AERODYNAMIC AND THERMO-CHEMICAL ASSESSMENT OF A POST-CATALYST BURNOUT ZONE LINER

摘要

A Kawasaki Heavy Industries M1A-13X engine equipped with a Xonon~R Cool Combustion System was used to assess the "effectiveness" of a post-catalyst burnout zone liner. The engine is currently installed at the City of Santa Clara's Silicon Valley Power municipal electrical generating stations and connected to the grid. Post-catalyst burnout zone liner aero-thermal design and inlet boundary conditions play an important role in achieving low CO emissions. In this particular study, these parameters have been evaluated to minimize CO emissions (by maximizing CO burnout). An aero thermal analysis was conducted using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of the liner for two distinct engine configurations. The analysis includes characterization of the inlet boundary conditions, heat transfer analysis, ignition delay time, liner residence time and the aerodynamic flow field. In addition, engine tests were used to measure and evaluate the impact of design features on CO emissions. Tests were conducted using new seal design and catalyst liner interface configurations. Results from both of these investigations were then used to determine the "effectiveness" of the liner. The CFD analysis and engine test data identified potential regions of improvement to maximize CO burnout in the Burn out Zone (BOZ) liner. These improvements included changing the inlet boundary conditions as well as modifying the BOZ geometry. Ultimately, a solution scheme was selected and changes were made to the catalyst seal design as well as the catalyst to container interface. Upon implementation, these changes yielded an improved effectiveness and extended the operating range of the engine by minimizing CO emissions.