Heat transport and parametric simulation of a porous ceramic combustor in a gas turbine environment

This study is to generate basic knowledge of heat transport inside a porous ceramic combustor in a gas turbine combustion environment. This work predicts the peak temperature inside the porous ceramic combustor, which directly affects the combustor life cycle and flame stability characteristics within the ceramic media. The results will help to generate an operating window for the stable operation of the porous ceramic combustor under the operating conditions of a gas turbine. A theoretical model is developed to study the operational characteristics of the combustor. The model used here accounts for both radiative and convective thermal transport between the solid and gas phases. The solid is assumed to absorb, emit, and scatter radiative energy. A one-step global reaction mechanism is used to model the released energy due to combustion. The effects of the properties of the porous material on gas and solid phase temperature distribution, radiative flux distribution, and flame location (as indicated by local temperature) were investigated. The results confirm that radiative heat transfer is a key mechanism in the stable operation of the combustor. For proper functioning of the combustor, the temperature of the porous material (the solid temperature) must be lowered in order to maintain material and structural integrity. Yet, the gas phase temperature has to be high enough so that a stable combustion process can be maintained.; A lower value for the porous material temperature of the combustor can be obtained by enhancing the radiative output from the combustor to the downstream sections. This can be achieved by choosing optimized values of porosity and other properties of the porous ceramic matrix. Higher solid phase thermal conductivity enhances the radiative output from the combustor and helps to reduce the porous material's temperature. It is also desirable that the porous layer has an optimized optical thickness so that the radiative output of the combustor is higher. The radiative output is also higher for lower scattering albedo. Prediction is verified by comparing the results with the available published experimental data. The theoretical prediction has a reasonable agreement with experimental data conducted on the gas and solid temperature profile.