Numerical study of the ignition behavior of a post-discharge kernel in a turbulent stratified crossflow

Jaravel, T.; Labahn, J.; Sforzo, B.; Seitzman, J.; Ihme, M.

doi:10.1016/j.proci.2018.06.226

Title: Numerical study of the ignition behavior of a post-discharge kernel in a turbulent stratified crossflow

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Abstract

Ensuring robust ignition is critical for the operability of aeronautical gas-turbine combustors. For ignition to be successful, an important aspect is the ability of the hot gas generated by the spark discharge to initiate combustion reactions, leading to the formation of a self-sustained ignition kernel. This study focuses on this phenomena by performing simulations of kernel ignition in a crossflow configuration that was characterized experimentally. First, inert simulations are performed to identify numerical parameters correctly reproducing the kernel ejection from the ignition cavity, which is here modeled as a pulsed jet. In particular, the kernel diameter and the transit time of the kernel to the reacting mixture are matched with measurements. Considering stochastic perturbations of the ejection velocity of the ignition kernel, the variability of the kernel transit time is also reproduced by the simulations. Subsequently, simulations of a series of ignition sequences are performed with varying equivalence ratio of the fuel-air mixture in the crossflow. The numerical results are shown to reproduce the ignition failure that occurs for the leanest equivalence ratio ($φ = 0.6$). For higher equivalence ratios, the simulations are shown to capture the sensitivity of the ignition to the equivalence ratio, and the kernel successfully transitionsmore »« less

Authors:

Jaravel, T. ^[1]; Labahn, J. ^[1]; Sforzo, B. ^[2]; Seitzman, J. ^[3]; Ihme, M. ^[4]

Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Center for Turbulence Research
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Energy System Division
Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States). Ben T. Zinn Combustion Lab., Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering
Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Center for Turbulence Research, and Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

Publication Date:: 2019-01-01

Research Org.:: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

OSTI Identifier:: 1559043

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Proceedings of the Combustion Institute

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 37; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1540-7489

Publisher:: Elsevier

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 42 ENGINEERING; Finite-rate chemistry; Forced ignition; Gas-turbine ignition; Non-premixed flame

Citation Formats


                    Jaravel, T., Labahn, J., Sforzo, B., Seitzman, J., and Ihme, M. Numerical study of the ignition behavior of a post-discharge kernel in a turbulent stratified crossflow.  United States: N. p., 2019. 
Web.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2018.06.226.

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                    Jaravel, T., Labahn, J., Sforzo, B., Seitzman, J., & Ihme, M. Numerical study of the ignition behavior of a post-discharge kernel in a turbulent stratified crossflow.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2018.06.226

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                    Jaravel, T., Labahn, J., Sforzo, B., Seitzman, J., and Ihme, M. Tue .  
"Numerical study of the ignition behavior of a post-discharge kernel in a turbulent stratified crossflow".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proci.2018.06.226.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1559043.

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@article{osti_1559043,

  title        = {Numerical study of the ignition behavior of a post-discharge kernel in a turbulent stratified crossflow},

  author       = {Jaravel, T. and Labahn, J. and Sforzo, B. and Seitzman, J. and Ihme, M.},

  abstractNote = {Ensuring robust ignition is critical for the operability of aeronautical gas-turbine combustors. For ignition to be successful, an important aspect is the ability of the hot gas generated by the spark discharge to initiate combustion reactions, leading to the formation of a self-sustained ignition kernel. This study focuses on this phenomena by performing simulations of kernel ignition in a crossflow configuration that was characterized experimentally. First, inert simulations are performed to identify numerical parameters correctly reproducing the kernel ejection from the ignition cavity, which is here modeled as a pulsed jet. In particular, the kernel diameter and the transit time of the kernel to the reacting mixture are matched with measurements. Considering stochastic perturbations of the ejection velocity of the ignition kernel, the variability of the kernel transit time is also reproduced by the simulations. Subsequently, simulations of a series of ignition sequences are performed with varying equivalence ratio of the fuel-air mixture in the crossflow. The numerical results are shown to reproduce the ignition failure that occurs for the leanest equivalence ratio ($φ = 0.6$). For higher equivalence ratios, the simulations are shown to capture the sensitivity of the ignition to the equivalence ratio, and the kernel successfully transitions into a propagating flame. Significant stochastic dispersion of the ignition strength is observed, which relates to the variability of the transit time of the kernel to the re- active mixture. An analysis of the structure of the ignition kernel also highlights the transition towards a self-propagating flame for successful ignition conditions.},

  doi          = {10.1016/j.proci.2018.06.226},

  journal      = {Proceedings of the Combustion Institute},

  number       = 4,

  volume       = 37,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {2019},

  month        = {1}

}

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