Shockless explosion combustion: An innovative way of efficient constant volume combustion in gas turbines

Abstract

Constant volume combustion (CVC) in gas turbines is a promising way to achieve a step change in the efficiency of such systems. The most widely investigated technique to implement CVC in gas turbine systems is pulsed detonation combustion (PDC). Unfortunately, the PDC is associated with several disadvantages, such as sharp pressure transitions, entropy generation due to shock waves, and exergy losses due to kinetic energy. This work proposes a new way to implement CVC in a gas turbine combustion system: shockless explosion combustion (SEC). This technique utilizes acoustic waves inside the combustor to fill and purge the combustion tube. The combustion itself is controlled via the ignition delay time of the fuel/air mixture. By adjusting the ignition delay in a way such that the entire fuel/air volume undergoes homogeneous auto-ignition, no shock waves occur. Accordingly, the losses associated with a detonation wave are not present in the proposed system. Instead, a smooth pressure rise is created due to the heat release of the homogeneous combustion. The current article explains the SEC process in detail, and presents the identified challenges. Solutions to these challenges and the numerical and experimental approach are presented subsequently alongside with first preliminary results of the numerical studies.