Hydrogen combustion technologies are gaining popularity in industry due to their ability to reduce CO2 emissions and increase energy efficiency. Hydrogen is a clean, renewable source of energy, and its combustion allows for a significant reduction in emissions of toxic compounds, which reduces the negative impact on the environment. These reasons have also led hydrogen technologies to find application in aviation, where they can be used to power turbojet engines or as fuel for fuel cells.
Therefore, our company decided to design and build a functional rig for the combustion of hydrogen-based gas mixtures with a combustion chamber allowing the research of the effects of the process on the structure of materials and material coatings. The thermodynamic, mechanical and electrical design of the stand was approved and a stand was built – that was adapted for combustion of a hydrogen mixture with an oxidant (air and/or oxygen). The fuel and oxidizer are supplied to the mixing chamber through independent systems that control pressure, temperature and flow for each medium. The combustion process of the hydrogen-methane mixture is realized in a cylindrical combustion chamber, where the test sample is mounted centrally to the burner nozzle.
The rig’s control system allows the preparation of a proper mixture for combustion, its control (composition, temperature, flow, pressure), safe combustion, control the temperature of the test object and the parameters in the combustion chamber itself. The control room provides the ability to do a complete test cycle remotely. A key component of the rig is a safety system independent of the control system, which monitors the work of the stand and guarantees the safety of its operators. The station is controlled from the HMI, which allows the operator to define process parameters and visualizes the process and test data. The control system has the ability to share process parameters and test data using a communication protocol.
