Analysis of a Fuel Flexible Micro Gas Turbine Combustor Through Numerical Simulations

The work in this paper investigates on how a fuel flexible microgas turbine (MGT) combustion chamber, developed by ANSALDO ENERGIA and installed in a Turbec T100 P MGT, can operate when transferring from natural gas (NG) to a hydrogen-rich syngas. A syngas composition, which satisfies the fuel supply system specifications, is identified. Such syngas contains (by volume) 45% of hydrogen, 50% of carbon dioxide, and 5% of methane. The transfer procedure from NG to syngas is defined and modeled. A series of nonreactive and reactive Reynolds-averaged numerical simulations (RANS) on a full-scale three-dimensional (3D) model of the combustion chamber is then performed. The thermo-fluid dynamics inside its casing, the combustion regimes, the heat transfer across the liner walls as well as NO_x emissions are evaluated. Results provide useful information on the operational problems associated with the fuel change and on how to define a successful fuel transfer procedure.