Thermoacoustic Stabilization of a Sequential Combustor with Ultra-low-power Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed Discharges

This study demonstrates the stabilization of a sequential combustor with Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed Discharges (NRPD). A constant pressure sequential combustor offers key advantages compared to a conventional combustor, in particular, a higher fuel flexibility and a wider operational range. However, thermoacoustic instabilities remain a barrier to further widen the operational range of these combustors. Passive control strategies to suppress these instabilities, such as Helmholtz dampers, have been used in some industrial systems thanks to their simplicity in terms of implementation. Active control strategies are however not found in practical combustors, mainly due to the lack of robust actuators able to operate in harsh conditions with sufficient control authority. In this study, we demonstrate that thermoacoustic instabilities can be suppressed by using a non-equilibrium plasma produced with NRPD in a lab-scale atmospheric sequential combustor operated at 73.4 kW of thermal power. We employ continuous NRPD forcing to influence the combustion process in the sequential combustor. The two governing parameters are the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) and the plasma generator voltage. We examine the effect of both parameters on the acoustic amplitude, the NO emissions, and the flame centre of mass. We observe that for some operating conditions, with plasma power of 1.1 W, which is about 1.5$\times$ $10^{-3}$ percent of the thermal power of the flames, the combustor can be thermoacoustically stabilized. This finding motivates further research on the optimization of the plasma parameters as a function of the thermoacoustic properties of the combustor where it is applied. This study is a pioneering effort in controlling the thermoacoustic stability of turbulent flames with plasma discharges at such low power compared to the thermal power of the sequential combustor.Comment: 15 Figures, 36 Page

Numerical study of nitrogen oxides chemistry during plasma assisted combustion in a sequential combustor

Plasma Assisted Combustion (PAC) is a promising technology to enhance the combustion of lean mixtures prone to instabilities and flame blow-off. Although many PAC experiments demonstrated combustion enhancement, several studies report an increase in NOx emissions. The aim of this study is to determine the kinetic pathways leading to NOx formation in the second stage of a sequential combustor assisted by Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed Discharges (NRPDs). For this purpose, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) associated with an accurate description of the combustion/NOx chemistry and a phenomenological model of the plasma kinetics is used. Detailed kinetics 0-Dimensional reactors complement the study. First, the LES setup is validated by comparison with experiments. Then, the NOx chemistry is analyzed. For the conditions of operation studied, it is shown that the production of atomic nitrogen in the plasma by direct electron impact on nitrogen molecules increases the formation of NO. Then, the NO molecules are transported through the turbulent flame without being strongly affected. This study illustrates the need to limit the diatomic nitrogen dissociation process in order to mitigate harmful emissions. More generally, the very good agreement with experimental measurements demonstrates the capability of LES combined with accurate models to predict the NRPD effects on both turbulent combustion and NOx emissions

Décharge Filamentaire Nanoseconde en Surface à Barrière Diélectrique. Transition Streamer - Filamentaire et Application pour Combustion Assisté par Plasma

Non–equilibrium plasma is one of the most attractive and promising tool for many plasma–assisted applications. Production of active species (excited species, radicals, high energetic photons covering UV and IR spectral range) is important for gas pollution control, surface treatment, plasma actuators for aerodynamics application, biomedical applications and more recently the field of plasma medicine. For atmospheric and elevated gas densities the mainstream of the non–thermal plasma applications is the ignition of combustible mixtures or so–called Plasma–Assisted Ignition (PAI). Surface dielectric barrier discharges (SDBD), widely used for aerodynamic flow control, were recently suggested as distributed initiators of combustion in different systems. A principal possibility of using the SDBD ignitors at as high pressure as tens of bars has been demonstrated during the last 4-5 years. At the moment of the beginning of the thesis, the set of experimental data on the discharge and of ignition of fuels with SDBD was quite poor and insufficient for detailed analysis. Therefore, the experimental study of the surface DBD at atmospheric and elevated gas densities and the study of flame initiation with nanosecond SDBD were the object of the presented thesis. The results in the Thesis are presented in three parts. In the first part the nSDBD in a single shot regime at atmospheric air is investigated. The analysis of energy deposition, discharge current, intensity distribution and consequent energy release is performed. The positive and negative polarity pulses are used to produce surface discharge. The physics of anode and cathode–directed streamers is discussed. For both polarities of the applied pulses the electron density and reduced electric field are estimated and compared with calculations and/or 2D modeling results. The second part is devoted to the study of nSDBD at elevated pressures, up to 12 bar, in different gas mixtures ( N2, air, N2:CH4, N2:H2, Ar:O2, etc.). Two morphologically different forms of the nSDBD are considered: a “classical” streamer DBD at relatively low pressures and voltages, and a filamentary DBD at high pressures and/or voltages. The emission spectroscopy is used to obtain quantitative data about the discharge at high pressures (1-12 bar). The possible nature of the discharge filamentation is described. Finally, the third part describes the experiments of plasma–assisted ignition with nanosecond SDBD at elevated pressures. The discharge morphology in lean combustible ( H2:air) mixtures and following ignition of the mixtures are studied. The comparison of ignition by filamentary and streamer discharge at the pressures 1-6 bar is performed. Kinetic modeling of plasma assisted ignition for the electric fields typical for nSDBD, E/N = 100 − 200 Td is used for analysis of experimental data. Complex study of the discharges at atmospheric pressure, discharge at high pressures and ignition allow detailed description of the high-pressure distributed in space ignition by non--equilibrium plasma.Le plasma hors-équilibre est l’un des outils les plus attrayants et prometteurs pour de nombreuses applications assistées par plasma. La production d’espèces actives (espèces excitées, radicaux, photons de hautes énergies couvrant les spectres UV et IR) est importante pour le contrôle des gaz polluants, le traitement de surface, les actionneurs de plasma en aérodynamique, certaines applications biomédicales et, plus récemment, en médecine du plasma. Pour des densités de gaz atmosphérique et élevée, les applications des plasmas non-thermiques sont essentiellement l’allumage des mélanges combustibles ou, soi-disant, l’Allumage Assistée par Plasma (AAP). Les Décharges à Barrière Diélectrique de Surface (DBDS), largement utilisées pour le contrôle de l’écoulement aérodynamique, ont été récemment suggérées comme déclencheur de la combustion distribué dans différents systèmes. La possibilité d’utiliser les DBDS, comme allumeurs à des pressions allant jusqu’à plusieurs dizaines de bar, a été démontrée au cours des 4-5 dernières années. Au début de la thèse, l’ensemble des données expérimentales sur la décharge et l’allumage des combustibles par DBDS était assez pauvre, et insuffisant pour une analyse détaillée. Par conséquent, l’étude expérimentale de la DBDS à des densités atmosphérique et élevée de gaz, ainsi que l’étude du déclenchement de la flamme par DBDS nanoseconde (DBDSn) ont fait l’objet de cette thèse. Les résultats de la thèse sont présentés en trois parties. Dans la première partie, la DBDSn en mode mono-pulse est étudiée. Pour cela, l’analyse du dépôt d’énergie, du courant de la décharge, de la distribution de l’intensité et de la libération d’énergie qui en découle est effectuée. Les impulsions à polarités positive et négative sont utilisées pour générer la décharge surfacique, et la physique des streamers à polarités positive et négative y est discutée. Pour les deux polarités, la densité électronique et le champ électrique réduit sont estimés puis comparés avec des calculs et/ou des résultats obtenus par modélisation 2D. La deuxième partie est consacrée à l’étude des DBDSn à pression élevée (jusqu’à 12 bar) dans différents mélanges de gaz : N2, air, N2:CH4, N2:H2, Ar:O2, etc. Deux aspects morphologiquement différents de la DBDSn sont considérés : une DBD streamer « classique » à des pressions et tensions relativement basses, et une DBD filamentaire à des pressions et/ou tensions élevées. Les données quantitatives sur la décharge à haute pression (de 1 à 12 bar) sont obtenues par spectroscopie d’émission. Une description possible de la nature de cette filamentation est donnée. Enfin, la troisième partie présente les expériences d’allumage assistée par plasma utilisant des DBDSn à haute pression. Les morphologies de la décharge dans les mélanges combustibles pauvres (H2:air) et de l’allumage engendré sont étudiées. Puis, la comparaison entre allumage par décharge filamentaire et par streamer à la pression 1-6 bar est effectuée. Les données expérimentales sont analysées grâce à une modélisation de la cinétique de l’allumage assisté par plasma dans des champs électriques typiques des DBDSn (E/N = 100 Td). Une étude complexe des décharges à pression atmosphérique, à haute pression et de l’allumage permet d’obtenir une description détaillée de l’allumage à haute pression, distribué dans l’espace par le plasma hors-équilibre

Numerical study of plasma assisted combustion in a sequential combustor

The effects of Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed Discharges (NRPDs) on the second stage flame of a sequential combustor is investigated using numerical tools supported by experiments. In this work, Large Eddy Simulations (LESs) with an accurate description of the combustion chemistry and a simplified model of the plasma kinetics are performed and successfully reproduce experimental observations of the combustion enhancement obtained with NRPDs. Detailed plasma kinetics calculations and experimental data demonstrate that the simplified plasma modelling retrieves the main energetic routes for the dissipation of the electron energy during the discharges. This model initially developed for discharges in pure air, is still valid for the highly air-diluted mixture considered in this study. The results of the LESs are analyzed to explain the underlying physics. Chemical Explosive Mode Analysis (CEMA) is used to identify the combustion modes of the ignition kernels, which result from the fast gas heating and the radical production by the NRPDs. These ignition kernels quickly give rise to propagating flames, advected through the sequential burner. Moreover, it is shown that the oxygen atoms produced by the Non-Equilibrium Plasma (NEP) dramatically accelerate the oxidation of the fuel.ISSN:1540-7489ISSN:1873-270

Thermoacoustic stabilization of a sequential combustor with ultra-low-power nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharges

This study demonstrates the stabilization of a sequential combustor with Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed Discharges (NRPD). Sequential combustors offer advantages such as enhanced fuel flexibility and broader operational range compared to the conventional combustors. However, thermoacoustic instabilities limit their potential. While passive control strategies like Helmholtz dampers have been utilized, active control methods have been hindered by the lack of robust actuators for harsh conditions with sufficient control authority. This study demonstrates successful suppression of instabilities using NRPD in a lab-scale atmospheric sequential combustor, even at low plasma power (1.1 W, about 1.5×10−3 percent of thermal power of 73.4 kW). We also examine the effect of pulse repetition frequency and plasma generator voltage on NO emissions and the sequential flame topology. Notably, higher plasma power can further enhance suppression, albeit with a slight increase in NO emissions. However, the highest plasma power in our study (81 W, 1.1×10−1 percent of flame thermal power) shows a slight improvement in acoustic suppression while significantly elevating NO emissions. Intriguingly, specific plasma parameter combinations can excite another acoustic mode, necessitating further exploration for optimized control. This pioneering study highlights the potential of ultra-low-power plasma-based thermoacoustic control in sequential combustors, paving the way for enhanced stability and performance.ISSN:0010-2180ISSN:1556-292

Flame stabilization with nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge in a sequential combustor

This paper describes the experimental results of the flame dynamics stabilized by nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge (NRPD) in a sequential combustor configuration. In such configuration of the combustor, two flame regions are organized sequentially: (i) first stage flame and (ii) second-stage sequential flame placed downstream of the first one. The sequential flame is located downstream of the injection of the dilution air and the second stage fuel into the hot vitiated products of the first stage flame. Several operation conditions of the second stage flame were considered in the present paper. The parameters of the first stage flame and amount of the dilution air were fixed while the second stage fuel injection was composed of natural gas/H2 mixture with different fractions of hydrogen. It is shown that the flame anchoring and combustion dynamics is significantly affected by the amount of hydrogen and mean power of the NRPD. Thermal effect of the plasma was studied with optical emission spectroscopy. Namely, the temperature increase due to the fast gas heating was measured during applied high-voltage pulses. It was shown that, for a mean vitiated flow temperature of 1000K, the temperature increase due to nanosecond pulse discharge can reach up to 2100K. The coupling of the gas flow with NRPD was identified for different frequencies and amplitudes of applied pulses. It was found that for high pulse repetition frequency (PRF>40 kHz) the discharge propagation and the parameter of the plasma have a cumulative effect. Spatially resolved electron density and mean gas temperature in the plasma region were measured in order to characterize the flow-discharge coupling in the flow direction. High speed OH chemiluminescence is used for quantitative analysis of the ignition and stabilization of the second stage flame

Entropy Waves Measurement by Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy

Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) technique has been widely applied to measure the gas temperature and species concentration in combustion environments. In this work, we show the capability of TDLAS in measuring the coherent temperature fluctuations of a turbulent swirled flame. Two distributed feedback grating (DFB) lasers are used to probe the H2O absorption transitions near 7185.59 cm−1 and 6806.03 cm−1. Using the Peak-Scanned Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy (WMS), the 2f/1f absorption spectra are converted into temperature at a rate of 5 kHz. A particular quantity that we highlight is the Entropy Transfer Function (ETF) which relates the upstream acoustic perturbation to the temperature fluctuation downstream of the flame. The ETF is obtained by taking the ratio between the measured temperature fluctuation and the upstream acoustic perturbation input, induced by loudspeakers, reconstructed by multi-microphones-method. It is found that the ETFs of the swirling flame do not decrease monotonically with respect to the forcing frequency and exhibit a minimum response at particular frequencies depending on the operating conditions. The remarkable similarity between the measured ETFs and Flame Transfer Functions (FTFs) indicates a strong link between flame heat release rate response and the temperature fluctuation downstream of the flame. Furthermore, the measurement series demonstrate the strong capability and robustness of the TDLAS-WMS method in uncovering the peculiar entropy response of a turbulent swirled flame

Entropy transfer function measurement with tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy

Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) with wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) has been widely applied to measure the gas temperature and species concentration in combustion environments. In this work, we show the capability of TDLAS in measuring the coherent temperature fluctuations of a turbulent swirled flame. Two distributed feedback grating (DFB) lasers are used to probe the absorption transitions near 7185.59 cm−1 and 6806.03 cm−1. Using WMS, the 2f/1f absorption spectra are converted into temperature at a rate of 5 kHz. The quantity of interest that we measure is the Entropy Transfer Function (ETF) which, for low Mach numbers, relates the upstream acoustic perturbation to the temperature fluctuation downstream of the flame. The ETF is obtained by taking the ratio between the measured temperature fluctuation downstream of the flame, measured with TDLAS and the upstream acoustic perturbation input, induced by loudspeakers with forcing frequency ranging from 40 to 250 Hz, reconstructed with the multi-microphone method. We show that the TDLAS-WMS technique can measure relatively low coherent temperature fluctuations as low as 5 K. It is found that the gain of ETFs of the swirling flame does not decrease monotonically with respect to the forcing frequency and exhibits a minimum response at particular frequencies depending on the operating conditions. Moreover, the ETFs for different operating conditions collapse on each other when plotted against the Strouhal number. The similarity between the measured ETFs and Flame Transfer Functions (FTFs) indicates a strong link between flame heat release rate response and the temperature fluctuation downstream of the flame. Furthermore, the measurement series demonstrate the strong capability and suitability of the TDLAS-WMS technique for entropy waves measurements, leading to the discovery of peculiar entropy responses at high frequencies.ISSN:1540-7489ISSN:1873-270

Flame anchoring of a premixed jet flame in vitiated crossflow using nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge

This paper aims to investigate the effects of nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharge on the dynamics and on the anchoring of a premixed jet flame in hot vitiated cross flow. The lift-off height of the flame is studied for different mean plasma power, jet equivalence ratio and momentum ratio. It was found that the effect of plasma on the flame anchoring increases while decreasing jet equivalence ratio at fixed discharge mean power. Instantaneous and averaged OH-PLIF images showed the production of OH radicals on the windward side of the jet as well as their propagation along and around the windward jet shear layer over 2 to 5 jet diameters depending on the jet equivalence ratio and jet-to-cross-flow momentum ratio. It was shown that the presence of the NRPD on the windward side increases the overall OH density on both the windward and the leeward side of the jet. The chemical and thermal effects are discussed based on results of OH-PLIF images and emission spectroscopy. It is shown that rather low mean power (comparing to the flame power) discharge can serve as an efficient instrument for flame anchoring and stabilization

Effect of non-equilibrium plasma on decreasing the detonation cell size

International audienceThe effect of a volumetric nanosecond discharge on detonation cell size was demonstrated experimentally in a detonation tube test rig. The experiments were performed in CH 4 :O 2 :Ar=1:2:2 mixture, at initial pressure 180 mbar and ambient temperature. The plasma was generated by two consecutive pulses of −50 and −32 kV amplitude on the high-voltage electrode and 25 ns pulse duration. The analysis of the detonation cell size with and without plasma generation was performed via sootedplate technique. The detonation cell size was reduced by a factor of 1.5 − 2, while passing through the region of the discharge