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Lewis number effect in lean premixed H2-air and CH4-air flames during thermoacoustic instability in a low-swirl combustor

Judai Masugi1,*, Takeshi Shoji2, Yoshihiro Nakazumi1, Ryota Fujii1, Takuya Tomidokoro3, Shigeru Tachibana2, and Takeshi Yokomori4,†

  • *Contact author: j.masugi2828@keio.jp
  • †Contact author: yokomori@mech.keio.ac.jp
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 043201 – Published 21 April, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.10.043201

Abstract

Suppression of NOx and CO2 emissions in gas turbines is an urgent challenge. While lean premixed combustion is a strategy for reducing NOx production, the occurrence of thermoacoustic instability is a significant issue. In addition, while hydrogen is a promising fuel for replacing conventional hydrocarbon fuels and reducing CO2 emissions, the unsteady flame-flow dynamics of hydrogen flames under thermoacoustic instabilities remain to be elucidated. Recently, low-swirl combustors have attracted attention since they can stabilize flames with a wide range of fuel compositions including pure hydrogen-air flames. In particular, the characteristics of hydrogen flames are expected to be significantly influenced by its Lewis number Le, where it is Le<1 for hydrogen-air flames in contrast to Le≈1 for methane-air flames. Therefore, this study experimentally analyzes the Lewis number effect in hydrogen and methane flames during thermoacoustic instability and discuss its influence on the local flame-flow interaction. The flames were stabilized in a low-swirl combustor with a geometric swirl number of 0.39. Pressure fluctuation measurements, OH* chemiluminescence imaging, and particle imaging velocimetry were performed simultaneously. It was found that the pressure fluctuation amplitude was nearly three times larger in the hydrogen flame than in the methane flame. To discuss the Lewis number effect, the instantaneous flame stretch rate and the chemiluminescence intensity were calculated at the local flame tip along the center axis. This analysis revealed that in the hydrogen flame (Le<1), the flame stretch rate fluctuation strongly correlated with the chemiluminescence intensity fluctuation, while the correlation between those in the methane flame (Le≈1) was found to be weaker. Therefore, it was concluded that, in the hydrogen flame, the Lewis number effect is responsible for the coupling between the heat release rate fluctuation and the flow fluctuation at the local flame tip during thermoacoustic instability.

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 043201– Published 21 April, 2025
  • Received 3 December 2023
  • Accepted 20 December 2024
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