Effects of inlet conditions on dynamics of a thermal pulse combustor

To increase the pulse combustor load, a higher amount of fuel-air mixture has to be supplied. This increases the flow rate or equivalently, the flow time is reduced. However, an increase in flow rate leads to an early extinction. This implies that obtaining pulsating combustion is difficult at higher loads. The objective of the present work is to explore the possibility of extending the regime of pulsating combustion at higher flow rates by preheating and diluting the reactants. In this work, the effects of preheating and dilution are examined by varying the inlet temperature and inlet fuel mass fraction. Varying these parameters, a map, presenting regime of pulsating combustion from steady combustion to extinction for each value of flow time considered, has been made. Lastly, Hopf bifurcation points of the system have been investigated by determining the eigenvalues of Jacobian matrix of the coupled non-linear system at the fixed point using a specialised package for bifurcation analysis, MATCONT. It has been found that at higher load, pulsating combustion can be achieved at higher inlet temperature and lower inlet fuel mass fraction. Comparing the Hopf points with mapping, it is found that existence of Hopf bifurcation agrees with the birth and death of pulsating combustion. The results indicate that altering the mixture condition at the inlet can be used for controlling chaos and stabilising periodic solutions in thermal pulse combustors and thus increase the range of pulsating combustion to higher power regimes.     

Prediction of soot and thermal radiation in a model gas turbine combustor burning kerosene fuel spray at different swirl levels

Combustion of kerosene fuel spray has been numerically simulated in a laboratory scale combustor geometry to predict soot and the effects of thermal radiation at different swirl levels of primary air flow. The two-phase motion in the combustor is simulated using an Eulerian–Lagragian formulation considering the stochastic separated flow model. The Favre-averaged governing equations are solved for the gas phase with the turbulent quantities simulated by realisable k–? model. The injection of the fuel is considered through a pressure swirl atomiser and the combustion is simulated by a laminar flamelet model with detailed kinetics of kerosene combustion. Soot formation in the flame is predicted using an empirical model with the model parameters adjusted for kerosene fuel. Contributions of gas phase and soot towards thermal radiation have been considered to predict the incident heat flux on the combustor wall and fuel injector. Swirl in the primary flow significantly influences the flow and flame structures in the combustor. The stronger recirculation at high swirl draws more air into the flame region, reduces the flame length and peak flame temperature and also brings the soot laden zone closer to the inlet plane. As a result, the radiative heat flux on the peripheral wall decreases at high swirl and also shifts closer to the inlet plane. However, increased swirl increases the combustor wall temperature due to radial spreading of the flame. The high incident radiative heat flux and the high surface temperature make the fuel injector a critical item in the combustor. The injector peak temperature increases with the increase in swirl flow mainly because the flame is located closer to the inlet plane. On the other hand, a more uniform temperature distribution in the exhaust gas can be attained at the combustor exit at high swirl condition.     

Concept and combustion characteristics of ultra-micro combustors with premixed flame

Under micro-scale combustion influenced by quenching distance, high heat loss, shortened diffusion characteristic time, and flow laminarization, we clarified the most important issues for the combustor of ultra-micro gas turbines (UMGT), such as high space heating rate, low pressure loss, and premixed combustion. The stability behavior of single flames stabilized on top of micro tubes was examined using premixtures of air with hydrogen, methane, and propane to understand the basic combustion behavior of micro premixed flames. When micro tube inner diameters were smaller than 0.4 mm, all of the fuels exhibited critical equivalence ratios in fuel-rich regions, below which no flame formed, and above which the two stability limits of blow-off and extinction appeared at a certain equivalence ratio. The extinction limit for very fuel-rich premixtures was due to heat loss to the surrounding air and the tube. The extinction limit for more diluted fuel-rich premixtures was due to leakage of unburned fuel under the flame base. This clarification and the results of micro flame analysis led to a flat-flame burning method. For hydrogen, a prototype of a flat-flame ultra-micro combustor with a volume of 0.067 cm³ was made and tested. The flame stability region satisfied the optimum operation region of the UMGT with a 16 W output. The temperatures in the combustion chamber were sufficiently high, and the combustion efficiency achieved was more than 99.2%. For methane, the effects on flame stability of an upper wall in the combustion chamber were examined. The results can be explained by the heat loss and flame stretch.     

微平板式燃烧室内催化燃烧的试验研究

采用催化材料铂加工的微平板燃烧室,与碳化硅材料加工的微平板燃烧室在相同条件下进行了试验对比,分析了不同流量、不同当量比和不同燃烧室尺寸条件下催化燃烧对微燃烧性能的影响。试验结果表明,同样流量下,采用催化燃烧时的外壁面测点温度均比采用无催化的碳化硅燃烧室的高,且温度分布更均匀;不同于无催化的碳化硅燃烧室,铂加工的燃烧室在当量比为1时内部燃烧已经比较充分;催化燃烧能提高微尺度燃烧的稳定性,扩展燃烧极限。     

Spatial correlation in the ambient core noise field of a turbofan engine

An acoustic transfer function relating combustion noise and turbine exit noise in the presence of enclosed ambient core noise is investigated using a dynamic system model and an acoustic system model for the particular turbofan engine studied and for a range of operating conditions. Measurements of cross-spectra magnitude and phase between the combustor and turbine exit and auto-spectra at the turbine exit and combustor are used to show the presence of indirect and direct combustion noise over the frequency range of 0-400 Hz. The procedure used evaluates the ratio of direct to indirect combustion noise. The procedure used also evaluates the post-combustion residence time in the combustor which is a factor in the formation of thermal NO(x) and soot in this region. These measurements are masked by the ambient core noise sound field in this frequency range which is observable since the transducers are situated within an acoustic wavelength of one another. An ambient core noise field model based on one and two dimensional spatial correlation functions is used to replicate the spatially correlated response of the pair of transducers. The spatial correlation function increases measured attenuation due to destructive interference and masks the true attenuation of the turbine.     

The impact of N2 micro-jets on the V-to-M flame shape transition in a premixed swirl burner

Injection of N₂ through micro-jets located on the dump plane of a lean premixed swirl stabilized combustor is investigated as a new method for mitigating combustion instabilities. This study focuses on the chemical and fluid dynamic processes by which the N₂ micro-jets impact the flame dynamics. An experimental and numerical investigation is performed to characterize the combustion instability during the V-to-M flame shape transition in a swirl burner fueled with premixed CH₄/air, at an equivalence ratio of 0.62. Reasonable agreements have been found between the experimental measurements and simulation results. Both of them present that the flame changes from V-shape to M-shape periodically, and a low-frequency instability around 10 Hz is observed accordingly. It is confirmed that intermittent flame extinction in the outer recirculation zone (ORZ) is the source of the combustion instability. Furthermore, injection of N₂ through micro-jets located on the combustor dump plane, into the outer recirculation zone, results in a stable V shape flame. It is clearly seen that the ORZ dilution can eliminate the combustion instability without inhibiting the combustion efficiency. A special focus is placed on the impact of the diluent injection on the local flame-flow interaction. The nitrogen micro-jets increase the local nitrogen concentration by 7% on average, lowering the flame speed and extinction strain rates by 27% and 17% respectively. Moreover, the micro-jets increase the turbulence intensity in the ORZ, leading to a significant increase in the Karlovitz number and transferring the local combustion regime from the thin reaction zone regime to the broken reaction zone regime. Hence, the nitrogen micro-jets impact on both the turbulence and the chemical reaction rates prevents flame propagation into the ORZ and results in a stable flame.     

Dynamic properties of combustion instability in a lean premixed gas-turbine combustor

We experimentally investigate the dynamic behavior of the combustion instability in a lean premixed gas-turbine combustor from the viewpoint of nonlinear dynamics. A nonlinear time series analysis in combination with a surrogate data method clearly reveals that as the equivalence ratio increases, the dynamic behavior of the combustion instability undergoes a significant transition from stochastic fluctuation to periodic oscillation through low-dimensional chaotic oscillation. We also show that a nonlinear forecasting method is useful for predicting the short-term dynamic behavior of the combustion instability in a lean premixed gas-turbine combustor, which has not been addressed in the fields of combustion science and physics.     

微型火焰管中燃烧的研究

提出了一种新型的微动力机电系统观念,即微型热光电 TPV(thermo photovoltaic)系统。微型燃烧室是微型TPV系统中最重要的部分之一。为了获得较高的能量转换效率,需要使燃烧器壁面四周处于较高且分布均匀的温度状态。尺寸效应对微型燃烧室中的持续燃烧带来了很大的影响。为了分析微型燃烧器中燃烧的可行性和有关影响因素,在不同工况下进行实验。结果表明,在一定的流量和混合比范围内,可以在微型火焰管内维持稳定的燃烧,高温能够在燃烧室四周均匀分布。     

Numerical investigation of low-frequency instability and frequency shifting in a scramjet combustor

The combustion instability in a laboratory-scale direct-connect hydrogen-fueled scramjet combustor is investigated numerically. The numerical simulation has been carried out using a delayed detached eddy simulation (DDES) with a detailed reaction mechanism. The computational framework has high fidelity by applying multi-dimensional high order accurate schemes for handling convective and viscous fluxes. The field data were accumulated up to 100 milliseconds on each case to capture sufficiently the repetitive behavior of low-frequency instability of order of 100 Hz. The numerical results exhibit the formation/dissipation of pressure and shock wave induced by continuous heat release in the combustor. This motion of pressure/shock wave, so-called upstream-traveling shock wave, presents repeated dynamics between isolator and combustor with a period of several milliseconds. With this periodic hydrodynamic characteristic, the upstream-traveling shock wave interacts with the boundary layer and injected fuel stream affecting fuel/air mixing and burning, and finally inducing the combustion instability in a scramjet combustor. Frequency analysis derived major instability frequencies of 190 Hz and 450 Hz in the isolator and combustor for low and high equivalence ratios, respectively. Current numerical results present the underlying flow physics on the shifting of the instability frequency by changing the equivalence ratio observed by the previous experimental studies. The fact that an instability frequency exists homogeneously from isolator to combustor informs that the combustion instability of scramjet engine is the fully coupled flow/combustion dynamics throughout the engine on a macroscopic scale.     

Catalytic ignition and autothermal combustion of JP-8 and its surrogates over a Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst

With the aim of utilizing JP-8 fuel for small scale portable power generation systems, catalytic combustion of JP-8 is studied. The surface ignition, extinction and autothermal combustion of JP-8, of a six-component surrogate fuel mixture, and the individual components of the surrogate fuel over a Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst are experimentally investigated in a packed bed flow reactor. The surrogate mixture exhibits similar ignition–extinction behavior and autothermal temperatures compared to JP-8 suggesting the possibility of using this surrogate mixture for detailed kinetics of catalytic combustion of JP-8. It is shown that JP-8 ignites at low temperatures in the presence of catalyst. Upon ignition, catalytic combustion of JP-8 and the surrogate mixture is self-sustained and robust combustion is observed under fuel lean as well as fuel rich conditions. It is shown that the ignition temperature of the hydrocarbon fuels increases with increasing equivalence ratio. Extinction is observed under fuel lean conditions, whereas sustained combustion was also observed for fuel rich conditions. The effect of dilution in the air flow on the catalytic ignition and autothermal temperatures of the fuel mixture is also investigated by adding helium to the air stream while keeping the flow rate and the equivalence ratio constant. The autothermal temperature decreases linearly as the amount of dilution in the flow is increased, whereas the ignition temperature shows no dependence on the dilution level under the range of our conditions, showing that ignition is dependent only on the type and relative concentration of the active species.     

Computational investigations of the coupling between transient flame dynamics and thermo-acoustic instability in a self-excited resonance combustor

Combustion instability due to thermo-acoustic interactions is a critical combustion problem that requires a thorough understanding because of its adverse impact on stable and reliable operation of combustors in high-speed propulsion devices like gas turbines and rockets. This work conducts computational investigations of the coupling between the transient flame dynamics such as the ignition delay and local extinction and the thermo-acoustic instability developed in a self-excited resonance combustor to gain deep insights into the mechanisms of thermo-acoustic instability. A 2D modelling framework that employs different flamelet models (the steady flamelet model and the flamelet/progress variable approach) is developed to enable the examination of the effect of the transient flame dynamics caused by the strong coupling of the turbulent mixing and finite-rate chemical kinetics on the occurrence of thermo-acoustic instability. The models are validated by using the available experimental data for the pressure signal. Parametric studies are performed to examine the effect of the occurrence of the transient flame dynamics, the effect of artificial amplification of the Damköhler number, and the effect of neglecting mixture fraction fluctuations on the predictions of the thermo-acoustic instability. The parametric studies reveal that the occurrence of transient flame dynamics has a strong influence on the onset of the thermo-acoustic instability. Further analysis is then conducted to localise the effect of a particular flame dynamic event, the ignition delay, on the thermo-acoustic instability. The reverse effect of the occurrence of the thermo-acoustic instability on the transient flame dynamics in the combustor is also investigated by examining the temporal evolution of the local flame events in conjunction with the pressure wave propagation. The above observed two-way coupling between the transient flame dynamics (the ignition delay) and the thermo-acoustic instability provides a plausible mechanism of the self-excited and sustained thermo-acoustic instability observed in the combustor despite the fact that the results are obtained from 2D simulations. The same analysis is expected to be extensible to fully 3D simulations.     

Numerical and experimental study on shear coaxial injectors with hot hydrogen-rich gas/oxygen-rich gas and GH2 /GO2

The influences of the shear coaxial injector parameters on the combustion performance and the heat load of a combustor are studied numerically and experimentally. The injector parameters, including the ratio of the oxidizer pressure drop to the combustor pressure (DP ), the velocity ratio of fuel to oxidizer (R V ), the thickness (WO ), and the recess (HO ) of the oxidizer injector post tip, the temperature of the hydrogen-rich gas (TH ) and the oxygen-rich gas (TO ), are integrated by the orthogonal experimental design method to investigate the performance of the shear coaxial injector. The gaseous hydrogen/oxygen at ambient temperature (GH2 /GO2 ), and the hot hydrogen-rich gas/oxygen-rich gas are used here. The length of the combustion (LC ), the average temperatures of the combustor wall (TW ), and the faceplate (TF ) are selected as the indicators. The tendencies of the influences of injector parameters on the combustion performance and the heat load of the combustor for the GH2 /GO2 case are similar to those in the hot propellants case. However, the combustion performance in the hot propellant case is better than that in the GH2/GO2 case, and the heat load of the combustor is also larger than that in the latter case.     

Modeling of a self-excited pulse combustor and stability analysis

The major bottleneck for popularization and utilization of the conventional mechanical valve pulse combustors is the self-priming mode of gas supply. An aerodynamic valve (as against mechanical valve) self-excited pulse combustor of the Helmholtz-type with continuous supply of gas and air was designed and a mathematical model was established in this paper. The theoretical model employed well-stirred reactor model and a single step Arrhenius chemistry, and took those factors which might affect the combustion stability into account. The factors include the variation of the mass rate of the reactants affected by the pressure in the combustion chamber, the convective and radiation heat loss in the combustion chamber, and the heat transfer and wall friction in the tailpipe. The effect of wall temperature of combustion chamber, wall heat transfer coefficient, tailpipe length and friction coefficient on combustionstability were analyzed. The range of combustion oscillations can be predicted. It is theoretically and experimentally shown that combustion oscillations can be produced with a continuous supply of fuel and air without mechanical valves. The experimental data show qualitative agreement with predictions from the theoretical model. The theoretical model could be a tool for designing and optimizing the self-excited pulse combustor.     

Dual/scram-mode combustion limits of ethylene and surrogate endothermically-cracked hydrocarbon fuels at Mach 8 equivalent high-enthalpy conditions

This paper examines the scram/dual-mode combustion limits of hydrocabon fuels within a Mach 8, scramjet combustor. Flight-equivalent flows were delivered to the axisymmetric, cavity combustor via a reflected shock tunnel. Two scramjet fuels were examined: ethylene and a surrogate mixture representing endothermically cracked n-dodecane. Combustion modes were examined via static pressure sensors and through both chemiluminescence imaging, and planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) of the OH combustion radical in the combustor exhaust plume. Ethylene-fuelled experiments developed scram-mode combustion under reduced fuelling conditions, experiencing shock wave dominated flowfields. OH PLIF diagnostics indicated such combustion modes developed a ring-like structure of combustion products, primarily axisymmetrically adjacent to the combustor wall. Increased fuelling anchored combustion downstream of the fuel injector, while further increases instigated dual-mode combustion. In this mode, subsonic combustion regions combine with the supersonic coreflow to permit the transfer of information upstream with substantially increased pressure encountered. Optical diagnostics indicate broadly asymmetric, unsteady combustion features. The surrogate mixture representing endothermically cracked n-dodecane experienced rapid onset from no-combustion (optically confirmed) to fully developed dual-mode combustion at critical fuelling rates. OH PLIF signals and chemiluminescence of this fuel were weaker than comparable ethylene cases, indicating potential differences in combustion pathways.     

燃油分级多点喷射低污染燃烧室的化学反应网络模型分析

本文采用基于详细化学反应机理的化学反应网络模型分析了航空发动机燃油径向分级多点喷射低污染燃烧室的NO_x排放特性。该分级燃烧室不同于传统燃烧室,头部由值班区和主燃区两个不同的燃烧区域,根据CFD得到的流场特性和当量比的分布特性对燃烧室进行分区构建化学反应器网络模型,研究了值班级当量比以及值班级和主燃级两级供油比例对排放的影响。同时,还分析了空气进口温度对NO_x排放的影响。得到了较为合理的变化趋势,为低污染燃烧室的初步设计提供了有益的指导。     

Maintenance of chaos in a computational model of a thermal pulse combustor

The dynamics of a thermal pulse combustor model are examined. It is found that, as a parameter related to the fuel flow rate is varied, the combustor will undergo a transition from periodic pulsing to chaotic pulsing to a chaotic transient leading to flameout. Results from the numerical model are compared to those obtained from a laboratory-scale thermal pulse combustor. Finally the technique of maintenance (or anticontrol) of chaos is successfully applied to the model, with the result that the operation of the combustor can be continued well into the flameout regime. (c) 1997 American Institute of Physics.     

Effect of fuel injection location on a plasma jet assisted combustion with a backward-facing step

Non-reacting and reacting experiments on the ignition by a plasma jet (PJ) torch were performed to understand the correlation between fuel injection location and combustion characteristics in unheated Mach 2 airflow. Fuel was injected through three sonic injectors in the recirculation region behind a backward-facing step: a parallel injector at 2 mm from the bottom wall and two normal injectors at 2 and 9 mm from the step wall. In order to mitigate the combustion pressure interaction with nozzle, an isolator was installed between the nozzle and combustor. The combustion performance of normal injection was little affected by the difference of fuel injection locations. Moreover, normally injected fuel was escaped not to be held in the recirculation region despite of low fuel injection rates. This led to lower combustion performance relative to the parallel injection which provided fuel not to leave the recirculation region. In this case, the role of the recirculation region was to fully hold fuel, and the PJ torch provided hot gases as a heat source and acted as a flame-holder to ignite fuel–air mixtures. In a low temperature inflow condition, combustible regions were constrained around the bottom wall where embedded with the PJ torch. When thermal choking occurred in the combustor, it induced shock train both in the combustor and isolator. Under this unstable condition, the combustion performance of the normal injection was lower than that of the parallel injection. This is because the normal injection led most fuel into low temperature incoming air-stream.     

Towards the development of an efficient low-NOx ammonia combustor for a micro gas turbine

Recent studies have demonstrated stable generation of power from pure ammonia combustion in a micro gas turbine (MGT) with a high combustion efficiency, thus overcoming some of the challenges that discouraged such applications of ammonia in the past. However, achievement of low NOx emission from ammonia combustors remains an important challenge. In this study, combustion techniques and combustor design for efficient combustion and low NOx emission from an ammonia MGT swirl combustor are proposed. The effects of fuel injection angle, combustor inlet temperature, equivalence ratio, and ambient pressure on flame stabilization and emissions were investigated in a laboratory high pressure combustion chamber. An FTIR gas analyser was employed in analysing the exhaust gases. Numerical modeling using OpenFOAM was done to better understand the dependence of NO emissions on the equivalence ratio. The result show that inclined fuel injection as opposed to vertical injection along the combustor central axis resulted to improved flame stability, and lower NH₃ and NOx emissions. Numerical and experimental results showed that a control of the equivalence ratio upstream of the combustor is critical for low NOx emission in a rich-lean ammonia combustor. NO emission had a minimum value at an upstream equivalence ratio of 1.10 in the experiments. Furthermore, NO emission was found to decrease with ambient pressure, especially for premixed combustion. For the rich-lean combustion strategy employed in this study, lower NOx emission was recorded in premixed combustion than in non-premixed combustion indicating the importance of mixture uniformity for low NOx emission from ammonia combustion. A prototype liner developed to enhance the control and uniformity of the equivalence ratio upstream of the combustor further improved ammonia combustion. With the proposed liner design, NOx emission of 42?ppmv and ammonia combustion efficiency of 99.5% were achieved at 0.3?MPa for fuel input power of 31.44?kW.     

Experimental and theoretical studies on high-temperature thermal properties of fibrous insulation

In the present paper, an experimental apparatus has been developed to measure heat transfer through high-alumina fibrous insulation for thermal protection system. Effective thermal conductivities of the fibrous insulation were measured over a wide range of temperature (300-973 K) and pressure (10⁻²-10⁵ Pa) using the developed apparatus. The specific heat and the transmittance spectra in the wavelength range of 2.5-25 μm were also measured. The spectral extinction coefficients and Rosseland mean extinction coefficients were obtained from transmittance data at various temperatures to investigate the radiative heat transfer in fibrous insulation. A one-dimensional finite volume numerical model combined radiation and conduction heat transfer was developed to predict the behavior of the effective thermal conductivity of the fibrous insulation at various temperatures and pressures. The two-flux approximation was used to model the radiation heat transfer through the insulation. The experimentally measured specific heat and Rosseland mean extinction coefficients were used in the numerical heat transfer model to calculate the effective thermal conductivity. The average deviation between the numerical results for different values of albedo of scattering and the experimental results was investigated. The numerical results for ω=1 and experimental data were compared. It was found that the calculated values corresponded with the experimental values within an average of 13.5 percent. Numerical results were consistent with experimental results through the environmental conditions under examination.     

CFD analysis of the HyShot II scramjet combustor

The development of novel air-breathing engines such as supersonic combustion ramjets (scramjets) depends on the understanding of supersonic mixing, self-ignition and combustion. These aerothermochemical processes occur together in a scramjet engine and are notoriously difficult to understand. In the present study, we aim at analyzing the HyShot II scramjet combustor mounted in the High Enthalpy Shock Tunnel Göttingen (HEG) by using Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) models with detailed and reduced chemistry. To account for the complicated flow in the HEG facility a zonal approach is adopted in which RANS is used to simulate the flow in the HEG nozzle and test-section, providing the necessary inflow boundary conditions for more detailed RANS and LES of the reacting flow in the HyShot combustor. Comparison of predicted wall pressures and heat fluxes with experimental data show good agreement, and in particular does the LES agree well with the experimental data. The LES results are used to elucidate the flow, mixing, self-ignition and subsequent combustion processes in the combustor. The combustor flow can be separated into the mixing zone, in which turbulent mixing from the jet-in-cross flow injectors dominates, the self-ignition zone, in which self-ignition rapidly takes place, and the turbulent combustion zone, located towards the end of the combustor, in which most of the heat release and volumetric expansion takes place. Self-ignition occurs at some distance downstream of the injectors, resulting in a distinct pressure rise further downstream due to the volumetric expansion as observed in the experiments. The jet penetration is about 30% of the combustor height and the combustion efficiency is found to be around 83%.