Plasma Effects on Swirl Flames in a Scaled Dry Low Emission Burner

Abstract

The effect of a rotating gliding arc (RGA) plasma discharge on the flame in a downscaled Siemens Energy dry low emission, SGT-750, burner was experimentally investigated under atmospheric combustion conditions. The central pilot section of the burner, named RPL (rich-pilot-lean), was redesigned with an integrated high-voltage electrode to generate an RGA. The exhaust gas was sampled and analyzed in terms of CO and emissions, and the CO emission data show that the RGA extends the lean blowout limit. High-speed OH chemiluminescence imaging was employed to understand the transient behavior of the flame in both conditions, with and without RGA, and also to study the process of flame restabilization by the assistance of the RGA. A flame kernel, initiated around the RGA channel, was observed to play an important role in the restabilizing process of the flame. Although the emission for the flame with RGA was found to be higher than that without RGA, it was still less than what previous data show for operating conditions with the RPL flame.