Contributions of hydrodynamic features of a swirling flow to thermoacoustic instabilities in a lean premixed swirl stabilized combustor

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 075106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Shahsavari
Author(s):  
Fangyan Li ◽  
Xiaotao Tian ◽  
Ming-long Du ◽  
Lei Shi ◽  
Jiashan Cui

Abstract Thermoacoustic instabilities are commonly encountered in the development of aeroengines and rocket motors. Research on the fundamental mechanism of thermoacoustic instabilities is beneficial for the optimal design of these engine systems. In the present study, a thermoacoustic instability model based on the lean premixed gas turbines (LPGT) combustion system was established. The longitudinal distribution of heat release caused by the intrinsic instability of flame front is considered in this model. Effects of different heat release distributions and characteristics parameters of the premixed gas (Lewis number Le, Zeldovich Number and Prandtl number Pr) on thermoacoustic instability behaviors of the LPGT system are investigated based on this model. Results show that the LPGT system features with two kinds of unstable thermoacoustic modes. The first one corresponds to the natural acoustic mode of the plenum and the second one corresponds to that of the combustion chamber. The characteristic parameters of premixed gases have a large impact on the stability of the system and even can change the system from stable to unstable state.


2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (794) ◽  
pp. 1832-1840
Author(s):  
Masaharu KOMIYAMA ◽  
Kenichiro TAKEISHI ◽  
Yohei OGAWA ◽  
Yuji IWASAKI

Author(s):  
J. F. Carrotte ◽  
C. Batchelor-Wylam

Measurements have been made on the non-reacting flow field issuing from a Lean Premixed module (LPM) that incorporates a radial swirler, mixing duct section and nozzle. The geometry contains many features that are thought typical of LPM systems in which gaseous fuel is introduced into a swirling flow at a discrete number of locations. Hot wire anemometry measurements have been used to define the velocity field issuing from the module whilst additional experiments have utilised heated air to simulate gaseous fuel. In this way temperature measurements, using Constant Current Anemometry, have been used to infer the fuel-air mixture field issuing from the module. The velocity data indicates a highly turbulent flow field and the basic spectral characteristics of this velocity field are defined. In addition, within certain regions a strong periodic flow component is observed and is indicative of the instabilities typically associated with swirling flows. The spectral characteristics of the mixture field are also presented and the method by which the mixture and velocity spectra should be compared is outlined. Using this method the measurements indicate the basic spectral characteristics are virtually identical and, furthermore, a periodic fluctuation in the mixture field is also observed. For these types of LPM systems fluctuations in the mixture and velocity fields are therefore strongly correlated. In addition it is shown that the flow fields are dominated by the relatively large time and length scales associated with the main velocity field rather than, say, the much smaller velocity and mixing scales associated with the individual fuel jets.


Author(s):  
Robert C. Steele ◽  
Luke H. Cowell ◽  
Steven M. Cannon ◽  
Clifford E. Smith

A Solar fuel injector that provides lean premixed combustion conditions has been studied in a combined experimental and numerical investigation. Lean premixed conditions can be accompanied by excessive combustion driven pressure oscillations which must be eliminated before the release of a final combustor design. In order to eliminate the pressure oscillations the location of fuel injection was parametrically evaluated to determine a stable configuration. It was observed that small axial changes in the position of the fuel spokes within the premix duct of the fuel injector had a significant positive effect on decoupling the excitation of the natural acoustic modes of the combustion system. In order to further understand the phenomenon, a time-accurate 2D CFD analysis was performed. 2D analysis was first calibrated using 3D steady-state CFD computations of the premixer in order to model the radial distribution of velocities in the pre mixer caused by non-uniform inlet conditions and swirling flow. 2D time-accurate calculations were then performed on the baseline configuration. The calculations captured the coupling of heat release with the combustor acoustics, which resulted in excessive pressure oscillations. When the axial location of the fuel injection was moved, the CFD analysis accurately captured the fuel time lag to the flame-front, and qualitatively matched the experimental findings.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 (0) ◽  
pp. _G080012-1-_G080012-4
Author(s):  
Masaharu KOMIYAMA ◽  
Kenichiro TAKEISHI ◽  
Yohei OGAWA

Author(s):  
Ernst Schneider ◽  
Stephan Staudacher ◽  
Bruno Schuermans ◽  
Haiwen Ye

Strict environmental regulations demand gas turbine operation at very low equivalence ratios. Premixed gas turbine combustors, operated at very lean conditions, are prone to thermoacoustic instabilities. Thermoacoustic instabilities cause significant performance and reliability problems in gas turbine combustors, so their prevention is a general task. Splitting the fuel mass flow between different burner groups, i.e. using a burner group fuel staging technique, is a possibility to control the thermoacoustic instabilities. The resulting combustion perturbations have also effects on the gas turbine NOx emissions making it necessary to find an optimum balance between pulsations and emissions. This paper presents a model based active combustion control concept for the reduction of pulsations and emissions in lean premixed gas turbine combustors. The model is integrated in an observer structure derived from a Luenberger observer. The control logic is based on a PID algorithm allowing either the direct command of the pulsation level with a continuous monitoring and a potential limit setting of the NOx emission level or vice versa. The gas turbine pulsations and emissions are modelled using Gaussian Processes. - Gaussian Processes are stochastic processes related to Neural Networks that can approximate arbitrary functions. Based on measured gas turbine data they can be implemented in an easy and straightforward manner. The model provides the control system with real time data of the outputs resulting from settings of the staging ratio that is the actuating variable of the system. A model based control concept can significantly alleviate the effects of time delays in the system. The model based control concept allows for fast adaptation of the burner group staging ratio during static and transient operations to achieve an optimum of the pulsation and emission levels. During tests the model based control concept gave good results and proved to be robust even at high disturbance levels.


Author(s):  
S. Galvin ◽  
J. A. Fitzpatrick

There is significant interest in the interaction of parameters associated with lean premixed combustion because the demand for reduced emissions has led to an increased usage of this type of system. Thermoacoustic instabilities, which arise as a consequence of unsteady pressure and heat release interactions, are known to occur frequently for these lean premixed configurations. There has been a substantial research effort in the past decade directed at the development of modelling techniques for the prediction and control of these instabilities. Tests have been performed in an optically accessible dump combustor for a range of equivalence ratio with two different dump or expansion ratios and a number of flow rates. Both thermoacoustic and flow/acoustic interactions are observed over a large operating range. The pressure and heat release autospectra and cross-spectra were calculated and their coherence and phase relationships are examined to determine their interaction including the applicability of the Rayleigh criterion.


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