Flame bifurcation, flashback margins, and NO x scaling in a swirl-stabilized hydrogen aero-engine combustor
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Burning neat hydrogen in aircraft turbines eliminates carbon emissions, yet rapid reaction rates trigger nozzle flashback hazards and high nitrogen oxide emissions across flight throttles. This study investigates aerothermal holding mechanisms, flashback safety margins, and emission pathways in a dual-swirl combustor across equivalence ratios from 0.55 to 1.00. Three-dimensional simulations combine curvature-corrected shear-stress transport turbulence closure, dual-rate finite-rate and eddy-dissipation chemical kinetics, and discrete ordinates radiation, validated against experimental laser benchmarks using ASME grid standards. Advancing engine throttle triggers a topological flame bifurcation from a faceplate-attached M-flame at lean idle to a lifted V-flame above equivalence ratio 0.895, while wall flashback safety indices consistently exceed 3.42. Nitric oxide emissions transition from water-chaperoned nitrous oxide intermediate reactions at lean idle (28.01 ppm, EINO x = 1.85 g/kg), scaling to 319.21 ppm (EINO x = 35.40 g/kg) at takeoff under thermal Zeldovich dominance, governed by a power-law exponent of 4.92. These findings deliver validated operability limits and establish an accessible workstation-based screening methodology for practical zero-carbon aero-engine combustor development.
Source: Open Transport
DOI: 10.1515/ot-2026-0033
Author: Prashant Suresh Kamble
Language: English
Subfield: Computational Mechanics
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7212424538