Monte Carlo Simulation for Radiative Transfer in a High-Pressure Industrial Gas Turbine Combustion Chamber

Abstract

Radiative heat transfer is studied numerically for reacting swirling flow in an industrial gas turbine burner operating at a pressure of 15 bar. The reacting field characteristics are computed by Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations using the k-ε model with the partially stirred reactor (PaSR) combustion model. The GRI-Mech 2.11 mechanism, which includes nitrogen chemistry, is used to demonstrate the the ability of reducing NOx emissions of the combustion system. A Photon Monte Carlo (PMC) method coupled with a line-by-line spectral model is employed to accurately account for the radiation effects. CO2, H2O and CO are assumed to be the only radiatively participating species and wall radiation is considered as well. Optically thin and PMC-gray models are also employed to show the differences between the simplest radiative calculation models and the most accurate radiative calculation model, i.e., PMC-LBL, for the gas turbine burner. It was found that radiation does not significantly alter the temperature level as well as CO2 and H2O concentrations. However, it has significant impacts on the NOx levels at downstream locations.