The modelling of direct chemical kinetic effects in turbulent flames

Abstract

Combustion chemistry-related effects have traditionally been of secondary importance in the design of gas turbine combustors. However, the need to deal with issues such as flame stability, relight and pollutant emissions has served to bring chemical kinetics and the coupling of finite rate chemistry with turbulent flow fields to the centre of combustor design. Indeed, improved cycle efficiency and more stringent environmental legislation, as defined by the ICAO, are current key motivators in combustor design. Furthermore, lean premixed prevaporized (LPP) combustion systems, increasingly used for power generation, often operate close to the lean blow-off limit and are prone to extinction/reignition type phenomena. Thus, current key design issues require that direct chemical kinetic effects be accounted for accurately in any simulation procedure. The transported probability density function (PDF) approach uniquely offers the potential of facilitating the accurate modelling of such effects. The present paper thus assesses the ability of this technique to model kinetically controlled phenomena, such as carbon monoxide emissions and flame blow-off, through the application of a transported PDF method closed at the joint scalar level. The closure for the velocity field is at the second moment level, and a key feature of the present work is the use of comprehensive chemical kinetic mechanisms. The latter are derived from recent work by Lindstedt and co-workers that has resulted in a compact 141 reactions and 28 species mechanism for LNG combustion. The systematically reduced form used here features 14 independent C/H/O scalars, with the remaining species incorporated via steady state approximations. Computations have been performed for hydrogen/carbon dioxide and methane flames. The former (high Reynolds number) flames permit an assessment of the modelling of flame blow-off, and the methane flame has been selected to obtain an indication of the influence of differential diffusion effects among gaseous species. The agreement with experimental data is excellent. The predicted blow-off, velocity is within 10 per cent of the experimental value and it is further shown that experimental levels of major and minor species are well reproduced. Interestingly, comparisons of experimental data with prediction indicate only a modest influence of differential diffusion effects on gaseous species. A comparison with previous modelling efforts, featuring smaller scalar spaces, permits the conclusion that accurate chemistry is a prerequisite for quantitative predications of finite rate chemical kinetic effects.