Development of a High-Pressure Gaseous Burner for Calibrating Optical Diagnostic Techniques

Abstract

In this work-in-progress report, we show the development of a unique high-pressure burner facility (up to 60 atm) that provides steady, reproducible premixed flames with high precision, while having the capability to use multiple fuel/oxidizer combinations. The highpressure facility has four optical access ports for applying different laser diagnostic techniques and will provide a standard reference flame for the development of a spectroscopic database in high-pressure/temperature conditions. Spontaneous Raman scattering (SRS) was the first diagnostic applied, and was used to successfully probe premixed hydrogen-air flames generated in the facility using a novel multi-jet micro-premixed array burner element. The SRS spectral data include contributions from H2, N2, O2, and H2O and were collected over a wide range of equivalence ratios ranging from 0.16 to 4.9 at an initial pressure of 10-atm via a spatially resolved point SRS measurement with a high-performance optical system. Temperatures in fuel-lean to stoichiometric conditions were determined from the ratio of the Stokes to anti-Stokes scattering of the Q-branch of N2, and those in fuel-rich conditions via the rotational temperature of H2. The SRS derived temperatures using both techniques were consistent and indicated that the flame temperature was approximately 500 K below that predicted by adiabatic equilibrium, indicating a large amount of heat-loss at the measurement zone. The integrated vibrational SRS signals show that SRS provides quantitative number density data in high-pressure H2-air flames.

Full text

Page 1

Jun Kojima and Quang-Viet Nguyen
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Development of a High-Pressure Gaseous
Burner for Calibrating Optical
Diagnostic Techniques
NASA/TM—2003-212738
December 2003

Page 2

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Jun Kojima and Quang-Viet Nguyen
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Development of a High-Pressure Gaseous
Burner for Calibrating Optical
Diagnostic Techniques
NASA/TM—2003-212738
December 2003
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
Glenn Research Center
Prepared for the
2003 American Flame Research Committee International Symposium on
Combustion Research and Industrial Practice: Bridging the Gap
cosponsored by the American Flame Research Committee (AFRC) and the
Combustion Research Facility of Sandia National Laboratory
Livermore, California, October 16–17, 2003

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Available from
NASA Center for Aerospace Information
7121 Standard Drive
Hanover, MD 21076
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22100
This report is a formal draft or working
paper, intended to solicit comments and
ideas from a technical peer group.
Trade names or manufacturers’ names are used in this report for
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endorsement, either expressed or implied, by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
This report contains preliminary
findings, subject to revision as
analysis proceeds.
Available electronically at http://gltrs.grc.nasa.gov
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge Mr. Gregg Calhoun, Mr. William Thompson, Mr. Raymond Lotenero, and
Mr. Gary Lorenz for their assistance in the construction and operation of the facilities. We also acknowledge
Mr. Anthony Iannetti for his efforts in providing the NCC simulations for this burner.

Page 5

NASA/TM—2003-212738 1
Development of a High-Pressure Gaseous Burner
for Calibrating Optical Diagnostic Techniques


Jun Kojima* and Quang-Viet Nguyen†
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Glenn Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio 44135


Abstract
In this work-in-progress report, we show the development of a unique high-pressure
burner facility (up to 60 atm) that provides steady, reproducible premixed flames with
high precision, while having the capability to use multiple fuel/oxidizer combinations.
The high-pressure facility has four optical access ports for applying different laser
diagnostic techniques and will provide a standard reference flame for the development of
a spectroscopic database in high-pressure/temperature conditions. Spontaneous Raman
scattering (SRS) was the first diagnostic applied, and was used to successfully probe
premixed hydrogen-air flames generated in the facility using a novel multi-jet micro-
premixed array burner element. The SRS spectral data include contributions from H2, N2,
O2, and H2O and were collected over a wide range of equivalence ratios ranging from
0.16 to 4.9 at an initial pressure of 10-atm via a spatially resolved point SRS
measurement with a high-performance optical system. Temperatures in fuel-lean to
stoichiometric conditions were determined from the ratio of the Stokes to anti-Stokes
scattering of the Q-branch of N2, and those in fuel-rich conditions via the rotational
temperature of H2. The SRS derived temperatures using both techniques were consistent
and indicated that the flame temperature was approximately 500 K below that predicted
by adiabatic equilibrium, indicating a large amount of heat-loss at the measurement zone.
The integrated vibrational SRS signals show that SRS provides quantitative number
density data in high-pressure H2-air flames.


Introduction
The experimental testing of aircraft engine hardware is becoming prohibitively expensive.
Sometimes more important than the cost of testing, the development time for an engine
can sometimes take upwards of 10 years or more. In order to reduce the costs associated
with engine development and to reduce the time-to-market of new engine concepts,
industry is relying more and more on computational modeling of the engines as an
alternative to testing before actual hardware is built. The quantitative measurement of
species concentration and/or temperature in high-pressure combustion environments is, in

*National Research Council—NASA Resident Research Associate at Glenn Research Center; E-mail:
Jun.Kojima@grc.nasa.gov
†E-mail: Quang-Viet.Nguyen@nasa.gov