Optimized Design of a Swirler for a Combustion Chamber of Non-Premixed Flame Using Genetic Algorithms

Daniel Alejandro Zavaleta-Luna, Marco Osvaldo Vigueras-Zúñiga, Agustín L. Herrera-May, Sergio Aurelio Zamora-Castro and María Elena Tejeda-del-Cueto
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Daniel Alejandro Zavaleta-Luna: Master in Applied Engineering, Veracruzana University, 94294 Veracruz, Mexico
Marco Osvaldo Vigueras-Zúñiga: Master in Applied Engineering, Veracruzana University, 94294 Veracruz, Mexico
Agustín L. Herrera-May: Master in Applied Engineering, Veracruzana University, 94294 Veracruz, Mexico
Sergio Aurelio Zamora-Castro: Master in Applied Engineering, Veracruzana University, 94294 Veracruz, Mexico
María Elena Tejeda-del-Cueto: Master in Applied Engineering, Veracruzana University, 94294 Veracruz, Mexico

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-25

Abstract: Recirculation in a combustion chamber is required for stabilizing the flame and reducing pollutants. The swirlers can generate recirculation in a combustion chamber, inducing a swirling flow that breaks vorticity and improves the mixing of air and fuel. The swirl number ( S n ) is related to the formation of recirculation in conditions of high-intensity flows with S n > 0.6. Thus, the optimized design of a swirler is necessary to generate enough turbulence that keeps the flame stable. We present the optimized design of a swirler considering the main parameters for a non-premixed combustion chamber. This optimization is made with genetic algorithms to ensure the generation of a recirculation zone in the combustion chamber. This recirculation phenomenon is simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models and applying the renormalization group (RNG) k-ε turbulence method. The chemistry is parameterized as a function of the mixture fraction and dissipation rate. A CFD comparison of a baseline swirler model and the proposed optimized swirler model shows that a recirculation zone with high intensity and longer length is generated in the primary zone of the combustion chamber when the optimized model is used. Furthermore, the CFD models depict swirling effects in the turbulent non-premixed flame, in which the stabilization is sensitive to the recirculation zone. The temperature results obtained with the CFD models agree well with the experimental results. The proposed design can help designers enhance the performance of combustion chambers and decrease the generation of CO and NO x .

Keywords: swirler; optimized; genetic algorithms; recirculation; combustion; CFD; experimental validation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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