Abstract
Designers of advanced gas turbine combustors are considering lean direct injection strategies to achieve low NOx emission levels. In the present study, the performance of a multipoint radial airblast fuel injector Lean Burn injector (LBI) is explored for various conditions that target low-power gas turbine engine operation. Reacting tests were conducted in a model can combustor at 4 and 6.6 atm, and at a dome air preheat temperature of 533 K, using Jet-A as the liquid fuel. Emissions measurements were made at equivalence ratios between 0.37 and 0.65. The pressure drop across the airblast injector holes was maintained at 3 and 7–8 percent. The results indicate that the LBI performance for the conditions considered is not sufficiently predicted by existing emissions correlations. In addition, NOx performance is impacted by atomizing air flows, suggesting that droplet size is critical even at the expense of penetration to the wall opposite the injector. The results provide a baseline from which to optimize the performance of the LBI for low-power operation.
Highlights
The results indicate that the Lean Burn injector (LBI) performance for the conditions considered is not sufficiently predicted by existing emissions correlations
The goal of the generation of gas turbine combustors is to reduce NOx emissions to meet regulatory levels that cannot be attained with present-day conventional combustors
The attainment of a lower level of NOx production by these lean-burning, advanced gas turbine combustors primarily depends on the preparation of the fuel-air mixture by fuel injectors
Summary
The goal of the generation of gas turbine combustors is to reduce NOx emissions to meet regulatory levels that cannot be attained with present-day conventional combustors. In conventional gas turbine combustors, thermal NOx is one of the major contributors to overall NOx production. The reduction of NOx is mainly accomplished by lowering the reaction temperature, which itself can be achieved by operating the combustor under fuel-lean conditions. The attainment of a lower level of NOx production by these lean-burning, advanced gas turbine combustors primarily depends on the preparation of the fuel-air mixture by fuel injectors. The mixture may be overall lean, a wide distribution of local equivalence ratios that bracket the stoichiometric condition will encourage thermal NOx production. These leanburning, low-NOx combustion concepts, though, are not without disadvantages. Low-NOx combustion methods that burn fuel-lean must overcome these challenges in order to become a viable technology
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