Numerical prediction of operating characteristics of micro-gas turbine combustor with on-board reformed EGR system using co-simulation model and 1D reduced model

Abstract

In this study, an on-board reforming gas turbine system was proposed to expend the combustion stability and operating points of as gas turbine combustor aiming for fuel lean condition. On-board reforming does not store the syngas unlike the existing conventional reforming device, but formed syngas as the operating load changes and participates in combustion. In previous research conducted for this study, a concept single nozzle combustor was designed that satisfies the thermal output of 150 kW and the turbine inlet temperature of 1200 K. In addition, by designing a non-catalytic partial oxidation-based concept reformer, syngas formation was confirmed in various operation points. In previous research, closed-loop analysis was performed to analyze the independent effects of combustor and reformer. However, in this study, open-loop analysis that simulates the combustor and reformer simultaneously was performed to analyze the effect of the combined system at various operating points. As a result, improved combustion was confirmed by the generation of OH radicals when the oxidizing agent was diluted with increasing hydrogen content. This is similar to the lean OH radical distribution in a low-oxidizing environment, which is the basic characteristics of moderate or intense low-oxygen dilution combustion. The reformer analyzed the reaction by changing the reformate fuel inlet velocity. Through this, it was confirmed that the mixedness inside the reformer improved as the reformate fuel inlet velocity. Finally, to calculate the efficiency of the hydrogen addition operating points under various conditions, suitable operating points were derived by comparison with conventional partial oxidation reforming. The operating range of moderate or intense low oxygen dilution combustion in an on-board reforming gas turbine system was numerically predicted. This is expected to greatly contribute to the study to improve the stability of moderate or intensive low oxygen dilution combustion in the future.