The LEAF concept operated with hydrogen: Flame topology and NOₓ formation


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Date

2024

Publication Type

Journal Article

ETH Bibliography

yes

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Abstract

The development of low NOₓ hydrogen (H₂) burners is crucial for the sustainability target of the power/propulsion sector. However, the technical difficulty of burning H₂ at low NOₓ emissions is challenging for the combustion community. Recently, the concept of LEan Azimuthal Flame (LEAF) has demonstrated promising results for low NOₓ kerosene/hydrogen combustion by rapidly diluting the reactants with burnt gas and fresh oxidizer. However, there is a lack of understanding of the flame dynamics and the NOₓ formation routes for H₂ LEAF. We therefore carried out a joint experimental and numerical study of the LEAF combustor at atmospheric pressure fueled with H₂. Experiments are based on OH-planar laser-induced fluorescence and exhaust gas analysis. Numerical results are based on massively parallel Large Eddy Simulation (LES) with an accurate description of the combustion and NOₓ chemistry. This study focuses on understanding the effects of the Air Ratio (AR), which defines the distribution of the air injected from the top and the bottom of the LEAF combustor. The LES results are in excellent agreement with the experimental data in terms of flame topology and exhaust emissions. A dual flame structure is observed when rich premixed gas is injected from the bottom together with air from the top, leading to the coexistence of premixed and non-premixed combustion regimes. An optimum AR is identified to minimize NOₓ emissions. It is attributed to the enhancement of the azimuthal whirling flow by the air injected from the bottom, having higher momentum than pure H₂ injection only.

Publication status

published

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Volume

40 (1-4)

Pages / Article No.

105278

Publisher

Elsevier

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Subject

Hydrogen turbulent combustion; Nitrogen oxides NOx; Large eddy simulation; Numerical combustion; Planar laser-induced fluorescence

Organisational unit

09471 - Noiray, Nicolas / Noiray, Nicolas check_circle

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