Session: 04-06 High Hydrogen II

Paper Number: 123608

123608 - Development of a Novel Hydrogen Burner Using Additive Manufacturing 

The emergence of hydrogen as a gas turbine fuel has been embraced by the aerospace industry. Hydrogen combustion holds significant promise for achieving zero CO2 emissions, but it also presents new challenges. Designing hydrogen combustor with low NOx emissions across a wide range of operability, spanning from flashback to lean blowout, requires extensive work, both numerically and experimentally. In this study, a novel design for an expandable micromixer-type hydrogen combustor is presented. The core concept involves rectangular fuel rods, each equipped with four orifices for injecting gaseous hydrogen streams, which are rapidly mixed by crossflow to form micro-flames. Within each fuel rod, a triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structure is designed to serve a dual purpose as a support material and as a heat sink to transfer heat from anchored micro-flames. To enable a wide range of operability, two sets of fuel rods, namely pilot and main burners, are separately controlled with different fuel splits. These burners are arranged in a staggered grid pattern with a 45-degree offset in their orientation, aimed at maximizing the number of flames while simultaneously preventing flame interaction. Large-eddy simulation (LES) with finite-rate chemistry of hydrogen-air was employed, and the numerical methods were validated through comparisons with lifted jet flame experiments by Cabra et al. (2002). The use of additive manufacturing with nickel-based alloy powder significantly reduced lead times for variant tests, enabling faster development and iteration of burner designs. Single burner tests were conducted under atmospheric conditions, and each configuration was tested with and without confinement using quartz tubes. The presence of an outer recirculation zone demonstrated better performance in terms of resilience to lean blowout. The LES results showed good agreement in predicting combustion instability under selected conditions. The future plan includes optimizing burner designs and conducting multi-burner tests under elevated conditions. This research represents a critical step in harnessing the potential of hydrogen combustion while addressing associated challenges, making significant strides toward a sustainable future for aerospace propulsion.

Presenting Author: Shaun Kim Hanwha Aerospace

Presenting Author Biography: Shaun Kim is a senior research engineer at Hanwha Aerospace in South Korea since 2012. His experties in combustion modeling for aircraft engine. Prior to his current position, he received Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Master of Science (M.S.) degrees in aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

Authors:

Shaun Kim Hanwha Aerospace
Jupyoung Kim Hanwha Aerospace
Hosung Byun Seoul National University
Jae Won Ku Hanwha Aerospace
Hyungrok Do Seoul National University
Sanghyeok Kwak Hanwha Aerospace
Dongsik Han Hanwha Aerospace
Seungchai Jung Hanwha Aerospace
Heeho Park Hanwha Aerospace