The combustion tuning methodology of an industrial gas turbine using a sensitivity analysis

This paper presents the results of combustion performance testing of a 5.25 MWe industrial gas turbine which features a conical counter-flow double-swirl stabilized, premixed combustor and the Combustion Tuning methodology using a Sensitivity Analysis (abbreviated to CTSA). The combustion performance test was conducted in an atmospheric pressure, optically accessible, real engine scale combustor. The atmospheric rig and real engine correlation was verified by comparing real engine data which were gathered from high pressure tests. NOx and CO emissions, combustor temperature at the fuel nozzle, dump plane and exhaust, dynamic pressure and flame structure, using planer laser induced fluorescence, were investigated with respect to power load and ambient temperature. To enhance the NOx and CO emission performances with stable combustion, the relative sensitivities of five control parameters were analyzed, and on the basis of sensitivity analysis data, combustion tuning testing was conducted. By using the CTSA, NOx emission in exhaust gas was reduced from 18 to 2.2 ppm at base load, with high combustion efficiency (>99.9%), and very little pressure fluctuation (P_rms < 0.1 kPa).     

Liquid fuels spray and combustion characteristics in a new micro gas turbine combustion chamber design

Experimental nozzle spray analysis of different nozzle sizes was performed to investigate the effect of the spray profile on combustion quality. Detailed numerical investigation analysis investigated the effect of discrete phase model (DPM) on liquid fuel atomization and combustion characteristics. Four injectors of 2.98, 5.95, 8.93, and 11.90 kg/h nominal capacities numbered from 1 to 4 were tested on new micro gas turbine (MGT) chamber designed especially for liquid biofuels. The fuel was tested in the range of 2.36 to 9.43 kg/h achieving stable turbine operation in the pressure range of 0.1 to 1 bar. Stable operation was achieved for injector number 2 in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 bar compared with 0.2 to 0.6 bar for injector number 3 and 0.5 to 1 bar for injector number 4, while the smallest injector number 1 was not operational above 0.1 bar. The experimental results produced favourable low CO emissions of 95 ppm, NO_x emission of 31 ppm, and average turbine inlet temperature (TIT) of 1316 K at maximum pressure. The numerical simulation with DPM using similar injector and operating conditions showed good agreement with the experimental results averaging CO emissions of 99 ppm and NO_x of 13 ppm at TIT of 1329 K.     

重型燃气轮机高炉煤气稳定燃烧特性试验研究

针对高炉煤气燃烧稳定性差、易熄火以及热值波动大等特点,基于某重型燃气轮机的燃烧器,采用全温全尺寸燃烧试验,分析不同的旋流强度和喷嘴长度对超低热值燃烧器的熄火性能、稳定运行区间的影响。研究表明,旋流强度和喷嘴长度对低热值燃烧的稳定性影响较大,且在一定范围内存在最优的组合设计,可以显著拓宽超低热值燃烧熄火边界,使机组的稳定运行区间更宽广。     

Modelling of the gas-turbine colorless distributed combustion: An application to hydrogen enriched – kerosene fuel

This study examines hydrogen-enriched kerosene combustion under distributed regime in a gas turbine combustion chamber. With hydrogen enrichment, it is aimed at increasing combustion performance of those fuels. However, in this circumstance, it is obvious to increase the flame temperature with taking place hydrogen enrichment. Thus colorless distributed combustion (CDC), which is one of the advanced combustion techniques, can be suggested to control flame temperature with slowing down the reaction rate, resulting in ultra-low NO_X emissions and more uniform temperature distribution with a broadened flame. For this purpose, the hydrogen-enriched kerosene fuels were examined by modeling a CFD code using the eddy dissipation concept, the radiation model (P-1) and the turbulence model (standard k-ε). In this way, the thermal fields and the NO_X distributions have been obtained. The results showed that hydrogen enrichment increased the flame temperatures from about 2490 K to 2605 K at air-combustion conditions until 30% H₂, resulting in the NO_X levels predicted increased in the combustor. With reducing oxygen percentage the flame started to be the broadened one. The flame temperatures decreased, for instance, from about 2605 K to 2230 K at 15% O₂ for the 30% H₂ containing fuel. As a result of this, the NO_X levels reduced from about 30 ppm to the values lower than 1 ppm in the combustor. It is concluded that increments in temperature and NO_X levels with hydrogen can be suppressed with distributed regime, which enables that gas turbines can be operated at wider flammability limits with hydrogen enrichment.     

Numerical prediction of operating characteristics of micro-gas turbine combustor with on-board reformed EGR system using co-simulation model and 1D reduced model

In this study, an on-board reforming gas turbine system was proposed to expend the combustion stability and operating points of as gas turbine combustor aiming for fuel lean condition. On-board reforming does not store the syngas unlike the existing conventional reforming device, but formed syngas as the operating load changes and participates in combustion. In previous research conducted for this study, a concept single nozzle combustor was designed that satisfies the thermal output of 150 kW and the turbine inlet temperature of 1200 K. In addition, by designing a non-catalytic partial oxidation-based concept reformer, syngas formation was confirmed in various operation points. In previous research, closed-loop analysis was performed to analyze the independent effects of combustor and reformer. However, in this study, open-loop analysis that simulates the combustor and reformer simultaneously was performed to analyze the effect of the combined system at various operating points. As a result, improved combustion was confirmed by the generation of OH radicals when the oxidizing agent was diluted with increasing hydrogen content. This is similar to the lean OH radical distribution in a low-oxidizing environment, which is the basic characteristics of moderate or intense low-oxygen dilution combustion. The reformer analyzed the reaction by changing the reformate fuel inlet velocity. Through this, it was confirmed that the mixedness inside the reformer improved as the reformate fuel inlet velocity. Finally, to calculate the efficiency of the hydrogen addition operating points under various conditions, suitable operating points were derived by comparison with conventional partial oxidation reforming. The operating range of moderate or intense low oxygen dilution combustion in an on-board reforming gas turbine system was numerically predicted. This is expected to greatly contribute to the study to improve the stability of moderate or intensive low oxygen dilution combustion in the future.     

Swirling distributed combustion for clean energy conversion in gas turbine applications

Distributed combustion provides significant performance improvement of gas turbine combustors. Key features of distributed combustion includes uniform thermal field in the entire combustion chamber, thus avoiding hot-spot regions that promote NO_x emissions (from thermal NO_x) and significantly improved pattern factor. Rapid mixing between the injected fuel and hot oxidizer has been carefully explored for spontaneous ignition of the mixture to achieve distributed combustion reactions. Distributed reactions can be achieved in premixed, partially premixed or non-premixed modes of combustor operation with sufficient entrainment of hot and active species present in the flame and their rapid turbulent mixing with the reactants. Distributed combustion with swirl is investigated here for our quest to explore the beneficial aspects of such flows on clean combustion in simulated gas turbine combustion conditions. The goal is to develop high intensity combustor with ultra low emissions of NO and CO, and much improved pattern factor. Experimental results are reported from a cylindrical geometry combustor with different modes of fuel injection and gas exit stream location in the combustor. In all the configurations, air was injected tangentially to impart swirl to the flow inside the combustor. Ultra-low NO_x emissions were found for both the premixed and non-premixed combustion modes for the geometries investigated here. Swirling flow configuration, wherein the product gas exits axially resulted in characteristics closest to premixed combustion mode. Change in fuel injection location resulted in changing the combustion characteristics from traditional diffusion mode to distributed combustion regime. Results showed very low levels of NO (∼3 PPM) and CO (∼70 PPM) emissions even at rather high equivalence ratio of 0.7 at a high heat release intensity of 36 MW/m³-atm with non-premixed mode of combustion. Results are also reported on lean stability limit and OH^* chemiluminescence under both premixed and non-premixed conditions for determining the extent of distribution combustion conditions.     

Combustion characteristics of a lean premixed LPG–air combustor

Fuel/air mixing effects in a premixer have been examined to investigate the combustion characteristics, such as the emission of NO_x and CO, under simulated lean premixed gas turbine combustor conditions at normal and elevated pressures of up to 3.5 bar with air preheat temperature of 450 K. The results obtained have been compared with a diffusion flame type gas turbine combustor for emission characteristics. The results show that the NO_x emission is profoundly affected by the mixing between fuel and air in the combustor. NO_x emission is lowered by supplying uniform fuel/air gas mixture to the combustor and the NO_x emission reduces with decrease in residence time of the hot gases in the combustor. The NO_x emission level of the lean premixed combustor is a strong function of equivalence ratio and the dependency is smaller for a traditional diffusion flame combustor under the examined experimental conditions. Furthermore, the recirculation flow, affected by dome angle of combustor, reduces the high temperature reaction zone or hot spot in the combustor, thus reducing the NO_x emission levels.     

Hydrogen combustion test in a small gas turbine

Details of the gaseous hydrogen combustion test in a can-type conventional gas-turbine combustor and the operating performance of a 275 PS (202 kW) small gas turbine are provided.Initially, experiments were conducted to determine the configuration of the hydrogen fuel nozzles on a combustor test facility. The kerosene fueled gas turbine combustor was used without modification of the original configuration and dimensions.Secondly, the operation performance of the gas turbine was investigated when the gaseous hydrogen was used as a substitute fuel for kerosene fuel. The kerosene fuel supply system was removed or rendered inoperative and a hydrogen flow metering system was newly installed. The high pressure storage cylinders were used to supply hydrogen to the fuel metering system.Data was obtained on pressure losses of the fuel nozzles, ignition performance, temperature distributions at the combustor outlet, combustion efficiency, liner wall temperature distributions, NO_x emission levels, noise levels, operating performance, etc.     

Modelling of combustion performances and emission characteristics of coal gases in a model gas turbine combustor

In recent years, gas mixtures are being used as alternative fuels in combustors. These gas mixtures are obtained by different methods. For instance, coal gasification and carbonization as coal have the largest reserves among fossil fuels. Gas mixtures obtained via coal gasification and carbonization are called water gas, generator gas, town gas and coke oven gas. These fuels contain various gases. As a result of this, heating values of fuels are also different. Therefore, combustion performances and emission characteristics of these fuels need to be investigated. In this study, combustion performances and emissions including CO, CO₂ and NO_X of water gas, generator gas, town gases, coke oven gas and methane were numerically investigated in a model gas turbine combustor. The numerical modelling of turbulent nonpremixed diffusion flames has been performed in this combustor. Mathematical models used in this study involved the k–ε model of turbulent flow, the PDF/mixture fraction model of nonpremixed combustion and P‐1 radiation model. A CFD code ANSYS Fluent was used for all numerical investigations. Temperature distributions of axial and radial directions were determined. A NO_X post‐processor was used for the prediction of NO_X emissions from the gas turbine combustor. Modelling was performed for 60 kW thermal power and different equivalance ratios (i.e. Ф = 0.91, Ф = 0.77 and Ф = 0.67). The studied type 1 model gas turbine combustor was modelled for Ф = 0.91 equivalance ratio. Then, Other equivalance ratios were analysed for type 2 model gas turbine combustor. The effect of dilution air on combustion performances and emission characteristics was also investigated. It is concluded that the coke oven gas, the town gas I, town gas II and the water gas are appropriate for usage as alternative fuel, whereas the generator gas is not suitable for gas turbine combustors. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flame stability and emission characteristics of propane-fueled flat-flame miniature combustor for ultra-micro gas turbines

An engineering model of a propane-fueled miniature combustor was developed for ultra-micro gas turbines. The combustion chamber had a diameter of 20 mm, height of 4 mm, and volume of 1.26 cm³. The flat-flame burning method was applied for lean-premixed propane–air combustion. To create the stagnation flow field for a specific flat-flame formation, a flat plate was set over the porous plate in the combustion chamber. A burning experiment was performed to evaluate the combustion characteristics. The flame stability limit was sufficiently wide to include the design operation conditions of an equivalence ratio of 0.55 and air mass flow rate of 0.15 g/s, and the dominant factors affecting the limit were clarified as the heat loss and velocity balance between the burning velocity and the premixture flow velocity at the porous plate. CO, total hydrocarbons (THC), and NO_x emission characteristics were established based on the burned gas temperatures in the combustion chamber and the temperature distribution in the combustor. At an air mass flow rate of less than 0.10 g/s, CO and THC emissions were more than 1000 ppm due to large heat loss. As the air mass flow rate increased, the heat loss decreased, but CO emissions remained large due to the short residence time in the combustion chamber. NO_x emission depended mainly on the burned gas temperature in the combustion chamber as well as on the residence time. To reduce emissions despite the short residence time, a platinum mesh was placed after the combustion chamber, which drastically decreased the CO emissions. The combustor performance was compared with that of other miniature combustors, and the results verified that the present combustor has suitable combustion characteristics for a UMGT, although the overall combustor size and heat loss need to be reduced.     

Study of flow and combustion characteristics of optimized low swirl premixed nozzle for micro gas turbine

With the micro gas turbine is used more and more widely, the operating conditions become complex and fluctuating which impacts the environmental friendliness of combustor. In this work, a low swirl premixed nozzle (LSPN) is designed based on the original premixed nozzle (OPN) of a 60 kW micro gas turbine, in order to adapt the flexibility of load and operating environment by improving the mixing performance of fuel and air. The flow and combustion characteristics of LSPN and OPN fed by natural gas is numerically studied using the standard k-ε model and the combined Finite Rate Chemistry/Eddy Dissipation Model (FRC/EDM) under various operating conditions. The results show that the mixing performance of air and fuel in LSPN has been improved. The flow unmixedness in LSPN is always smaller than OPN, and it is 41.74% lower at the outlet of the nozzle. While the equivalence ratio decreases, the mean temperature in the combustor decline. Furthermore, under the majority of operating conditions, the emission performance of LSPN is better than OPN.     

Combustion behavior in a dual-staging vortex rice husk combustor with snail entry

The combustion characteristics of rice husk fuel in a dual-staging vortex-combustor (DSVC) are experimentally investigated. In the present work, the vortex flow is created by using a snail entrance mounted at the bottom of the combustor. The temperature distributions at selected locations inside the combustor, the flue gas emissions (CO, CO₂, O₂, NO_x), and the combustion/thermal efficiency are monitored. Measurements are made at a constant rice husk feed rate of 0.25 kg/min with various excess airs (37%, 56%, 74% and 92%) and different secondary air injection fractions (λ = 0.0, 0.15 and 0.2), respectively. The combustion chamber is 1800 mm high and 300 mm in diameter (D) with a centered exhausted pipe while the middle chamber of the combustor is set to 0.5D. The smaller section at the middle chamber is introduced to split the chamber to be dual-staging chamber where a large central toroidal recirculation zone induced by swirl flow through the small section is generated in the top chamber. The experimental results reveal that the highest temperature inside the combustor is about 1000 °C whereas both the thermal and the combustion efficiency are 41.6% and 99.8% for 74% excess air without the secondary air injection (λ = 0.0). In addition, the emissions are CO₂ = 8.1%, O₂ = 9.3%, CO = 352 ppm, NO_x = 294 ppm and small amount of fly ash. Therefore, the DSVC shows an excellent performance, low emissions, high stabilization and ease of operation in firing the rice husk.     

Experimental investigation of combustion characteristics in a multi-staging vortex combustor firing rice husk

The paper described the combustion characteristics in a multi-staging vortex combustor by using rice husk as fuel. Effects of the operating conditions namely: equivalence ratio (Φ = 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2) and secondary air ratio (λ = 0.0, 0.15 and 0.25) on combustion characteristics (temperature distribution, fly ash and gas emission) were experimentally studied. In the experiments, the conventional vortex combustor consisted of two straight concentric cylindrical pipes, combustion chamber (outer chamber) and exhaust pipe (inner chamber). The variable size of middle section of the combustor was designed to be adjustable from 1.0D (conventional vortex combustor), to 0.75D and 0.5D as desired. The changes of the middle chamber size lead to multi-staging vortex inside the combustor. In the experiments, the rice husk was fed into the combustor at constant mass flow rate of 0.3 kg/min. Test results revealed that the mean temperature distribution for the multi-staging vortex combustor with middle chamber size of 0.5D was higher than those of 0.75D and 1.0D. The experimental results showed the maximum temperature of about 1176 °C in the vortex chamber with the middle chamber of 0.5D at equivalence ratio, Φ = 0.8 and no secondary air injection, λ = 0.0. Measurements of gas emissions from cyclone collector consisted of O₂ = 2.5%, CO₂ = 17.3%, and CO = 270 ppm, respectively.     

可控烟气回流量型低NOx燃烧器流场特性的试验研究

设计了一种预混式可控烟气回流量型低NOx燃烧器,以适应双气头多联产系统中燃料组分、成分变化时燃气轮机发电系统稳定工作的需要.在常压条件下,利用TSI热线风速仪对燃烧室内的速度分布特性进行了直接测量,并利用温度场比拟浓度场的方法,对燃烧室内气流混合特性进行了间接测量.结果表明:燃烧室内的速度分布及回流等特性可满足设计要求,气流之间的混合效果则需作进一步增强.同时,对燃烧器二次风分配器的结构提出了改进方案.     

Jet characteristics from a submerged combustion system

The characteristics of a combustor operating under submerged conditions are affected by the two phase interaction of exhaust gas jet from the combustor with surrounding liquid. The characteristics of combustion gases are simulated with air and helium to represent combustor operation under different conditions. The exhaust gas signatures under submerged conditions are examined using different nozzle exit cross-sections (circular, square, triangular and elliptical with aspect ratio of 1.5 and 2.5) for their effect on sound pressure levels and pressure fluctuations in the combustion chamber. High-speed cinematography is used to examine the two-phase region and the associated instabilities by the gas jet. Dynamic pressure sensor is used to study the effect of submerged jet on the pressure fluctuations in the upstream gas chamber. The sound pressure level from the elliptical nozzle is found to be lower than the circular, square and triangular nozzles. The frequency of jet instabilities is observed to increase with increase in gas jet momentum but independent of nozzle exit cross-section. The pressure fluctuation in the gas chamber is closely coupled with two phase instabilities downstream of the jet region. At lower jet momentum bubbling regime is present but it transitions to more jet like behavior with increase in the jet momentum, representing deep water and shallow water propulsion applications, respectively. These studies provide valuable fundamental information for range of applications in energy systems extending from underwater propulsion, evaporator, heater, desalination and waste water treatment.     

A 0D aircraft engine emission model with detailed chemistry and soot microphysics

Aviation emission of gas phase pollutants and particulate matter contribute to global radiative forcing and regional air quality degradation near airports. It is important to understand the formation and time evolution of these pollutants inside aircraft engines to design strategies for emission reduction. A physics and chemistry based zero-dimensional (0D) gas parcel model with detailed jet fuel chemistry and soot microphysics has been developed to predict the time evolution, formation history, and emission index (EI) of key combustion gases and size-resolved soot particles of an aircraft engine. The model was applied to a CFM56-2-C1 aircraft engine for idle operating condition, for which comprehensive measured data from the Aircraft Particle Emissions eXperiment (APEX) campaign are available. The measured EI data of four major pollutants, including CO, NOx (NO + NO₂), total hydrocarbon (HC) mass, and soot mass, were used to optimize the model parameters. The model predicts the time evolution of concentration of CO, NOx, HC, soot size distribution, CO₂, H₂O, SO₂, NO, NO₂, HONO, HNO₃, SO₃, H₂SO₄, O₂, H, H₂, O, OH, HO₂, H₂O₂, and some HC species in the combustor and turbine. Reasonable agreement was found between the simulations and the measurements. It was found for idle operating condition that, for most of the combustion products, concentrations did not change significantly in the turbine and nozzle, however, HONO, H₂SO₄, and HO₂ concentrations did change by more than a factor of 10, while NOx, NO, NO₂, O, OH, soot particle mass and soot particle number by less than a factor of 2. The developed model is computationally efficient and can be used to, study detailed chemical and microphysical processes during combustion, investigate the effects of different fuel compositions and operating conditions on aircraft emissions, and assist air quality study near aircraft emission sources.     

Effects of hydrogen addition on combustion characteristics of a methane fueled MILD model combustor

Combined with need of the carbon emissions, the feasibility of Moderate or Intense Low-oxygen Dilution (MILD) combustion fueled with hydrogen/methane blends needs to be investigated. This paper discusses the pollutant emissions, the stable operating range and the flame morphology for a jet-induced MILD model combustor. The hydrogen/methane volume ratios range 0:10 to 5:5. The NO_x emissions are less than 5 ppm@15%O₂ when the hydrogen content is less than 50% by volume in the atmospheric conditions. The calculation using chemical reactor network (CRN) model demonstrates that the effect of heat loss on NO_x emissions increases as the adiabatic combustion temperature increases, which is consistent with the experimental results. The maximum OH1 signal intensity increased at higher hydrogen content, especially when the hydrogen content exceeds 30% by volume. Due to the increase in turbulent burning velocity and the enhancement in the reaction intensity, the reaction zones shrink with increasing hydrogen content. In addition, with increasing hydrogen content, the stable operation range of the combustor becomes narrower, and the stable combustion is not maintained when the hydrogen content exceeds 50% by volume. The findings of the paper help to further understand the effect of hydrogen content on the formation of MILD combustion in the jet-induced combustor.     

Experimental investigation of dynamic and emission characteristics of a DLE gas turbine combustor

The DLE (dry low emission) technology has already been used on industrial gas turbine combustor and the NO X emission can be limited to 25 ppmv (@15% O 2 ), but one of the destructive effects is combustion instability. In this paper, the dynamic and emission characteristics of a DLE gas turbine combustor have been researched in the authors’ laboratory, and the results show that the key source of combustion instability is the non-uniformity of fuel in the flame zone. Two main fuel supply methods have been used to form different fuel distribution types; it is shown that in the perfectly premixed case the emission level is low and combustion process is stable. The PPF also has an obvious effect on the combustor’s emission and dynamic characteristics.     

低排放燃烧室值班喷嘴改进设计研究

贫燃预混燃烧是目前实现干式低排放的主要技术措施之一,然而该燃烧技术在机组运行中,总会出现低工况下燃烧室贫燃熄火和回火等问题,为了改善低排放燃烧室的贫燃熄火特性,需要对低排放喷嘴进行结构设计改进。本文针对某型低排放燃烧室,以提高燃烧室贫燃熄火过量空气系数为目标,对低排放喷嘴的值班路进行设计改进。结果表明:(1)旋流缩放组合式值班喷嘴可以形成稳定的值班火焰;(2)旋流缩放组合式值班喷嘴可以引燃主喷嘴;(3)采用旋流缩放式值班喷嘴后,燃烧室的贫燃熄火过量空气系数提高了23%。     

The effects and characteristics of hydrogen in SNG on gas turbine combustion using a diffusion type combustor

Converting coal to natural gas may be one of the alternative solutions for satisfying the demand for natural gas. However, synthetic natural gas (SNG) has not been proven effective in natural gas-fired power plants. In this research, several combustion tests using a diffusion type combustor were conducted to determine the effect of hydrogen content in SNG on gas turbine combustion. Three kinds of SNG with different H₂ content up to 3%vol were used for the combustion tests. Even a small amount of hydrogen in SNG affects the flame structure: it shortened the flame length and enlarged the flame angle slightly. However, hydrogen content up to 3% in SNG did not affect the gas turbine combustion characteristics, which are emission performance and combustion efficiency. Due to a similarity with real gas turbine combustor conditions for power generation, a high pressure combustion test helped us verify the ambient pressure combustion tests conducted to determine the effect of hydrogen in SNG. In the high pressure combustion test, the pattern factors were identical even though the hydrogen content was varied from 0% to 3%.