Computational Analysis of Premixed Syngas/Air Combustion in Micro-channels: Impacts of Flow Rate and Fuel Composition

Sunita Pokharel, Mohsen Ayoobi and V’yacheslav Akkerman
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Sunita Pokharel: Center for Innovation in Gas Research and Utilization (CIGRU), Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Mohsen Ayoobi: Division of Engineering Technology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
V’yacheslav Akkerman: Center for Innovation in Gas Research and Utilization (CIGRU), Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 14, 1-19

Abstract: Due to increasing demand for clean and green energy, a need exists for fuels with low emissions, such as synthetic gas (syngas), which exhibits excellent combustion properties and has demonstrated promise in low-emission energy production, especially at microscales. However, due to complicated flame properties in microscale systems, it is of utmost importance to describe syngas combustion and comprehend its properties with respect to its boundary and inlet conditions, and its geometric characteristics. The present work studied premixed syngas combustion in a two-dimensional channel, with a length of 20 mm and a half-width of 1 mm, using computational approaches. Specifically, a fixed temperature gradient was imposed at the upper wall, from 300 K at the inlet to 1500 K at the outlet, to preheat the mixture, accounting for the conjugate heat transfer through the walls. The detailed chemistry of the ignition process was imitated using the San Diego mechanism involving 46 species and 235 reactions. For the given boundary conditions, stoichiometric premixed syngas containing various compositions of carbon monoxide, methane, and hydrogen, over a range of inlet velocities, was simulated, and various combustion phenomena, such as ignition, flame stabilization, and flames with repeated extinction and ignition (FREI), were analyzed using different metrics. The flame stability and the ignition time were found to correlate with the inlet velocity for a given syngas mixture composition. Similarly, for a given inlet velocity, the correlation of the flame properties with respect to the syngas composition was further scrutinized.

Keywords: micro-combustion; syngas; repetitive extinction and ignition (FREI); numerical simulations; flame instabilities (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: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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