Distributed transfer function approach for one-dimensional thermoacoustic combustor models

Abstract

This paper proposes a new approach for one-dimensional thermoacoustic combustor models. Our new model is a transfer function estimated from the frequency response of the linearised Euler equation to a spatially normalised and temporally impulsive input. The proposed approach can deal with combustors with varying cross-sectional areas under a non-zero mean flow, distributed heating/cooling, and outlet boundary conditions involving entropy waves, overcoming limitations of the popular network model. In addition our new approach can provide a more reliable thermoacoustic model for combustors with entropy-related boundary conditions, remedying the inaccurate entropy model of the network model. Numerical comparisons of our new model with a network model show apparent similarities between the two, validating the new model. It is also observed that, compared to our new model, the network model is more sensitive to mean flow and significantly overestimates the entropy wave effects on combustor acoustics.