Development of a catalytic combustion system for the MIT Micro Gas Turbine Engine

Abstract

As part of the MIT micro-gas turbine engine project, the development of a hydrocarbon-fueled catalytic micro-combustion system is presented. A conventionally-machined catalytic flow reactor was built to simulate the micro-combustor and to better understand the catalytic combustion at micro-scale. In the conventionally-machined catalytic flow reactor, catalytic propane/air combustion was achieved over platinum. A 3-D finite element heat transfer model was also developed to assess the heat transfer characteristics of the catalytic micro-combustor. It has been concluded that catalytic combustion in the micro-combustor is limited by diffusion of fuel into the catalyst surface. To address this issue, a catalytic structure with larger surface area was suggested and tested. It was shown that the larger surface area catalyst increased the chemical efficiency. Design guidelines for the next generation catalytic micro-combustor are presented as well.