Abstract
Closed-loop feedback control is implemented in two model combustors as a demonstration of the application of feedback control to gas turbine combustion. The first combustor is an axi-symmetric, swirl-stabilized, spray-fired combustor, while the second combustor incorporates discrete wall injection of primary and dilution air, representative of an actual gas turbine combustor. In both combustors, the emission of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, the radiative heat flux to the liner associated with soot and combustor stability are monitored in real time and controlled as a function of combustor load. The control input to the system is the nozzle atomizing air flow rate. The emission of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, the radiative flux to the liner, and the combustor stability are obtained through non-intrusive radiometric sensors mounted near the combustor exit plane. This information is conveyed to a control computer which invokes an optimization algorithm to minimize the CO and soot radiative flux, while maximizing the CO 2 radiative flux. The index of combustion instability (onset of elevated acoustic emission) is, in the present case, a characteristic frequency in the power spectral density of the CO signal. The identical control methodology is applied to the two combustors with satisfactory and promising results that demonstrate the potential of active control to practical systems.
Highlights
As gas turbine combustors evolve to higher levels of performance, the development and application of active control techniques become increasingly important
While active techniques are being developed and demonstrated for turbulent reacting flows of fundamental interest, 1'2 the present paper addresses the practical application of active control to a gas turbine combustor
An example of such a result for the Axi-Symmetric Can Combustor (ASCC) is shown in Fig. 5 where the soot radiometer reading and instability index are shown versus time for a typical optimization
Summary
As gas turbine combustors evolve to higher levels of performance, the development and application of active control techniques become increasingly important. One reason is the desire to achieve and maintain optimum performance over a wide range of operating conditions. The present paper reports on the development and application of such a methodology. While active techniques are being developed and demonstrated for turbulent reacting flows of fundamental interest, 1'2 the present paper addresses the practical application of active control to a gas turbine combustor. The performance variables selected for control are combustion efficiency, radiative flux to the liner from soot, and combustor stability. While combustion efficiency is a measure of overall combustor performance, the radiative flux contributes directly to the thermal load of the combustor liner and, in excess, can result in premature failure of the liner. Combustor stability is that associated with large magnitude pressure oscillations which can lead to blowout
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