Experimental burner device for the first domestic gas turbine plant using methane-hydrogen fuel has been created

Power Machines developed and began testing an experimental combustion chamber burner for GTE-65V, the first Russian gas turbine unit (GTU) that uses methane-hydrogen fuel. 

Power Machines has begun developing a gas turbine that will run on hydrogen fuel. In order to realize this concept, burners and combustion chambers, being the major structural elements which need to be tested, are currently in development. A special stand is used, equipped with various sensors to measure temperature, pressure pulsations and other parameters,” said Alexander Ivanovsky, General Designer of Power Machines. 

In the first commissioning tests, methane was used as a fuel. Both fuel supply circuits functioned well enough to ensure stable combustion, while the data obtained matched the design values. After a preliminary series of methane-based experiments, the fuel is gradually hydrogenized more and more in order to allow for the study of its combustion characteristics. Based on the test results, engineers planned to increase the percentage of hydrogen to 90-100%.

 The combustion liner is one of the critical parts of the tested structure; it is made of heat-resistant material designed to operate at temperatures over thousands of degrees Celsius. A unique fuel supply system combined with high-tech gauges helps to effectively protect the combustion process, which is extremely important when using hydrogen as fuel. 

Moreover, the invention is unique in its completely modular and demountable design; this is what will make operational improvements possible for the best results. For this burner arrangement, all mathematical models will be analyzed in order that the calculations relating to the combustion chamber of the gas turbine running on methane-hydrogen fuel can be made more accurate, and the probability of error when scaling from a pilot burner to a full-size combustion chamber is minimized. 

During the tests, the suitability of the method chosen to calculate the combustion of the methane-hydrogen mixture is to be experimentally confirmed, and solutions to optimize the burner arrangement, solve the problems of acoustic pulsations, and to ensure the required level of NOx emissions will be developed and tested. The technical design of the combustion chamber of the gas turbine unit is expected to be completed in 2023, after which a prototype combustion liner of the gas turbine unit will be manufactured at an industrial enterprise. 

Preliminary studies have shown that a methane-hydrogen mixture with a hydrogen content of 40-50% provides the gas turbine unit with a power increase of about 10%. Power plants of this kind can be used at large industrial enterprises, as well as for the heat and power supply of towns and villages or big city residential districts. 

*A burner arrangement is an important part of the combustion chamber, which is a critical element in the gas turbine plant. Fuel and oxidizer (air) are supplied to the burner arrangement, followed by the ignition process, which uses an air-fuel mixture. Reliability and durability of the combustion chamber elements are key to the service life and performance of the entire unit.