Optimisation of Flame Holder Design for Micro Gas Turbine

Abstract

Abstract Micro gas turbine (MGT) is an efficient alternative to costly generation and transmission of electricity especially in combined heat and power (CHP) for remote areas applications. In this study, an optimum geometry of a flame holder of MGT combustion chamber was determined in terms of height and diameter using solid works and ANSYS fluent. To determine and optimise the flame holder geometry, species transport and non-premix with radiation models were used in ANSYS fluent. Optimisation process was performed to select the best geometry of flame holder that produces lowest CO emission. The flame holder was divided in to three zones namely; pre-mix, combustion and dilution zones respectively. The test parameters applied during simulation include: the diameter of holes, number of rows per zone, heat flux through convective heat transfer, percentage excess air and location of dead zone. Optimum diameter of holes for the zones was found out to be 6, 8 and 10 mm with each having four rows of holes. In addition, 60 cm height and 2 inches diameter of flame holder showed a well distributed flame contours. The application of heat flux under radiation model reveals an acceptable CO emission of 102 ppm and average temperature of 1218 °C for the diesel fuel used.