Combustion device having a flameless combustion chamber, use of such a device and electricity production or energy cogeneration apparatus comprising such a device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11994296-B2
Application number	US-202118034119-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 13, 2021
Priority date	Oct 30, 2020
Publication date	May 28, 2024
Grant date	May 28, 2024

Abstract

A combustion device for an electricity production or energy cogeneration apparatus, the apparatus comprising a gas turbine supplied by the device, the device being suitable for a combustion regime of a “flameless” type, the device including: an outer tube; and a combustion tube forming a combustion zone for flameless combustion of a mixture of oxidizing air and fuel, the combustion tube being concentric with the outer tube, in communication with fuel-injection means, and with air-injection means arranged at a first end of the combustion tube, referred to as a front end, and which is closed by an end wall at a second end of the combustion tube, referred to as a rear end, the end wall being secured to the combustion tube and fluidtight, the fuel-injection means including at least a first orifice, referred to as a fuel-injection orifice, the air-injection means including at least a second orifice.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A combustion device for an electricity production or energy cogeneration apparatus, the electricity production or energy cogeneration apparatus comprising a gas turbine supplied by the combustion device, the combustion device being suitable for a flameless combustion regime, the combustion device comprising:
an outer tube;
a combustion tube forming a combustion zone for flameless combustion of a mixture of oxidizing air and fuel, the combustion tube being concentric with the outer tube, in communication with fuel-injection means, and in communication with air-injection means arranged at a first end of the combustion tube, referred to as a front end, and which is closed by an end wall at a second end of the combustion tube, referred to as a rear end, the end wall being secured to the combustion tube and fluid-tight,
the fuel-injection means comprising at least a first orifice, referred to as a fuel-injection orifice;
the air-injection means comprising at least a second orifice, referred to as an air-injection orifice;
means for discharging combustion gases; and
a closure wall covering the front end of the combustion tube and connected to the air-injection and fuel-injection means,
wherein
the combustion tube is substantially a cylinder with a single internal volume configured to allow the combustion gases to recirculate in the flameless combustion regime,
wherein the means for discharging the combustion gases comprise an opening arranged at the front end of the combustion tube, the opening being delimited, on one hand, by one end of a longitudinal cylindrical wall of the combustion tube proximal to the closure wall and, on another hand, by the closure wall, a flow and discharge of the combustion gases being between the longitudinal wall and the outer tube, and
wherein the combustion device further comprises a tubular sleeve arranged concentrically between the combustion tube and the outer tube, connected to the closure wall and positioned facing the opening so as to form an annular recombination zone, to extend a residence time of the combustion gases exhausted via the opening.

2. The combustion device of claim 1 , wherein the outer tube delimits, at least in part with the combustion tube, an annular passage referred to as a bypass, allowing passage of a flow of dilution air to mix with the combustion gases downstream of the combustion zone, the closure wall comprising one or several openings, referred to as bypass openings, formed in a periphery thereof and via which the flow of dilution air enters the bypass.

3. The combustion device of claim 1 , wherein the outer tube delimits, at least in part with the tubular sleeve, an annular passage, referred to as a bypass, allowing passage of a flow of dilution air to mix with the combustion gases downstream of the recombination zone, the closure wall comprising one or several openings, referred to as bypass openings, formed in a periphery thereof and via which the flow of dilution air enters the bypass.

4. The combustion device of claim 1 , wherein the tubular sleeve extends axially over at least 50% of a length of the combustion tube.

5. The combustion device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a plenum of cylindrical shape formed in part by a portion of the outer tube and by the closure wall, the portion being arranged at a front end of the outer tube, the closure wall forming an end wall of the plenum.

6. The combustion device of claim 5 , wherein the plenum is fluidically connected to an air-supply duct.

7. The combustion device of claim 6 , wherein the fuel-injection means comprise an injection head in which the fuel-injection orifice is formed.

8. The combustion device of claim 7 , wherein the fuel-injection means comprise a fuel-injection tube, a rear end of which is secured to the injection head.

9. The combustion device of claim 8 , wherein the air-supply duct and the fuel-injection tube are, over part of their respective lengths, arranged coaxially.

10. The combustion device of claim 7 , wherein a guide element coincides with the fuel-injection head.

11. The combustion device claim 1 , wherein the opening of the combustion gases discharge means comprises an annular opening formed between the closure wall and the one end of the longitudinal cylindrical wall of the combustion tube is a front edge of the combustion tube.

12. The combustion device of claim 1 , wherein the fuel-injection orifice comprises an orifice centered with respect to the combustion tube.

13. The combustion device of claim 1 , wherein the air-injection orifice comprises several orifices arranged in the closure wall.

14. The combustion device of claim 1 , wherein the air-injection orifice encircles the fuel-injection orifice.

15. The combustion device of claim 1 , wherein the air-injection means comprise an injection ring fixed to the closure wall.

16. The combustion device of claim 15 , wherein the injection ring comprises an inner surface configured to guide a flow of air entering the combustion zone.

17. The combustion device of claim 16 , wherein the air-injection means comprise a guide element arranged at a center of the injection ring.

18. The combustion device of claim 17 , wherein the guide element comprises an outer surface configured to guide the flow of air entering the combustion zone, a portion of the outer surface being of substantially conical shape.

19. The combustion device of claim 18 , wherein the guide element and the injection ring are connected by one or more profiled arms.

20. The combustion device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a convergent conical tube secured to the outer tube and configured to discharge the combustion gases.

21. A method, comprising:
injecting a flow of air into the combustion device of claim 1 with a velocity of between 60 and 120 m/s, so as to obtain a fluid recirculation ratio mE/(mA+mF), where mE, mA and mF respectively denote mass flow rates of gases burnt and recirculated in the combustion zone, of the oxidizing air, and of the fuel which are introduced into the combustion zone.

22. The electricity-production or energy-cogeneration apparatus, comprising;
the combustion device claim 1 .

23. The electricity-production or energy-cogeneration apparatus of claim 22 , further comprising;
a heat exchanger configured to recuperate heat energy from the combustion gases produced in the combustion device in order to preheat intake air supplied to the combustion device.

24. The electricity-production or energy-cogeneration apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the heat exchanger comprises a first circuit in fluidic communication with a section downstream of a microturbine, and a second circuit in fluidic communication with a section upstream of the combustion device.

Assignees

• Mitis S A
• Univ Bruxelles

Inventors

• Delanaye Michel
• Parente Alessandro

Classifications

• F23R3/16 Primary

  with devices inside the flame tube or the combustion chamber to influence the air or gas flow · CPC title

• F02C3/14

  characterised by the arrangement of the combustion chamber in the plant (combustion chambers per se F23R; F02C3/205 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F23R3/54

  Reverse-flow combustion chambers · CPC title

• F05D2250/82

  Micromachines · CPC title

• F23C9/006 Primary

  the recirculation taking place in the combustion chamber · CPC title