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Computational analysis of multi-fuel micro-gas turbine annular combustion chamber

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Abstract

In this research, an annular combustion chamber with swirlers is introduced in a micro-gas turbine engine for power production. The impact of the dilution holes position and swirler vane angles on the performance of the combustion chamber is investigated. Furthermore, optimization of the combustion chamber is carried out to accommodate a multi-fuel blend, incorporating pure methane, natural gas, and ethanol. The combustor is designed in SolidWorks, and simulations are performed in Ansys Fluent for two positions of dilution holes in the liner and swirler blade angles. The model used is non-premixed with a compressible k–ε turbulent flow model and an equilibrium probability density function for the chemical reaction. To measure the performance of the combustion chamber, pollutant emissions, combustion efficiency, and outlet temperature are examined. Pollutant emissions such as carbon monoxide and unburned fuels exist in a small amount; however, nitric oxides are negligible. The combustion efficiency found is above 98% for methane and natural gas, and almost 100% for ethanol. Moreover, simulation results reveal that the swirler vane angle of 45° widely improves combustor performance.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy, NUST, for providing facilities.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Patrick Phelan in author contribution list in manuscript preparation. Kindly remove Z from ALZ. only AL.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Thermal Energy Engineering, U.S-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan

    Anis Ahmad Sher

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan

    Naseem Ahmad

  3. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan

    Mariyam Sattar

  4. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Arizona State University (ASU), Arizona, USA

    Patrick Phelan

  5. School of Power and Energy, Northwestern Polytechnical University, **’an, 710129, People’s Republic of China

    Aqiang Lin

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Contributions

The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: AAS and NA helped in study conception, design, and data collection. AAS, NA, MS, PP and AL participated in analysis and interpretation of results. AAS, NA, and MS were involved in draft manuscript preparation. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Naseem Ahmad.

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Sher, A.A., Ahmad, N., Sattar, M. et al. Computational analysis of multi-fuel micro-gas turbine annular combustion chamber. J Therm Anal Calorim 149, 3317–3329 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-024-12924-z

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