Flame Transfer Function Measurements Research Articles

Effects of swirler position on flame response and combustion instabilities

This study is concerned with the experimental and theoretical investigation of the combustion instabilities in a premixed swirl combustor. It is focused on the effects of the swirl mixing distance on the intrinsic thermoacoustic mode. The swirler as an origin of the swirling flow is also the source of the flow disturbance, which has effects on the flame response. The location of the swirler is varied in the experiment to study the effect on combustion instabilities and flame transfer functions. A low order model is built to analyze the thermoacoustic instabilities of the combustion system. The experimental results show that the ITA switches from an unstable state to a stable state as the swirl mixing distance changes with an increment of 15 mm; while the instability of the quarter-wave mode is not varied. The measured Flame Transfer Functions (FTFs) show that the gain curves of the frequency-dependent FTFs seem to be stretched or compressed with the modulation of the swirler position, which has effects on frequencies and instabilities of thermoacoustic modes. With the low order model, the effects of flame response on combustion instabilities are analyzed and the flame dominant nature of the ITA mode is confirmed.

Effects of Asymmetry on Thermoacoustic Modes in Annular Combustors: A Higher-Order Perturbation Study

Gas-turbine combustion chambers typically consist of nominally identical sectors arranged in a rotationally symmetric pattern. However, in practice, the geometry is not perfectly symmetric. This may be due to design decisions, such as placing dampers in an azimuthally nonuniform fashion, or to uncertainties in the design parameters, which break the rotational symmetry of the combustion chamber. The question is whether these deviations from symmetry have impact on the thermoacoustic-stability calculation. The paper addresses this question by proposing a fast adjoint-based perturbation method. This method can be integrated into numerical frameworks that are industrial standard such as lumped-network models, Helmholtz and linearized Euler equations. The thermoacoustic stability of asymmetric combustion chambers is investigated by perturbing rotationally symmetric combustor models. The approach proposed in this paper is applied to a realistic three-dimensional combustion chamber model with an experimentally measured flame transfer function (FTF). The model equations are solved with a Helmholtz solver. Results for modes of zeroth, first, and second azimuthal order are presented and compared to exact solutions of the problem. A focus of the discussion is set on the loss of mode-degeneracy due to symmetry breaking and the capability of the perturbation theory to accurately predict it. In particular, an “inclination rule” that explains the behavior of degenerate eigenvalues at first order is proven.

Finite element analysis of self-excited instabilities in a lean premixed gas turbine combustor

The present study numerically simulates self-excited instabilities of hydrogen-blended natural gas flames in a lean premixed gas turbine combustor with variable chamber length. In order to effectively predict the thermoacoustic instability within the detailed geometry of the combustor, the Helmholtz equation is discretized with a Galerkin finite element method on a three-dimensional hybrid unstructured mesh. The unsteady heat release rate is modeled with an experimentally measured flame transfer function. The nonlinearity associated with the flame response term is handled with an iterative method, and the large-scale eigenvalue problem is solved by means of the shift-invert method of the ARPACK (ARnoldi PACKage) software. The present Helmholtz solver reproduces the experimentally observed instabilities in terms of the mode frequency and the chamber length range of self-excited pressure oscillations which are significantly affected by the hydrogen enrichment of natural gas fuel. The effects of the acoustic boundary condition and the flame response model on the predictive accuracy are also discussed.

The Effect of Confinement on the Structure and Dynamic Response of Lean-Premixed, Swirl-Stabilized Flames

The effect of flame–wall interactions on the forced response of a lean-premixed, swirl-stabilized flame is experimentally investigated by examining flames in a series of three combustors, each with a different diameter, and therefore a different degree of lateral confinement. The confinement ratios tested are 0.5, 0.37, and 0.29 when calculated using the diameter of the nozzle relative to the combustor diameter. Using both flame images and measured flame transfer functions (FTFs), the effect of confinement is investigated and generalized across a broad range of operating conditions. The major effect of confinement is shown to be a change in flame structure in both the forced and unforced cases. This effect is captured using the parameter Lf,CoHR/Dcomb, which describes the changing degree of flame–wall interaction in each combustor size. The measured FTF data, as a function of confinement, are then generalized by Strouhal number. Data from the two larger combustors are collapsed by multiplying the Strouhal number by the confinement ratio to account for the flow expansion ratio and change in convective velocity within the combustor. Trends at the transfer function extrema are also assessed by examining them in the context of confinement and by using flame images. A change in the fluctuating structure of the flame is also seen to result from an increase in confinement.

Analysis of Measured Flame Transfer Functions With Locally Resolved Density Fluctuation and OH-Chemiluminescence Data

The goal of this study is to analyze flame transfer functions (FTFs) locally by quantifying the heat release rate with OH*-chemiluminescence and density fluctuation measurements using laser vibrometry. In this study, both techniques are applied to a swirl burner configuration with known FTFs acquired by multimicrophone-method (MMM) measurements for perfectly premixed and partially premixed cases. The planar fields of the quantities are compared to the FTFs in order to improve the understanding regarding the specific amplitude and phase values. On the global scale values of heat release expected from the MMM are satisfactorily reproduced by both methods for the premixed cases, whereas OH*-chemiluminescence data cannot be used as indicator for heat release in the partially premixed case, where equivalence ratio fluctuations are present. Vibrometry is not affected by fluctuations of equivalence ratio but additionally reveals the periodic oscillation of the conical annular jet of the cold reactants in the combustor filled with hot products.

An Experimental Validation of Heat Release Rate Fluctuation Measurements in Technically Premixed Flames

Understanding the effects of inlet velocity and inlet equivalence ratio fluctuations on heat release rate fluctuations in lean premixed gas turbine combustors is essential for predicting combustor instability characteristics. This information is typically obtained from independent velocity-forced and fuel-forced flame transfer function measurements, where the global chemiluminescence intensity is used as a measure of the flame's overall rate of heat release. Current lean premixed combustors operate in a technically premixed mode where the flame is exposed to both velocity and equivalence ratio fluctuations and, as a result, the chemiluminescence intensity does not provide an accurate measure of the flame's rate of heat release. The objective of this work is to experimentally assess the validity of a technique for measuring heat release rate fluctuations in technically premixed flames based on the linear superposition of fuel-forced and velocity-forced flame transfer function measurements. In the absence of a technique for directly measuring heat release rate fluctuations in technically premixed flames, the heat release rate reconstruction is validated indirectly by comparing measured and reconstructed chemiluminescence intensity fluctuations. The results are reported for a range of operating conditions and forcing frequencies which demonstrate the capabilities and limitations of the heat release rate reconstruction technique. A variation of this technique, referred to as a reverse reconstruction, is also proposed, which does not require a measurement of the fuel-forced flame transfer function. The results obtained using the reverse reconstruction technique are presented and compared to the results from the direct reconstruction technique.

Generalization of Turbulent Swirl Flame Transfer Functions in Gas Turbine Combustors

Experimental investigations of the forced response of swirl-stabilized turbulent flames to upstream flow disturbances were performed in an industrial scale gas turbine combustor operating with natural gas fuel and CO2/air. We measured flame transfer functions (FTFs) for a wide range of forcing frequency over a broad range of operating conditions with 50–120 kW thermal power. A sensitivity analysis was then performed in order to identify the key dimensionless parameters controlling the forced swirl flame dynamics. Two different dimensionless parameters, S t 1 = (fδ sw )/U and S t 2 = (f L f )/U, are used as dimensionless frequencies, while the dependence of the FTF gain on the turbulent flame speed is taken into account using a dimensionless flame length, ξ = L f /D c . The implementation of the nondimensionalization strategy using several time and length scales reveals that all FTFs are well characterized by either S t 1 or S t 2, but the best result is obtained from a combination of S t 1 and S t 2, which accounts for the interference mechanisms of vortical and acoustic disturbances in the system. As a consequence, the occurrence of local minima and local maxima, a clear manifestation of destructive and constructive interferences of acoustically forced swirl-stabilized flames, is well captured by the dimensionless numbers. This methodology is then applied to extensive FTF data measured from a different gas turbine combustor. A comparison of the FTFs for the two different gas turbine combustion systems provides insight into generalized transfer function behaviors in the dimensionless domain. This study focuses on velocity-coupled combustion instability, and these generalizations may not extend to situations where other coupling mechanisms dominate.

Interference mechanisms of acoustic/convective disturbances in a swirl-stabilized lean-premixed combustor

Interference mechanisms of acoustic/convective disturbances were experimentally investigated in a swirl-stabilized lean-premixed gas turbine combustor operated with natural gas fuel and air at atmospheric pressure and elevated temperature. Interference between azimuthal and acoustic velocity disturbances at high-amplitude limit cycle oscillations is characterized in detail as a function of axial swirler location, oscillation frequency, and mean nozzle velocity. We show that both the frequency and the intensity of self-excited instabilities in a model gas turbine combustor are correlated with axial swirler position, which indicates that a vorticity wave generated at the swirl vanes is a primary source of convective disturbances in the absence of equivalence ratio nonuniformities. Flame transfer function measurements confirm that the linear/nonlinear heat release response is a strong function of axial swirler location, even when unforced flame structures remain unchanged. The key parameter controlling this phenomenon is the phase difference between the azimuthal and acoustic velocity perturbations at the combustor dump plane; the phase difference is affected by swirler location, frequency, mean velocity, and the speed of sound. It was found that out-of-phase interference between azimuthal and acoustic velocity disturbances at the combustor inlet yields large flame angle fluctuations in relation to swirl number fluctuations, and therefore the formation of a coherent structure is hindered due to high kinematic viscosity within the vortex formation region. In-phase interference mechanisms, on the other hand, lead to high-amplitude limit cycle oscillations. This interference mechanism is then explored in the presence of temporal equivalence ratio nonuniformities, in which two different sources of convective mechanisms should be considered simultaneously in connection with acoustic velocity perturbations and the vortex dynamics. Results reveal that equivalence ratio oscillation has a significant effect on the strength of combustion-acoustic interactions. Strong self-excited instabilities of partially premixed flames are produced by in-phase interactions between acoustic velocity and equivalence ratio oscillations, which are governed by fuel injection location, frequency, mean nozzle velocity, and fuel injector impedance. At this phase condition, unburned reactants with high equivalence ratio impinge on the flame front with high inlet velocity, potentially causing large fluctuations of heat release rate.

Effects of hydrogen addition on flame structure and forced flame response to velocity modulation in a turbulent lean premixed combustor

Flame transfer function measurements were performed in a turbulent premixed lean combustor with various blends of hydrogen and natural gas. The fuel mixture was completely premixed with air upstream of a choked inlet to the combustor to avoid equivalence ratio fluctuations. A variable speed siren was used to modulate fluctuations in the inlet velocity, which was measured using a hot wire anemometer as an input parameter of the flame transfer function. Heat release oscillations as an output function were determined using chemiluminescence measurements from whole flames. Stable flame images were captured to understand general flame behavior over a range of operating conditions and fuel blends. Experimental results showed that the stable flames’ COMs (centers of mass) laid along a common path in a 2-D plane for all of the operating conditions and tested fuel compositions at a given injector geometry, and that variations in the stable flame shape could be characterized by the location of the common path of the flame’s COM. It was also shown that changes in the fuels significantly affected the flame shape; as a result, flame dynamics varied with changes in flame geometry. Accordingly, flames that were close together on the characteristic flame COM curve were shown to have similar forced flame responses.

Characterization of Forced Flame Response of Swirl-Stabilized Turbulent Lean-Premixed Flames in a Gas Turbine Combustor

Flame transfer function measurements of turbulent premixed flames are made in a model lean-premixed, swirl-stabilized, gas turbine combustor. OH∗, CH∗, and CO2∗ chemiluminescence emissions are measured to determine heat release oscillation from a whole flame, and the two-microphone technique is used to measure inlet velocity fluctuation. 2D CH∗ chemiluminescence imaging is used to characterize the flame shape: the flame length (LCH∗ max) and flame angle (α). Using H2-natural gas composite fuels, XH2=0.00–0.60, a very short flame is obtained and hydrogen enrichment of natural gas is found to have a significant impact on the flame structure and flame attachment points. For a pure natural gas flame, the flames exhibit a “V” structure, whereas H2-enriched natural gas flames have an “M” structure. Results show that the gain of M flames is much smaller than that of V flames. Similar to results of analytic and experimental investigations on the flame transfer function of laminar premixed flames, it shows that the dynamics of a turbulent premixed flame is governed by three relevant parameters: the Strouhal number (St=LCH∗ max/Lconv), the flame length (LCH∗ max), and the flame angle (α). Two flames with the same flame shape exhibit very similar forced responses, regardless of their inlet flow conditions. This is significant because the forced flame response of a highly turbulent, practical gas turbine combustor can be quantitatively generalized using the nondimensional parameters, which collapse all relevant input conditions into the flame shape and the Strouhal number.

Forced Flame Response of Turbulent Liquid-FueledLean-Direct-Injection Combustion to Fuel Modulations

fuel flow rate out of a fuel injector is accurately determined from pressure measurements at one or two locations upstream of the fuel nozzle. Linear flame responses are obtained with small-amplitude fuel modulations, typically below 2.0% of the mean fuel flow rate, about 60 Hz below the acoustic resonant frequencies. The invariance in the flametransferfunctionstothefuelmodulationamplitudesuggeststhatthederived flametransferfunctionsarelinear and that the induced heat release rate oscillations mainly respond to variations in the instantaneous fuel flow rate rather than in the droplet size and distribution. Flame transfer functions at different air flow rates, equivalence ratios, and preheat temperature are examined. With fuel modulations around the acoustic resonant frequencies, forcing-induced acoustic feedback on heat release responses cannot be ignored, and the measured flame transfer functions are no longer open-loop and linear. The nonlinearity in the forced flame responses is significantly affected by acoustic damping. Extinction and entrainment of self-excited combustion oscillations by fuel modulations at the approach of the acoustic resonant frequencies are observed. Self-excited combustion oscillations can be diminished byincreasingtheamountoffuelmodulations.Applicationsofthe flametransferfunctionstomodelingandcontrolof combustion instability and lean blowout for both liquid-fueled and gas-fueled combustion are discussed.

Linear and non-linear forced response of a conical, ducted, laminar premixed flame

This paper presents an experimental study on the dynamics of a ducted, conical, laminar premixed flame subjected to acoustic excitation of varying amplitudes. The flame transfer function is measured over a range of forcing frequencies and equivalence ratios. In keeping with previous works, the measured flame transfer function is in good agreement with that predicted by linear kinematic theory at low amplitudes of acoustic velocity excitation. However, a systematic departure from linear behaviour is observed as the amplitude of the velocity forcing upstream of the flame increases. This non-linearity is mostly in the phase of the transfer function and manifests itself as a roughly constant phase at high forcing amplitude. Nonetheless, as predicted by non-linear kinematic arguments, the response always remains close to linear at low forcing frequencies, regardless of the forcing amplitude. The origin of this phase behaviour is then sought through optical data post-processing.

Prediction of Self Excitation Frequencies and Amplitudes for a Model Gas Turbine Burner

Forced excitation of a swirl stabilised methane/air flame by acoustic waves at atmospheric pressure has been characterised in order to show that the frequencies and amplitudes where self-excitation occurs, but the natural limit cycle takes effect, can be predicted from these data. Chemiluminescent emission was therefore recorded to measure the Flame Transfer Function (FTF), as the flame was acoustically excited by two loud speakers. The experiments covered a wide range of frequencies and amplitudes with particular emphasis on the FTF at high amplitudes of excitation, where a non-linear response is often reported. The system was modelled by the 1D thermo-acoustic element method, in which each acoustic element, such as a duct or a contraction, is described by a four-pole matrix. The flame is incorporated as another four-pole matrix that describes the measured flame transfer function. The solution of this set of equations without forcing predicts self-excitation frequencies and amplitudes that can be compared with the experimental data. The minimum magnitudes of the FTF for excitation may also be calculated. When proven at this small scale, the procedure will be applied to predict the limit cycling of actual installations from rig tests.