“Slow” active control of combustion instabilities by modification of liquid fuel spray properties

2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 1757-1764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae-Yeon Lee ◽  
Eugene Lubarsky ◽  
Ben T. Zinn
Keyword(s):  
Active Control ◽  
Liquid Fuel ◽  
Fuel Spray ◽  
Combustion Instabilities

Suppression of Instabilities in Liquid Fueled Combustors by Variation of Fuel Spray Properties

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-Y. Lee ◽  
E. Lubarsky ◽  
B. T. Zinn
Keyword(s):  
Active Control ◽  
Liquid Fuel ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Combustion Process ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Fuel Spray ◽  
Fuel Injector ◽  
Combustion Instabilities ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
The Mean

This paper describes an experimental investigation of the feasibility of using “slow” active control approaches, which change liquid fuel spray properties, to suppress combustion instabilities. The objective of this control approach is to break up the feedback between the combustion process heat release oscillations and the combustor oscillations that drives the instability by changing the characteristics of the combustion process (i.e., characteristic combustion time). To demonstrate the feasibility of such control, this study used a proprietary fuel injector (Nanomiser™), which can independently vary its fuel spray properties, and investigated the dependence of acoustics-combustion process coupling, i.e., the driving of combustion instabilities, upon the fuel spray properties. The results of this study showed that by changing the spray characteristics it is possible to significantly damp combustion instabilities. Furthermore, using Abel’s deconvolution, this study showed that the instabilities were mostly driven in regions where the mean axial flow velocity was approximately zero, in the near field of the vortices that were generated in the combustor. The results of this study strongly suggest that a “slow” active control system that employs controllable injectors could be used to prevent the onset and/or damp detrimental combustion instabilities.

Fuel Composition Effects on Forced Ignition of Liquid Fuel Sprays

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng Wei ◽  
Brandon Sforzo ◽  
Jerry Seitzman
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Liquid Fuel ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Reaction Rates ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Fuel Spray ◽  
Successful Outcome ◽  
Fuel Composition ◽  
Ignition Probability ◽  
Fuel Sprays

In gas turbine combustors, ignition is achieved by using sparks from igniters to start a flame. The process of sparks interacting with fuel/air mixture and creating self-sustained flames is termed forced ignition. Physical and chemical properties of a liquid fuel can influence forced ignition. The physical effects manifest through processes such as droplet atomization, spray distribution, and vaporization rate. The chemical effects impact reaction rates and heat release. This study focuses on the effect of fuel composition on forced ignition of fuel sprays in a well-controlled flow with a commercial style igniter. A facility previously used to examine prevaporized, premixed liquid fuel-air mixtures is modified and employed to study forced ignition of liquid fuel sprays. In our experiments, a wall-mounted, high energy, recessed cavity discharge igniter operating at 15 Hz with average spark energy of 1.25 J is used to ignite liquid fuel spray produced by a pressure atomizer located in a uniform air coflow. The successful outcome of each ignition events is characterized by the (continued) presence of chemiluminescence 2 ms after spark discharge, as detected by a high-speed camera. The ignition probability is defined as the fraction of successful sparks at a fixed condition, with the number of events evaluated for each fuel typically in the range 600–1200. Ten fuels were tested, including standard distillate jet fuels (e.g., JP-8 and Jet-A), as well as many distillate and alternative fuel blends, technical grade n-dodecane, and surrogates composed of a small number of components. During the experiments, the air temperature is controlled at 27 C and the fuel temperature is controlled at 21 C. Experiments are conducted at a global equivalence ratio of 0.55. Results show that ignition probabilities correlate strongly to liquid fuel viscosity (presumably through droplet atomization) and vapor pressure (or recovery temperature), as smaller droplets of a more volatile fuel would lead to increased vaporization rates. This allows the kernel to transition to a self-sustained flame before entrainment reduces its temperature to a point where chemical rates are too slow. Chemical properties of the fuel showed little influence, except when the fuels had similar physical properties. This result demonstrates that physical properties of liquid fuels have dominating effects on forced ignition of liquid fuel spray in coflow air.

scholarly journals Group Combustion Behavior of Liquid Fuel Spray Under the Influence of Wake Flow Behind a Circular Rod.

1995 ◽  
Vol 61 (581) ◽  
pp. 317-324
Author(s):  
Kazuyoshi Nakabe ◽  
Fumiteru Akamatsu ◽  
Yukio Mizutani ◽  
Masashi Katsuki ◽  
Taizo Imoto
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Fuel ◽  
Wake Flow ◽  
Fuel Spray ◽  
Combustion Behavior ◽  
Group Combustion

scholarly journals Evaporation Characteristics of Spray in a Lean Premixed-Prevaporization Combustor for a 100 KW Automotive Ceramic Gas Turbine

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youichlrou Ohkubo ◽  
Yoshinorl Idota ◽  
Yoshihiro Nomura
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Mass Fraction ◽  
Liquid Fuel ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Flame Stabilization ◽  
Fuel Spray ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
Lean Combustion ◽  
Swirl Chamber ◽  
Lean Premixed

Spray characteristics of liquid fuel air-assisted atomizers developed for a lean premixed-prevaporization combustor were evaluated under two kinds of conditions: in still air under non-evaporation conditions at atmospheric pressure and in a prevaporization-premixing tube under evaporation conditions with a running gas turbine. The non-evaporated mass fraction of fuel spray was measured using a phase Doppler particle analyzer in the prevaporization-premixing tube, in which the inlet temperature ranged from 873K to 1173K. The evaporation of the fuel spray in the tube is mainly controlled by its atomization and distribution. The NOx emission characteristics measured with a combustor test rig were evaluated with three-dimensional numerical simulations. A low non-evaporated mass fraction of less than 10% was effective in reducing the exhausted NOx from lean premixed-prevaporization combustion to about 1/6 times smaller than that from lean diffusion (spray) combustion. The flow patterns in the combustor are established by a swirl chamber in fuel-air preparation tube, and affect the flame stabilization of lean combustion.

Modelling of Liquid Fuel Spray in Non-Isothermal Environments

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ogheneruona E. Diemuodeke ◽  
Ilai Sher
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Fuel ◽  
Fuel Spray

Demonstration of Active Control of Combustion Instabilities on a Full-Scale Gas Turbine Combustor

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. Johnson ◽  
Y. Neumeier ◽  
M. Neumaier ◽  
B. T. Zinn ◽  
D. D. Darling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Active Control ◽  
Fast Response ◽  
Dominant Mode ◽  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Combustion Instabilities ◽  
Gas Turbine Combustor ◽  
Airflow Distribution

This paper presents the results of an investigation of active control of combustion instabilities in a natural gas, high-pressure, full-scale gas turbine combustor that was retrofitted with an Active Control System (ACS). The combustor test rig simulates the geometry, inlet airflow distribution, and pressurization of a can-type combustor that exhibits dynamic flame instabilities at some off-design operating conditions. Two essential features of the investigated ACS are 1) a real-time mode observer that identified the frequencies, amplitudes and phases of the dominant modes in the pressure signal and 2) a fast response servo valve that can modulate a large portion of the gaseous fuel. Two active control configurations were studied. In the first configuration, the actuator was mounted on one of two premixed fuel stages, and in the second configuration it was mounted on the inlet to the stabilizing diffusion stage. In both configurations, the ACS damped combustion instabilities, attenuating the dominant mode by up to 15dB and reducing the overall broadband noise by 30-40%. NOx emissions were also reduced by approximately 10% when control was applied. Finally, this study demonstrated the importance of having a fast multiple-mode observer when dealing with complex combustion processes with inherently large time delays.

Smart Combustors: Just Around the Corner

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben T. Zinn
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Active Control ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
The State ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Combustion Instabilities ◽  
Lean Blowout

This paper reviews the state of the art of active control systems (ACS) for gas turbine combustors. Specifically, it discusses the manner in which ACS can improve the performance of combustors, the architecture of such ACS, and the designs and promising performance of ACS that have been developed to control combustion instabilities, lean blowout and pattern factor. The paper closes with a discussion of research needs, with emphasis on the integration of utilized engine ACS, health monitoring and prognostication systems into a single control system that could survive in the harsh combustor environment.

Suppression of Instabilities in Gaseous Fuel High-Pressure Combustor Using Non-Coherent Oscillatory Fuel Injection

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Shcherbik ◽  
E. Lubarsky ◽  
Y. Neumeier ◽  
B. T. Zinn ◽  
K. McManus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Active Control ◽  
Fuel Injection ◽  
Injection Rate ◽  
Open Loop ◽  
Combustion Instabilities ◽  
Open Loop Control ◽  
Pressure Oscillations ◽  
Loop Control ◽  
Fuel Injection Rate

This paper describes the application of active, open loop, control in effective damping of severe combustion instabilities in a high pressure (i.e., around 520 psi) gas turbine combustor simulator. Active control was applied by harmonic modulation of the fuel injection rate into the combustor. The open-loop active control system consisted of a pressure sensor and a fast response actuating valve. To determine the dependence of the performance of the active control system upon the frequency, the fuel injection modulation frequency was varied between 300 and 420 Hz while the frequency of instability was around 375 Hz. These tests showed that the amplitude of the combustor pressure oscillations strongly depended upon the frequency of the open loop control. In fact, the amplitude of the combustor pressure oscillations varied ten fold over the range of investigated frequencies, indicating that applying the investigated open loop control approach at the appropriate frequency could effectively damp detrimental combustion instabilities. This was confirmed in subsequent tests in which initiation of open loop modulation of the fuel injection rate at a non resonant frequency of 300Hz during unstable operation with peak to peak instability amplitude of 114 psi and a frequency of 375Hz suppressed the instability to a level of 12 psi within approximately 0.2 sec (i.e., 75 periods). Analysis of the time dependence of the spectra of the pressure oscillations during suppression of the instability strongly suggested that the open loop fuel injection rate modulation effectively damped the instability by “breaking up” (or preventing the establishment of) the feedback loop between the reaction rate and combustor oscillations that drove the instability.

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