Session: 04-17 Hydrogen Emissions II

Submission Number: 175731

Experimental Investigation of Additively Manufactured Low-NOx Hydrogen Micromix Combustors – Comparison of Two Different Concepts 

To support the transition toward climate-neutral aviation, hydrogen is considered one of the most promising long-term energy carrier candidates to support the transition toward climate-neutral aviation. Additive manufacturing methods such as Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) offer resource-efficiency and design-flexibility for the next-generation of hydrogen micromix combustors.

This paper presents in combination of both aspects the experimental and numerical investigation of two additively manufactured low-NO_x hydrogen micromix combustor configurations: the established Ring-Burner and the novel Radial-Spoke (RS) Burner. Both designs utilize the micromix combustion principle to achieve flashback-safe and low-NO_x emission hydrogen combustion.

Experimental tests were performed on an atmospheric combustion chamber test rig to evaluate the feasibility of additive manufacturing for micromix burners and to assess the influence on the NO_x emission characteristics. The measurements demonstrated stable operation across all tested on- and off-design points at combustion efficiencies next to 100%. NOx emissions remained low, which was also predicted by detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies performed with Star-CCM+.

The findings confirm that additive manufacturing using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) is a feasible method for designing and manufacturing micromix burners for hydrogen-powered gas turbine systems.

Keywords: hydrogen combustion, micromix, additive manufacturing, low-NO_x, RS-Burner, experimental investigations, LPBF, combustion simulations

Presenting Author: Jan Vierkötter Aachen University of Applied Sciences Aachen

Presenting Author Biography: Jan Vierkötter is a Research Engineer at FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, specializing in NOx reduction and hydrogen micromix combustion. He holds a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and focuses on applying additive manufacturing to improve combustion technologies for sustainable aviation.

Authors:

Harald Funke Aachen University of Applied Sciences Aachen
Jan Vierkötter Aachen University of Applied Sciences Aachen
Wim Verhagen RMIT University