Effects of fuel molecular structure on emissions in a jet flame and a model gas turbine combustor
Open Access
- Author:
- Makwana, Anandkumar
- Graduate Program:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- March 22, 2018
- Committee Members:
- Jacqueline O’Connor, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Jacqueline O’Connor, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Thomas A. Litzinger, Committee Member
Daniel C. Haworth, Committee Member
Randy L. Vander Wal, Outside Member - Keywords:
- Soot
Alternative fuels
Fuel molecular structure
Non-premixed flames
Aromatic species
Premixed flames
Aromatic fuels - Abstract:
- Stricter environmental requirements, worldwide air traffic growth, and unsteady fuel prices all has led to an increased interest in alternative jet fuels. Additionally, several nations are investing resources identifying local fuel sources to make the fuel supply more resilient against disruptions and flexible to use of multiple, reliable fuel stocks. The alternative jet fuels that are being defined have unusual molecular distributions relative to current fuels. These differences in molecular structure affect the gas-phase kinetics during combustion, and hence the use of alternative fuels can impact emissions differently than conventional fuels. The differences in the emission characteristics between a newly developed alternative fuel and conventional fuel highlight the need to focus the research efforts on understanding how the fundamental properties of the fuel can affect emissions. The current work focuses on investigating the chemical effects of fuel molecular structure on the emission behavior of the fuels. In particular, the study explores how the fuel composition and premixing affect the production of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), and soot in a combustion environment. The study uses two experimental configurations: a jet flame and a model gas turbine combustor. Laser induced incandescence (LII) and laser extinction (LE) are used to obtain two-dimensional soot volume fraction in the flames. Laser induced fluorescence (LIF) is used to obtain the two-dimensional aromatic species distribution in the flames. Additionally, numerical analysis is used to investigate the effects of premixing on the soot formation processes in the jet flames for a high molecular weight fuel.