Numerical Investigation of Spray Development in a Micro Gas Turbine LPP Combustor With Airblast Atomizer

The purpose of the paper is the investigation of the combustion development in a Lean Premixed Prevaporized (LPP) combustor supplied with liquid fuels of a Micro Gas Turbine. The injection system is equipped by an airblast atomizer with three air inlets. In such a study the analysis is performed by a CFD tool that can simulate the injection conditions, by isolating and studying some specific phenomena. A 3-D fluid dynamic code (the FLUENT® flow solver) has been used to simulate the spray pattern in the chamber fuelled by kerosene fuel. Preliminarily, the numerical simulation refers to cold flow conditions, in order to validate the estimation of the fundamental spray parameters, such as the spray angle and Sauter Mean Diameter of the droplets; in a second step, the calculations employ boundary conditions close to those occurring in the actual combustor operation, in order to predict the fuel vapour distribution throughout the premixing chamber. In particular, the fuel is injected under the typical conditions that occur in the injection system of a gas turbine LPP combustor and in all cases examined, the boundary information is introduced in terms of air and fuel mass flow rates and of inlet characteristics of the air flow entering the revalorizing chamber, in order to estimate the fuel vapour formation and its distribution. In a third phase the combustion phenomenon is simulated and the NO emissions calculated. Finally, the best solution obtained is also tested by using a bio-fuel to compare the combustion performance and NO amount.