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The Savona Combustion Laboratory (DIMSET/SCL) is located north of the campus of the Savona School of Engineering, taking its extension within two separate buildings: the right "wing" of the Lab (devoted to liquid-fuel combustion systems, and thus named "LF Area") occupies a 13 x 10 sq.m masonry building, whilst on the left the Lab takes its place within a 30.5 x 15.5 sq.m hangar, mainly dedicated to natural gas-fueled combustion systems testing ("NGF Area"). Both buildings, formerly of military property, will progressively undergo a series of structural and aesthetic restorations, while keeping operativity (plant view of LF building, with the layout of the LRPM burner test-rig, as well as the location of the Deutz diesel engine utilised for electric power self-generation, up to 150 kW). As of now, the electrical air-preheating equipment of the burner test-rig, absorbing about 110 kW so to reach 500°C at full flow-rate, is fed by this latter power source. In a near future, a 200 kW electric-power line will be available. Closely outside of the LF building, a 2.0 cube meters liquid-fuel store-tank is located, feeding, under totally independent circuits, both the burner test-rig and the diesel engine.

In the NGF hangar, "clean room" is built in order to preserve the laser based instumentation that we will use for the measurements, also an LPP burner test-rig is installed. Features of the test rig are shown below:

  • 15 kW variable speed centrifugal fan
  • 100 kW adjustable air preheater
  • Air flow rate = (up to) 0.7 kg/s
  • Settling chamber pressure = 115000 Pa
  • Air temperature = (up to) 700 K

In additional, in the NGF hangar, an axial fan test-rig manufactured by ANSALDO (ASGEN) was installed. The fan had the following characteristics:

  • Direct current electric engine, LAMEX Series, CH250SCKRSp.
  • Maximum power: 250 kW
  • Maximum velocity: 3000 rpm
  • Nominal voltage: 440 V
  • Nominal current: 620 A
  • Moment of inertia: 10.3 kg•m3
  • Insulation Class: H
  • Independent excitation
  • Excitation voltage: 200 V
  • Excitation current: 8.9 A

In the NGF hangar, also a natural-gas burner-testing furnace of 1000 kW thermal-power is located, whilst a project is under development for installing a mid-pressure (4 bar) gas-turbine burner test-rig, fueled with natural gas and possibly other gaseous fuels (syngas, hydrogen).

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In order to experimentally test liquid fueled gas-turbine burners of various typologies, and, more specifically, premixer-burners of LRPM technology, a dedicated, variable-geometry, atmospheric-pressure test-rig (an isometric view of the overall test-rig), with an air pre-heating electrical capability of up to about 500 °C, has been designed, manufactured and erected in the LF building (an isometric rendering of the Laboratory with the remotely pc-controlled burner-rig installed in the heat-shielded, fire-proof area of the Lab) of DIMSET/SCL. In the same isometric view of the test-rig , the 3 electrical preheaters (35 kW each) installed upstream of the plenum chamber and the 9 traversing-stations locations provided along the combustor length for reactive-flow sampling are visible, as well as the water-jacketed vertical discharge duct, leading the exhaust gasses up to the outside stack, above the building roof.

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-LPP Burner Test-Rig

During the last time in "clean room" (an isometric view of our clean room with test-rig), the assembly of the test-rig (an isometric view of the overall test-rig) has been achieved. The air fan, the electrical air preheater (100kW), with an air pre-heating electrical capability of up to about 700 K and other control instrumentation have been installed, have undergone their respective functional tests and have all reached their fully operative conditions. With regard to the measuring point needs to be traversed within the flow field, the 3 axes traversing system has been constructed. Each axis is driven by a stepping motor, the spatial resolution is 8µm.

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-Axial Fan Test-Rig

In order to test the diesel engine, a load system has been set capable to reproduce the different situations of full load, partial load and transients. The load system is constituted by 12 three-phase, axial and single-stage fans manufactured by ANSALDO (ASGEN).

Their functional characteristics are:

  • 3000 rpm
  • nominal voltage: 380 V
  • nominal power: 15 kW
  • power factor: cos fi = 0.8

The overall installed power is 180 kW. The fans are coupled and anchored to wood sleepers bolted each other. The employment of this solution caused several problems:

  • high overall dimensions,
  • high noisiness,
  • a lot of dust,
  • interference between the fans flows and consequent uncertainty about the dissipated power.

In order to solve these problems a different solution for the load system has been set, including a single fan, blowing outside the hangar, and a sequence of resistance. A significant improvement of the load system characteristics has been achieved with this solution, as the load can be varied with continuity and no more by steps.

-Natural Gas Furnace

In NFG hangar, natural-gas burner-testing furnace of 1000 kW thermal-power is located. It is found to install mid-pressure (4 bar) gas-turbine burner test-rig.

-Prospective activities

In close future, in NFG hangar in burner-testing furnace, possibly use of gaseous fuels like syngas and hydrogen will be taken into consideration.