Impact of Methane and Hydrogen-Enriched Methane Pilot Injection on the Surface Temperature of a Scaled-Down Burner Nozzle Measured Using Phosphor Thermometry

The surface temperature of a burner nozzle using three different pilot hardware configurations was measured using lifetime phosphor thermometry with the ZnS:Ag phosphor in a gas turbine model combustor designed to mimic the Siemens DLE (Dry Low Emission) burner. The three pilot hardware configurations included a non-premixed pilot injection setup and two partially premixed pilot injections where one had a relatively higher degree of premixing. For each pilot hardware configuration, the combustor was operated with either methane or hydrogen-enriched methane (H₂/CH₄: 50/50 in volume %). The local heating from pilot flames was much more significant for hydrogen-enriched methane compared with pure methane due to the pilot flames being in general more closely attached to the pilot nozzles with hydrogen-enriched methane. For the methane fuel, the average surface temperature of the burner nozzle was approximately 40 K higher for the partially premixed pilot injection configuration with a lower degree of mixing as compared to the non-premixed pilot injection configuration. In contrast, with the hydrogen-enriched methane fuel, the differences in surface temperature between the different pilot injection hardware configurations were much smaller due to the close-to-nozzle frame structure.