Title: A cost-effective backward Lagrangian method for simulation of pollutant formation in gas turbine combustors by post-processing of complex 3D calculations

Authors: Francis Dupoirieux; Nicolas Bertier; Aymeric Boucher; Pascale Gilbank

Addresses: Department of Energetics, ONERA, 91120-Palaiseau, France ' Department of Energetics, ONERA, 92320-Châtillon, France ' Department of Energetics, ONERA, 92320-Châtillon, France ' Department of Energetics, ONERA, 92320-Châtillon, France

Abstract: A backward Lagrangian Monte Carlo modelling is proposed to calculate by post-processing the PDF of the thermo-chemical parameters of complex turbulent reactive flows simulated with a simple turbulent combustion model. PDF's of minor species such as pollutant species (NOx, soot, unburnt hydrocarbons...) can be easily obtained as long as these species have no significant influence on the main features of the flow. A numerical validation and an example of application of the method to a real burner are presented. If the number of points where information is sought is limited the cost of the method in terms of CPU time is very low and the statistical error can be perfectly controlled. With a first application to a semi-technical scale combustor producing soot the method has been proved very promising for the prediction of pollutant in complex turbulent reactive flows of gas turbine combustors.

Keywords: gas turbine combustor; 3D modelling; combustion modelling; Lagrangian PDF methods; pollutant formation; sustainable aviation; gas turbines; Monte Carlo simulation; reactive flows; air pollution; post-processing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSA.2014.065478

International Journal of Sustainable Aviation, 2014 Vol.1 No.2, pp.160 - 180

Received: 09 Feb 2014
Accepted: 05 May 2014
Published online: 12 Nov 2014 *

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