Combustion Characteristics of a Micro Gas Turbine Combustor With Gamma-Shaped Porous Media Dome

Author(s):  
Liang Zhang ◽  
Chi Zhang ◽  
Xin Xue ◽  
Peihua Lin ◽  
Yuzhen Lin

During the past decade, increasing interest has been shown in micro gas turbines for the high-power and high-energy density. However, due to the small characteristic scale, it is still a key problem to ensure safe and reliable operation of the micro-combustor. A new micro gas turbine combustor with a Γ-shaped porous media dome was investigated in this paper. The volume of the combustor is 2.7 cm3. Dual-zone combustion (combustion zone and dilution zone) was adopted in the combustor. Combustion characteristics of the micro-combustor with different total air mass flow and total equivalence ratios were investigated by experiments at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. The results show that the relationship between liner pressure-loss and total air mass flow cannot be fit by a polynomial due to porous media and dilution holes combined influence. The ratio of airflow across porous media dome to total air mass flow increased with increasing total air mass flow. Stable combustion was obtained in this micro combustor as the air mass flow rate was in the range of 0.15∼1.2 g/s. With the increasing total air mass flow, the total equivalence ratios of lean ignition and blow-out limits decreased first, then increased. The exit gas temperature as high as 1460 K and power density 636 MW/m3 were achieved at the total equivalence ratio of 0.5, and total air flow rate of 1.2 g/s, the overall efficiency reached 98.5% in this condition. The results showed that safe and reliable operation can be achieved in this new micro gas turbine combustor with high overall efficiency.

Author(s):  
Timothy J. Erdmann ◽  
David L. Burrus ◽  
Alejandro M. Briones ◽  
Scott D. Stouffer ◽  
Brent A. Rankin ◽  
...  

One of the challenges of gas turbine combustor research is to accurately measure and model air mass flow rates through complex air injection schemes. Accurate measurements and computations of air mass flow rates are necessary for determining air and fuel distributions, which influence a range of combustor operation and performance characteristics. Experimental and computational studies were performed on a representative gas turbine combustor swirler. The swirler geometry consists of four component flows: two co-rotating annular axial swirls, one radial swirl, and cooling on the periphery of the swirler. The purpose of this study is to compare measured and computed air mass flow rates in a realistic swirler with a complex geometry and to quantify the magnitude of the interaction effects between air passages. The measurements of the air mass flow rates were performed using a calibrated air flow stand. The computations were performed using commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tools. Comparisons between measured and computed air mass flow rates show good agreement for the individual and total flow configurations. Significant interaction effects among the swirling flows are observed when all of the air passages are open. The radial swirl mass flow rate decreases by 2.7% and the outer axial swirl mass flow rate increases by 3.8% when the individual component flow configuration is compared to the total flow configuration. The computed mass flow rates demonstrate that the interactions among the swirl flows create a significant change in mass flow distribution within the swirler.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Carcasci ◽  
Lapo Cheli ◽  
Pietro Lubello ◽  
Lorenzo Winchler

This paper presents an off-design analysis of a gas turbine Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) combined cycle. Combustion turbine performances are significantly affected by fluctuations in ambient conditions, leading to relevant variations in the exhaust gases’ mass flow rate and temperature. The effects of the variation of ambient air temperature have been considered in the simulation of the topper cycle and of the condenser in the bottomer one. Analyses have been performed for different working fluids (toluene, benzene and cyclopentane) and control systems have been introduced on critical parameters, such as oil temperature and air mass flow rate at the condenser fan. Results have highlighted similar power outputs for cycles based on benzene and toluene, while differences as high as 34% have been found for cyclopentane. The power output trend with ambient temperature has been found to be influenced by slope discontinuities in gas turbine exhaust mass flow rate and temperature and by the upper limit imposed on the air mass flow rate at the condenser as well, suggesting the importance of a correct sizing of the component in the design phase. Overall, benzene-based cycle power output has been found to vary between 4518 kW and 3346 kW in the ambient air temperature range considered.


Author(s):  
Shuai Shao ◽  
Qinghua Deng ◽  
Zhenping Feng

In this paper, an aerodynamic optimization of the radial inflow turbine for a 100kW-class micro gas turbine is conducted based on the metamodel-semi-assisted idea. The idea is applied by first using the metamodel as a rapid exploration tool and then switching to the accurate optimization without metamodel for further exploration of the design space [1]. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is used to drive the optimization process and the BP neural network is used to construct the metamodel. The optimization of this radial inflow turbine is divided into two parts, the stator optimization and the rotor optimization. The stator optimization is based on the accurate optimization strategy. The minimum total pressure loss of the stator and the maximum isentropic total-to-static efficiency of the stage are considered as the objective functions with constant mass flow rate as a constraint. The rotor optimization is conducted through the metamodel-semi-assisted idea. The maximum power output and isentropic total-to-static efficiency of the stage are considered as objective functions while keeping the mass flow rate to be constant. The accurate optimization system is demonstrated to be effective for the stator optimization, and the total pressure loss is reduced by 11.6% while the mass flow rate variation is less than 1%. The rotor optimization is conducted based on the metamodel-semi-assisted optimization and the results confirm the effectiveness of this new idea. The output power of the rotor increased by 1.5%, the isentropic total-to-static efficiency of the stage increased by 1.19% and the mass flow variation is less than 1%.


Author(s):  
Mahmood Lahroodi ◽  
A. A. Mozafari

This paper presents an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) - based modeling technique for prediction of outlet temperature, pressure and mass flow rate of gas turbine combustor. ANN technique has been developed and used to model temperature, pressure and mass flow rate as a nonlinear function of fuel flow rate to the combustion chamber. Results obtained by present modeling are compared with those obtained by experiment. A quantitative analysis of modeling technique has been carried out using different evaluation indices; namely, Mean-Square-Quantization-Error (MSQE) and actual percentage error. The results show the effectiveness and capability of the proposed modeling technique with reasonable accuracies of about 95 percent.


Author(s):  
C. Buratto ◽  
A. Carandina ◽  
M. Morini ◽  
C. Pavan ◽  
M. Pinelli ◽  
...  

In this paper, a test rig for experimentation on a micro gas turbine is presented. The test rig consists of a micro gas turbine Solar T-62T-32, which, coupled with a 50 kVA alternator, can supply electrical energy to a calibrated resistive load bank. Particular attention is paid to the design of the inlet duct for the mass flow rate measurement. The basic issue was to create the intake duct for a micro gas turbine (MGT) test rig, in order to provide precise data about the mass flow rate and the thermodynamic air characteristics in the MGT inlet section. The inlet duct is also designed in order to allow future tests on inlet cooling technologies. The MGT is incorporated in a chassis for noise reduction, the dimensions of which are 540 mm (height), 570 mm (width) and 940 mm (length). These small dimensions lead to problems with the insertion of the duct. Moreover, the intake of the compressor is not axial but radial, and this means that a volute must be foreseen to convey the flux into the MGT. Several shapes of volute are analyzed in this paper, considering the effects on the pressure loss and the induction of turbulence. The challenge was to develop a fluid-dynamically efficient duct with the hindrance of a very small available space between the compressor casing, the gearbox and the fuel pipes inside the narrow noise-reduction chassis. The mass flow rate will be computed by means of the differential static pressure between the upstream and the downstream section of a Venturi tube. The choice of a Venturi was due to the fact that it produces a pressure loss lower than any other device, such as orifice plates or other nozzle shapes. Furthermore, the expected mass flow rate would lead to high fluid speeds and, as a consequence, the diameter ratio between the duct and the throat of the Venturi was chosen to be as high as possible.


Author(s):  
Balbina Hampel ◽  
Stefan Bauer ◽  
Norbert Heublein ◽  
Christoph Hirsch ◽  
Thomas Sattelmayer

In recent years, renewable energy technologies have received increasing attention. However, the constant availability of renewable energies is not predictable, so that technologies for excess energy storage become increasingly important. One possibility for the technical implementation of such a storage technology is to bind hydrogen, produced using this excess energy, to liquid organic compounds, so-called Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC), where hydrogen is bound to a H2-lean LOHC molecule in an exothermal hydrogenation reaction. The dehydrogenation process releases the stored hydrogen in an endothermal reaction. This technology offers advantages such as storage and transport safety, along with the high energy density. LOHC systems can assist in the realization of future distributed energy supply networks, as well. Micro gas turbines (MGT) play an important role in distributed energy supply, so that the coupling of a hydrogen fueled MGT with a reactor for the dehydrogenation process is a desirable achievement. In such a combined system, the excess exhaust enthalpy can be used to maintain the endothermal dehydrogenation reaction without affecting the overall efficiency of the gas turbine. This paper investigates the feasibility of a direct coupling between a hydrogen fueled recuperated micro gas turbine and the dehydrogenation process using the excess exhaust heat. For this purpose, a numerical simulation based on energy balances and thermodynamic equilibrium is implemented to model the process. Primary criteria for the evaluation of the process feasibility are the MGTs exhaust gas temperature, the exhaust gas mass flow rate, and the LOHC mass flow rate through the dehydrogenation unit. These three parameters specify the mass flow rate of LOHC, which can be dehydrogenated and thus, the mass flow rate of released hydrogen. Using the implemented numerical model, the suitability of two different LOHCs, N-Ethylcarbazole and an industrial heat transfer oil is investigated at two different pressure levels with respect to thermodynamic feasibility and process efficiency. The results show that the usable excess enthalpy in the exhaust gas of the investigated Turbec T100 MGT is sufficient to release enough hydrogen for re-use as fuel in the micro turbine process for three of the four investigated cases.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hwi-Ung Choi ◽  
Kwang-Hwan Choi

In the present work, the electrical and thermal performances of a newly designed PV/T (photovoltaic/thermal) air collector, which was proposed and fabricated by the author, have been investigated experimentally in the natural weather conditions. The PV/T air collector has a single-pass double-flow air channel. Also, a non-uniform cross-section transverse rib was attached at the back surface of the PV (photovoltaic) module to improve the heat transfer performance between the PV module and flowing air. The experiment was carried out in an outdoor field on a clear day with various air mass flow rates ranges from 0.0198 kg/s to 0.07698 kg/s. In the results, it was found that the average thermal efficiency of the PV/T collector increased from 35.2% to 56.72% as the air mass flow rate increased. The average electrical efficiency also increased from 14.23% to 14.81% with an increase in an air mass flow rate, but the effect of air mass flow rate on the increase in electrical efficiency was inconsiderable. The average overall efficiency, which represents the sum of electrical and thermal efficiencies, was in the range of 49.44% to 71.54% and it increased as the air mass flow rate increased. The maximum value of average overall efficiency during the test period was found to be 71.54% at an air mass flow rate of 0.07698 kg/s. From the results, it was confirmed that the newly designed PV/T air collector provides a significant enhancement in solar energy utilization.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirubakaran V. ◽  
Naren Shankar R.

Purpose This paper aims to predict the effect of combustor inlet area ratio (CIAR) on the lean blowout limit (LBO) of a swirl stabilized can-type micro gas turbine combustor having a thermal capacity of 3 kW. Design/methodology/approach The blowout limits of the combustor were predicted predominantly from numerical simulations by using the average exit gas temperature (AEGT) method. In this method, the blowout limit is determined from characteristics of the average exit gas temperature of the combustion products for varying equivalence. The CIAR value considered in this study ranges from 0.2 to 0.4 and combustor inlet velocities range from 1.70 to 6.80 m/s. Findings The LBO equivalence ratio decreases gradually with an increase in inlet velocity. On the other hand, the LBO equivalence ratio decreases significantly especially at low inlet velocities with a decrease in CIAR. These results were backed by experimental results for a case of CIAR equal to 0.2. Practical implications Gas turbine combustors are vulnerable to operate on lean equivalence ratios at cruise flight to avoid high thermal stresses. A flame blowout is the main issue faced in lean operations. Based on literature and studies, the combustor lean blowout performance significantly depends on the primary zone mass flow rate. By incorporating variable area snout in the combustor will alter the primary zone mass flow rates by which the combustor will experience extended lean blowout limit characteristics. Originality/value This is a first effort to predict the lean blowout performance on the variation of combustor inlet area ratio on gas turbine combustor. This would help to extend the flame stability region for the gas turbine combustor.


Author(s):  
Massimiliano Renzi ◽  
Carlo Caligiuri ◽  
Mosè Rossi

In this work, the performances of a 100 kW Micro Gas Turbine (MGT) fed by Natural Gas (NG) and three different biomass-derived Synthesis Gases (SGs) have been assessed using a MATLAB® simulation algorithm. The set of equations in the algorithm includes the thermodynamic transformations of the working fluid in each component, the performance maps that describe the turbomachines’ isentropic efficiencies and pressure ratios as a function of the reduced mass flow rate and the reduced rotational speed, the performance and the pressure losses in each component, as well as the consumption of the other auxiliary devices. The electric power output, achieved using SGs, turns out to be lower or higher with respect to the one produced with the NG, depending on the fuel Lower Heating Value (LHV) but also largely on the variation of the working fluid composition. In this work, the effect of the steam injection on the MGT performance characteristics has been also investigated. Steam injection allows to obtain higher power and efficiencies using both NG and SGs at the rated rotational speed, mainly thanks to the increase of the turbine enthalpy drop and the reduction of the compressor consumption. Attention must be paid to the risk of the compressor stall, especially when using SGs, as the mass flow rate processed by the compressor decreases significantly. Moreover, another advantage of adopting the steam injection technique lies in the increased flexibility of the system: according to the users’ needs, the discharged heat can be exploited to generate steam, thus to enhance the electric performances, or to supply thermal power.


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