Emissions in lean-lean two-stage combustion using premixed tubular flames

In gas turbines, excess air for combustion is available and therefore lean premixed combustion is the most promising approach to the significant reduction of thermal NOx emissions. At lean conditions, however, flame stability is inherently worse and hence combustion tends to be incomplete. Efforts have been devoted toward extending the operating range of complete combustion at leaner conditions. One of them is the lean-lean two-stage combustion where lean to ultra-lean secondary mixtures are mixed with the hot burned gas from the primary stage. Conventional flame combustion or flameless reaction are initiated depending on the conditions of the secondary zone. In the first part of the present study, the effects of fuel injection on the emissions and flame stability were investigated for a single tubular flame, In the second part, the emissions and flame stability were studied for a two-stage combustor with secondary mixture injected through the tangential slots on a cylindrical combustor wall. The effects of the ratio of air flow rates to the primary and secondary zones on the emissions and combustion characteristics were investigate.