Abstract
The effects of hydrogen enrichment to methane have been investigated with swirl-stabilized premixed hydrogen-enriched methane flame in a laboratory-scale pre-mixed combustor. The hydrogen-enriched methane fuel and air were mixed in a pre-mixer and introduced to the combustor through different degrees of swirl vanes. The flame characteristics were examined for different amount of hydrogen addition to the methane fuel and different swirl strengths. The hydrogen addition effects and swirl intensity on the combustion characteristics of pre-mixed methane flames were examined using micro-thermocouple, particle image velocity meter (PIV) and chemiluminescence techniques to provide information about flow field. The results show that the flame area increases at upstream of reaction zone because of increase in ignition energy from recirculation flow for increase in swirl intensity. The flame area is also increased at the downstream zone by recirculation flow because of increase in swirl intensity which results in higher centrifugal force. The higher combustibility of hydrogen makes reaction faster, raises the temperature of reaction zone and expands the reaction zone, consequently recirculation flow to reaction zone is reduced. The temperature of reaction zone increases with hydrogen addition even though the adiabatic flame temperature of the mixture gas decreases with increase in the amount of hydrogen addition in this experiment condition because the higher combustibility of hydrogen reduces the cooler recirculation flow to the reaction zone.
