Download or read book Combustion Characteristics and Performance of Low-swirl Injectors with Natural Gas and Alternative Fuels at Elevated Pressures and Temperatures written by David Joseph Beerer and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stationary power-generating gas turbines in the United States have historically been fueled with natural gas, but due to its increasing price and the need to reduce carbon emissions, interest in alternative fuels is increasing. In order to effectively operate engines with these fuels their combustion characteristics need be well understood, especially at elevated pressures and temperatures. In this dissertation, the performance of blends of natural gas / methane with hydrogen and carbon dioxide, to simulate syngas and biogas, are evaluated in a model low-swirl stabilized combustor inside an optically accessible high-pressure vessel. The flashback and lean blow out limits, along with pollutant emissions, flow field, and turbulent displacement flame speeds, are measured as a function of fuel composition, pressure, inlet temperature, firing temperature, and flow rate in the range from 1 to 8 atm, 294 to 600K, 1350 to 1950K, and 20 to 60 m/s, respectively. These properties are quantified as a function of the inlet parameters. The lean blow-out limits are independent of pressure and inlet temperature but are weakly dependent on velocity. NOX emissions for both fuels were found to be exponentially dependent upon firing temperature, but emissions for the high-hydrogen flames were consistently higher than those of natural gas flames. The flashback limits for a 90%/10% (by volume) hydrogen/methane mixture increase with velocity and inlet temperature, but decrease with pressure. Correspondingly, the flame position progresses toward the combustor nozzle with increasing pressure and flame temperature, but away with increasing inlet temperature and velocity. Flashback occurred when the leading edge of the flame entered the nozzle. Local displacement turbulent flame speeds scale linearly with the turbulent fluctuating velocities, u', at the leading edge of the flame. Turbulent flame speeds for high-hydrogen fuels are twice that of natural gas for the same inlet conditions. The results from this study demonstrate the feasibility of using low-swirl combustors as a means to achieve robust, fuel flexible, and low emissions gas turbines in the future. The correlations and design guides developed with the data from this work will aid engineers by providing insight into the performance and optimization of low-swirl stabilized combustors.