Experimental Study of a Lifted LPP Flame. LDV, CH Chemiluminescence, Acetone PLIF Measurements. by Guillaume Martins, Gilles Cabot*, Benoit Taupin, David Vauchelles, Abdelkrim Boukhalfa gilles.cabot@coria.fr CORIA UMR CNRS 6614 avenue de l Université BP8 76801 Saint Etienne du Rouvray (France) ABSTRACT The purpose of this experimental work is to study lean premixed fuel/air swirl flames in order to identify the factors governing flame stabilization. The experimental burner is composed of a cylindrical quartz combustion chamber (200 80mm) placed in a pressurized and cooled casing with three large optical accesses. Downstream, a converging nozzle with variable section allows to rise the pressure inside the combustion chamber up to 8 Bar. The combustion air can be preheated up to 500 C. The fuel/air injector is a radial swirler injector. The premix tube is a 70mm length and 10 mm diameter cylinder. The experimental device can operate either with natural gas or with liquid n -heptane, since liquid fuel prevaporization is to be studied in a second step. Results of the present study only concern natural gas combustion. Velocity field is measured by LDV technique, reacting zone is visualized by CH chemiluminescence imaging, mixing in the non reacting zone is qualified by acetone-plif, and dynamic pressure sensors are used. For the two tested swirl numbers and for a fixed inlet velocity, a Corner Recirculation Zone (CRZ) can be observed in LDV results for the non reacting flow. However the Inner Recirculation Zone (IRZ) appears only for high swirl numbers. For atmospheric pressure and T inlet air = 20 C, a lifted flame with an unstable position is observed. The IRZ strongly decreases lift height and extends burner lean operating limit. When equivalence ratio is decreased, instability intensity increases and a frequency appears at 240Hz in pressure spectrum. A cyclic evolution along pressure cycle is observed for the structure and the reaction intensity of flame foot.
INTRODUCTION A basic problem in combustion is to achieve low pollutant emission with high combustion efficiency. Lean Premix Prevaporized combustion for liquids fuels (LPP) is being considered as a promising solution for the reduction of nitrogen oxides and soot particles. Soot particle formation occurring during droplet combustion [Ohkubo et al. 1997] is decreased by fuel prevaporizing. Furthermore, the homogeneity of fuel-air mixture at the exit of the premix tube leads to a decrease of local rich zones with high flame temperature, where NOx production is governed by thermal NO mechanism [Mongia et al. 1996]. Unfortunately, operating at lean equivalence ratios induces flame instabilities [Samaniengo et al. 1993], flash back [Plee et al. 1978 ] and CO emissions. This kind of instabilities results fro m a coupling between pressure fluctuations and heat release. To increase stability and to increase flame holding, high swirl injectors are often used [Anacleto et al. 2002]. Our experimental device is designed to operate with pressure inside the combustion chamber ranging up to 8 bar, and premix temperature ranging up to 500 C. Pressure and temperature influences were studied previously for a gaseous fuel injection device, including a axial swirler and a bluff-body for flame stabilization [Taupin 2003]. The purpose is now to operate in LPP conditions, without bluff-body and with a radial swirler. The device works with liquid fuel, however, natural gas is used for simplification in the present study, since the purpose is to analyze flame structure and swirling flow in the restricted combustion chamber as function of injection swirl number. EXPRIMENTAL SET-UP Injector and Burner The experimental configuration uses a radial swirl injector in a sudden-expansion dump combustor (80mm diameter) which is made of a quartz tube for an optical access in the first part (200mm) and which is made of steel in the last part (170mm). Air flows inside the swirler through 18 rectangular holes inclined at an angle of 45. Fuel is injected radially 20 mm downstream and mixes with air in the 70 mm length and 10 mm diameter premixing chamber. Swirler geometry can be modified by obturating some radial air inlets. For a constant mass flow rate, reducing number of inlets increases tangential velocity and then increases swirl number. An estimation of swirl number was performed with Fluent [2001] simulations, and was found to be S=0.46 for the basic 18 holes configuration and S=0.56 for the 6 holes configuration. Results will be presented in the following for these two configurations, and will be referred as 10-18h and 10-6h. Reference mean axial velocity at injector exit will be 70m/s. α = 45 Air Inlet 8 mm Gas Fuel Inlet 25m 10-2/3 Premixing Zone 70 mm 10 mm Natural Gas Combustion air Cooling air Chocked section Radial injector Flame tube Figure 1 : Details of radial swirl injector Figure 2 : Details of experimental set-up A conical converging nozzle is placed at the combustion chamber exit to allow pressure modification up to 8 bar. Dilution air flow is injected at 230 mm downstream air/fuel injection, in order to cool the quartz tube and to dilute the hot combustion product. To limit the strain of pressure and temperature on the quartz tube, it was placed in a pressurized square box equipped with three wide windows for optical access. Three mass flow controllers are used to set the cooling dilution air mass flow, the combustion air and the natural gas flow rates, full scale are respectively: 85g/s for air and 6g/s for gas. Combustion air can be preheated up to 500 C. This experimental set-up allows a parametrical investigation of equivalence ratio (φ), pressure chamber (P) and air inlet temperature (T) influences. Results presented in the present study were obtained for atmospheric pressure and T inlet =20 C. It can be noted that several trials were performed for injector and burner design. During these trials, it was observed that flash-back combustion regime could occur in the restricted exit chamber, for injection diameters higher than 14mm.
Pressure measurements Pressure measurements are obtained by a dynamic pressure sensor with a 45 khz response (Kistler: 7061B), which was calibrated between 0 and 5 bars. This sensor is coupled to a charge amplifier with a 70 khz cut frequency. The sensor is fixed at the end of the combustion chamber. LDV measurements The LDV measurement device is a two color, dual beam TSI system. Axial and radial velocity components are measured using respectively the green and the blue lines from a 6 W Argon Ion laser. The LDV signal is processed by an IFA 750 Digital Burst Correlator. The swirling incoming air jet was seeded with zirconium oxide (mean diameter 2 µm) introduced in the flow by a rotative brush seeder. CH Chemiluminescence CH chemiluminescence images were obtained with an Intensified CCD camera (LaVision: Flamstar2, 14 bytes, 384 286 pixels 2 ). CH* emission was filtered with two colored filters, the first one is 180 nm band pass centered on 410 nm and the other one is high pass with a cut frequency at 390 nm. CH formation occurs during fuel decomposition and then CH emission is a marker for reaction zone [Donbar et al. 2000] [Higgins et al. 2001]. For collecting images, two different fields of view were used, a 142 x 80 mm field and a 38 x 51mm field. Acetone P-LIF Gaseous acetone seeded into the studied gas flow can be excited by a high energy pulse of UV laser in a thin sheet. The resulting vis ible fluorescence of acetone provides an instantaneous image of the flow collected by an intensified CCD camera. Acetone is seeded into gaseous fuel flow by bubbling into a isothermal acetone bath. Below the decomposition temperature which is about 1000K [Miller 94], acetone is ideal for instantaneously capturing two dimensional flow structure. In isobar, isothermal and non reactive flow, acetone PLIF allows quantitative measurement of the mixing [Lozano et al. 1992]. In our case, signal vanishes in reacting zones, and flow structure can be qualitatively examined in regions where mixture is cold and has not yet reacted. Laser excitation at 248nm was provided by Lambda Physik LPX100 Excimer with a Kr-F mixture. The fluorescence signal is captured using ICCD camera (LaVision: Flamstar2) and a 180 nm band pass filter centered at 410 nm. The field of view was 38 x 51 mm. For CH emission and P-LIF images and for each tested condition (Swirl number, Equivalence Ratio), 300 instantaneous images were taken, from wh ich a mean image and a r.m.s. image were calculated. During these acquisitions, images obtained with the smaller field of view, close to the nozzle exit, were also triggered with the pressure signal of the combustion chamber. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Flame structure as function of swirl number The studied burner produces a relatively stable and lifted flame. LDV velocity measurements and spontaneous CH emission measurements with a CCD camera inform on internal flame structure. LDV measurements Velocity measurements have been performed in the non reacting flow but were not possible to achieve in the reacting flow. In figure 3 are reported the obtained velocity fields respectively for injector 10-18h and for injector 10-6h. Air flow rate is 6.65 g/s corresponding to a mean exit velocity equal to 70m/s. In the case of injector 10-18h, a jet flow can be observed in the velocity cartography, and is confirmed by centerline axial velocity decay presented in figure 4. A corner recirculation zone (CRZ) is also observed in the dump region, due to sudden expansion geometry with a confinement ratio higher than 4 [Gupta 1984]. In the case of injector 10-6h, swirl is higher, and the flow no more behaves as a simple jet. An internal recirculation zone (IRZ) is observed, making the annular jet expanding radially. Jet opening angle is about 30 with the axis. This IRZ is generated by the swirl induced central depression and is known to appear for a swirl number higher than a critical value [Lilley 1977]. The axis profile in figure 4 shows that IRZ closes up on the axis at about 120mm from injection. A CRZ is also observed at burner base, with a lower size than for 10-18h case (40mm versus 80 mm) but higher velocities. Size decrease and intensity increase certainly result from the interaction of the annular conical jet with combustion chamber walls.
X (mm) 130 120 110 X (mm) 130 120 110 100 100 90 80 70 60 90 80 70 60 Uaxis (m/s) 50 40 30 Injector 10-18 h Injector 10-6 h 50 50 20 40 30 20 10 0 20 40 R (mm) 40 30 20 10 0 20 40 R (mm) 10 0-10 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 X (mm) Figure 3: Velocity fields for 10-18h and 10-6h injectors, isothermal flow Figure 4 : Axial velocity on chamber centerline for both injectors, isothermal flow Acetone P-LIF mixing characterization Fluorescence signal measurement of a fuel/air mixture seeded with acetone allows to qualify the region where mixture is cold and has not yet reacted. Mean images obtained for the 2 injectors are presented in figure 5. Measured field corresponds to a restricted 38 x 51mm area located close to nozzle exit. It can be observed that for injector 10-18h, mixed air/fuel jet issues vertically, without radially dispersing, up to about 3 cm. For injector 10-6h, signal strongly decreases after 1 cm, and radially disperses with a 30 cone shape. Structures previously observed in the non reacting flows seem to be preserved, as simple jet structure and supercritical swirl structure including a IRZ are compatible with the present images. It should be mentioned that this result is not necessary obvious since thermal expansion due to combustion reaction decreases effective swirl number in the case of reacting flow [Hillemanns et al. 1986][Weber et al. 1992]. Figure 5 : Mean acetone PLIF images for both injectors Figure 6 : Mean CH emission images for both injectors, white dash lines represent P-LIF fields
CH Chemiluminescence Images Measurement of CH chemiluminescence allows to localize combustion reaction zone. Measurements have been performed for both injectors, at 0.7 equivalence ratio and 70 m/s nozzle exit mean velocity. It can be observed in figure 6 that flame is lifted for all swirl numbers. A significant modification of flame shape can be observed between low swirl and higher swirl due to the modification of flow structure. For 10-18h injector (low swirl), the bowl shape flame does not come up to chamber walls. On the contrary, for 10-6h injector (higher swirl), a more compact and intense flame and a strong contact with walls are observed. When mean CH chemiluminescence signal on chamber axis is examined, in figure 7, it can be observed that distance between injector and maximum position varies between the studied configurations, from x=100mm for 10-18h injector to x=50mm for 10-6h injector. Lift and reaction zone extent can be determined by stating a reference threshold of 20% of maximum intensity. Lift and reaction zone extent both decrease when swirl is increased (fig. 7), from 50mm lift and 70mm extent for 10-18h injector to 25mm lift and 45mm extent for 10-6h injector. Furthermore, the extra test of 10-9h injector shows a very similar behavior with the 10-6h injector, in terms of lift, position and intensity of the flame (fig. 7). It seems that transition between the two lift positions occurs abruptly (fig. 8) when critical swirl number is reached. CH* signal (a.u.) 5500 5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 Injector 10-18h Injector 10-9h Injector 10-6h Height of lift (mm) 50 45 40 35 Critical Swirl Injector 2000 30 1500 1000 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 X (mm) Figure 7: Axial profile of mean CH emission for 10-18h, 10-9h and 10-6h injectors 25 0.4410-18h 0.46 0.48 0.5 10-9h 0.52 0.5410-6h 0.56 0.58 increasing swirl number Swirl number Figure 8: Height of flame lift evolution versus swirler geometry Burner operating range Burner operating range was studied as function of fuel flow rate and equivalence ratio, for both injectors. In all studied conditions, flame is lifted. When equivalence ratio is decreased, it is generally observed that flame turns from a relatively stable regime (referred as rich stable) to an unstable regime (lean unstable) before extinction. Transition equivalence ratio between stable and unstable regimes will be referred as φ unstable and lean extinction limit will be referred as φ lean-blow-off. Unstable regime is observed visually, and is quantified by measuring pressure fluctuations inside combustion chamber. A temporal pressure evolution and corresponding frequency spectrum obtained for an unstable case are reported in figures 9 and 10, where a 240Hz pressure oscillation can be observed. Burner operating limits are reported in figure 11 for 10-6h injector. For low fuel flow rates, the unstable regime is not observed before lean extinction. Extinction limit equivalence ratio (φ lean-low-off ) decreases when fuel flow rate is increased, from φ blow-off = 0.67 for 0.1g/s to φ blow-off = 0.63 for 0.4g/s. A decrease of transition equivalence ratio φ unstable is also observed when flow rate is increased, from φ unstable =0.70 for 0.2 g/s to φ unstable =0.68 for 0.4 g/s.
Pressure Fluctuations (a.u.) 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0-0.5-1.0-1.5 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 Time (s) Amplitude 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 50 150 250 350 450 550 650 750 850 950 Frequency (Hz) Figure 9: Temporal evolution of pressure inside combustion chamber for 10-6h injector (unstable case) Figure 10: Spectrum of pressure signal for 10-6h injector (unstable case) Equivalence Ratio 0.75 0.7 0.65 φ blow-off Injector 0-3 0.6 φ blow-off Injector 2-3 0.55 0.2 0.3 0.4 Fuel mass flow-rate (g/s) Figure 11: Burner operating range of 10-6h flame as function of fuel flow rate Figure 12: Lean Blow Off limit of 10-18h and 10-6h flames evolution as function of fuel mass flow rate In the present case, the increase of fuel flow rate leads to an increase of burner operating range. In a similar configuration but including a bluff-body, Taupin [2003] observed that operating range did not depend on fuel flow rate since flame was anchored on bluff-body. In order to study the effect of swirl number on burner operating domain, extinction limit φ blow-off have been reported in figure 12 for both injectors. As for 10-6h injector (higher swirl), extinction equivalence ratio φ blow-off decreases when fuel flow rate is increased for 10-18h injector (lower swirl), but higher values are observed for φ blow-off. This confirms the interest of IRZ in flame stabilization. IRZ allows hot and reacting gases to be reinjected in the center of reaction zone, leading to flame stabilization for lower values of equivalence ratio.
CH emission Acetone P-LIF Mean Instantaneous Mean Instantaneous ϕ = 0 ϕ = 45 ϕ = 90 ϕ = 135 ϕ = 180 ϕ = 225 ϕ = 270 ϕ = 315 Figure 13: Mean and instantaneous phase locked images of CH emission and Acetone P-LIF of the flame foot
Phase locked measurements of acetone P-LIF and CH emission The injector with the higher swirl (10-6h) is retained for this study. In unstable regime, acquisition are triggered with the 240Hz oscillating pressure signal. Experimental conditions are φ=0.64, nozzle exit mean velocity at 70m/s, corresponding to fuel and air mass flow rates equal to 0.65g/s and 6.69g/s. Instantaneous and mean images of CH chemiluminescence and acetone P-LIF are presented as function of pressure phase. Both techniques are obtained for small field close to nozzle exit. The main part of the flame develops downstream the measured region, since measurements are focused on the near nozzle region. Mean evolution of mixing (P-LIF) and reaction (CH*) along the cycle are reported in figure 13, for 8 different phases ϕ of the pressure cycle. ϕ = 0 corresponds to the minimum of pressure inside combustion chamber. Concerning CH chemiluminescence images, for ϕ = 0, the main flame comes down inside the measurement zone and has the closer value for distance to injector. When ϕ increases, flame moves downstream and the maximum value for distance to injector is obtained for ϕ =180. From ϕ =180, a reaction zone with a light intensity comes upstream, along a cone shape, up to injector. Intensity of this flame foot increases for ϕ =180 to ϕ =270. For ϕ = 315, the flame foot disappears but main flame comes again in the measurement field. The behaviour of main flame and of flame foot can be confirmed by the analysis of instantaneous images. Concerning P-LIF images, a cyclic evolution is also observed with a minimum jet penetration distance at ϕ =90 and maximum at ϕ =270. A variation of intensity at the nozzle exit is also observed, with a maximum at ϕ = 180. This variation can be interpreted as a fluctuation of injection equivalence ratio. Furthermore, two lobes are observed in mean images as well as in instantaneous images, resulting from the interaction of the issuing jet with the IRZ. It can be noticed that IRZ is physically at very short distance from nozzle exit, since the maximum for this distance is about 1cm for ϕ =270. For ϕ = 0, 45 and 90, it seems that IRZ comes inside the injector. A scenario is now proposed for the cyclic behaviour : when IRZ comes inside injector, the restriction of nozzle exit area induces an increase of velocity. Resulting high strain rate, combined with lean equivalence ratio, induces local extinction in the near nozzle region and a shift of main flame downstream. When IRZ moves out the injector, nozzle exit velocity decreases and reaction can occur again in the near nozzle region, making main flame shift upstream, dragging IRZ again towards injector. Additional phenomenon might also be involved in flame oscillation. P-LIF signal intensity variation which is observed at the injector exit might be attributed to equivalence ratio variations, which have an influence on flame stability. This phenomenon was previously mentioned by Lieuwin an Zinn. [1998]. Furthermore, the coherence observed in flame curvature at the jet base (instantaneous P-LIF images) might be due to a vortex shedding phenomenon [Venkatraman 1999]. CONCLUSION Flame structure and swirling flow in the restricted combustion chamber has been analyzed for two different injection swirl number. In the non reacting flow, a Corner Recirculation Zone is observed for both injectors. A structure transition occurs when swirl is increased and an Inner Recirculation Zone is observed for the higher swirl injector. The observed flow structures are maintained in the reacting flows, despite the decrease of effective swirl number due to thermal expansion. Flame is always lifted, but is scattered and lifted far from injector for the lower swirl while it is compact and relatively close by injector for the higher swirl. IRZ participates in flame holding and allows operating at lower values of equivalence ratio. However, this lean regime induces the apparition of a 240 Hz combustion instability. In CH emission and acetone P-LIF phase locked images, a cyclic behaviour is observed at the flame base. The cyclic position of IRZ relative to nozzle exit seems to be a key in flame stability, through local stretching and extinction.
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