Numerical simulation of pressure swirl atomizer for small scale gas turbine combustion chamber

Abstract

The use of Small Gas Turbine to meet on-site small-scale energy demand offers a great opportunity for preliminary energy saving and reduction of pollutant and greenhouse emissions. The properly designed atomizer can reduce emission and impart flame stability. The numerical simulation of designed pressure swirl atomizer for small scale gas turbine combustion chamber is carried out using ANSYS Fluent. The fuel injection pressure at inlet is kept 6 bar, 9 bar, 12 bar, 15 bar and 18 bar and ambient pressure and temperature is kept constant at atmospheric condition. LISA (Linearized Instability Sheet Atomization) model is used to understand the primary atomization process while the TAB (Taylor Analogy Breakup) model is used to understand secondary breakup of droplets. The numerical results of variation of non-dimensional Sautar mean diameter (SMD) at different injection pressure are compared with theoretical results. It has been found that the non-dimensional SMD decreases with increases in injection pressure and TAB model give satisfactory values compared to theoretical one.