Acoustic-hydrodynamic-flame coupling—A new perspective for zero and low Mach number flows

Abstract

A combustion chamber has a hydrodynamic field that convects the incoming fuel and oxidizer into the chamber, thereby causing the mixture to react and produce heat energy. This heat energy can, in turn, modify the hydrodynamic and acoustic fields by acting as a source and thereby, establish a positive feedback loop. Subsequent growth in the amplitude of the acoustic field variables and their eventual saturation to a limit cycle is generally known as thermo-acoustic instability. Mathematical representation of these phenomena, by a set of equations, is the subject of this paper. In contrast to the ad hoc models, an explanation of the flame-acoustic-hydrodynamic coupling, based on fundamental laws of conservation of mass, momentum, and energy, is presented in this paper. In this paper, we use a convection reaction diffusion equation, which, in turn, is derived from the fundamental laws of conservation to explain the flame-acoustic coupling. The advantage of this approach is that the physical variables such as hydrodynamic velocity and heat release rate are coupled based on the conservation of energy and not based on an ad hoc model. Our approach shows that the acoustic-hydrodynamic interaction arises from the convection of acoustic velocity fluctuations by the hydrodynamic field and vice versa. This is a linear mechanism, mathematically represented as a convection operator. This mechanism resembles the non-normal mechanism studied in hydrodynamic theory. We propose that this mechanism could relate the instability mechanisms of hydrodynamic and thermo-acoustic systems. Furthermore, the acoustic-hydrodynamic interaction is shown to be responsible for the convection of entropy disturbances from the inlet of the chamber. The theory proposed in this paper also unifies the observations in the fields of low Mach number flows and zero Mach number flows. In contrast to the previous findings, where compressibility is shown to be causing different physics for zero and low Mach number flows, we show that the heat release rate can also introduce the distinction between the zero and low Mach number flows. Therefore, during the thermo-acoustic interaction, we should consider the coupling of convection modes that arise from the interaction of acoustic and hydrodynamic fields with the entropy modes.