Combustion Chamber (combustion + chamber)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Pilot-scale combustion of fast-pyrolysis bio-oil: Ash deposition and gaseous emissions

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, Issue 3 2009
Ala Khodier
Abstract Fast pyrolysis is a promising method to transform solid biomass into a liquid product called "bio-oil" with an energy density of four to five times greater than the feedstock. The process involves rapidly heating biomass to 450,600°C in the absence of air and condensing the vapor produced to give bio-oil. Typically, 50,75% (weight) of the feedstock is converted into bio-oil that has a number of uses, for example energy production or bio-refinery feedstock. This study investigated the gaseous emissions and ash deposition characteristics resulting from bio-oil combustion in a pilot scale combustion test rig at Cranfield University. A feeding system with heated lines and heated/stirred reservoir was used to feed a spray nozzle in the combustion chamber. Ash deposit samples were collected from the resulting flue gas using three air-cooled probes that simulate heat exchanger tubes with surface temperatures of 500, 600, and 700°C. The deposits formed were analyzed using SEM/EDX and XRD techniques to assess the corrosion potential of the deposits. The results are compared to measured ash deposit compositions formed from biomass combustion. Thermodynamic modeling software was used to make predictions for the partitioning of a range of elements for bio-oil combustion and the results compared to the measured data. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2009 [source]


Joining Strategies for Open Porous Metallic Foams on Iron and Nickel Base Materials,

ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS, Issue 8 2007
S. Longerich
Within the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 561 "Thermally highly loaded, porous and cooled multilayer systems for combined cycle power plants" open porous Ni-based structures are developed for the requirements of an effusion cooling. A two-dimensional cooling strategy for the walls of combustion chambers, that allows the outflow of the cooling medium over the complete wall area of the combustion chamber, could be realized by an open porous metallic foam structure. The challenge is to join the porous foam structure with the solid substrate material. Capacitor discharge welding and laser beam welding/-brazing methods seems to be promising methods due to a minimum input of energy and, connected with this, a small joining zone. [source]


Estimating baking temperatures in a Roman pottery kiln by rock magnetic properties: implications of thermochemical alteration on archaeointensity determinations

GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2006
Simo Spassov
SUMMARY Absolute past geomagnetic field intensity determinations requiring laboratory heating are labourious and the success rate is rather low, mostly because of induced thermochemical magnetic mineral alterations. Archaeomagnetic intensity determinations are mainly limited to displaced ceramics produced in kilns. In this study, the suitability of an in situ baked structure is investigated. Different magnetic properties of baked material taken from the combustion chamber wall and floor of a Roman pottery kiln, with variable colouring, are examined in dependence on the distance to the combustion chamber. The temperature distribution is re-constructed based on rock magnetic experiments after stepwise heating. The rock magnetic temperature estimates agree fairly well with a mathematical heat conduction model demonstrating the penetration of heat into the combustion chamber wall. The rock magnetic results show that blackish- and greyish-coloured kiln parts, that had been in close contact with the fuel, during ancient kiln operation, are not suitable for intensity determinations. Although sufficiently baked, they strongly alter during laboratory heating and new remanence-carrying minerals are formed. The brownish-coloured material at a distance 65,80 mm away from the combustion chamber seems to be most suitable as its magnetic properties remain nearly unchanged during laboratory heating. Rock magnetic and modelled temperature estimates for this material consistently indicate ancient baking temperatures of about 600°C. The model demonstrates that cooling takes longer in the inner parts of the combustion chamber wall. Retarded cooling affects the blocking temperatures and hence the strength of the thermoremanent magnetization. The variability of cooling rates should be taken into account when investigating archaeointensities of specimens cut from large samples, or of samples taken from different parts of a kiln. [source]


The influences of thermophysical properties of porous media on superadiabatic combustion with reciprocating flow

HEAT TRANSFER - ASIAN RESEARCH (FORMERLY HEAT TRANSFER-JAPANESE RESEARCH), Issue 5 2006
Liming Du
Abstract The influences of thermophysical properties of porous media on superadiabatic combustion with reciprocating flow is numerically studied in order to improve the understanding of the complex heat transfer and optimum design of the combustor. The heat transfer performance of a porous media combustor strongly depends on the thermophysical properties of the porous material. In order to explore how the material properties influence reciprocating superadiabatic combustion of premixed gases in porous media (short for RSCP), a two-dimensional mathematical model of a simplified RSCP combustor is developed based on the hypothesis of local thermal non-equilibrium between the solid and the gas phases by solving separate energy equations for these two phases. The porous media is assumed to emit, absorb, and isotropically scatter radiation. The finite-volume method is used for computing radiation heat transfer processes. The flow and temperature fields are calculated by solving the mass, moment, gas and solid energy, and species conservation equations with a finite difference/control volume approach. Since the mass fraction conservation equations are stiff, an operator splitting method is used to solve them. The results show that the volumetric convective heat transfer coefficient and extinction coefficient of the porous media obviously affect the temperature distributions of the combustion chamber and burning speed of the gases, but thermal conductivity does not have an obvious effect. It indicates that convective heat transfer and heat radiation are the dominating ways of heat transfer, while heat conduction is a little less important. The specific heat of the porous media also has a remarkable impact on temperature distribution of gases and heat release rate. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 35(5): 336,350, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/htj.20120 [source]


Anisotropic, isothermal, turbulent swirling flow in a complex combustor geometry

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 10-11 2005
L. N. Jones
Abstract The performance of popular second moment closure (LRR, SSG) turbulence models is assessed and compared against experimental data for anisotropic swirling flow in a cylindrical combustion chamber. In contrast to previous studies, where the dissipation anisotropy is correlated with the stress anisotropy, the benefit of approximating the former for swirling flows in terms of the mean strain and vorticity is investigated. Second moment closure models are found to predict mean and turbulent flow quantities reasonably well everywhere except near the wall. The anisotropic dissipation model is found to improve prediction of mean flow quantities near the chamber axis and acts to preserve turbulence further downstream. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Effect of supplementary firing options on cycle performance and CO2 emissions of an IGCC power generation system

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 7 2009
N. V. Gnanapragasam
Abstract Supplementary firing is adopted in combined-cycle power plants to reheat low-temperature gas turbine exhaust before entering into the heat recovery steam generator. In an effort to identify suitable supplementary firing options in an integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) power plant configuration, so as to use coal effectively, the performance is compared for three different supplementary firing options. The comparison identifies the better of the supplementary firing options based on higher efficiency and work output per unit mass of coal and lower CO2 emissions. The three supplementary firing options with the corresponding fuel used for the supplementary firing are: (i) partial gasification with char, (ii) full gasification with coal and (iii) full gasification with syngas. The performance of the IGCC system with these three options is compared with an option of the IGCC system without supplementary firing. Each supplementary firing option also involves pre-heating of the air entering the gas turbine combustion chamber in the gas cycle and reheating of the low-pressure steam in the steam cycle. The effects on coal consumption and CO2 emissions are analysed by varying the operating conditions such as pressure ratio, gas turbine inlet temperature, air pre-heat and supplementary firing temperature. The results indicate that more work output is produced per unit mass of coal when there is no supplementary firing. Among the supplementary firing options, the full gasification with syngas option produces the highest work output per unit mass of coal, and the partial gasification with char option emits the lowest amount of CO2 per unit mass of coal. Based on the analysis, the most advantageous option for low specific coal consumption and CO2 emissions is the supplementary firing case having full gasification with syngas as the fuel. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Exergetic analysis of an aircraft turbofan engine

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 14 2007
Enis T. Turgut
Abstract The main objective of the present study is to perform an exergy analysis of a turbofan kerosene-fired engine with afterburner (AB) at sea level and an altitude of 11 000 m. The main components of this engine include a fan, a compressor, a combustion chamber, a turbine, an AB and an exhaust. Exergy destructions in each of the engine components are determined, while exergy efficiency values for both altitudes are calculated. The AB unit is found to have the highest exergy destruction with 48.1% of the whole engine at the sea level, followed by the exhaust, the combustion chamber and the turbine amounting to 29.7, 17.2 and 2.5%, respectively. The corresponding exergy efficiency values for the four components on the product/fuel basis are obtained to be 59.9, 65.6, 66.7 and 88.5%, while those for the whole engine at the sea level and an altitude of 11 000 m are calculated to be 66.1 and 54.2%. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Geometric features of the flame propagation process for an SI engine having dual-ignition system

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 11 2002
Atilla Bilgin
Abstract Flame front surface area and enflamed volume (the volume enclosed with flame front) is theoretically analysed for a spark-ignition engine, having cylindrical disc-shaped combustion chamber with two spark plugs located axisymmetrically on cylinder head, between cylinder axis and cylinder wall. Spherical flame front assumption is used. A computer code is developed based on purely geometric consideration of the flame development process in combustion chamber, and is used to investigate the effects of variations of spark plugs' locations on geometric features of the flame front. A comparison has also been made with a spark-ignition engine having one spark plug at the same location. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


On the effect of the local turbulence scales on the mixing rate of diffusion flames: assessment of two different combustion models

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 10 2002
Jose Lopes
Abstract A mathematical model for the prediction of the turbulent flow, diffusion combustion process, heat transfer including thermal radiation and pollutants formation inside combustion chambers is described. In order to validate the model the results are compared herein against experimental data available in the open literature. The model comprises differential transport equations governing the above-mentioned phenomena, resulting from the mathematical and physical modelling, which are solved by the control volume formulation technique. The results yielded by the two different turbulent-mixing physical models used for combustion, the simple chemical reacting system (SCRS) and the eddy break-up (EBU), are analysed so that the need to make recourse to local turbulent scales to evaluate the reactants' mixing rate is assessed. Predictions are performed for a gaseous-fuelled combustor fired with two different burners that induce different aerodynamic conditions inside the combustion chamber. One of the burners has a typical geometry of that used in gaseous fired boilers,fuel firing in the centre surrounded by concentric oxidant firing,while the other burner introduces the air into the combustor through two different swirling concentric streams. Generally, the results exhibit a good agreement with the experimental values. Also, NO predictions are performed by a prompt-NO formation model used as a post-processor together with a thermal-NO formation model, the results being generally in good agreement with the experimental values. The predictions revealed that the mixture between the reactants occurred very close to the burner and almost instantaneously, that is, immediately after the fuel-containing eddies came into contact with the oxidant-containing eddies. As a result, away from the burner, the SCRS model, that assumes an infinitely fast mixing rate, appeared to be as accurate as the EBU model for the present predictions. Closer to the burner, the EBU model, that establishes the reactants mixing rate as a function of the local turbulent scales, yielded slightly slower rates of mixture, the fuel and oxidant concentrations which are slightly higher than those obtained with the SCRS model. As a consequence, the NO concentration predictions with the EBU combustion model are generally higher than those obtained with the SCRS model. This is due to the existence of higher concentrations of fuel and oxygen closer to the burner when predictions were performed taking into account the local turbulent scales in the mixing process of the reactants. The SCRS, being faster and as accurate as the EBU model in the predictions of combustion properties appears to be more appropriate. However, should NO be a variable that is predicted, then the EBU model becomes more appropriate. This is due to the better results of oxygen concentration yielded by that model, since it solves a transport equation for the oxidant concentration, which plays a dominant role in the prompt-NO formation rate. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Potential high temperature corrosion problems due to co-firing of biomass and fossil fuels

MATERIALS AND CORROSION/WERKSTOFFE UND KORROSION, Issue 10 2008
M. Montgomery
Abstract Over the past few years, considerable high temperature corrosion problems have been encountered when firing biomass in power plants due to the high content of potassium chloride in the deposits. Therefore, to combat chloride corrosion problems co-firing of biomass with a fossil fuel has been undertaken. This results in potassium chloride being converted to potassium sulphate in the combustion chamber and it is sulphate rich deposits that are deposited on the vulnerable metallic surfaces such as high temperature superheaters. Although this removes the problem of chloride corrosion, other corrosion mechanisms appear such as sulphidation and hot corrosion due to sulphate deposits. At Studstrup power plant Unit 4, based on trials with exposure times of 3000 h using 0,20% straw co-firing with coal, the plant now runs with a fuel mix of 10% straw,+,coal. Based on results from a 3 years exposure in this environment, the internal sulphidation is much more significant than that revealed in the demonstration project. Avedøre 2 main boiler is fuelled with wood pellets,+,heavy fuel oil,+,gas. Some reaction products resulting from the presence of vanadium compounds in the heavy oil were detected, i.e. iron vanadates. However, the most significant corrosion attack was sulphidation attack at the grain boundaries of 18-8 steel after 3 years exposure. The corrosion mechanisms and corrosion rates are compared with biomass firing and coal firing. Potential corrosion problems due to co-firing biomass and fossil fuels are discussed. [source]


The design of duct venting of gas explosions

PROCESS SAFETY PROGRESS, Issue 2 2008
Almerinda Di Benedetto
Abstract Venting systems are useful for the mitigation of accidental explosions. Vent ducts should be used if equipment is located indoors, as NFPA 68 (2007) suggests, for discharging combustion products to safe location. However, the presence of a duct is likely to increase the severity of the explosion with respect to simply vented vessels. Up to now, no reliable correlations are available for the sizing of ducted vented systems. The only correlation available was developed by Bartknecht in 1993 for gas explosion, also acknowledged by NFPA 68. In this study, we propose an engineering correlation based on semi-empirical engineering methodologies, which is able to quantify the relations between geometric properties and the peak pressure occurring in the combustion chamber in the presence of a duct fitted on the vent panel. To this aim, we have regressed all the available experimental data on gas explosion in ducted-vented vessels. © 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2008 [source]


Methods for measuring the concentrations of SO2, and of gaseous reduced sulphur compounds in the combustion chamber of a circulating fluidized bed boiler

THE CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 6 2000
Maríaa Joséa Fernández
Abstract The present work was aimed at developing and improving methods for measurement of gaseous sulphur compounds in the combustion chamber of a fluidized bed boiler (FBB). The sampling of SO2 was improved by removing NH3 and H2O with a sorbent immediately after the probe. The concentration of reduced sulphur species was determined by means of two conventional SO2 analyzers and an intermediate converter, where the reduced species are oxidized to SO2. Gas phase sulphides were also sampled with a gas quenching probe by means of a basic solution which was subsequently analysed by wet chemistry. The methods were tested during coal combustion in a 12 MW circulating FBB without limestone for two cases of air-staging. Le but de ce travail était de développer et d'améliorer les méthodes de mesure des composés gazeux du soufre dam la chambre de combustion d'une chaudière à lit fluidisé. On a amélioré la prise d'échantillons de SO2 en retirant le NH3 et le H2O avec un sorbant tout de suite après la sonde. La concentration d'espéces réduites de soufre a été déterminée à l'aide de deux analyseurs de SO2 classiques et un convertisseur d'intermédiaires, où les espèces réduites sont oxydées en SO2. Des échantil-Ions de sulfures gazeux ont également été prélevés à l'aide d'une sonde de trempe du gaz en utilisant une solution basique qui a été analysée par la suite en chimie humide. Ces méthodes ont été testées lors de la combustion de charbon dans une chaudière à lit fluidisé circulant de 12 MW sans calcaire pour deux cas d'étagement de l'air. [source]


A Heat-Integrated Reverse-Flow Reactor Concept for Endothermic High-Temperature Syntheses.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY (CET), Issue 9 2009
Part II: Development of a Reformer Prototype for Hydrogen Production
Abstract In the first part of the contribution, the asymmetric operation of a reverse-flow reactor for endothermic high-temperature syntheses has been introduced and front phenomena have been discussed. The current part presents the implementation of the concept to the production of hydrogen by methane steam reforming. A key element of the developed reformer is the integration of combustion chambers for in situ heat generation during reheating of the bed. To avoid local temperature peaks, the concept of flameless combustion is used. The concept was adapted to the requirements of the unsteady operation. A proper design of the combustion chamber was developed using computational fluid dynamics calculations, tracer experiments and tests in a single combustion chamber. The concept was further tested under periodic operation in a laboratory setup. The formation of the desired, axially extended high-temperature plateau in the center of the reactor could be shown experimentally. The results prove the adequacy of the reverse-flow reformer to attain a stable periodic operation without excess temperatures. [source]


Joining Strategies for Open Porous Metallic Foams on Iron and Nickel Base Materials,

ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS, Issue 8 2007
S. Longerich
Within the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 561 "Thermally highly loaded, porous and cooled multilayer systems for combined cycle power plants" open porous Ni-based structures are developed for the requirements of an effusion cooling. A two-dimensional cooling strategy for the walls of combustion chambers, that allows the outflow of the cooling medium over the complete wall area of the combustion chamber, could be realized by an open porous metallic foam structure. The challenge is to join the porous foam structure with the solid substrate material. Capacitor discharge welding and laser beam welding/-brazing methods seems to be promising methods due to a minimum input of energy and, connected with this, a small joining zone. [source]


Ceramic Matrix Composites: A Challenge in Space-Propulsion Technology Applications

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED CERAMIC TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2005
Stephan Schmidt
Various technology programs in Europe are concerned, besides developing reliable and rugged, low-cost, throwaway equipment, with preparing for future reusable propulsion technologies. One of the key roles for realizing reusable engine components is the use of modern and innovative materials. One of the key technologies that concerns various engine manufacturers worldwide is the development of fiber-reinforced ceramics,CMCs (ceramic matrix composites). The advantages for the developers are obvious,the low specific weight, the high specific strength over a large temperature range, and their great damage tolerance compared with monolithic ceramics make this material class extremely interesting as a construction material. Over the past few years, the EADS-ST Company (formerly DASA) has, together with various partners, worked intensively on developing components for hypersonic engines and liquid rocket propulsion systems. In the year 2000, various hot-firing tests with subscale (scale 1:5) and full-scale nozzle extensions were conducted. In this year, a further decisive milestone was achieved in the sector of small thrusters, and long-term tests served to demonstrate the extraordinary stability of the C/SiC material. Besides developing and testing radiation-cooled nozzle components and small-thruster combustion chambers, EADS-ST worked on the preliminary development of actively cooled structures for future reusable propulsion systems. In order to get one step nearer to this objective, the development of a new fiber composite was commenced within the framework of a regionally sponsored program. The objective here is to create multidirectional (3D) textile structures combined with a cost-effective infiltration process. Besides material and process development, the project also encompasses the development of special metal/ceramic and ceramic/ceramic joining techniques as well as studying and verifying nondestructive investigation processes for the purpose of testing components. [source]


Energy,exergy analysis and modernization suggestions for a combined-cycle power plant

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006
Ahmet Cihan
Abstract Energy and exergy analysis were carried out for a combined-cycle power plant by using the data taken from its units in operation to analyse a complex energy system more thoroughly and to identify the potential for improving efficiency of the system. In this context, energy and exergy fluxes at the inlet and the exit of the devices in one of the power plant main units as well as the energy and exergy losses were determined. The results show that combustion chambers, gas turbines and heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) are the main sources of irreversibilities representing more than 85% of the overall exergy losses. Some constructive and thermal suggestions for these devices have been made to improve the efficiency of the system. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


On the effect of the local turbulence scales on the mixing rate of diffusion flames: assessment of two different combustion models

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 10 2002
Jose Lopes
Abstract A mathematical model for the prediction of the turbulent flow, diffusion combustion process, heat transfer including thermal radiation and pollutants formation inside combustion chambers is described. In order to validate the model the results are compared herein against experimental data available in the open literature. The model comprises differential transport equations governing the above-mentioned phenomena, resulting from the mathematical and physical modelling, which are solved by the control volume formulation technique. The results yielded by the two different turbulent-mixing physical models used for combustion, the simple chemical reacting system (SCRS) and the eddy break-up (EBU), are analysed so that the need to make recourse to local turbulent scales to evaluate the reactants' mixing rate is assessed. Predictions are performed for a gaseous-fuelled combustor fired with two different burners that induce different aerodynamic conditions inside the combustion chamber. One of the burners has a typical geometry of that used in gaseous fired boilers,fuel firing in the centre surrounded by concentric oxidant firing,while the other burner introduces the air into the combustor through two different swirling concentric streams. Generally, the results exhibit a good agreement with the experimental values. Also, NO predictions are performed by a prompt-NO formation model used as a post-processor together with a thermal-NO formation model, the results being generally in good agreement with the experimental values. The predictions revealed that the mixture between the reactants occurred very close to the burner and almost instantaneously, that is, immediately after the fuel-containing eddies came into contact with the oxidant-containing eddies. As a result, away from the burner, the SCRS model, that assumes an infinitely fast mixing rate, appeared to be as accurate as the EBU model for the present predictions. Closer to the burner, the EBU model, that establishes the reactants mixing rate as a function of the local turbulent scales, yielded slightly slower rates of mixture, the fuel and oxidant concentrations which are slightly higher than those obtained with the SCRS model. As a consequence, the NO concentration predictions with the EBU combustion model are generally higher than those obtained with the SCRS model. This is due to the existence of higher concentrations of fuel and oxygen closer to the burner when predictions were performed taking into account the local turbulent scales in the mixing process of the reactants. The SCRS, being faster and as accurate as the EBU model in the predictions of combustion properties appears to be more appropriate. However, should NO be a variable that is predicted, then the EBU model becomes more appropriate. This is due to the better results of oxygen concentration yielded by that model, since it solves a transport equation for the oxidant concentration, which plays a dominant role in the prompt-NO formation rate. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


LES of a Confined Configuration using Oscillating Inflow Conditions

PROCEEDINGS IN APPLIED MATHEMATICS & MECHANICS, Issue 1 2003
Michael Düsing
In actual turbulent flow problems, in particular in gas turbine combustion chambers, flows are three dimensional, recirculating and turbulent in confined and complex geometries. Instationarities due to turbulence, combustion instabilities and oscillating inflow conditions require a highly time and spatial resolving procedure. 3D Large Eddy Simulations (LES) are therefore used in this work to study two confined coaxial air jets with oscillating velocity inflow conditions. The influences of the inflow, in particular frequency (f = 0 ÷ 1600 [Hz]) and amplitude, on the velocity are analysed. [source]


DIRECT ADAPTIVE CONTROL FOR NONLINEAR MATRIX SECOND-ORDER SYSTEMS WITH TIME-VARYING AND SIGN-INDEFINITE DAMPING AND STIFFNESS OPERATORS

ASIAN JOURNAL OF CONTROL, Issue 1 2007
Wassim M. Haddad
ABSTRACT A direct adaptive control framework for a class of nonlinear matrix second-order systems with time-varying and sign-indefinite damping and stiffness operators is developed. The proposed framework guarantees global asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system states associated with the plant dynamics without requiring any knowledge of the system nonlinearities other than the assumption that they are continuous and bounded. The proposed adaptive control approach is used to design adaptive controllers for suppressing thermoacoustic oscillations in combustion chambers. [source]


A Heat-Integrated Reverse-Flow Reactor Concept for Endothermic High-Temperature Syntheses.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY (CET), Issue 9 2009
Part II: Development of a Reformer Prototype for Hydrogen Production
Abstract In the first part of the contribution, the asymmetric operation of a reverse-flow reactor for endothermic high-temperature syntheses has been introduced and front phenomena have been discussed. The current part presents the implementation of the concept to the production of hydrogen by methane steam reforming. A key element of the developed reformer is the integration of combustion chambers for in situ heat generation during reheating of the bed. To avoid local temperature peaks, the concept of flameless combustion is used. The concept was adapted to the requirements of the unsteady operation. A proper design of the combustion chamber was developed using computational fluid dynamics calculations, tracer experiments and tests in a single combustion chamber. The concept was further tested under periodic operation in a laboratory setup. The formation of the desired, axially extended high-temperature plateau in the center of the reactor could be shown experimentally. The results prove the adequacy of the reverse-flow reformer to attain a stable periodic operation without excess temperatures. [source]