PSR network#
PyChemkin can be used to create an Equivalence Reactor Network (ERN) as a reduced-order (in geometry) model for complex combustion applications such as gas turbine combustor. Each reactor in the network represents a sub-region (zone) in the actual equipment. Normally these zones are created according to specific criteria such as temperature, equivalence ratio, or location; and the gas flow (mean, turbulent, and diffusive) between the zones becomes the internal streams between the reactors.
There are several ways to build an ERN in PyChemkin. The first method is to create and solve the reactors one-by-one starting from the most upstream (first) reactor. Adjust/manipulate the external and outlet streams from connected reactors (that is, solutions from the reactors) using the Mixture/Stream utilities and apply the desired stream as the inlet for the downstream reactors. The second method takes advantage of the hybridreactornetwork “model” of PyChemkin. Simply defined the reactors with the associated external inlets and add the reactors to the hybridreactornetwork. If there are recycling streams from the downstream reactor to the upstream ones, the hybridreactornetwork will solve the entire ERN iteratively. In this case, a tear point must be explicitly specified. The last method, the coupled method, is to create the network and its connectivity first, and the entire ERN will be solved in a coupled manner. This method is the default method in Chemkin GUI and is available as the PSRCluster “model” in PyChemkin.
- Chemkin ERN has a few limitations:
The first reactor of the reactor network must have at least one external inlet.
when using the coupled model, the entire reactor network can have only one outlet to the surroundings, and the outlet must be attached to the last reactor in the network.
PSR is the only reactor model allowed in the PSRCluster and the hybridreactornetwork reactor networks.
The PSRChain_xxx examples show the two methods to build and run a series of linked PSRs (no stream recycling) can be modeled in PyChemkin. The PSRnetwork example goes over the steps of creating and running an ERN with recycling streams by using the hybridreactornetwork method. The PSRnetwork_coupled example solves the same ERN as the PSRnetwork example but utilizes the coupled method. Because the sole outlet from the coupled ERN must be attached to the last reactor, the order of the downstream zones is different from the PSRnetwork example.
Use a chain of individual reactors to model a gas combustor
Use a chain reactor network to model a gas combustor
Simulate a combustor using an equivalent reactor network with stream recycling