Session: 04-24 Kinetics I

Paper Number: 124079

124079 - Development of a Reactor Network Model for a Practical Gas Turbine Combustor 

With a major drive for carbon-neutral energy sources, the viability of alternative fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia are being actively investigated. One idea currently being explored is to retrofit existing natural gas power generation technologies for use with these alternative fuels. Computational models that can replicate the behavior of these types of systems can be useful in optimizing operating conditions for this type of retrofit as well as providing guidance for updated designs. In this work, a reactor network model is developed for a practical gas turbine combustion system to simulate emissions data observed in detailed laboratory experiments with highly reduced computation time. Such work can enhance both the analytical models as well as assist in validating measurements in experiments. The design methodology of such a reactor network model for a gas turbine combustor is explored, as well as the effect of key parameters in simulations on the results. This includes the complexity of the model and the sensitivity of the results to any added details in modeling. Results show that possible air leakage and radiative effects can lead to discrepancy between simulation and measured values for turbine inlet temperature. NO_x values and its ability to explain differences in simulation and experiments is discussed. The implemented chemical reactor network also shows areas for improvement such as more accurate geometric calculations and implementation of “recycling” to simulate recirculating gas. The sensitivity of the results to different chemical kinetics mechanisms is also shown, indicating room for possible improvements to chemical kinetics. The conversion of NO to NO₂ and the usefulness of simulating this effect is also discussed.

Presenting Author: Srujan Gubbi Georgia Institute of Technology

Presenting Author Biography: Srujan Gubbi is a second year PhD student in aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech.

Authors:

Srujan Gubbi Georgia Institute of Technology
Wenting Sun Georgia Institute of Technology
Nakjeong Choi KEPCO Research Institute
Seik Park KEPCO Research Institute
Jungkeuk Park KEPCO Research Institute
Sanghyup Lee KEPCO Research Institute
Jim Harper EPRI
Robert Steele EPRI
David Noble EPRI