Optimisation of a micro-thermophotovoltaic with porous media inserted burner for electrical power improvement

To improve energy efficiency and electrical power output of H2-fueled micro-thermophotovoltaic, burning in combustors with varied porous media (PM) setting is experimentally and numerically studied. Effects of burner dimensions, PM settings and operating conditions on flow field, species distribution, combustion characteristics and heat transmission are investigated and analyzed. Results demonstrate that inserted PM strongly affects burning properties and combustor thermal performance, which is enhanced in larger size combustors. The combination of partially inserted PM with inlet-step is conducive to flame anchoring, improving the efficiency at higher flow rate in small combustor because of the high surface values of Nusselt number and heat flux. The fully inserted PM is beneficial to the heat transfer in chamber at lower flow rate and achieves the highest radiation power of large scale burner. The limit of flow rate is dramatically broadened with the augment of burner scale, such as mr = 2.65 × 10−5 kg/s to mr = 4.64 × 10−5kg/s, and the highest electrical power of micro-thermophotovoltaic system with burner 9D and InGaAsSb cells reaches to 2.81 W.