i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 4 ( 2 0 1 9 ) 6 9 7 8 e6 9 9 0

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An overview on dry low NOx micromix combustor

development for hydrogen-rich gas turbine
applications

H.H.-W. Funke a,*, N. Beckmann a, S. Abanteriba b

a
Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Hohenstaufenallee 6, Aachen, 52064, Germany
b
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, 124 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia

article info abstract

Article history: The paper presents a survey of the interactive optimization cycle at Aachen University of
Received 20 November 2018 Applied Sciences, used for the development of a new low emission Micromix combustor
Received in revised form module for application in hydrogen fueled industrial gas turbines. During the development
16 January 2019 process, experimental and numerical methods are applied to optimize a given baseline
Accepted 17 January 2019 combustor with 0.3 mm nozzles with respect to combustion efficiency, combustion sta-
Available online 14 February 2019 bility, higher thermal power output per nozzle and reduced manufacturing complexity.
Within the described research cycle combustion and flow simulations are used in the
Keywords: context of parametric studies for generating optimized burner geometries and the
Combustion phenomenological interpretation of the experimental results. Experimental tests, carried
Gas turbine out on an atmospheric combustion chamber test stand provide the basis for validation of
Hydrogen simulation results and proof of the predicted combustion characteristics under scaled
CFD down gas turbine conditions.
Low emission In the presented studies, an integration-optimized Micromix combustor with a nozzle
diameter of 0.84 mm is tested at atmospheric pressure over a range of gas turbine operating
conditions with hydrogen fuel. The combustor module offers an increase in the thermal
power output per nozzle by approx. 390% at a significant reduced number of injectors when
compared to the baseline design. This greatly benefits manufacturing complexity and the
robustness of the combustion process against fuel contamination by particles.
During atmospheric testing, the optimized combustor module shows satisfactory oper-
ating behavior, combustion efficiency and pollutant emission level. Within the evaluated
operating range, which correlates to gas turbine part-, full- and overload conditions, the
investigated combustor module exceeds 99% combustion efficiency. The Micromix combustor
achieves NOx emissions less than 2.5 ppm corrected to 15 Vol% O2 at the design point.
Based on numerical analyses and experimental low pressure testing, a full-scale gas
turbine combustion chamber is derived. High pressure testing in the auxiliary power unit
Honeywell/Garrett GTCP 36e300 shows stable operation during acceleration of the engine,
during IDLE and during load variations between IDLE and Main Engine Start (MES) mode.
Throughout the investigated operating range, the combustion chamber generates low NOx
emissions under full-scale gas turbine conditions.
© 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: funke@fh-aachen.de (H.H.-W. Funke), n.beckmann@fh-aachen.de (N. Beckmann), sylvester.abanteriba@rmit.edu.
au (S. Abanteriba).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.01.161
0360-3199/© 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 4 ( 2 0 1 9 ) 6 9 7 8 e6 9 9 0
Nomenclature
 
m3
A kmol*s pre-exponential factor
b [] temperature coefficient
 
kJ
EA kmol activation energy
 
m3
k kmol*s reaction rate coefficient
p3 [bar] air inlet pressure
 
kJ
R kmol*K gas constant
T [K] temperature
T3 [K] air inlet temperature
T4 [K] exhaust gas temperature
x, y, z [mm] Cartesian coordinates
F [] equivalence ratio
J [] mole fraction
Introduction
The demand for mobility and the energy dependence of
human everyday life creates an energy requirement which is
covered today mostly by fossil fuels. Their finite quantity has
led many research institutes, universities and the power
producing industry into the development of alternative con-
cepts of sustainable energy generation that also protect the
environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in
particular carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).
CO2 is the most important greenhouse gas and largely
responsible for the anthropogenic greenhouse effect. Apart
from H2O, it is the main exhaust gas emission of complete
hydrocarbon combustion. NOx is the collective name for mol-
ecules composed of one nitrogen atom and one or more oxygen
atoms. They are toxic to humans due to their effect on the
respiratory system and have an effect on the formation of acid
rain, smog and ozone. The effect on the ozone concentrations
in the stratosphere and in the troposphere makes them the
third most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas with a
significant higher effectiveness than CO2. They are combustion
products and formed under high temperatures and pressures
or long residence times in the combustion chamber [1].
Carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides are the main emis-
sions of air-breathing gas turbines in the energy producing
industry. These gas turbines are normally fueled with natural
gas (NG) or liquid fuels. Natural gas is a well-established gas
turbine fuel, but pollution emission issues drive the need for
low carbon alternatives. Gas turbines operated with fuels of
high hydrogen content are regarded as an important part in
future power plant development processes and greenhouse
gas emission reduction. Hydrogen may act as energy storage
due to the possibility to produce hydrogen by electrolysis with
excess energy from renewable energy sources [2]. Hydrogen
based gas turbine systems allow the energy recovery and
facilitate basic load energy production for the electric grid,
independent of current wind or sun conditions. Since energy
production based on hydrogen combustion eliminates CO2
emissions, hydrogen based gas turbine systems can be oper-
ated climate neutral.
6979
Due to the differences in the physical properties of
hydrogen-rich fuel mixtures compared to other fuels such as
natural gas, well established gas turbine combustion systems
cannot be directly applied for hydrogen combustion. Hydro-
gen's significantly increased reactivity promotes NOx forma-
tion due to higher local heat release rates and resulting peak
temperatures [3]. Thus for hydrogen combustion NOx reduc-
tion strategies are of importance. In addition, hydrogen's
higher flame speed intensifies the risk of flashbacks when
premixed combustion systems are applied.
To counteract these negative aspects of hydrogen as fuel,
the research on dry low NOx combustion is of great industrial
relevance. Several ways of reducing pollutant emissions in
general at stable combustion conditions have been identified
by universities, research institutes and gas turbine
manufacturers.
In Ref. [4] Cavaliere et al. present the MILD or flameless
combustion system. While the reactants are introduced in the
reaction chamber at elevated temperatures, the temperature
increase during the reaction is low. Since a very homogeneous
temperature profile with no hot spots can be established, NOx
formation is effectively reduced. In Ref. [5], MILD combustion
is applied to hydrogen-enriched hydrocarbon fuels (JH2
0.6)
with NOx emissions of approx. 10ppmv.
Another approach to reduce NOx emissions is presented in
Ref. [6]. By the use of a catalyst in the combustion zone the
combustion temperature can be significantly reduced. NOx
formation, that is highly temperature dependant, is sup-
pressed while the catalyst enables high combustion effi-
ciencies even at low temperatures.
In Ref. [7], a multiple injection burner is developed for the
application with low calorific syngas. Coaxial jets are gener-
ated in the combustor to mix fuel and air rapidly within a
short distance by turbulence effects in contracting and
expanding air passages. A homogeneous mixture effectively
reduces NOx emissions due to the absence of hot spots,
resulting from local equivalence ratio variations. By the help
of fuel staging, combustion at different combustor loads is
possible with high combustion efficiencies.
In Ref. [8], Lam et al. present experimental testing of a
Siemens SGT-400 gas turbine with hydrogen enriched fuel
(JH2
0.8). Despite being a premixed combustion system, no
flashbacks were detected. However it is concluded, that the
ignitor design needs further improvement for high hydrogen
contents.
In Ref. [9] different concepts for hydrogen dry low NOx
combustion are presented. The most effective concept for low
NOx operation is a cluster burner with double counter rotating
swirlers. They are implemented into a premixing chamber to
achieve good mixture homogeneity. High turbulence levels
downstream the swirler enhance mixing of fuel and air in a
short mixing space. Moderate swirl and high velocities at the
mixer exit throat make this concept less prone to flashback
events. Another approach applied by GE Energy is a multi-tube
premixing fuel injector for high hydrogen fuels [10]. It makes
use of distributed, small-scale jet-in-crossflow mixing and
achieves single digit NOx emissions for nitrogen diluted
hydrogen fuel (JH2 ¼ 0.6).
There are many more approaches, based on micro injec-
tion, that effectively reduce NOx emissions in lab scale and
6980 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 4 ( 2 0 1 9 ) 6 9 7 8 e6 9 9 0
industrial scale gas turbines [11e13]. Micro injection with jet-
in-crossflow mixing is applied by the DLN Micromix Com-
bustion Principle, a gas turbine combustion system developed
at Aachen University of Applied Sciences (AcUAS) for
hydrogen fuel (JH2 ¼ 1). The fuel stream is injected perpen-
dicular into the airflow and burned without premixing in a
multitude of miniaturized, diffusion-like flames. Premixing
offers the potential for low NOx emission due to the high
mixture and temperature homogeneity, but comes along with
the major risk of flashbacks from the combustion into the
premixing zone. To eliminate the risk of flashbacks entirely,
the DLN Micromix principle makes use of non-premixed
combustion. Due to intense jet-in-crossflow mixing and
miniaturization of flames, NOx emissions are effectively
reduced, even if pure hydrogen is applied as fuel.
In Refs. [14,15], Funke et al. have shown the great NOx
reduction potential for lab scale and industrial scale gas tur-
bine combustors with hydrogen fuel. Despite the high reac-
tivity of pure hydrogen, stable and safe operation under full-
scale gas turbine conditions is achieved by an appropriate
choice of combustion chamber and nozzle geometries. The
flame miniaturization effectively reduces NOx emissions
while the non-premixed combustion system is inherent safe
against flashbacks.
The combustion process is based on the phenomenon of
jet-in-crossflow mixing of a fuel jet into a crossflow of accel-
erated air (cf. Fig. 1). By appropriate choice of the combustor
geometry, an optimized mixing of fuel and air and aero-
dynamic flame stabilization is obtained. The miniaturization
of the flamelets leads to a significant reduction of NOx emis-
sions due to the reduced retention time of NOx precursors in
the flame region. Due to the absence of flammable fuel-air-
mixtures prior to injection, the risk of flashbacks is avoided.
In Fig. 2, the structural layout of a typical Micromix test burner
for atmospheric testing is displayed. Fuel is distributed
through the fuel supply segments and injected through small
nozzles into a crossflow of air that is constricted and accel-
erated by the air guiding panels.
The geometry of the fuel supply segments and the imple-
mented air guiding panels act as bluff bodies. In their wake
Fig. 1 e Typical flame and flow field structure for Micromix combustion.
region, counter rotating vortex pairs are formed that create an
inner and outer recirculation zone during operation of the
combustor (Fig. 3). Their proportions are designed to facilitate
flame stabilization and to prevent adjacent flames from
merging with each other. Merging of adjoining flames would
result in the formation of a reduced number of large-scale
flames, increasing the residence time of NOx precursors in
the hot reaction zone and significantly promoting NOx
formation.
This paper presents a survey of the interactive optimiza-
tion cycle used for the development of a new low emission
Micromix combustor module for the application in hydrogen
fueled industrial-scale gas turbines (see Fig. 4).
Based on an initial Micromix combustion chamber, already
tested under full-scale gas turbine conditions [17], the opti-
mization targets an improvement of the combustion stability
and combustion efficiency as well as a significant increase in
the thermal power output per Micromix injector while main-
taining low NOx emissions.
For the initial Micromix combustion chamber the NOx
characteristic at varying gas turbine load as well as the dy-
namic operational behavior are presented. For optimization of
the combustion process, experimental and numerical
methods are applied. Experimental parameter studies of the
identified low-NOx key parameters are conducted with test
burners at the combustion chamber test stand at AcUAS.
Special focus is laid on achieving optimal combustion char-
acteristics (ignition limits, flame stability, combustion effi-
ciency) and low NOx emissions. The results facilitate the
validation of design laws for the combustion process and of
the numerical approach. Combustion and flow simulations
are used in the context of parametric studies for generating
optimized burner geometries and the phenomenological
interpretation of the experimental results. Based on the re-
sults of the conducted parameter study, a optimized prototype
combustion chamber for the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) GTCP
36-300 is derived and manufactured. It offers a low NOx
characteristic at significantly increased thermal power output
per nozzle, which also reduces manufacturing complexity and
costs.
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 4 ( 2 0 1 9 ) 6 9 7 8 e6 9 9 0 6981

Fig. 2 e Geometry of a typical Micromix test burner [16].

Baseline design

Fig. 5 shows the Micromix combustion chamber that is the

starting point for the presented optimization. It operates at a
thermal loading power of 1.6 MW at the design point, released
through approx. 1600 micro flamelets. The diameter of the
implemented hydrogen nozzles is 0.3 mm. The Micromix
combustion chamber consists of two main parts. The spoke
centered hydrogen segment rings including the H2-injection
holes, which are distributed equally on the perimeter of the
Fig. 3 e Schematics of the Micromix combustor geometry,
rings, and the air guiding panels. For the baseline design, 3
detailing the recirculation zones and aerodynamic flame
concentric hydrogen segment rings are used.
stabilization [16].
The Micromix combustion chamber is designed for inte-
gration into the APU Honeywell/Garrett GTCP 36-300. This
small aviation gas turbine is used as experimental test rig at

Fig. 4 e Summary of the applied interactive optimization cycle for Micromix combustor development.
6982 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 4 ( 2 0 1 9 ) 6 9 7 8 e6 9 9 0
Fig. 5 e Structural layout of the prototype Micromix
combustion chamber.
Aachen University of Applied Sciences for investigating the
feasibility of alternative fuels such as hydrogen, hydrogen-
rich synthesis gases and methane in gas turbine engines and
their impact on engine control strategy. The GTCP 36-300 is a
constant-speed single spool gas turbine engine with a single-
stage radial compressor and a single-stage radial turbine. It
requires about 1.6 MW thermal energy converted to shaft
power for production of electrical and pneumatic power up to
370 kW. Electrical power is provided by an auxiliary generator,
pneumatic power by an additional single-stage radial load
compressor.
Fig. 6 e APU GTCP 36-300 mounted in engine test rig.
The turbine operates at different load conditions between
IDLE and Main Engine Start (MES) conditions. MES operation is
used during start-up of the aircraft engines when maximum
power output is required.
As displayed in Fig. 6, the APU is mounted in an engine test
rig, which enables measurement of exhaust gas components
and the observation of the operational parameters during
testing at realistic gas turbine operating conditions. Fig. 7
shows the modifications necessary for retrofitting the exist-
ing gas turbine combustion chamber with a Micromix
combustor module. The gas turbines hard- and software have
been adapted for multi-fuel usage of kerosene, hydrogen and
methane with conventional nozzles and Micromix combus-
tion of hydrogen [17,18].
In the following, the operational behavior of the modified
gas turbine during hydrogen operation with the Micromix
combustion technology is presented. The operational
behavior is compared to hydrogen operation with conven-
tional fuel nozzles and analyzed in detail in Ref. [17].
After successful start-up in hydrogen operation, the rota-
tional speed stabilizes at 99% in IDLE mode. To test the safe
operation with the adjusted PID-parameters of the on-speed
governor controller, three different operational conditions
are tested. The different engine characteristics at IDLE oper-
ation and the maximum load change from IDLE to MES to IDLE
are discussed and displayed in Fig. 8. Each diagram shows the
rotational speed and the Inlet Guide Vane (IGV) position
against a chosen time index (20 s). During IDLE operation of
the APU (Fig. 8 a), the IGV position is constant, the load control
valve closed and the pneumatic power generated by the load
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 4 ( 2 0 1 9 ) 6 9 7 8 e6 9 9 0 6983

Fig. 7 e Structural layout of the APU GTCP 36-300 combustion chamber and turbine in original configuration (top) and
equipped with a Micromix Module (bottom) [19].

Fig. 8 e Operational behavior of the GTCP 36-300 fueled with H2 in Micromix operation, indicated by the rotational speed
(solid lines) and the IGV position (dashed lines) for IDLE (a) and load changes from IDLE to MES (b) and back to IDLE (c) [18].

compressor negligible. The controller enables a stable IDLE
operation of the gas turbine with the integrated Micromix
combustion chamber at a target rotational speed of 99% with
tolerable oscillations. The oscillations are comparable to
hydrogen combustion with conventional fuel nozzles.
The switch form IDLE to MES (Fig. 8 b) and back to IDLE
(Fig. 8 c) including the change of the speed level from 99% to
101% and back, represents the most challenging change in
operational conditions. By switching from IDLE to MES, the
rotational speed stabilizes in the area of 100%e100.5% before
achieving the requested speed level of 101%. The stabilization
is caused by a load change, resulting from the IGV movement.
With the implemented Micromix combustion chamber, the
controller is able to traverse rapidly, without over- or under-
shooting of the rotational speed to MES. By switching back
from MES to ILDE operation, the controller has to compensate
the load compressor's decrease in load and to handle the
lowering of the rotational speed. From this follows that
initially the speed level overshoots and in the final stages
undershoots before stabilization at 99% speed level takes
place. Finally, the controller stabilizes rapidly at a rotational
speed of 99%. With the implemented Micromix combustion
chamber, the general operating behavior of the hydrogen
fueled APU GTCP 36-300 is in the desired range. Compress-
ibility effects of the gaseous hydrogen are compensated by the
modified engine control software. The set PID-parameters of
the on-speed governor allow a safe operation of the hydrogen
gas turbine over the entire operating range.
For evaluating the NOx-reduction potential of the Micromix
combustion principle, exhaust gas samples are extracted
during engine testing of the modified APU GTCP 36-300 and
fed via heated tubing to the continuous gas analysis system
ABB Advanced Optima AO2020. The gas sample is processed
by a gas dehydrator and transferred to the analyzing modules
by heated tubes and hoses under controlled pressure condi-
tions. The applied Advanced Optima exhaust gas analysis
6984 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 4 ( 2 0 1 9 ) 6 9 7 8 e6 9 9 0
system determines the amount of unburned hydrogen (ABB
Caldos 27), the concentration of O2 (ABB Magnos 206) and the
concentrations of CO and CO2 (ABB Uras 26). For the deter-
mination of NOx (i.e. NO and NO2), an Eco Physics CLD 700 EL is
used and directly connected to the hot exhaust gas sample.
The cross-sensitivity to the remaining water vapor in the
sample is below 0.5% of the measured value. Before each test
campaign, all exhaust gas-analyzing devices are calibrated
using zero-point and defined reference-point calibration
gases. An analysis of error sources and their impact on mea-
surement accuracy and reproducibility is given in Ref. [20].
Fig. 9 presents the measured NOx-emissions against APU
power output for different types of combustors and fuels. For
comparison, the figure contains the resultant NOx-emissions
when operating the same engine with conventional kerosene
nozzles, with six conventional hydrogen nozzles and with the
baseline Micromix hydrogen combustion chamber. Due to the
high reactivity of hydrogen, NOx emissions increase signifi-
cantly when changing from kerosene to hydrogen operation
with six conventional gas nozzles. The conventional nozzles
create six large flames with high retention times of NOx pre-
cursors in the high temperature flame regions, which pro-
motes NOx formation. When miniaturizing the flames and
enhancing mixing of fuel and oxidizer by Micromix combus-
tion, a NOx reduction potential of up to 95% is possible at the
same operating conditions.
The implemented Micromix combustion chamber and the
realized hardware and software modifications allow the
secure and low NOx hydrogen operation of the APU GTPC 36-
300. The possibility is given to operate the hydrogen-driven
engine in the same way as in kerosene operation with no
CO/CO2 emissions and significantly reduced NOx emissions.
Numerical and experimental optimization
After achieving stable operation of the Micromix combustion
principle under full-scale gas turbine conditions and estab-
lishing the NOx reduction potential, up-scaling to higher
thermal loading of each injector nozzle with regard to indus-
trial gas turbine applications is the focus of the presented
optimization cycle. For increasing the thermal power output
per nozzle, the nozzle diameter is increased and the total
Fig. 9 e NOx emissions of different combustor technologies
and fuel types against APU power output.
number of nozzles decreased. This enhances the robustness
against fuel contamination by particles and, in combination
with an optimized combustion chamber design, reduces the
manufacturing complexity significantly. Increasing the ther-
mal loading leads to the formation of larger flames that benefit
combustion efficiency but increase the risk of higher NOx
emissions.
Considering these effects, numerical and experimental
parameter studies are conducted under atmospheric condi-
tions to identify a combustor geometry at up-scaled thermal
power output per nozzle with optimized combustion charac-
teristics and low NOx emissions. For analyzing the combus-
tion principle's main geometric parameters influencing flame
stabilization, combustion characteristics and NOx formation,
numerical analyses are carried out using the commercial CFD
code STAR-CCMþ. The 3D combustion simulations base on a
simplified geometric model derived from the experimentally
investigated test-burner configuration.
As displayed in Fig. 10, the geometric model benefits from
the symmetric nature of the burner in both lateral and vertical
direction. A longitudinal burner slice, containing half of a
hydrogen injector and half of an air guiding panel gate is
simulated. The spatial discretization is performed using an
unstructured polyhedral mesh with prism layers and solution
adaptive mesh refinement along the reaction and flow path
[21]. Mesh independency has been established with a final
mesh size of approx. 540 k volume cells. With two mass flow
inlet boundaries, schematically shown in Fig. 10, the fuel- and
the dry air-jet (rO2 ¼ 0.20950; rN2 ¼ 0.79016; rCO2 ¼ 0.00035) are
introduced separately into the combustor model far enough
upstream of the combustion zone to avoid any boundary in-
fluences on the mixing and combustion processes. Inlet
boundary conditions are defined according to experimental
inlet conditions of the investigated combustor configuration
(p3 ¼ 1 bar; T3 ¼ 560K; TFuel ¼ 298.15 K). The model offers a fluid
region for the combustion and flow simulation and solid re-
gions that account for conjugate heat transfer through the
combustor walls.
For analyzing the combustion characteristics over the
entire operating range, the design point of the combustor
(F ¼ 0.375) and off-design points at overload and part-load
conditions are analyzed. The equivalence ratios are set at
constant air mass flow by adjusting the fuel mass flow
accordingly. The reactive flow regime is solved by a three-
dimensional, steady, pressure based RANS solver using the
realizable k-ε-turbulence model with all yþ wall treatment.
The combustion process is solved by a complex chemistry
model using detailed reaction mechanisms, described in
Ref. [16]. To account for turbulence-chemistry interactions,
the Eddy Dissipation Concept (EDC) is applied [22]. A
comprehensive kinetic reaction mechanism composed of 19
reversible elementary reactions and 9 species, proposed by Li
et al. [23] is used to solve the reactive flow regime. Due to the
highly turbulent nature of the Micromix combustion principle,
transport phenomena are predominantly driven by turbulent
diffusion. In a first approach molecular diffusion and associ-
ated Lewis number effects are treated by the simplified
approach of unity Schmidt number. Density and dynamic
viscosity are calculated for the overall mixture in the indi-
vidual cells.
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 4 ( 2 0 1 9 ) 6 9 7 8 e6 9 9 0 6985

shear layer between these vortex structures, the flame is

aerodynamically stabilized.
For lowering the temperatures on the combustor sur-
faces, the geometrical design focuses on establishing a
cooling airflow that bypasses the Micromix flame and en-
ters the outer stabilizing vortices. As can be seen in Fig. 11,
the airflow is accelerated around the flame, which leads to a
penetration of cooling air into the outer recirculation zone
and to a separation of adjacent flames in all directions.
Preventing adjoining flames from merging ensures low NOx
emissions of the combustor module by keeping the flame
Fig. 10 e Computational domain and coordinate system of size and retention time of NOx precursors in the flame re-
the derived slice model [4]. gion low.
For identification of the driving combustion phenomena
and combustion characteristics, the results of combustion
and flow simulations are presented in the following along
As indicator for NOx emissions, modelling of thermal NO
with experimental results. Since optimizing the combustion
based on the extended Zeldovich mechanism is applied (cf.
process for high combustion efficiency and low NOx perfor-
Table 1). Thermal NO has proven to be a suitable indicator of
mance is the primary objective of the conducted research, a
the general NOx emission behavior of experimentally inves-
practical validation approach has been chosen based on
tigated test-burner configurations, and allows a fast predic-
exhaust gas measurements.
tion of design trends prior to testing.
As source of validation for the numerical investigations,
To assure high combustion efficiencies, low pressure los-
experimental testing on test-burners that represent
ses and low pollutant emissions, the design laws for con-
simplified sections of a full-scale combustion chamber has
struction of DLN Micromix combustor modules aim to
been performed at an atmospheric test rig at AcUAS. The
facilitate aerodynamic flame stabilization. The airflow is
test-burner assembly is integrated into the atmospheric
constricted and accelerated through the air gates (cf. Fig. 1).
test rig schematically displayed in Fig. 12. During testing,
Hydrogen is injected perpendicular into the accelerated
ambient air is provided by blower devices and supplied to
crossflow of air. In the wake region of the air guiding panel and
the test-burner via an electric heater, increasing the air
the fuel segment, counter rotating vortices establish. In the
temperature to T3 z 560K. Homogenization structures in
the heater ensure uniform airflow and temperature distri-
bution as inlet boundary conditions for the test-burner.
Table 1 e Arrhenius parameters for the thermal NO Fuel is supplied from pressurized gas bottles at room
reaction mechanism. Units are m3, kmole, s, K. temperature.
Forward Backward For exhaust gas measurements, an active heated probe is
A b EA/R A b EA/R positioned along three axes (x, y, z in Fig. 13) behind the
1.8E11 0.0 38370 3.8E10 0.0 425
combustor to take samples from locations that are distributed
k1
ðaÞ N2 þ O 4 NO þ N in a grid at the center outlet area. To minimize heat losses
k1
during the experiment, this measuring grid is defined to cover
k2 1.8E07 1.0 4680 3.8E06 1.0 20820
ðbÞ N þ O2 4 NO þ O the representative flow phenomena of the combustion pro-
k2 cess in the center region of the test-burner. During operation,
k3 7.1E10 0.0 450 1.7E11 0.0 24560 this measurement area is thermally insulated from the flame-
ðcÞ N þ OH 4 NO þ H
k3 tube that surrounds the combustor by a multitude of periodic

Fig. 11 e Visualization of the simulated flow field surrounding a Micromix flame.

6986 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 4 ( 2 0 1 9 ) 6 9 7 8 e6 9 9 0

Fig. 12 e Schematics of the atmospheric test rig [16].

Fig. 13 e Sketch of a DLN Micromix test-burner.

micro-flames. At every location, an exhaust gas sample is
taken when steady state conditions are reached. For each
equivalence ratio, the arithmetic mean based on measure-
ments at a defined number of representative locations at a
distance of 90 mm in z-direction from the test-burner fuel
supply segment is obtained.
The extracted samples are supplied to the analysis mod-
ules of the continuous gas analysis system ABB Advanced
Optima AO2020 as described for full-scale gas turbine testing.
Fig. 14 shows the measured NOx emissions of three
different test burner configurations that have been
numerically investigated in Ref. [14]. A design trend is
established for the transition between the initial geometry
with a nozzle diameter of 0.3 mm and the final geometry
with a nozzle diameter of 0.84 mm. The initial geometry
offers very low NOx emissions at the design point and part
load conditions. At overload, NOx emissions increase dras-
tically. The slope can be reduced by application of larger
nozzles with higher thermal loading per nozzle at the price
of increased part load emissions. These are due to the larger
generated flames and the increased residence time of NOx
precursors in the larger flame region.
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 4 ( 2 0 1 9 ) 6 9 7 8 e6 9 9 0 6987

Fig. 14 e NOx emissions against equivalence ratio for nozzle diameters between 0.3 mm and 0.84 mm.

When balancing the slightly increased NOx emissions at
the design point and part-load with the improved overload
behavior, a significant reduction of manufacturing
complexity and the enhanced robustness against fuel
contamination by particles, the step towards a nozzle diam-
eter of 0.84 mm is justified. As indicator of the general flame
structure and flame length for the optimized test burner ge-
ometry with a nozzle diameter of 0.84 mm, the simulated
temperature distribution on the central symmetry plane is
given in Fig. 15.
The 0.84 mm design results in a conventional Micromix
flame, despite an increase in thermal power output per
injector by approx. 390% in comparison to a 0.3 mm design.
The flame is aerodynamically stabilized in the shear layer
between the vortices in the wake regions of the air guiding
panel and the fuel segment. Cooling of the outer recirculation
vortex is achieved by a coflow of air that bypasses the flame
and enters the recirculation area.
In the following, the measured and simulated trace gas
emissions of unburned fuel components and NOx are
evaluated. Measurement accuracies of the gas analyzing
hardware are indicated in the plots as error bars. The un-
burned fuel emission levels are depicted in Fig. 16. The
resulting emissions of unburned hydrogen correspond to a
combustion efficiency of more than 99% throughout the
evaluated operating range. When comparing the simulation
and experimental results displayed in Fig. 16, the simulated
exhaust emissions fall considerably below the experimental
results. By application of steady RANS-simulations, unsteady
flow phenomena like flame quenching due to local aero-
dynamic effects cannot be resolved adequately. Furthermore,
the applied geometrical model shows no imperfections or
deviations from the base layout that occur within certain
tolerances during the manufacturing and assembly process.
The numerically evaluated NO and experimentally
measured NOx emissions are presented in Fig. 17 for part-,
full- and overload conditions. The Micromix combustor
module achieves NOx emissions less than 2.5 ppm corrected
to 15 Vol% O2 at the design point and emissions below
4 ppm at overload.

Fig. 15 e Simulated temperature distribution on the central symmetry plane at F ¼ 0.375.

6988 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 4 ( 2 0 1 9 ) 6 9 7 8 e6 9 9 0
Fig. 16 e Numerical and experimental results of unburned
hydrogen emissions at atmospheric testing conditions for
0.84 mm injector test burner.
Fig. 17 e Numerical and experimental results of NO/NOx
emissions corrected to 15 Vol% O2 at atmospheric testing
conditions for 0.84 mm injector test burner.
Concerning the differences between experimental and
simulation results, the slope of increasing NO emissions to-
wards higher equivalence ratios is well met by the numerical
approach. The measurement value is overestimated by
approx. 1.5 ppm constantly throughout the operating range.
Based on a set of geometric parameter studies and in depth
analysis of the combustion characteristics predicted by
Fig. 18 e Structural layout of the optimized Micromix
combustion chamber.
Fig. 19 e NOx emissions of the baseline design and the
optimized Micromix combustion chamber. Atmospheric
and pressure-scaled test results of the 0.84 mm test burner
as reference.
numerical simulations and experimental campaigns on at-
mospheric test burner geometries, a full-scale Micromix gas
turbine combustion chamber with a nozzle diameter of
0.84 mm has been derived. The structural layout of the
Micromix module, designed for integration and testing in the
auxiliary power unit GTCP 36-300 is displayed in Fig. 18.
The optimized layout increases the thermal power output
per nozzle by approx. 390% while the number of injectors is
reduced from approx. 1600 to 300. Due to the reduced amount
of nozzles, a design with only 1.5 hydrogen segment rings
could be realized. With an increased nozzle diameter and a
focus on manufacturing oriented construction, manufacturing
complexity could be reduced significantly. By increasing the
nozzle diameter from 0.3 mm to 0.84 mm the robustness
of the combustion technology against fuel contamination by
particles could also be improved. Based on conjugate heat
transfer simulations of the combustor module, Thermal Bar-
rier Coating (TBC) has been applied on all structural compo-
nents facing the combustion zone to prevent thermal damage
of the fuel supply segments and air guiding panels.
Fig. 19 displays the comparison between the NOx emissions
obtained under realistic gas turbine conditions with the
baseline combustion chamber and with the optimized design.
Additionally the atmospheric test results obtained with the
optimized test burner geometry with 0.84 mm injectors are
presented. The atmospheric results are scaled to APU pressure
conditions based on a square root dependence between
pressure ratio and emission level [24]. By application of the
presented interactive optimization cycle, a combustion
chamber could be realized that offers a significantly increased
thermal power output per injector and lower manufacturing
complexity at the expense of minor changes to the low NOx
performance.
Due to real gas turbine inflow to the combustor module and
effects resulting from adapting the idealized test burner ge-
ometry to the annular combustion chamber, the NOx emis-
sions are increased when comparing gas turbine operation
with scaled up atmospheric test burner results. In contrast,
part load capabilities are enhanced under realistic gas turbine
conditions.
 i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y 4 4 ( 2 0 1 9 ) 6 9 7 8 e6 9 9 0
Conclusion & outlook
An interactive optimization process used for the development
of a new dry low NOx Micromix gas turbine combustion
chamber for application in industrial scale gas turbines has
been presented. Based on an initial combustion chamber
design the operational behavior of a modified auxiliary power
unit GTCP 36-300 in Micromix operation with hydrogen fuel
and the NOx reduction potential of the Micromix combustion
principles has been established. Stable gas turbine operation
is possible during acceleration of the engine, during IDLE and
during load variations between IDLE and MES mode.
Throughout the investigated operating range, the combustion
chamber generates single digit NOx emissions under full-scale
gas turbine conditions.
For optimizing the combustion process towards high
combustion efficiency, combustion stability, higher thermal
power output per nozzle and reduced manufacturing
complexity, a numerical and experimental combustor test
campaign has been conducted. In the presented studies, an
integration-optimized Micromix combustor with a nozzle
diameter of 0.84 mm has been tested at atmospheric pressure
over a range of gas turbine operating conditions with
hydrogen fuel. During atmospheric testing the optimized
combustor module shows satisfactory operating behavior,
combustion efficiency and pollutant emission level. Within
the evaluated operating range, which correlates to gas turbine
part-, full- and overload conditions, the investigated
combustor module exceeds 99% combustion efficiency. The
Micromix combustor module achieves NOx emissions less
than 2.5 ppm corrected to 15 Vol% O2 at the design point. The
emissions are below 4 ppm over the entire investigated
operating range at atmospheric conditions.
Based on the conducted parameter studies, an integration
optimized combustion chamber design with a nozzle diam-
eter of 0.84 mm has been derived. It offers an increase in the
thermal power output per nozzle by approx. 390% when
compared to the initial 0.3 mm design. The reduced amount of
injectors benefits manufacturing complexity and the robust-
ness of the combustion process against fuel contamination by
particles.
Acknowledgment
The numerical flow and combustion simulations presented in
this paper have been carried out with the STAR-
CCMþ Software of Siemens PLM. Their support is gratefully
acknowledged.
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