Numerical simulation of spray combustion using bio-mass derived liquid fuels

Abstract

The main objective of this work is to create a robust model for two-phase liquid spray combustion flow using vegetable oils, to investigate the flow structure generated by a swirler array with different fuels, and secondly to assess and optimise the capability of the CFD to predict accurately the results obtained experimentally and eventually enhance CFD model development and simulation. Validation is achieved by comparing the numerical results obtained with CFD with the experimental measurements. The purpose of this research is to increase the scientific understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of the spray combustion process using a carbon neutral fuel such as ethanol and biodiesel. In fact, very few numerical simulations of liquid biomass fuels in gas turbine systems are available in the literature. The flames are simulated using the commercial code FLUENT. The combustion/turbulence interaction is modelled using the laminar flamelet approach with detailed chemistry modelled using the OPPDIFF model from CHEMKIN. While the experiments could be carried out only up to 3 atm, the simulations were further extended to a maximum pressure of 10 atm. The FLUENT results were assessed qualitatively and quantitatively between the experimental measurements and the simulation. The cold flow features have been captured by the present simulations with a good degree of accuracy. Effect of air preheating was investigated for the biodiesel, and sensitivity to droplet size and spray angles variation were analysed. Good agreement was obtained for ethanol except in the fuel lean region due to failure of the FLUENT laminar flamelet model to capture local flame extinction while biodiesel simulation resulted in a significant overprediction of the flame temperature especially in the downstream region and satisfactory results further upstream. The results show the importance of setting proper droplet initial conditions, since it will significantly affect the structure of the flame.