Efficient emission modelling in lean premixed flames with pre-tabulated formation characteristics

It is practically important to accurately predict NOx and CO emissions in lean premixed flames for the development of fuel-efficient and low-emission combustion systems. In this study, the efficient modelling with pretabulated formation characteristics of NOx and CO is systemically investigated. Their formation characteristics for turbulent flames in the flamelet and thin reaction zone regimes are first quantified with one-dimensional adiabatic premixed flames through the incorporation of turbulence induced diffusion. Results show that the formation of NOx and CO can be characterized by two different stages, i.e., a rapid increase of both in flame front and the linear growth for NOx and exponential decay for CO in post-flame zone. An efficient NOx and CO modelling approach is formulated and demonstrated in a full-scale methane gas turbine combustor, in which species NOx and CO are transported and solved, with the source terms being modelled by pre-tabulated formation characteristics from one-dimensional premixed flames with detailed chemical kinetics. Realizable kepsilon model and finite rate/eddy dissipation model in conjunction with a two-step global mechanism are employed to primarily predict the flow and flame characteristics. Results show that the predicted NOx and CO agree with experimental measurements over a wide range of equivalence ratios. The discrepancy in NOx emission can be accounted by fuel/air unmixedness. For CO, the rapid increase due to the incomplete CO oxidation resulting from its increasing characteristic oxidation time near lean blow-out (LBO) is correctly captured. It is further shown that the predicted CO emission is sensitive to combustion/kinetics model parameters and the accurate prediction of flame shape and dynamics is crucial to capture the trend of CO formation near LBO.

Automated summary

This study systematically investigates the efficient modeling of NOx and CO formation characteristics, demonstrating the successful application in a full-scale methane gas turbine combustor. The results show that the predicted NOx and CO emissions agree with experimental measurements, with discrepancies in NOx emission attributed to fuel/air unmixedness and the sensitivity of CO emission prediction to combustion/kinetics model parameters.