General Electric TAPS low-NOx combustor: Flame Stability, NOx Chemistry Studied Using Laser Imaging of the Reaction Rate Field

Website: http://aerospace.engin.umich.edu/ptclab/

Sulabh Dhanuka	Jacob Temme
PhD Students J.F. Driscoll, Professor Funded by GEAE USA Program

The GE TAPS combustor is a new feature of GenX engines on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It provides exceptionally low NOx emissions and improved fuel economy by incorporating revolutionary new concepts of Lean Premixed Prevaporized (LPP) combustion. This research work at Michigan utilizes a GE TAPS combustor in a high pressure vessel fitted with optical windows so that the flow field can be imaged. The work identifies fundamental reasons why LPP concepts reduce NOx and how pilot flames stabilize the main flame.

Flame location is imaged using Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence of formaldehyde. Movies show the physics of combustion instabilities. PIV provides images of the complex velocity field, shear layers and turbulence levels. Results are compared to Large Eddy Simulations (LES) to assess mixing submodels.

Velocity Field Measured Inside the GE TAPS combustor using PIV laser diagnostics
GE TAPS combustor experiment at Michigan, and view of the Jet A spray flame
Measured Vorticity Field and Reynolds Stresses to Identify Mixing (Shear) Layers
Measured Flame Location and structure of flame attachment location for PLIF diagnostics