The impact of hydrogen addition on gas turbine power generation resilience

Bain, James 2023. The impact of hydrogen addition on gas turbine power generation resilience. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

As industries turn to hydrogen as a key strategy for mitigating CO2 emissions, this doctoral thesis investigates the impact of hydrogen on the resilience of Gas Turbines (GT) employed in Power Generation. Given the wide use of carbonaceous fuels in operational GTs, and the difference in reactivity between hydrogen and carbonaceous fuels, investigations into the feasibility of conversion are required. This research identifies the GT26 GT is limited by the autoignition of highly reactive fuels within the GT26 under its current configuration. This thesis investigates the impact of turbulence on the ignition of hydrogen-enriched fuels in inhomogeneous mixtures of fuel and oxidant at elevated temperatures. To test this hypothesis, a novel combustion facility is designed and commissioned at Cardiff University’s Gas Turbine Research Centre. Quantification of turbulence characteristics is achieved by Particle Image Velocimetry analysis of the flow field resulting from three different turbulence devices. The turbulence impact revealed that smaller turbulent lengthscales exert an inhibitory effect on the ignition of fuel blends with higher hydrogen proportions. A highly valuable finding in this study is the interplay between the rate of reactants mixing and the rate of the chemistry reaction, as characterised by the non-dimensional Damk¨ohler Number. This highlights the ability to control the ignition of hydrogen-enriched fuels in the GT26 by introducing carefully designed geometric features to create the desired turbulence characteristics to ensure the reaction rate is dominated by the reactant mixing rate.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Engineering
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1) hydrogen 2) gas turbine 3) combustion 4) auto ignition 5) GT26 6) autoignition
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	1 August 2024
Last Modified:	01 Aug 2024 15:38
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/171062

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