Applied Thermal Engineering 233 (2023) 121180

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Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Research Paper

Enhancing thermal and exergy performances in a CO2-Free

micro-combustor with reverse flow double-channel outlet structure
Hui Rong a, Dan Zhao a, *, Tao Cai b, Sid Becker a
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8041, New Zealand
b
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The present study proposes a reverse flow single-channel inlet and double-channel outlet (SIDO) micro-
Ammonia combustor for the analysis of the thermal performance and nitrogen oxide emission characteristics of
Hydrogen ammonia/hydrogen-fuelled energy conversion system. Comparison is then made between the proposed system
Thermodynamics
and the conventional single-inlet and single-outlet system. The present findings show that the SIDO combustor is
Exergy
associated with enhanced thermal performances. Increasing the inlet pressure Pin improves thermal performance
Micro-combustion
and the exergy efficiency while reducing nitrogen oxide emissions. Increasing the inlet flow velocity Vin can
enhance the temperature uniformity of the combustor wall. It is also found that the ammonia combustion
convection heat transfer performance is optimized, when Vin = 1.25 m/s. Increasing the equivalence ratio Φ
leads to a reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions, and the micro-combustor has a better overall performance,
when Φ = 1.0. Finally, Increasing the blending ratio of hydrogen with ammonia Φb gives rise to a decayed
advection but enhanced diffusion, and the total pressure loss (Ploss) can be reduced. This present study confirms
the viability of employing the SIDO reverse flow structure to enhance thermodynamic performances from micro-
combustion energy conversion systems.

1. Introduction Moreover, ammonia has high energy density [23–25], enabling it to

Burning fossil fuels leads to the release of substantial quantities of
greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere [1–3],
leading to global warming and other environmental issues [4–6].
Consequently, reducing carbon emissions and pollutant discharge has
become a crucial area of research worldwide [7,8]. Energy transition,
which involves exploring ways to conserve energy [9,10] and reduce
emissions [11,12], is a critical area of research in the current energy
field. Ammonia, as a carbon-free fuel [13], has garnered significant
attention as an alternative fuel [14], particularly in the field of micro-
combustion [15,16]. The thermal performance of the combustor is a
crucial indicator for its evaluation [17]. Research on the characteristics
of thermal and exergy plays a significant role in combustion perfor­
mance optimization [18,19]. The thermodynamic analysis of micro-
combustors has emerged as a crucial aspect in enhancing combustion
performance [20].
Ammonia is a promising new fuel source with numerous benefits.
Since it lacks carbon, ammonia does not produce carbon dioxide emis­
sions [21,22], thus minimizing the impact on the environment.
store more energy per unit volume. As a result, it becomes simpler to
transport and store [26,27], which is crucial for practical applications.
The process of generating ammonia gas is well-established [24,28] and
can be produced from sustainable sources like wind or solar power using
electrolysis [29–31], making it a potentially eco-friendly fuel source.
However, ammonia combustion poses some challenges and issues.
Despite not containing carbon, nitrogen oxides are produced during
ammonia combustion [32–35], leading to environmental pollution. As
such, reducing nitrogen oxide emissions is critical in ammonia usage.
Additionally, because ammonia is less flammable than hydrogen [36], it
typically be burned in oxygen, resulting in increased costs.
Micro-combustors are crucial components in micro-power genera­
tion systems [37–39] like micro-thermophotovoltaic (MTPV) systems
[40–42]. Micro-combustors play a vital role in providing heat for ther­
mal photovoltaic cells, which serve as the primary energy source in
MTPV systems. This application holds substantial practical significance.
To optimize fuel utilization and achieve efficient energy utilization,
understanding the performance of micro-combustors is crucial. Recent
research has extensively studied the structure [43,44] and fuel

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: dan.zhao@canterbury.ac.nz (D. Zhao).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.121180
Received 27 May 2023; Received in revised form 9 July 2023; Accepted 15 July 2023
Available online 20 July 2023
1359-4311/© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
H. Rong et al.
Fig. 1. Schematics of (a) reverse flow single-channel inlet and double-channel outlet (SIDO), (b) conventional single-channel inlet and single-channel outlet (SISO).
characteristics [45–47] of micro-combustors to improve their perfor­
mance [48,49] in various aspects. Jiang et al. [50] designed a combustor
structure and analyzed the entropy of hydrogen combustion, elevating
the position of the baffle could increase entropy production, and an
improvement in fuel flow rate in this structure would reduce exergy
efficiency. Cai et al. [51] explored the structure with bluff-body for
improving the combustion efficiency of hydrogen combustion. They
found that the bluff-body structure could enhance the thermal charac­
ters, as well as exergy efficiency, but also led to greater pressure loss. In
another study, Xiao et al. [52] conducted the performance of ammonia
oxygen premixed combustion with a baffle structure. They found that
the addition of a baffle could reduce NO emissions, and that with
increasing baffle length, NO emission first decreases and then increases.
Cai et al. [53] conducted a perforated plate structure and studied its
nitrogen oxide emission characteristics, found that the perforated plate
structure could create a low flame temperature recirculation zone,
which significantly reduced NOx emissions. Mansouri [54] proposed a
micro-combustion channel configuration with wavy walls, and simu­
lated and analyzed methane-air combustion characteristics for this
structure, found that the wavy walls structure could increase surface
area, thus improving the system heat transfer characteristics. As wave
number increasing, the flame moved towards the outlet position. The
ammonia/hydrogen combustion thermal and emission features were
explored by Zhao et al. [55] in a counter-flow combustor, the inclusion
of hydrogen caused the flame position to shift towards the inlet.
The aim of ammonia micro-combustion is to enhance combustor
thermal efficiency [56–59] while diminishing nitrogen oxide emissions
[60–63]. Since hydrogen is regarded as a clean source of energy [64,65],
ammonia and hydrogen combustion have gained significant attention
[66–68]. Hydrogen can enhance the combustion velocity [69,70]. It is
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Applied Thermal Engineering 233 (2023) 121180
used to address issues such as inflammability and low inlet velocity of
ammonia [71]. Furthermore, adding an appropriate amount of
hydrogen can decrease nitrogen oxide emissions[72].
Although some studies have contributed to improving performance
in micro-combustors, it remains crucial to consider the NOx emissions
and further thermal performance improvement. Currently, there is in­
terest in the design of flow reversal micro-combustors as proposed in this
work, aiming to enhance thermal performance and NOx reduction. It is
critical to address this knowledge gap with the present numerical in­
vestigations. This work proposes a reverse flow structure with a single-
channel inlet and double-channel outlet (SIDO) to improve thermal and
emission performance in comparison to conventional structure with
single-channel inlet and single-channel outlet (SISO). The study aims to
identify how such a new type of combustor affects the thermal perfor­
mance and nitrogen oxide emissions. Section 2 introduces the 3D
physical model of the combustor. The simulation is performed using the
steady laminar model because the flow does not exhibit turbulence, such
as swirling flows [73], and the combustor operates under stable com­
bustion conditions. The boundary conditions for the velocity inlet and
the pressure outlet are given. An appropriate mesh is selected, and the
simulation method is validated by conducting a comparison between the
simulation data and the previously collected experimental data. In sec­
tion 3, the study discusses the effects of different parameters on
ammonia combustion performance in the SIDO combustor. Addition­
ally, ammonia and hydrogen blended combustion are further analyzed
in section 4, and the influence of hydrogen blended ratio (Φb) on various
parameters is studied. Section 5 provides a comprehensive summary of
the main findings and conclusions derived from the study. This study can
help in developing advanced combustion systems and achieving better
environmental performance.
H. Rong et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 233 (2023) 121180

2. Numerical methodology 2.3. Numerical setup and boundary conditions

2.1. Geometric model The simulation work of this study is completed by ANSYS Fluent
2021 R2, and all the grids used are established by ICEM. The Reynolds
The models and sizes for SIDO and SISO structures are shown in number of ammonia gas in low-flow combustion is less than 500, so the
Fig. 1. The SIDO combustor has single inlet and double outlet that share laminar model is used for simulation [74,75]. Due to the small Reynolds
the same opening direction. The combustor are 3 mm in height, 11 mm number and predominantly laminar flow in the micro-combustor, the
in width, and 18 mm in length, with 0.5 mm wall thickness of. The effect of turbulence is not obvious. The turbulence model, like large-
baffles in the middle start at 9 mm from the inlet, and the distance from eddy simulation [76] is not necessary to use in this study. The finite-
the backwall is d. The material of the combustor is set to steel. rate model and the stiff chemistry solver are used for the chemical re­
action solution. The reaction mechanism includes 19 species and 63
2.2. Governing and system equations reactions [16,77]. The reaction primarily responsible for NO emissions
is the conversion of HNO to NO through the process of HNO + H = H2 +
Mass and momentum conservations NO [77,78]. The reaction mechanisms associated with NH3-H2-O2
combustion have been extensively described in previous study [16]. The
(1)
⇀
∇ • (ρ v ) = 0 accuracy of this mechanism has also been compared with other mech­
anisms to validate its reliability [77]. The ideal-gas-mixing law is
(2)
⇀ ⇀
ρ v • ∇v = − ∇P + ∇ • (τ − τ′) employed to analysis of thermal conductivity and viscosity, using the
mixing law to solve the specific heat. Using SIMPLE algorithm to
where ρ is the fluid density, v represents the velocity vector, and P is
⇀
( ⇀ ⇀ T
) determine the pressure–velocity coupling and a second-order upwind
the static pressure. The viscous stress τ is μ ∇v +(∇v) , and τ′ is the scheme is applied for the governing equations and species discretions.
Reynolds stress. To ensure accuracy, all residuals are maintained below 10− 6. The
For incompressible flow: calculation of mass diffusivity relies on the kinetic theory. The density
and mass diffusivity of the gas mixture are determined using the
( ⇀T ) 2
(3) incompressible-ideal-gas [55,79] and kinetic theory approaches. The
⇀ ⇀ ⇀
τ = μ[ ∇v + ∇v − ∇ • v I]
3
main reason for selecting the incompressible flow model is the relatively
where, μ is the molecular viscosity, I is the unit tensor, and the sec­ small density change during actual combustion. Micro-scale combustion
ond term on the right-hand side is the effect of volume dilation. systems usually involve lower flow rates and smaller scale sizes, so the
Here the second term on the right-hand side accounts for the impact compressibility of the fluid can be ignored. The specific heat for indi­
of volume dilation, I denotes the unit tensor, μ represents the molecular vidual species is computed using the piecewise polynomial method.
viscosity. Under-relaxation factors of 0.9 are utilized for species, body force, and
The energy conservation equation is: density.
( ) The flow rate and size of micro-scale combustion systems are
∑ ⇀
⇀
∇ • (v (ρE + p) ) = ∇ • keff ∇T −
⇀ ⇀
hj J j + ( τ • v ) + Sh (4) considerably lower and smaller, in contrast to aeroengines [80]. The
j consideration of choked configuration is not necessary in micro-scale
combustion. The inlet gas has an initial temperature of 300 K. The
where E refers to the total energy of the fluid, keff represents the
interior surfaces are assumed to have no diffusive flux species and a no-
effective conductivity, T represents the temperature, hj denotes the
⇀
slip boundary condition. The pressure outlet boundary condition is
species enthalpy, J j is the species diffusion flux, and Sh is the fluid applied at the combustor outlet.
enthalpy source term. The calculation of heat loss (Q) from external walls due to convection
The species conservation: heat transfer and radiation is determined by Eq. (9) [81,82].
( )
(9)
⇀
(5) Q = hAc (TW − T∞ ) + εσ Ac TW4 − T∞
⇀ 4
∇ • (ρ v Yi + J i ) = Ri
where Ri denotes the reaction net rate of production, Yi is the species where σ corresponds to the Stephan-Boltzmann constant (5.67 ×
⇀ 10− 8W/m2⋅K4), ε represents the emissivity of the solid surface (0.85), T∞
local mass fraction, J i is the mixture diffusion flux.
denotes the ambient temperature (300 K), TW signifies the outer-wall
The thermodynamic equation is written as:
temperature, Ac represents the surface area of the outer wall and h re­
P=ρ
Ru
T (6) fers to the natural convection heat transfer coefficient (20 W/m2⋅K
MW [83,84]).
where Ru denotes the universal gas constant and MW represents the The combustion flow through the combustor leads to a pressure
molar mass. drop. Due to the friction and heating effects to characterize such pres­
Area-weighted-mean wall temperature (TW,m) is defined as sure drop, the pressure loss (Ploss) is defined as in Eq. (10) [85].
Ploss = Pin − Pout (10)
1∑ n
TW,m = Ti Ai (7)
A i=1 where Pin is the pressure at the inlet and Pout is the pressure at the
⇀
outlet.
where Tw is the mean wall temperature, Ti is the temperature of grid The average Nusselt number (Nu) can be calculated by Eq. (11) [51].
cell i on the wall, Ai is the surface area.
The standard deviation of the wall temperature (ST,W) hc d
Nu = (11)
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ kg
√
√∑ Ti − ⇀
ST,w = √ ( ⇀ )2
Tw
(8) where hc is the channel convective heat transfer coefficient
Tw (W⋅m− 2⋅K− 1), kg denotes the gases thermal conductivity (W⋅m− 1⋅K− 1), d
is the combustor characteristic length (m).
The exergy efficiency can be deduced as follows [86–88] by the
second law of thermodynamics. The inlet exergy (Ein x ) and total exergy

3
H. Rong et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 233 (2023) 121180

Fig. 2. Variation of centerline temperature and contours of temperature field on cross-section with different mesh resolutions.

eg
loss (Ex ) are calculated as:
V H2
Φb = *100% (16)
Exin = ṁfuel × QLHV (12) VH2 + VNH3

where VH2 and VNH3 represent the volume fractions of hydrogen and
T∞
Exeg = Exloss + ṁinlet × T∞ × cpoutlet ln (13) ammonia, respectively.
Teg
The Reynolds number (Re) and Peclet number (Pe) can be calculated
where ṁfuel denotes the mass flow rate of fuel, QLHV is the lower by Eq. (17),18).
heating value of mixture fuel (ammonia is 18.8 MJ/kg [51,79]), Eloss x ρVdh
denotes the energy loss from the combustion exhaust gas, ṁinlet represent Re = (17)
μ
the inlet mass flow rate, T∞ is the atmosphere temperature (300 K), cpoutlet
denotes the specific heat at the combustor outlet, and Teg represents the ρVdh Cp
exhaust gas temperature. Pe = (18)
λ
Then, the exergy balance can be used to calculate the uncounted
where ρ is the density, V denotes the velocity, dh represents the hy­
exergy destruction (Edes
x ) and exergy efficiency (ηexergy ) can be deter­ draulic diameter, μ is the dynamic viscosity, λ is the thermal
mined from the equations below. conductivity.
Exdes = Exin − Exeg (14) The N/O atom ratio for ammonia combustion is calculated by using:
( )
( ) XN2 + XN2 O + 0.5 XN + XNO + XNO2 + XNH3
Exdes γ N/O = (19)
ηexergy = 1 − × 100% (15) XO2 + XNO2 + 0.5(XO + XOH + XNO + XH2 O + XN2 O )
Exin
where X is the mole fraction of species.
The hydrogen blended ratio (Φb) can be calculated by Eq. (16). The local equivalence ratio (Φlocal) for ammonia and hydrogen

Fig. 3. (a) Comparison of the experimental measurements [61] and previous simulation [63] as well as present results of ammonia combustion, (b) Comparison of
the experimental measurements [89] and the present results of hydrogen combustion along the centerline of the bottom wall.

4
H. Rong et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 233 (2023) 121180

Fig. 4. Comparison of the outer wall mean temperature (TW,m) (a) and standard deviation (ST,W) (b) with different inlet pressures (Pin).

combustion can be given as:
0.25(XH + XOH + XHO2 ) + 0.5(XH2 + XH2 O + XH2 O2 ) + 0.75XNH3
Φlocal =
XO2 + XNO2 + XHO2 + XH2 O2 + 0.5(XO + XOH + XNO + XH2 O + XN2 O )
(20)
2.4. Grid independence and model validation
The selection of a suitable mesh can significantly reduce computa­
tional costs while ensuring accurate simulations. Therefore, it is essen­
tial to conduct a comparative analysis of different grids to identify the
appropriate mesh for subsequent simulation work. In this section, the
inlet pressure of 1 atm, the inlet velocity of 1.5 m/s, and the equivalence
ratio of 1 are selected for all cases, the hydrogen blended ratio is 0%. The
distance between the inlet and outlet is denoted as L, while the distance
from the inlet is denoted as x. Three meshes, with varying cell numbers
of 334,934, 448,632, and 618,940, were selected for comparison. Fig. 2
displays the centerline temperature variation and contours of the

Fig. 5. Contours of the temperature field overlapped with streamlines of SIDO (a) and SISO (b) on the cross-section at different inlet pressures (Pin) with the inlet
velocity of 1.5 m/s.

5
H. Rong et al.
Fig. 6. Variation of NO mole fraction (a) and exergy efficiency (b) as a function of inlet pressure (Pin) with different d.
temperature field on the cross-sections of the three meshes. Upon
comparison, it is observed that the temperature distribution calculation
results for the mesh with 448,632 cells are almost identical to those
obtained using 618,940 cells. Therefore, the mesh with 448,632 cells is
adequate for the simulation requirements. Subsequently, the mesh with
448,632 cells is selected for all subsequent simulation calculations.
Validating the accuracy of the simulation requires a crucial step of
comparing the obtained simulation outcomes and available experi­
mental data. Fig. 3 (a) shows the present numerical data compared with
the experimental data [61] and previous simulation results [63] of
ammonia combustion under same boundary conditions. In the experi­
ment, ammonia demonstrates stable combustion in oxygen. All three
results exhibited a consistent trend, demonstrating a close agreement
between the experimental data and the corresponding present results for
ammonia combustion. The maximum deviation of experimental data
and present results, occurring in the vicinity of the inlet, was found to be
less than 10%. Fig. 3 (b) presents a visual comparison showcasing the
centerline temperature distribution along the bottom wall between the
simulation results and experimental data [89] of hydrogen in the
streamwise direction. The temperature distribution trend of the exper­
imental data is consistent with that of the simulation results, and the
values are in close proximity. The maximum deviation observed in the
comparison is 6.7% and 7.8% at the inlet and outlet positions, respec­
tively. Such deviation is deemed acceptable because there may be some
measurement uncertainties and unstable factors present during the
experiment. This comparison validates the accuracy and feasibility of
the simulation method and results.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effect of the inlet pressure Pin
The combustion performance of the flame in the micro-combustor is
significantly impacted by the inlet pressure (Pin). An increase in Pin leads
to higher temperature of flame [75] due to improved fuel and oxygen
mixability and combustion efficiency. However, when Pin continues to
rise, the flame combustion rate and temperature reach a peak. At too
high an inlet pressure, the mixing of fuel and oxygen is limited, which
inhibits the combustion reaction. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate
the impact of Pin on the SIDO combustor. In this section, the inlet ve­
locity for all cases is 1.5 m/s, and the equivalence ratio is 1 with no
hydrogen blending. Five different inlet pressures ranging from 1 atm to
3 atm are selected with intervals of 0.5 atm. This Pin range is reasonable
in practical operation [90] and numerical study [79].
6
Applied Thermal Engineering 233 (2023) 121180
Fig. 4 (a) shows the changes in outer wall mean temperature (TW,m)
of the SIDO combustors with three different lengths of d and SISO
combustor under various Pin. It can be observed that as Pin goes up, TW,m
gradually raises. However, the rate of temperature increase decreases
under high Pin. When Pin is below 2.0 atm, with an increase in d, there
will be a slight reduction in TW,m, but when Pin is greater than 2.5 atm,
the three lengths of d are almost the same in wall temperature. Under
different Pin, the outcomes suggest that TW,m of SIDO is higher compared
to SISO, and the temperature improvement is higher as the Pin increases.
Thus, the SIDO structure is capable of enhancing the thermal efficiency
of the combustor. Fig. 4 (b) presents the change in the standard devia­
tion of the outer wall temperature (ST,W) with Pin. It is observed that ST,W
first increases and then decreases with the rise of Pin. For combustors
with SIDO structure, ST,W reaches the maximum at Pin = 1.5 atm, while
for the SISO combustor, it reaches the maximum at Pin = 2.0 atm. It
shows that the wall temperature uniformity is significantly improved in
the SIDO structure compared to the SISO combustor. When Pin is less
than 2.0 atm, raising the value of d leads to a minor improvement in ST,
W, while at Pin = 3.0 atm, raising the value of d leads to a slight decrease
in ST,W. Hence, achieving optimal temperature uniformity of the
combustor wall requires using the appropriate d length at the appro­
priate Pin.
Using d = 3 mm as an example, Fig. 5 shows the temperature field on
a cross-section change with Pin. It is evident that an increase in Pin results
in the flame position moving closer to the inlet. This, in turn, enlarges
the high-temperature region within the combustor and leads to more
uniform wall heating and improved temperature uniformity. The flame
position is indicative of improved mixability between ammonia and
oxygen at high Pin values, thereby increasing the flammability of the fuel
and promoting faster ignition. The comparison of SIDO and SISO reveals
that the heating distribution of SIDO is considerably more uniform. This
is due to the fact that the absence of backwall obstruction in the SISO
structure causes a loss of flame heat from the outlet when operating
under a high Pin. This, in turn, hinders the efficient utilization of fuel
combustion heat.
Fig. 6 (a) illustrates the change in NO emission with Pin. It can be
observed that an elevation in Pin leads to a steady and substantial
reduction in the NO mole fraction, suggesting that higher Pin values can
effectively reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. Moreover, as depicted in
Fig. 6 (a), the minimum value of the NO mole fraction occurs when d =
3 mm, implying that a length of 3 mm for d is optimal for reducing NOx
emissions. Fig. 6 (b) shows the variation of exergy efficiency with Pin. It
is apparent from the observation that the SIDO combustor experiences a
notable increase with an increase in Pin. This finding indicates that
H. Rong et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 233 (2023) 121180

Fig. 7. Variation of the outer wall mean temperature (TW,m) (a) and standard deviation (ST,W) (b) as a function of inlet velocity (Vin) with different d.

Fig. 8. Contours of temperature field (a) and OH mole fraction (b) on the cross-section with different inlet velocities (Vin).

7
H. Rong et al.
Fig. 9. Variation of the dependence of maximum flame temperature and Nu (a) and NO mole fraction (b) of inlet velocity (Vin) with different d.
enhancing the mixability of fuel by increasing Pin leads to more com­
plete fuel combustion and improved exergy efficiency. In general, an
increase in d length can slightly improve exergy efficiency, with a more
pronounced improvement observed at higher Pin values.
3.2. Effect of the inlet velocity Vin
The quantity of fuel contained in the combustor, and hence, com­
bustion performance, can be influenced by the inlet velocity (Vin). As
ammonia is not as flammable as other fuels such as hydrogen, it is
usually imported at a lower rate. Therefore, studying the effect of Vin on
thermal performance is crucial to determine the suitable Vin that can
enhance combustion performance while saving maximum fuel and
pumping power. In this section, all cases are set with an equivalence
ratio of 1 with no hydrogen blending, Pin = 1 atm. The Vin ranges from
0.5 m/s to 1.75 m/s in intervals of 0.25 m/s.
Fig. 7 (a) depicts the relationship between Vin and TW,m. It is evident
that TW,m increases with a rise in Vin due to an increase in the amount of
fuel, which generates more heat. However, with a continuous increase in
Vin, the rate of temperature rise slows down. Therefore, after reaching a
certain level, further increasing Vin exerts a restricted impact on
enhancing TW,m. In various Vin situations, increasing the length of
d slightly reduces TW,m. Fig. 7 (b) shows the variation of ST,W with
respect to Vin. With an increase in Vin, ST,W initially rises and subse­
quently falls. The maximum ST,W occurs when Vin = 0.75 m/s, indicating
Fig. 10. Variation of the outer wall mean temperature (TW,m) (a) and standard deviation (ST,W) (b) as a function of equivalence ratio (Φ) with different d.
8
Applied Thermal Engineering 233 (2023) 121180
poor uniformity of temperature across the outer wall at this Vin. How­
ever, when Vin exceeds 0.75 m/s, increasing Vin significantly reduces ST,
W, indicating an improvement in the temperature uniformity of the wall.
Increasing the length of d leads to an increase in ST,W, which does not
promote the enhancement of temperature uniformity across the outer
wall.
The structure with d = 2 is associated wiith an optimum thermal
performance and thus was selected to explore the effect ofinlet velocity
on combustion performance.. Fig. 8 shows the temperature field and OH
mole fraction at three different Vin. As shown in Fig. 8 (a), raising Vin
leads to a notable expansion of the flame region, leading to improved
uniformity of wall temperature, this is because the flame and the wall
have a greater surface area of contact. However, ammonia is not as
flammable as hydrogen, so an increase in Vin pushes the flame away
from the inlet location and reduces the temperature at the inlet position.
In Fig. 8 (b), it is clearer that the concentration area of OH mole fraction
continues to increase with an increase in Vin. Additionally, due to the
blocking effect of the backwall of the combustor, the flame flows to both
sides of the outlet after reaching the backwall, allowing for full utiliza­
tion of the flame’s energy to heat the second half, this enhances the
temperature uniformity across the wall.
The correlation between the Nusselt number (Nu) and the maximum
flame temperature concerning Vin is shown in Fig. 9 (a). As Vin increases,
the maximum flame temperature gradually rises, and the maximum
flame temperature of three d lengths is similar, this suggests that the
H. Rong et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 233 (2023) 121180

Fig. 11. Variation of centerline temperature of the bottom wall (a) and NO mole fraction (b) with different equivalence ratios (Φ).

impact of the length of d on the maximum flame temperature is negli­
gible. Initially, Nu increases and then decreases as Vin increases, reaching
its peak value when Vin = 1.25 m/s. This finding suggests that the
convective heat transfer performance of SIDO structure is optimal when
the Vin of ammonia combustion is 1.25 m/s. Nu slightly decreases with
an increase in d length, but the change is not significant. Fig. 9 (b) il­
lustrates how the NO mole fraction at the outlet and the corresponding
Reynolds number (Re) change with Vin. The lower Re further indicates
that laminar flow is predominant in the combustor. Nitrogen oxide
emission increases gradually with an increase in Vin. Before Vin reaches
1 m/s, the NO mole fraction increases significantly; after 1 m/s, NO
emissions continue to rise slightly, but the change is minimal. Higher Vin
may lead to stronger gas perturbation and higher combustion temper­
atures, allowing ammonia to mix more fully with oxygen for combus­
tion, while also increasing nitrogen oxide production and emissions.
When Vin increases to a certain value, the mixing degree between
ammonia and oxygen reaches a certain equilibrium state. At this point,
even if Vin continues to increase, the mixing degree will not significantly
improve, nor will the production of nitrogen oxides be significantly
increased. NO emissions of the three d lengths show little change,
indicating that the effect of d length on nitrogen oxide emission is
insignificant.

Fig. 12. Contours of NO mole fraction (a) and γN/O (b) on the cross-section with different equivalence ratios (Φ).

9
H. Rong et al.
Fig. 13. Variation of the outer wall mean temperature (TW,m) (a) and standard deviation (ST,W) (b) as a function of hydrogen blended ratio (Φb) with different d.
3.3. Effect of the equivalence ratio Φ
In the field of micro-scale combustion, the limited space available for
combustion necessitates careful consideration of fuel composition,
which directly affects combustion performance. Therefore, the com­
bustion process is greatly influenced by the equivalence ratio (Φ). It is
essential to investigate the impact of Φ on ammonia micro-scale com­
bustion of the NOx emission and thermal performance. Throughout this
section, Pin = 1 atm and the Vin = 1.5 m/s, with no hydrogen blending. Φ
ranging from 0.8 to 1.2, with increments of 0.1, are selected for
comparison.
Fig. 10 (a) displays how TW,m varies with Φ. As Φ increases, TW,m
increases initially and subsequently decreases, the maximum tempera­
ture is attained at Φ = 0.9. This finding suggests that the performance of
combustion is optimal under slightly rich oxygen conditions. Moreover,
increasing the length of d causes a slight reduction in TW,m. However, at
high Φ values, there is no notable impact of the length of d on TW,m.
Fig. 10 (b) illustrates how ST,W changes as a function of Φ. ST,W first
decreases and then increases with Φ, reaching its lowest point at Φ =
1.1. This result indicates that the temperature uniformity of the wall is
optimal when Φ = 1.1. When Φ is less than 1.0, the lengthening of
d leads to an increase in ST,W. However, when Φ is greater than 1.0,
d length has little effect on the temperature uniformity. Overall, when Φ
= 1.0, the temperature and uniformity are both satisfactory, suggesting
Fig. 14. Variation of the dependence of Nu and NO mole fraction (a) and pressure loss (Ploss) (b) of hydrogen blended ratio (Φb) with different d.
10
Applied Thermal Engineering 233 (2023) 121180
that Φ = 1.0 is an appropriate choice.
The temperature variations along the bottom centerline are pre­
sented in Fig. 11 (a) for different values of Φ represented by d = 3 mm.
As Φ increases, the inlet temperature gradually decreases, while the
temperature at the combustor backwall gradually increases. Further­
more, the highest temperature’s location shifts away from the inlet.,
indicating that as the oxygen content decreases, the ignition point moves
further away from the inlet. Additionally, the flame advances towards
the backwall. Although the maximum flame temperature on the
centerline slightly diminishes with boosting Φ, this change is not sig­
nificant. Fig. 11 (b) shows the variation in NO mole fraction as a function
of Φ. As Φ increases, nitrogen oxide emission significantly decreases,
indicating that the decrease in oxygen content results in incomplete
ammonia reaction and reduced nitrogen oxide generation. Comparing
the NO mole fraction of three lengths of d, it can be found find that the
length of d has no significant influence on NOx emission with the change
of Φ.
To further investigate the impact of Φ on NO production, a com­
parison and analysis of NO distribution and N/O atom ratio (γN/O ) dis­
tribution is conducted, and the contours of two parameters are depicted
in Fig. 12. As depicted in Fig. 12 (a), the mole fraction of NO diminishes
as Φ increases, and the high concentration of NO is at the ignition site of
the flame. Oxygen is most abundant before the flame burns, but it is
continuously consumed after ignition. Thus, the ignition site can react
H. Rong et al.
Fig. 15. Contours of Φlocal – Φ on the cross-section with different hydrogen blended ratios (Φb) and d.
more adequately and generate the most NO. As depicted in Fig. 12(b),
γ N/O increases with the improvement of Φ, indicating that an increase in
Φ leads to an increase in the nitrogen atom concentration and a decrease
in the concentration of the oxygen atom. Furthermore, the lowest γN/O of
the part that after fuel combustion is at the ignition site indicates that
ammonia combustion consumes part of the nitrogen atom to the fullest
extent. The γ N/O shows an opposite trend to NO distribution, which
further indicates that the reason for the decrease in NO at a high value of
Φ is that there is not enough oxygen to fully burn ammonia.
11
Applied Thermal Engineering 233 (2023) 121180
4. Further analysis of the hydrogen blended ratio Φb
Hydrogen is a more flammable gas than ammonia. Moreover, due to
the hydrogen does not contain nitrogen, combustion with ammonia can
effectively reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from the fuel [79]. There­
fore, studying the combustion parameters of ammonia and hydrogen
mixture combustion can help identify the appropriate hydrogen blended
ratio (Φb) for a SIDO combustor. In this section, all cases are conducted
under Pin = 1 atm, Vin = 1.25 m/s, and Φ = 1. While Φb is varied from
10% to 50% at intervals of 10% for comparative purposes.
The impact of Φb on TW,m is depicted in Fig. 13 (a). As Φb increases,
TW,m gradually decreases. This indicates that hydrogen, despite having a
H. Rong et al.
Fig. 16. Contours of Pe on the cross-section with different hydrogen blended ratios (Φb).
higher calorific value, has a lower energy density than ammonia gas.
Hence, under similar mole fraction conditions, hydrogen releases less
heat. For various Φb values, an increase in the length of d leads to a
reduction of TW,m. Therefore, a shorter length of d enhances the thermal
output of the SIDO combustor. Fig. 13 (b) illustrates the correlation
between Φb and ST,W. As Φb increases, ST,W also increases. However,
when Φb increases from 10% to 20%, the increase in ST,W is significant.
Beyond 20%, although ST,W continues to rise, the increase is less pro­
nounced. This observation suggests that the temperature uniformity
decreases as Φb increases. It also causes the position of the flame moves
closer to the inlet, concentrating the heat at the inlet and leaving
insufficient heat for the back part of the combustor. Furthermore, an
increase in the length of d raises ST,W, thus compromising the uniformity
of wall temperature. Therefore, overall, a shorter length of d is prefer­
able for improving the thermal performance of the SIDO combustor.
Fig. 14 (a) depicts the variations in Nu and NO mole fraction with Φb.
As Φb increases, Nu gradually decreases, implying that the convective
heat transfer performance in the combustor is reduced to some extent.
Moreover, since hydrogen does not contain nitrogen, the emission of
nitrogen oxides decreases gradually with the increase of Φb. It is note­
worthy that the convective heat transfer performance can be improved
by reducing the length of d when Φb is lower than 20%. On the other
hand, when Φb exceeds 30%, the length of d has almost no effect on the
convective heat transfer performance because the flame moves away
from the backwall with the increase of Φb, diminishing the impact of
d length. Furthermore, the length of d has almost no significant effect on
nitrogen oxide emissions. Fig. 14 (b) displays the relationship between
the pressure loss (Ploss) and Φb. It can be observed that Ploss is gradually
decreased as Φb is increased, and the length of d significantly affects Ploss.
Increasing d length greatly reduces Ploss, thereby lowering the required
pumping power [51]. A shorter d leads to a stronger blocking effect in
the combustor, elevating the gas pressure as it passes through the nar­
row channel and augmenting the pressure difference, increasing Ploss.
The change in local equivalence ratio (Φlocal) directly impacts com­
bustion efficiency and the generation of combustion products. When
Φlocal – Φ is less than zero, it indicates that the mixture is rich in fuel.
When Φlocal – Φ is greater than one, it suggests that the mixture is
deficient in fuel. In both scenarios, incomplete combustion may occur
[91,92], leading to the production of harmful exhaust gases. Complete
combustion mostly only be achieved when Φlocal – Φ = 0. Fig. 15 displays
the contours of Φlocal – Φ on a cross-section with three lengths of d using
12
Applied Thermal Engineering 233 (2023) 121180
Φb values of 10%, 30%, and 50% as examples. For Φb = 10%, the range
of Φlocal – Φ is approximately zero, indicating relatively complete com­
bustion resulting in higher heat release and TW,m of the combustor. As Φb
increases, Φlocal – Φ value gradually rises, and most areas exceed zero,
indicating decreased combustion efficiency and completeness. Reducing
the length of d can slightly reduce the value of Φlocal – Φ and increase the
areas where Φlocal – Φ is closer to zero on the contours, thereby pro­
moting complete fuel combustion.
In order to perform a more comprehensive analysis of how the
introduction of hydrogen impacts the combustion efficiency, the corre­
lation between the Peclet number (Pe) and Φb is investigated in this
study, where Pe reflects the strength of advection and diffusion[93,94].
Specifically, Φb values of 10%, 30%, and 50% are considered, and the
contours of Pe on cross-sections with different Φb are presented in
Fig. 16. A general trend of decreasing Pe values is observed as Φb in­
creases, indicating that the addition of hydrogen weakens advection
while strengthening diffusion. The enhanced diffusion leads to increased
fuel flammability, resulting in advanced ignition location and concen­
trated flame at the inlet. Consequently, the non-uniform distribution of
the overall flame reduces the uniformity of the wall temperature.
5. Discussion and conclusions
This study proposes a reverse flow single-channel inlet and double-
channel outlet (SIDO) micro-combustor and examines its thermal per­
formance and nitrogen oxide emission characteristics. The influences of
various parameters, including the inlet pressure (Pin), inlet velocity
(Vin), equivalence ratio (Φ), and hydrogen blend ratio (Φb), on the SIDO
combustor with three different baffle lengths are investigated in details.
The following key findings can be inferred:
1. Compared to a conventional combustor, the SIDO structure has been
shown to enhance the outer wall mean temperature (TW,m) and
uniformity across the combustor walls. Furthermore, increasing Pin
can improve TW,m while simultaneously reducing nitrogen oxide
emissions, this ultimately leads to an enhancement in terms of exergy
efficiency.
2. Increasing Vin can lead to an increase in TW,m and a reduction in the
standard deviation (ST,W) of the wall temperature. However, this also
results in an increase in nitrogen oxide emissions. Nonetheless, it has
been observed that NO emissions do not increase significantly when
H. Rong et al.
Vin reaches 1 m/s. It has also been found that when Vin = 1.25 m/s,
the convective heat transfer performance of ammonia combustion
within the SIDO combustor is optimal.
3. It has been observed that for ammonia combustion within a SIDO
combustor, TW,m is highest when Φ = 0.9. On the other hand, the
temperature uniformity is found to be optimal when Φ = 1.1.
However, when Φ = 1.0, the comprehensive performance of both TW,
m and uniformity is satisfactory. Furthermore, increasing the value of
Φ can move the flame away from the inlet and result in a reduction of
nitrogen oxide emissions due to high N/O atom ratio (γN/O ).
4. In the case of burning the mixture of ammonia and hydrogen, an
increase in Φb can lead to a reduction in TW,m while increasing ST,W.
This is not conducive to achieving uniformity of the wall tempera­
ture. The addition of hydrogen can weaken the convective heat
transfer performance but can reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides.
However, an increase of Φb can result in incomplete combustion of
the fuel, which also weakens the advection and strengthen diffusion.
Despite this, the addition of hydrogen can reduce the pressure loss
(Ploss) of such combustion.
5. Upon analyzing various parameters, it has been observed that a
decrease in the length of d can raise TW,m and enhance its uniformity.
The length of d does not have a significant effect on NOx emissions,
but it does have a significant impact on Ploss. Specifically, increasing
the length of d can lead to an obvious reduction in Ploss.
Author statement
Hui Rong: conducted the numerical simulations, analyzed the data
and discussed the results with Dan Zhao. Dan Zhao: conceived and
initialized the project. Tao Cai and Sid Becker: revised the manuscript.
All authors contributed to the paper writing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the
University of Canterbury, New Zealand (grant no. CPS20-03-002, grant
no. 452DISDZ), and National Research Foundation Singapore (grant no.
NRF2016 NRF-NSFC001-102). Hui Rong and Tao Cai would like to
thank College of Engineering, University of Canterbury for providing
them PhD studentships.
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