MILD

COMBUSTION

CONTENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Int rodu c tio n

W hy Di ff ere nt ?
Ho w t o Ach i ev e F l a m el ess C om busti on?
Hi stor y
Rev ie w of l it er a t u res
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Researches outside India

Researches Inside India
Liquid Fuels
Gaseous Fuels
Furnace Applications
Gas Turbine Applications

6. Num e r ic a l a n a ly sis
1.
2.

Reverse Flow
Forward Flow

7. Co nc lu sio n
8. Pro je ct O bje ct iv es
9. Ref ere n ce s
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INTRODUCTION
New method combined with low emission, high
combustion intensity, and good stability of fl ame.
Based on concept of recirculation of burnt gas and
dilution and preheating of fresh gases[2].
Variety of names including

Flameless Oxidation (FLOX)

High Temperature Air Combustion (HITAC)
Stagnation Point Reverse Flow Combustion (SPRF)
Colorless Distributed Combustion (CDC)

MILD Moderate or Intense Low Oxygen Dilution

Tested and verifi ed using FLOXCOM [2]

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WHY DIFFERENT???
Flameless

U V o r Vi s u a l
monitoring not possible

fl a m e

C o n v e n t i o n a l fl a m e

Steep
temperature
gradient
and
chemical
compositions;
which
is
favoured for fl ame stability

Local gas temperature in fl ame may

reach upto AFT

Flame front concentrated in a

volume with highly stretched
convoluted area

thin
and

Flameless combustion

Reactant temperature ~ 850 C

Reactions take place at temperatures

above Self Ignition temperature [3]

Take place distributed in larger volume

Smoother temperature profi le

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Department of Mechanical Engineering, Govt

College, Thrissur

Image courtesy IFRF

HOW TO ACHIEVE FLAMELESS

COMBUSTION[3],[4]
In Conventional Combustion, the fuel and air jets are
placed inside a primary chamber to achieve early mixing
before fi ring
In Flameless combustion, insertisation occurs, i.e, air
mixes with fl ue gas before it mixes with fuel
Air is preheated to the mixture self ignition temperature,
of the range >1123 K
Air is injected at very high velocity and hence the burner
Gas is supplied concentric to the air duct so that it
surrounds the insertisation mixture
Swirl or baffl es are used for mixing
Flue gas is recirculated into the reaction zone, and self
ignition temperature is maintained.

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MILD Combustion in
a furnace

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College, Thrissur

Image courtesy IFRF

HISTORY
Factors that led to R&D include
Growing stress of reducing NOx pollution
Energy crisis of 70s and 80s
Government norms and regulations

1989, at 1273 K furnace temperature and 923 K air

preheat temperature, fl ame was not evident, no UV
signal, but complete combustion and CO and NO
emission were close to zero called it FLOX
Exploited using CFD code, steel industry, Ceramic
industry, Glass industry, Chemical Industry, power
generation industry

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PHYSICAL ASPECTS
Increase of fuel - oxidizer interface temperature leads
to reduced surface tension owing to better mixing
and atomization (Surface free energy is minimized)
Assists droplet evaporation in liquid fuel injection
High residence time, leading to better chemical
kinetics and reaction time
Absence of shear layer (fl amelet) where reaction
occurs, non-uniform mixture concentration does not
aff ect combustion
High radiative heat transfer, improves droplet
vaporization by heating

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FLUID DYNAMICS ASPECTS

1. High level of dry wall confi nement
2. No need of back mixing
3. Disproportionization of fuel and oxidizer

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REVIEW OF
LITERATURES

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REVIEW
I n 2 002, M M a n c i n i e t . al . tr i e d t o
p re d i c t N O e m i s s i o n o f a b u rn e r
o p e r a te d i n fl a m e l e s s ox i d a ti o n
m o d e [ 14 ]
Natural
gas
burned
with
air
preheated to 1300 degree centigrade
Steady state numerical analysis was
conducted
and
compared
with
experimental burner
Thermal NO was found to be more as
compared to prompt NO
Most of the NO was observed to be
found
in
thin
region
of
strain
formation, or fl amelet
Prediction inside fl amelet region is
having high degree of error
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REVIEW
In
20 0 7 ,
N u m e r i c al
and
E x p e r i m e n t a l I n v e s t i g a ti o n o f a
M I LD
c om b u s t i o n
b u rn e r
was
c o n d u c te d b y C h i a r a G al l e tti e t.
a l . [ 13 ]
Experimental
investigation
of
a
burner was conducted and compared
with CFD 3D and axisymmetric model.
NO emission was found to be reduced
from 1000 ppm to 30 ppm as
compared
in
MILD
combustion
against conventional combustion.
Axy symmetric model over estimates
the recirculation degree.
Damkohler
number
at
high
temperature region was found lower
than that in low temperature region.

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REVIEW

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REVIEW
In 2011, Vladimir Zimont et. al. developed a joint
RANS/LES modelling for fl ameless combustion [12]
RANS model simulate accurately compact fl ame and
distributed fl ameless combustion
LES model with sub gird viscosity scale reproduce
instantaneous structures like vortex
Joint model was observed to have lower computational time

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REVIEW
In 2012, Yaxin Su et.al. tried to simulate HITAC with
modifi ed Eddy Break Up model (EDU) [11], from the
IFRF experiment conducted by Mancini et. al. [14]
A furnace model with three step reaction mechanism was
modelled
A parameter modifi ed EDU with RSM was used to predict
fl ame and it was observed that the fl ame and emission
characteristics can be correctly predicted, but precision was
not satisfactory.

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REVIEW
In 2015. S kruse et. Al.
conducted an experimental
and numerical study of
MILD combustion for gas
turbine applications [2]
Pressure
infl uence
is
monitored and emissions is
examined.
A
reverse
fl ow
type
combustion
chamber
was
used to enhance the mixing
of
fl ue
gas.
Signifi cant
decrease
in
NOx
was
detected
with
decreasing
pressure
and
equivalence
ratio
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REVIEW
In 2015, Jingjing Ye et. Al conducted
an
experimental
study
on
MILD
combustion of prevaporised liquid
fuels [15]
Reverse Flow under elevated pressure.
Combustion stability depend on the fuel
type, with n-heptane being most unstable
due to fast ignition.
NOx emission increases under elevated
pressure
Slow mixing, elevated pressure, residence
time and increased temperature leads to
increased NOx emission

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REVIEW

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REVIEW
In 2015, Numerical study of eff ects of refl ector on
combustion performance in a MILD furnace was
studied by Bo liu et al.[5]
The refl ector does not aff ect upstream fl ow confi guration
Combustion enhanced near the refl ector

Giancarlo Sorrentino et. Al. developed a cyclonic

combustion chamber[10]
Various regimes of combustion was plotted
Variation with C/O inlet mixture composition was analysed

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RESEARCHES IN INDIA
Prof Sudarshan Kumar and V Mahendra Reddy of IIT
Bombay [6],[8] developed a novel forward fl ow
combustor for Flameless combustion of Liquid fuels.
Various Regimes were observed in combustion by diff ering
the inlet diameter of injection and diff erent heat inputs
Pollutant emissions and Acoustic emissions were observed
and plotted

Dr. Vaibhav Arghode of IIT Kanpur investigated

forward and reverse fl ow CDC combustors [7],[9]
It was observed that the reverse fl ow combustor was more
effi cient due to higher residence time for completing
combustion.
Numerical and experimental investigation was conducted in
reverse fl ow confi guration with diff erent mode of injection.
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NUMERICAL
SIMULATION RESULTS

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Investigatio
n of forward
and reverse
fl ow confg

22

REVERSE FLOW CONFIGURATION

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REVERSE FLOW CONFIGURATION

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FORWARD FLOW CONFIGURATION

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FORWARD FLOW CONFIGURATION

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FORWARD FLOW CONFIGURATION

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FORWARD FLOW CONFIGURATION

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FORWARD FLOW CONFIGURATION

2.50E-05
2500
2.00E-05
2000
1.50E-05
1500
Te m p e r a t u r e

( K )
1000

max temp
Polynomial (max
temp)

M o le Fra c tio n o f N O
1.00E-05

Polynomial (temp
outlet)

0.00E+00
500
0 1000

0
I n l e t

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Polynomial (NO
emission)

5.00E-06

temp outlet
500

NO emission

Te m p e r a t u r e

( K )

I n l e t

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Govt

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Te m p e r a t u r e

( K )

29

FORWARD FLOW CONFIGURATION

NO emission
2.50E-05

2.00E-05

1.50E-05
NO emission
M o le Fra c tio n o f N O

Polynomial (NO emission)

1.00E-05

5.00E-06

0.00E+00
200 300 400 500 600 700 800
I n l e t

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Te m p e r a t u r e

( K )

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FORWARD FLOW CONFIGURATION

No

P5 P6 P12 P1 P2 P3 P4 rateoftherma rateofprompt

P7 maximum_te
temperature_ temperature_
velocity_outl no_mole_frac lno_outlet
no_outlet mole_fraction
mperature
inlet (K)
outlet (K)
et (m s^-1)
tino_outlet
(mol m^-3
(mol m^-3
_co_outlet
(K)
s^-1)
s^-1)

317.5

1449.5616

1626.9143

5.7188039

5.11E-06

1.80E-11

4.69E-34

5.40E-07

352.5

1417.2927

1753.2772

6.1137438

1.15E-06

1.53E-09

1.64E-32

2.96E-06

387.5

1551.3953

1881.9557

6.3495278

3.87E-07

2.38E-11

4.71E-34

1.18E-06

422.5

1662.7798

1785.4464

6.1935854

4.32E-07

2.92E-11

1.25E-06

457.5

1299.6986

2231.4619

6.963397

5.82E-07

2.84E-08

1.50E-05

492.5

1405.5481

1900.4163

6.3361778

1.93E-05

1.10E-08

9.03E-06

527.5

1528.0255

1938.9573

6.5171728

4.76E-06

3.22E-09

6.64E-06

562.5

1299.6986

2231.4619

6.963397

5.82E-07

2.84E-08

1.50E-05

597.5

1765.0702

1973.4689

6.393909

2.77E-06

7.77E-11

1.25E-06

10

632.5

1517.0741

1995.5116

7.0115409

4.26E-06

2.06E-07

4.09E-05

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FORWARD FLOW CONFIGURATION

No

P5 P6 P12 P1 P2 P3 P4 rateoftherma rateofprompt

P7 maximum_te
temperature_ temperature_
velocity_outl no_mole_frac lno_outlet
no_outlet mole_fraction
mperature
inlet (K)
outlet (K)
et (m s^-1)
tino_outlet
(mol m^-3
(mol m^-3
_co_outlet
(K)
s^-1)
s^-1)

11

667.5

1485.5627

2086.0002

7.5317669

7.76E-06

8.01E-07

6.83E-05

12

702.5

1623.5542

2050.1318

7.1636963

1.32E-05

3.83E-07

5.18E-05

14

772.5

1914.459

1942.2612

6.2224832

0.00018361

1.34E-11

2.52E-07

15

807.5

1669.5514

2190.2188

7.7829771

0.00012026

1.06E-05

0.00028904

16

842.5

1568.619

2228.6956

7.5224357

0.00014631

1.71E-05

0.00036232

17

877.5

2171.4146

2199.8972

7.4995327

0.00022023

1.01E-08

6.37E-06

18

912.5

2210.7207

2187.95

7.7210917

0.00056576

6.79E-07

4.74E-05

19

947.5

1749.2806

2218.3896

8.5429821

0.00105427

8.37E-05

0.0008694

20

982.5

1844.4885

2288.8584

8.659832

0.00142579

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0.00115786 0.00022152

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CONCLUSIONS
1. FLOX can be accurately modelled using CFD
2. FLOX reduces emissions and increases temperature
homogeneity,
as
compared
to
conventional
combustion
3. NOx emission can be reduced as much as 96% and
more, as observed in experimental and numerical
investigations
4. Not many works have been conducted in the area
5. Commercial applications has been carried out only
in the area of furnace
6. Optimization study conducted shows that there are
a lot of aspects to be considered for analysing
combustion
7. Flow
and
thermal
aspects
changed
from
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4/7/16 conventional to fl ameless combustion
College, Thrissur

PROJECT OBJECTIVES
1. Numerically investigate gaseous fuel combustion at
high pressure for gas turbine applications
2. Try to Design a novel laboratory scale forward fl ow
combustion chamber for MILD/FLOX combustion, for
gas turbine application
3. Experimentally investigate the numerical results
obtained for specifi c number of cases (limited to
one single experimental model, and constrained set
of parameters)
4. Numerically analyse the fl uid dynamics and thermal
aspects of mixing, recirculation and residence time
in Forward fl ow type MILD combustion chamber

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REFERENCE
1. Jingjing Ye, P R Medwell, E Varea, S Kruse, B B Dally,
H G Pitsch, An experimental study on MILD
combustion of prevaporised liquid fuels , Jounral
of Applied Energy, 151 (2015) 93-101
2. S Kruse, B Kerschgens, L Berger, E Varea, H Pitsch,
Experimental and numerical study of MILD
combustion for gas turbine applications , Journal
of Applied Energy, 148 (2015) 456-465
3. International Flame Research Foundation

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https://www.ifrf.net/
http://www.handbook.ifrf.net/handbook/cf.html?id=171

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REFERENCE
4. Joachim G Wunning, Flameless combustion and
its applications, W S Inc, USA,
5. Bo Liu, Yuan-Hua Wnag, Hong Xu, Numerical Study
of eff ects of refl ector on performance of MILD
furnace with forward fl ow confi guration
6. www.iitb.ac.in/research
7. www.iitk.ac.in/
8. V
Mahendra
Reddy,
Sudarshan
Kumar,
Development of high intensity low emission
combustor for achieving fl ameless combustion
of liquid fuels, Propulsion and Power Research, IIT
Bombay, 2013
9. ISEES Conference, RDSO, Lucknow
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REFERENCE
10. Giancarlo Sorrentino, Pino Sabia et.al. Development
of a novel cyclonic fl ow combustion chamber for
achieving
MILD/Flameless
combustion ,
12 t h
International conference on Combustion & Energy
Utilisation, Energy Proceedia 66 (2015) 141 144
11. Yaxin Su, Cuiwu Chen, Along SU, Simulation of High
Temperature Air Combustion with modifi ed EddyBreak Up combustion model , 12 t h International
Conference on Advances in Energy Engineering,
Energy Proceedia 14 (2012) 127 132
12. Vladimir L Zimont, Valerio Battagila, Joint RANS/LES
modelling of fl ameless combustion , CRS4, Science
and technology park, Polaris, Pula, Italy, Journal of
Energy and Power Engineering, 2011, 3, 616 -624
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REFERENCE
13. Chiara Galletti, Alessandro Parente, Leonardo Tognotti,
Numerical and Experimental Investigation of a
MILD combustion burner , Department of Chmical
Engineering, University of Pisa, Italy, Journal of
Combustion and Flame 151 (2007) 649 664
14. Marco
Mancici,
Roman
Weber,
Ugo
Bollettini,
Predicting NOx emissions of a burner operated in
Flameless Oxidation Mode , International Flame
Research Foundation (IFRF), Proceedings of the
Combustion Institute, Vol 29, 2002 pp 1155 1163
15. Jingjing Ye et.al. An experimental study on MILD
combustion
of
prevaporised
liquid
fuels ,
University of Adelaide, Journal of Applied Energy, 151
(2015) 93 - 101
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. . .Thank You For Your Patience . . .

Questions ?
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