Session: 04-08 Combustion Modeling I

Paper Number: 152020

LES of Hydrogen-Fuelled Combustion in the First Stage of the Ansaldo Energia GT36 Constant Pressure Sequential Combustion System 

Sequential combustion systems have demonstrated outstanding fuel flexibility, thus constituting an effective solution to burn hydrogen-based fuels at low emissions. The EU and Swiss funded FLEX4H2 project, is leveraging sequential combustion advantages to enable operation with either pure methane, pure hydrogen or with methane-hydrogen blends. The development focuses on the Ansaldo GT36 engine, utilising a Constant Pressure Sequential Combustion (CPSC) system. In such a system the first burner generates the required inlet temperature to stabilize the second stage flame by self-ignition, providing an additional degree of freedom to accommodate changes in fuel reactivity while limiting emissions. The static and dynamic stability of the system is a key element of the development aiming at stable combustion through the various operating conditions and range of fuels. Typically, varying the fuel composition from 0% to 100% of hydrogen has an important impact on the first stage flame stability and acoustic response. To investigate such possibilities a priori, numerical simulations, specifically Large Eddy Simulations, of the multi-burner first stage are performed for different blend ratios. These simulations provide valuable insights into the flame's statistically stationary behaviour, anchoring and morphology. In the following, recent advancements in the Thickened Flame (TF) model for hydrogen flames are specifically applied to this industrial configuration, demonstrating its effectiveness in capturing hydrogen's impact on the system.

Presenting Author: Aldo Schioppa CERFACS

Presenting Author Biography: After earning a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Naples "Federico II" (Italy), he pursued a Master of Science at ISAE-SUPAERO (Toulouse, France), specializing in Numerical Aerodynamics. His master’s thesis, conducted at ONERA (The French Aerospace Lab), focused on Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of hypersonic boundary layers and resulted in a co-authored publication. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at CERFACS (Centre Européen de Recherche et de Formation Avancée en Calcul Scientifique, Toulouse) in Numerical Combustion, where his research centers on Thermoacoustics in methane/hydrogen flames.

Authors:

Aldo Schioppa CERFACS
Luis Tay-Wo-Chong Ansaldo Energia Switzerland AG
Andrea Ciani Ansaldo Energia Switzerland AG
Laurent Gicquel CERFACS