Optimization of CO Turndown for an Axially Staged Gas Turbine Combustor

Abstract

This paper reports on an optimization study of the CO turndown behavior of an axially staged combustor, in the context of industrial gas turbines (GTs). The aim of this work is to assess the optimally achievable CO turndown behavior limit given system and operating characteristics, without considering flow-induced behaviors such as mixing quality and flame spatial characteristics. To that end, chemical reactor network (CRN) modeling is used to investigate the impact of various system and operating conditions on the exhaust CO emissions of each combustion stage, as well as at the combustor exit. Different combustor residence time combinations are explored to determine their contribution to th..