Session: 04-05 High hydrogen I

Paper Number: 151389

Surface Roughness Effects on the Operability and Performance of a Hydrogen Jet Burner 

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has gained significant momentum over the past decade, especially in the gas turbine industry where it is used to produce critical components. Consequently, manufacturers look to AM for the production of critical components central to the combustor architecture.  However, AM struggles to achieve satisfactory surface finishes, with its increased surface roughness shown to impact axial velocities, heat release, NOx emissions, and stability limits. Correlations between increased roughness and boundary layer flashback resistance are of significant interest for lean premixed combustion of high hydrogen content (HHC) fuels. With the development of innovative burner configurations aimed at overcoming static stability challenges associated with HHC fuels, and the integration of AM in their fabrication, studying the effects of roughness on these designs is crucial. This study aims to quantify the influence of surface roughness on an industry-relevant jet burner configuration, expanding on work previously undertaken with a premixed swirl geometry. A bluff-body stabilized, premixed jet burner design was developed with an interchangeable section to accommodate different surface textures. Characterization under atmospheric hydrogen-fired conditions, using smooth and rough inserts representing traditional machining and selective laser melting finishes, characterized the impact of surface roughness on flame topology, static flame stability, and emissions formation. The results provide a valuable experimental foundation for considering surface roughness in advanced burner designs and will serve as a reference for future numerical studies on roughness sensitivity.

Presenting Author: Robin Vivoli Cardiff University

Presenting Author Biography: Robin Vivoli is a PhD student at Cardiff University. His research focuses on applying hydrogen combustion to gas turbines for power generation.

Authors:

Robin Vivoli Cardiff University
Daniel Pugh Cardiff University
Burak Goktepe Cardiff University
Sally Hewlett Cardiff University
Anthony Giles Cardiff University
Richard Marsh Cardiff University
Steven Morris Cardiff University
Philip Bowen Cardiff University