Optimisation of hydrogen and/or Ammonia based fuel utilisation in Gas Turbines

Following the goals set by the European Green Deal and the UK's commitment to be powered entirely by clean energy by 2035, the topic of carbon neutrality and how to reach it has found centre stage in many political agendas. In 2021, electricity generation accounted for ~20% of total UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions making it the second largest single source. Decarbonising this sector is therefore vitally important if the ambitious net-zero goals are to be met.

The use of hydrogen as a zero-carbon energy vector has gained significant interest in the past decade. The combustion behaviour of hydrogen is however very different to that of conventional fossil fuels. Hydrogen's reactive characteristics imply lower flame stability, higher NOx emissions, greatly modified thermoacoustic behaviours and enhanced risks of flashback and auto-ignition and therefore makes utilising high percentages of hydrogen in current lean premixed (DLE) systems very challenging.

OEMs are investing significant R&D resources into the development of DLE systems capable of hydrogen-firing up to 100%. One of the main components receiving particular attention being gas turbine combustors and their auxiliary parts.

The roughness of swirler wetted surfaces can affect axial velocities, heat release, NOx emissions and operability limits. Surface roughness should therefore be considered carefully starting from the design stage all the way through to manufacturing and post processing. Understanding the effect of roughness on boundary layer flashback (BLF) is of prime interest given hydrogen's increased risk of flashback.

Research carried out by the student will focus on numerically modelling roughness effects. Simulations will be validated against experimental reacting an isothermal flow with the aim of better understanding roughness induced changes on the flow field (changes in velocity profiles, Swirl number, recirculation zones). Experimental work on the effect of roughness on H2 flames will also be performed.

Findings will be able to inform OEMs on weather surface treatments of AM parts, such as polishing or artificially increasing roughness, are needed in turbomachinery components to improve performance particularly with regards to BLF, emissions and flame stability.

The proposed Centre will benefit the following groups

1. Students - develop their professional skills, a broad technical and societal knowledge of the sector and a wider appreciation of the role decarbonised fuel systems will play in the UK and internationally. They will develop a strong network of peers who they can draw on in their professional careers. We will continue to offer our training to other Research Council PhD students and cross-fertilise our training with that offered under other CDT programmes, and similar initiatives where that develops mutual benefit. We will further enhance this offering by encouraging industrialists to undertake some of our training as Professional Development ensuring a broadening of the training cohort beyond academe. Students will be very employable due to their knowledge, skills and broad industrial understanding.
2. Industrial partners - Companies identify research priorities that underpin their long-term business goals and can access state of the art facilities within the HEIs involved to support that research. They do not need to pre-define the scope of their work at the outset, so that the Centre can remain responsive to their developing research needs. They may develop new products, services or models and have access to a potential employee cohort, with an advanced skill base. We have already established a track record in our predecessor CDTs, with graduates now acting as research managers and project supervisors within industry
3. Academic partners - accelerating research within the Energy research community in each HEI. We will develop the next generation of researchers and research leaders with a broader perspective than traditional PhD research and create a bedrock of research expertise within each HEI, developing supervisory skills across a broad range of topics and faculties and supporting HEIs' goals of high quality publications leading to research impacts and an informed group of educators within each HEI. .
4. Government and regulators - we will liaise with national and regional regulators and policy makers. We will conduct research directly aligned with the Government's Clean Growth Strategy, Mission Innovation and with the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund's theme Prosper from the Energy Revolution, to help meet emission, energy security and affordability targets and we will seek to inform developing energy policy through new findings and impartial scientific advice. We will help to provide the skills base and future innovators to enable growth in the decarbonised energy sector.
5. Wider society and the publics - developing technologies to reduce carbon emissions and reduce the cost of a transition to a low carbon economy. Need to ascertain the publics' views on the proposed new technologies to ensure we are aligned with their views and that there will be general acceptance of the new technologies. Public engagement will be a two-way conversation where researchers will listen to the views of different publics, acknowledging that there are many publics and not just one uniform group. We will actively engage with public from including schools, our local communities and the 'interested' public, seeking to be honest providers of unbiased technical information in a way that is correct yet accessible.