Development of a Jet-Stabilized Low-Emission Combustor for Liquid Fuels

In this work the ongoing development of a jet-stabilized FLOX^®(Flameless Oxidation)-type low-emission combustor for liquid fuels is described. The desired application of this concept is a micro gas turbine range extender for next generation car concepts. Diesel DIN EN 590 was used to operate the combustor, which is very similar to other fuels like bio-diesel, light heating oil and kerosene and therefore provides a link to other gas turbine applications in power generation. The investigation of flame stabilization of jet flames as well as fuel atomization, spray dispersion and evaporation is essential for the design of an effective and reliable combustor for liquid fuels. An axisymmetric single-nozzle combustion chamber was chosen for the initial setup. A variety of burner configurations was tested in order to investigate the influence of different design parameters on the flame shape, the flame stability and emissions. Two pressure atomizers and one air-blast atomizer were combined with two types of air nozzles and two different burner front plates (axisymmetric and off-centered jet nozzle). Finally, a twelve nozzle FLOX^® combustor with pre-evaporator was designed and characterized. The combustor was operated at atmospheric pressure with preheated air (300° C) and in a range of equivalence ratios φ between 0.5 and 0.95 (λ = 1.05–2). The maximum thermal power was 40 kW. For each combustor configuration and operating condition the flame shape was imaged by OH*-chemiluminescence, together with an analysis of the exhaust gas emissions. Laser sheet imaging was used to identify the spray geometry for all axisymmetric combustors. Wall temperatures were measured for two configurations using temperature sensitive paints, which will be utilized in future CFD modeling. The results show a dependence of NO_x emissions on the flame’s lift-off height, which in turn is defined by the spray properties and evaporation conditions. The tendency to soot formation was strongly dependent on the correlation of the recirculation zone to the spray cone geometry. In particular, strong soot formation was observed when unevaporated droplets entered the recirculation zone.