The demands for hydrogen-based power generators are increasing in the field of very small scale power generation due to their very high power density. Combustion is very crucial to these scaled down versions of combustors, as the flame stability range is narrowed down as their size decreases. The current research is focused on the stability of hydrogen flames in rectangular channel meso-combustors. The combustion of hydrogen fuel with air as oxidizer has been investigated at different size meso-combustors and different flow configurations. The different size combustors are 5m×5m×40mm, 2.75m×5m×50mm, and 5m×5m×20mm, and the flow configurations for the 40 mm long combustor are 3-inlet and 5-inlet The experimental investigation of the hydrogen flame in the meso-combustor reveals that the 5-inlet combustor has higher flame stability than the 3-inlet configuration for the same size combustor and same mass flow rates. Thus, by splitting the axial air mass to an extra pair of vertical inlets, the stability will be enhanced. The width of the combustor is more crucial to the stability of a flame than the length of the combustor. By increasing the length of the meso-combustor, the stability can be increased slightly. The experiment also shows that a slight decrease in the combustor width can reduce the flame stability remarkably. Numerical simulations and experimental flame visualizations were also performed to investigate the mixing and flame behavior in case of 40 mm combustors.
展开▼