Lean-direct-injection (LDI) combustion is being considered at the National Energy Technology Laboratory as a means to attain low emissions in a high-hydrogen gas turbine combustor. Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant designs can create a high-hydrogen fuel using a water-gas shift reactor and subsequent separation. The IGCC’s air separation unit produces a volume of roughly equivalent to the volume of in the gasifier product stream, which can be used to help reduce peak flame temperatures and in the diffusion flame combustor. Placement of this diluent in either the air or fuel streams is a matter of practical importance, and it has not been studied to date for LDI combustion. The current work discusses how diluent placement affects diffusion flame temperatures, residence times, and stability limits, and their resulting effects on emissions. From a peak flame temperature perspective, greater reduction should be attainable with fuel dilution rather than air or independent dilution in any diffusion flame combustor with excess combustion air, due to the complete utilization of the diluent as a heat sink at the flame front, although the importance of this mechanism is shown to diminish as flow conditions approach stoichiometric proportions. For simple LDI combustor designs, residence time scaling relationships yield a lower production potential for fuel-side dilution due to its smaller flame size, whereas air dilution yields a larger air entrainment requirement and a subsequently larger flame, with longer residence times and higher thermal generation. For more complex staged-air LDI combustor designs, the dilution of the primary combustion air at fuel-rich conditions can result in the full utilization of the diluent for reducing the peak flame temperature, while also controlling flame volume and residence time for reduction purposes. However, differential diffusion of hydrogen out of a diluted hydrogen/nitrogen fuel jet can create regions of higher hydrogen content in the immediate vicinity of the fuel injection point than can be attained with the dilution of the air stream, leading to increased flame stability. By this mechanism, fuel-side dilution extends the operating envelope to areas with higher velocities in the experimental configurations tested, where faster mixing rates further reduce flame residence times and emissions. Strategies for accurate computational modeling of LDI combustors’ stability characteristics are also discussed.
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July 2010
Research Papers
Reduction by Air-Side Versus Fuel-Side Dilution in Hydrogen Diffusion Flame Combustors
Nathan T. Weiland,
e-mail: nathan.weiland@mail.wvu.edu
Nathan T. Weiland
National Energy Technology Laboratory
, Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940; Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University
, Morgantown, WV 26506-6106
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Peter A. Strakey
Peter A. Strakey
National Energy Technology Laboratory
, Morgantown, WV 26507-0880
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Nathan T. Weiland
National Energy Technology Laboratory
, Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940; Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University
, Morgantown, WV 26506-6106e-mail: nathan.weiland@mail.wvu.edu
Peter A. Strakey
National Energy Technology Laboratory
, Morgantown, WV 26507-0880J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Jul 2010, 132(7): 071504 (9 pages)
Published Online: April 14, 2010
Article history
Received:
May 1, 2009
Revised:
May 21, 2009
Online:
April 14, 2010
Published:
April 14, 2010
Citation
Weiland, N. T., and Strakey, P. A. (April 14, 2010). " Reduction by Air-Side Versus Fuel-Side Dilution in Hydrogen Diffusion Flame Combustors." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. July 2010; 132(7): 071504. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4000268
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