published_or_final_version / Mechanical Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Mechanical Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Improving fuel flexibility for gas turbines is one advantageous property on the market. It may lead to increased feasibility by potential customers and thereby give increased competiveness for production and retail companies of gas turbines such as Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery in Finspång. For this reason among others SIT assigned Anton Berg to perform several ignition tests at SIT’s atmospheric combustion rig (ACR) as his master thesis project. In the ACR he tested the limits for how high amounts of inert gases (N2 and CO2) that the rig, prepared with the 3rd generation DLE-burner operative in both the SGT-700 and SGT-800 engine, could ignite on (Berg, 2012). Research made by Abdel-Gay and Bradley already in 1985 summarized methane and propane combustion articles showing that a Karlovitz number (Chemical time scale/Turbulent time scale) of 1.5 could be used as a quenching limit for turbulent combustion (Abdel-Gayed & Bradley, 1985). Furthermore in 2010 Shy et al. showed that the Karlovitz number showed good correlation to ignition transition from a flamelet to distributed regime (Shy, et al., 2010). They also showed that this ignition transition affected the ignition probability significantly. Based on the results of these studies among others a CFD concept predicting ignition probability from cold flow simulations were created and tested in several applications at Cambridge University (Soworka, et al., 2014) (Neophytou, et al., 2012). With Berg’s ignition tests as reference results and a draft for a cost effective ignition prediction model this thesis where started. With the objectives of evaluating the ignition prediction against Berg’s results and at the same time analyze if there would be any better suited igniter spot 15 cold flow simulations on the ACR burner and combustor geometry were conducted. Boundary conditions according to selected tests were chosen with fuels composition ranging from pure methane/propane to fractions of 40/60 mole% CO2 and 50/75 mole% N2. By evaluating the average Karlovitz number in spherical ignition volumes around the igniter position successful ignition could be predicted if the Karlovitz number were below 1.5. The results showed promising tendencies but no straightforward prediction could be concluded from the evaluated approach. A conclusion regarding that the turbulence model probably didn’t predict mixing good enough was made which implied that no improved igniter position could be recommended. However by development of the approach by using a more accurate turbulence model as LES for example may improve the mixing and confirm the good prediction tendencies found. Possibilities for significantly improved ignition limits were also showed for 3-19% increase in equivalence ratio around the vicinity of the igniter.

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Dietary cyclopropenoid fatty acids (CPFA) have long been known to cause pronounced physiological disorders in both farm and laboratory animals. Past work has shown CPFA to be a powerful promoter of carcinogenesis in trout, rats and mice. Sterculic and malvalic acids (CPFA's) are found in seed lipids of plants from the order Malvales. Two members of this order are cotton and kapok, both of which are used extensively as cooking oils for human consumption. Present chemical and instrumental methods of analysis for CPFA are effective only at CPFA levels above 0.1%, and accurate only at levels above 1%. A more sensitive method of analysis was developed exploiting recent technological advances in glass capillary gas chromatography (GCGC). By the use of cold on-column injection, and positioning of the column at the base of the detector flame, this method eliminates two problem areas found in other GC methods. The other common component involved in CPFA decomposition, during GC analysis, is the column. Vitrious silica columns with an inert stationary phase, SE-30, were shown to separate the highly reactive CPFA without decomposition. Proof of stability during analysis was obtained by changing the variables of relative time on column and column temperature. This method not only allows individual determination of sterculic and malvalic acid concentrations, it is rapid, accurate (to the 70 parts per million range), and is superior to other instrumental and chemical methods. The CPFA concentration for okra, hollyhock, cheese weed, seashore mallow, kapok, and white cap cottonseed oil are as follows: 0.3% to 0.92%, 0.33%, 2.6%, 2.6%, 12.8%, and 75ppm, respectively. The two different values for okra were found because seeds from two different growing seasons were analyzed. No CPFA could be detected in Diet Imperial Margarine, raw cocoa beans, cocoa butter or Lucca's winterized cottonseed oil. / Graduation date: 1987

The use of gas chromatography for the separation, comparison, and subsequent identification of flavor volatiles from food products has proven highly successful in recent years. The development of various techniques for the concentration of the volatiles before gas chromatographic analysis has greatly extended the use of this important analytical tool. The injection of vapors directly into the chromatograph without prior concentration is the simplest method and has been used successfully on many food products. However, the use of this technique on the volatiles of fishery products has met with limited success. The complexity and nature of the flavor compounds found in fishery products have required the use of highly sensitive instruments and columns with very efficient separation power. The purpose of this investigation was to develop a method for the separation and comparison of volatiles from fishery products by this direct vapor injection technique. Preliminary investigations showed that a nine foot column of diisodecyl phthalate on 80/100 mesh, methanoic KOH treated, celite 545, operated isothermally at 35°C, would give satisfactory separation of one to three ml samples of volatiles from heated fishery products. The technique was not, however, sensitive enough to allow direct sampling of cold products unless they were highly spoiled or autoxidized. This investigation showed that direct vapor injection, using the column and conditions described, will show differences between size and number of peaks in heated fresh, oxidized, and spoiled fishery products. Several peaks in autoxidizing menhaden oil were shown to increase with hours of oxidation and a peak with the same retention time as trimethylamine was observed in the chromatograms of spoiled fish. The direct injection technique did not show large differences between fresh dover sole, rockfish, oysters, or beef. Tentative identification of various peaks from the chromatograms of oxidized salmon oil was attempted by comparison of retention data to known compounds and by functional group analysis by the method of Hoff and Feit (34). In this manner the possible existance of C₁ to C₇ alkanals, 2-hexen-1-al, methane, heptane, ethanol, butanol, and acetone was shown. The methods of tentative identification used were preliminary in nature and confirming tests would be necessary before positive identifications could be made. A comparison of chromatograms from fish, oysters, beef, and fish oils showed that several similar peaks appear in every case. These peaks were found at retention times of 0.71, 0.87, 1.42, 2.21, 2.83, 3.62, 5.20, and 5.51 minutes. / Graduation date: 1964

This dissertation is concerned with studies of highly viscous Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids in bubble columns with, and without, draft tubes. The importance of the parameters influencing bubble column reactors is discussed with reference to previous work. The shapes and rise velocities of single bubbles in these liquids were studied in an 8.8cm diameter column, and the gas holdup, resulting from continuous bubbling of gas into this column, was also measured. Agreement between holdup predicted by the equation of Nicklin et al (1962), and experimental data in die present work and that of other workers is good. The limiting result of Dumitrescu (1943) was found to apply for fully developed slug flow in viscous non-Newtonian liquids in large columns. Gas holdup, in a 15cm diameter bubble column with a draft tube, consisted of large bubbles (slugs), which rapidly rose through the liquid, and very small bubbles, which accumulated in the liquid. These small bubbles were generated near the gas distributor and also at the liquid surface; less than 1% of the total gas flowrate into the system was converted into small bubbles for a highly viscous Newtonian liquid. The gas holdup due to small bubbles in non-Newtonian liquids was much less than that in Newtonian liquids. Large bubble velocities deduced from the bubble column measurements were consistent with the single bubble measurements. Liquid velocities in the 15cm column were measured by a neutrally buoyant flow follower; the liquid circulation rate was found to decrease with an increase in liquid viscosity. A model to predict the liquid circulation rate is outlined. The effect of scale-up on the gas holdup and liquid circulation rate was also studied experimentally in a 60cm square bubble column with a 30cm square draft tube. The bubble size distribution in this column was similar to the 15cm column but liquid velocities were higher, and gas holdup was smaller in the 60cm column.

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No description available.

No description available.