large frame gas turbine with respect to the technical improvements that will be required to lower emissions and capital costs, while improving efficiency and potentially capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the combustion characteristics of isolated droplets of Jet A blended with ethanol and butanol

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Ballester ◽  
Álvaro Muelas ◽  
Pilar Remacha
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Droplet Diameter ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Combustion Characteristics ◽  
The Other ◽  
Combustion Properties ◽  
Alcohol Mixtures ◽  
Free Falling ◽  
Scarce Data

In light of the potential of ethanol and butanol as alternative fuels for blending with conventional kerosene in gasturbine engines, experimental data regarding the burning characteristics of these blends are required in order tobetter understand their combustion process. In this study, free-falling droplets of Jet A, ethanol, butanol and theirmixtures (20% alcohol in Jet A by volume) were examined in a combustion chamber which providesrepresentative conditions of real flames, both in terms of temperature and oxygen availability. Results show thatthe evolution of droplet diameter for Jet A and its blends with both alcohols are very similar, regardless of theobvious compositional differences. On the other hand, sooting behaviors are found to be quite different, with aclear reduction in the sooting propensity of the Jet A/alcohol mixtures when compared to neat kerosene. Theseresults are consistent with previous studies in gas turbines, suggesting that such blends are viable alternativefuels with similar combustion characteristics to Jet A, but with much less propensity to produce soot. Moreover,this study provides new results on the combustion properties of Jet A/ethanol and Jet A/butanol mixtures, forwhich very scarce data exist in the open literature.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/ILASS2017.2017.4990

scholarly journals Experimental Study on High Pressure Combustion of Decomposed Ammonia: How Can Ammonia Be Best Used in a Gas Turbine?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Ditaranto ◽  
Inge Saanum ◽  
Jenny Larfeldt
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
High Pressure ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Favourable Effect ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Nox Formation ◽  
Fuel Blends ◽  
Combustion Properties ◽  
Fuel Mixtures

Abstract Hydrogen, a carbon-free fuel, is a challenging gas to transport and store, but that can be solved by producing ammonia, a worldwide commonly distributed chemical. Ideally, ammonia should be used directly on site as a fuel, but it has many combustion shortcomings, with a very low reactivity and a high propensity to generate NOx. Alternatively, ammonia could be decomposed back to a mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen which has better combustion properties, but at the expense of an endothermal reaction. Between these two options, a trade off could be a partial decomposition where the end use fuel is a mixture of ammonia, hydrogen, and nitrogen. We present an experimental study aiming at finding optimal NH3-H2-N2 fuel blends to be used in gas turbines and provide manufacturers with guidelines for their use in retrofit and new combustion applications. The industrial burner considered in this study is a small-scale Siemens burner used in the SGT-750 gas turbine, tested in the SINTEF high pressure combustion facility. The overall behaviour of the burner in terms of stability and emissions is characterized as a function of fuel mixtures corresponding to partial and full decomposition of ammonia. It is found that when ammonia is present in the fuel, the NOx emissions although high can be limited if the primary flame zone is operated fuel rich. Increasing pressure has shown to have a strong and favourable effect on NOx formation. When ammonia is fully decomposed to 75% H2 and 25% N2, the opposite behaviour is observed. In conclusion, either low rate or full decomposition are found to be the better options.

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