Investigation on the effects of front-cavity on flame location and thermal performance of a cylindrical micro combustor

Abstract

Micro combustor acts as the most important component of the micro thermo photovoltaic (TPV) system. It is crucial that the design and performance of a micro combustor are optimized for its application in a micro TPV system. A micro combustor with front-cavity is proposed in this study, and comparisons of flame stability and thermal performance of the micro combustor with and without front-cavity are made. In addition, the effects of front-cavity size and front-cavity shape on OH mass fraction, flame location and thermal performance of micro combustor are also discussed. The front-cavity in the micro combustor helps to improve the flame stability, increase outer wall temperature value and total energy conversion efficiency for the micro TPV system. It is found that the micro combustor with arc front-cavity (inner diameter ratio of front-cavity and combustion chamber is β = 0.9) is more suitable for the application in the micro TPV system.