Methodology for the numerical prediction of pollutant formation in gas turbine combustors and associated validation experiments

International audienceFor aircraft engine manufacturers the formation of pollutants such as NOx or soot particles is an important issue because the regulations on pollutant emissions are becoming increasingly stringent. In order to comply with these regulations, new concepts of gas turbine combustors must be developed with the help of simulation tools. In this paper we present two different strategies, proposed by ONERA and DLR respectively, to simulate soot or NOx formation in combustors. The first one is based on simple chemistry models allowing significant effort to be spent on the LES description of the flow, while the second one is based on more accurate, but also more expensive, models for soot chemistry and physics. Combustion experiments dedicated to the validation of these strategies are described next: The first one, performed at DLR, was operated at a semi-technical scale and aimed at very accurate and comprehensive information on soot formation and oxidation under well-defined experimental conditions; the second one, characterized at ONERA, was aimed at reproducing the severe conditions encountered in realistic gas turbine combustors. In the third part of the paper the results of combustion simulations are compared to those of the validation experiments. It is shown that a fine description of the physics and chemistry involved in the pollutant formation is necessary but not sufficient to obtain quantitative predictions of pollutant formation. An accurate calculation of the turbulent reactive flow interacting with pollutant formation and influencing dilution, oxidation and transport is also required: when the temperature field is correctly reproduced, as is the case of the ONERA simulation of the DLR combustor, the prediction of soot formation is quite satisfactory while difficulty in reproducing the temperature field in the TLC combustor leads to overestimations of NOx and soot concentrations.Pour les constructeurs de moteurs d’avion, la formation de polluants comme les NOx ou les particules de suies est une question importante car la réglementation sur les émissions polluantes est de plus en plus sévère. Pour respecter cette réglementation, de nouveaux concepts de foyers de turbine à gaz doivent être développés avec l’aide d’outils de simulation. Dans cet article, nous présentons deux stratégies différentes proposées par l’ONERA et le DLR pour simuler la formation des suies et des NOx dans les chambres de combustion. La première est basée sur des modèles chimiques simples permettant de faire porter l’effort de calcul sur la description LES de l’écoulement, tandis que la seconde est basée sur des modèles physico-chimiques de formation des suies plus précis mais aussi plus coûteux en temps de calcul. Des expériences de combustion conçues pour la validation de ces stratégies sont ensuite décrites : La première, réalisée au DLR, reproduit la combustion à une échelle semi-industrielle et a pour but de donner une information très précise et complète sur les mécanismes de formation des suies et leur oxydation dans des conditions expérimentales parfaitement maîtrisées ; la seconde, réalisée à l’ONERA, a pour but de reproduire de façon réaliste les conditions sévères rencontrées dans les foyers de turbine à gaz industrielles. Dans la troisième partie du papier, les résultats des simulations de combustion sont comparés à ceux des expériences de validation. Il est démontré que la description précise de la physique et de la chimie intervenant dans la formation des polluants est nécessaire mais non suffisante pour simuler correctement les quantités de polluants formés. Un calcul précis de l’écoulement turbulent réactif interagissant avec les mécanismes de formation, de dilution, d’oxydation et de transport des polluants est également nécessaire : Lorsque le champ de température est correctement reproduit comme c’est le cas pour la simulation ONERA du foyer DLR, la simulation de la formation des suies est assez satisfaisante, alors qu’une difficulté pour reproduire le champ de température dans le foyer TLC conduit à une surestimation des concentrations de NOx et de suies

Soot Prediction in a Model Aero-Engine Combustor using a Quadrature-based Method of Moments

Numerical simulations of aero-engine combustors are extremely challenging due to the complex multiscale and multiphysics phenomena involved. Currently, reliable modeling and prediction of soot particle formation produced during incomplete hydrocarbon combustion is one of the major issues in combustion research. The next generation of gas turbines for more sustainable aircraft engines must meet strict limitations for soot particle mass and size distribution. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the processes leading to soot particle formation and its precise prediction in practical combustion systems is crucial. In this work, a recently developed detailed soot model, the Split-based Extended Quadrature Method of Moments (S-EQMOM), is applied to simulate a model aero-engine combustor, experimentally investigated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). In previous studies, the S-EQMOM demonstrated good prediction capability in predicting soot particle oxidation, important to account for the reduction of soot particles. Here, the model is evaluated at elevated pressure conditions. Large eddy simulations are performed using flamelet-based tabulated chemistry with artificially thickened flame (ATF) approach coupled with the S-EQMOM. The simulation results are analyzed for both the gas phase and soot solid phase and compared with the experimental data. Velocity and temperature fields are well predicted. Soot formation is underestimated by the simulation, but qualitatively in good agreement with the experimental data

Large Eddy Simulation of Soot Formation in a Model Gas Turbine Combustor

The computational modeling of soot in aircraft engines is a formidable challenge, not only due to the multiscale interactions with the turbulent combustion process but the equally complex physical and chemical processes that drive the conversion of gas-phase fuel molecules into solid-phase particles. In particular, soot formation is highly sensitive to the gas-phase composition and temporal fluctuations in a turbulent background flow. In this work, a large-eddy simulation (LES) framework is used to study the soot formation in a model aircraft combustor with swirl-based fuel and air injection. Two different configurations are simulated: one with and one without secondary oxidation jets. Specific attention is paid to the LES numerical implementation such that the discrete solver minimizes the dissipation of kinetic energy. Simulation of the model combustor shows that the LES approach captures the two recirculation zones necessary for flame stabilization very accurately. Further, the model reasonably predicts the temperature profiles inside the combustor. The model also captures variation in soot volume fraction with global equivalence ratio. The structure of the soot field suggests that when secondary oxidation jets are present, the inner recirculation region becomes fuel lean, and soot generation is completely suppressed. Further, the soot field is highly intermittent suggesting that a very restrictive set of gas-phase conditions promotes soot generation.</jats:p