Heat Release Rate Fluctuations Research Articles

Mean-field model of synchronization for open-loop, swirl controlled thermoacoustic system.

Open-loop control is known to be an effective strategy for controlling self-excited periodic oscillations, known as thermoacoustic instability, in turbulent combustors. Here, we present experimental observations and a synchronization model for the suppression of thermoacoustic instability achieved by rotating the otherwise static swirler in a lab-scale turbulent combustor. Starting with the state of thermoacoustic instability in the combustor, we find that a progressive increase in the swirler rotation rate leads to a transition from the state of limit cycle oscillations to the low-amplitude aperiodic oscillations through a state of intermittency. To model such a transition while also quantifying the underlying synchronization characteristics, we extend the model of Dutta et al. [Phys. Rev. E 99, 032215 (2019)] by introducing a feedback between the ensemble of phase oscillators and the acoustic. The coupling strength in the model is determined by considering the effect of the acoustic and swirl frequencies. The link between the model and experimental results is quantitatively established by implementing an optimization algorithm for model parameter estimation. We show that the model is capable of replicating the bifurcation characteristics, nonlinear features of time series, probability density function, and amplitude spectrum of acoustic pressure and heat release rate fluctuations at various dynamical states observed during the transition to the state of suppression. Most importantly, we discuss the flame dynamics and demonstrate that the model without any spatial inputs qualitatively captures the characteristics of the spatiotemporal synchronization between the local heat release rate fluctuations and the acoustic pressure that underpins a transition to the state of suppression. As a result, the model emerges as a powerful tool for explaining and controlling instabilities in thermoacoustic and other extended fluid dynamical systems, where spatiotemporal interactions lead to rich dynamical phenomena.

Mitigation of limit cycle oscillations in a turbulent thermoacoustic system via delayed acoustic self-feedback.

We report the occurrence of amplitude death (AD) of limit cycle oscillations in a bluff body stabilized turbulent combustor through delayed acoustic self-feedback. Such feedback control is achieved by coupling the acoustic field of the combustor to itself through a single coupling tube attached near the anti-node position of the acoustic standing wave. We observe that the amplitude and dominant frequency of the limit cycle oscillations gradually decrease as the length of the coupling tube is increased. Complete suppression (AD) of these oscillations is observed when the length of the coupling tube is nearly 3 / 8 times the wavelength of the fundamental acoustic mode of the combustor. Meanwhile, as we approach this state of amplitude death, the dynamical behavior of acoustic pressure changes from the state of limit cycle oscillations to low-amplitude chaotic oscillations via intermittency. We also study the change in the nature of the coupling between the unsteady flame dynamics and the acoustic field as the length of the coupling tube is increased. We find that the temporal synchrony between these oscillations changes from the state of synchronized periodicity to desynchronized aperiodicity through intermittent synchronization. Furthermore, we reveal that the application of delayed acoustic self-feedback with optimum feedback parameters completely disrupts the positive feedback loop between hydrodynamic, acoustic, and heat release rate fluctuations present in the combustor during thermoacoustic instability, thus mitigating instability. We anticipate this method to be a viable and cost-effective option to mitigate thermoacoustic oscillations in turbulent combustion systems used in practical propulsion and power systems.

Feedback Coupling and Early Detection of Thermoacoustic Combustion Instability

We study the feedback coupling of thermoacoustic combustion instability from the viewpoint of a complex-systems approach, including the early detection of combustion instability. An upwardly traveling large-scale transverse vortex motion gives rise to large heat release rate fluctuations in the shear layer region between the inner and outer recirculation flows. The directional coupling from flow velocity to heat release rate fluctuations clearly appears near the rolled-up flame front generated by the developed transverse vortical structure. These events are strongly associated with the formation of a strong and local thermoacoustic power source cluster during combustion instability. A methodology combining symbolic dynamics-based analysis and a convolutional neural network enables the detection of a precursor of combustion instability.

The effects of premixed pilot-stage on combustion instabilities in stratified swirling flames: A large eddy simulation study

Large Eddy Simulation (LES) is conducted for the combustion instabilities of the stratified swirling flames. Two different pilot-stage equivalence ratios (Φp), 0 (lifted flame) and 1 (pilot-stage flashback), are investigated in a same global equivalence ratio. The main aspects of the combustion instabilities focused in the present work are the flow field structure, flame anchoring position, velocity and heat release rate (HRR) fluctuation modes. The results show that the variation of Φp leads to the transforms in the location and intensity of the chemical reaction, which affects the swirling intensity of the pilot-stage fluid through the changing of fluid temperature and volume flow rate, ultimately influences the coupling of the pilot-stage and the main-stage swirling flow, and leads to significant changes in the combustion field structure. The variation of Φp affects the excitation and suppression of the precessing vortex core (PVC), which leads to the change of HRR fluctuation and the transition of the HRR mode, and influence the distribution range of amplitude and energy of HRR oscillation over the frequency domain.

Numerical Investigation of the Effects of Chemical Species and Chemical Kinetic Mechanisms on Laminar Premixed Flame-Acoustic Wave Interactions

Numerical simulation of interactions between acoustic waves and flames is of utmost importance in thermo-acoustic instability research. In this study, interactions between a one-dimensional Methane-Air laminar premixed flame and acoustic waves with a frequency of 50 to 50000 Hz are simulated by simultaneously solving the equations for energy conservation, chemical species transport, state and continuity in one-dimensional space. By assuming that the flame thickness is smaller than the acoustic wavelength, the spatial pressure fluctuations can be neglected and the flame experiences only a time-varying acoustic pressure. The GRI mechanisms, as well as their reduced mechanisms, are considered to obtain results for steady flames without acoustic waves, and the interaction of unsteady flames with acoustic waves. Results show that the total heat-release-rate fluctuations for the flame is affected by increasing the frequency of the acoustic wave. An increase in frequency first increases the total heat released, and then decreases it. The obtained results are in good agreement with those of other researchers. Furthermore, at the presence of acoustic waves, various chemical species can affect the total heat-release-rate fluctuations. With Rayleigh's instability criterion, it can be shown that H2O, CO2 and O2 are the main species to the fluctuations of the total heat release rate and lead to flame instability. Results show that heat-release-rate of H2O specie is the most important on the total heat-release-rate. Therefore, for the flame-acoustic waves interaction problem, the best mechanism is the one that could predict the concentration of H2O more precisely.

Inhibiting the onset of thermoacoustic instability through targeted control of critical regions

This experimental study investigates the dynamical transition from stable operation to thermoacoustic instability in a turbulent bluff-body stabilised dump combustor. We conduct experiments to acquire acoustic pressure and local heat release rate fluctuations and use them to characterise this transition as we decrease the equivalence ratio towards a fuel-lean setting. More importantly, we observe a significant increase in local heat release rate fluctuations at critical locations well before thermoacoustic instability occurs. One of these critical locations is the stagnation zone in front of the bluff-body. By strategically positioning slots (perforations) on the bluff-body, we ensure the reduction of the growth of local heat release rate fluctuations at the stagnation zone near the bluff-body well before the onset of thermoacoustic instability. We show that this reduction in local heat release rate fluctuations inhibits the transition to thermoacoustic instability. We find that modified configurations of the bluff-body that do not quench the local heat release rate fluctuations at the stagnation zone result in the transition to thermoacoustic instability. We also reveal that an effective suppression strategy based on the growth of local heat release rate fluctuations requires an optimisation of the slots' area-ratio for a given bluff-body position. Further, the suppression strategy also depends on the spatial distribution of perforations on the bluff-body. Notably, an inappropriate distribution of the slots, which does not quench the local heat release rate fluctuations at the stagnation zone but creates new critical regions, may even result in a dramatic increase in the amplitudes of pressure oscillations.

Numerical investigation of azimuthal thermoacoustic instability in a gas turbine model combustor

Self-excited spinning mode azimuthal instability in an annular combustor with non-swirling flow is investigated using large eddy simulation (LES). Compressible Navier–Stokes equations are solved with a flamelet combustion model to describe the subgrid chemistry-turbulence interactions. Two flamelet models, with and without heat loss effects, are compared to elucidate the non-adiabatic wall effects on the thermoacoustic instability. The azimuthal modes are captured well by both models with only marginal differences in the computed frequencies and amplitudes. By comparing with the experimental measurements, the frequencies given by the LES are approximately 10% higher and the amplitudes are well predicted. Further analysis of the experimental and LES data shows a similar dominant anti-clockwise spinning mode, under which a good agreement is observed for the phase-averaged heat release rate fluctuations. Dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) is applied to shed more light on this spinning mode. The LES and experimental DMD modes reconstructed for their azimuthal mode frequencies agree very well for the heat release fluctuations. The DMD mode structure for the acoustic pressure from the LES shows a considerable non-zero profile at the combustor outlet, which could be essential for azimuthal modes to establish in this annular combustor. Finally, a low-order modelling study was conducted using an acoustic network combined with the flame transfer function extracted from LES. The results show that the dominant mode is associated with the plenum showing a first longitudinal and azimuthal mixed mode structure. By tuning the plenum length to match the effective volume, the predicted frequency becomes very close to the measured value.

Numerical investigation of wall effects on combustion noise from a lean-premixed hydrogen/air low-swirl flame

A hybrid computational fluid dynamics (CFD)/computational aero-acoustics (CAA) approach, in which large-eddy simulation (LES) and APE-RF (solution of the acoustic perturbation equations for reacting flows) are employed for the CFD and CAA, respectively, calling it the hybrid LES/APE-RF approach, is used to analyze the influence of a wall on the combustion noise from a lean-premixed gaseous hydrogen/air low-swirl turbulent jet flame. The wall boundary conditions pertaining to the APE-RF system are formulated to account for acoustic reflection from the wall. The results show that the sound pressure level (SPL) spectrum obtained from the LES/APE-RF is in good agreement with that measured in the experiment. In the LES/APE-RF, the SPL spectrum of combustion noise with the wall plate explicitly changes compared to that without the wall plate. Specifically, the presence of the wall plate tends to ease the peaks that appeared in the case without the wall plate and create a nearly constant SPL within a specific frequency band. The analysis of the heat release rate fluctuation reveals that these phenomena are caused by the absence of a single periodic oscillation of heat release rate. The presence of the wall plate creates an asymmetric flow around the flame and distorts the flame structure, thereby altering the flame fluctuation phenomena.

Measurements of self-excited instabilities and nitrogen oxides emissions in a multi-element lean-premixed hydrogen/methane/air flame ensemble

Understanding the distinguishing physical properties of multi-element lean-premixed high hydrogen content flames is expected to be integral to the development of carbon-neutral, and ultimately carbon-free, gas turbine combustion systems. Despite their fundamental importance, the thermoacoustic and emission-related characteristics of such small-scale flame ensembles are not thoroughly understood, particularly for the full range of 0 to 100% hydrogen content blended with methane fuel. Here we investigate the structure and collective behavior of a multi-element lean-premixed hydrogen/methane/air flame ensemble using measurements of nitrogen oxides emissions and self-excited instability, combined with OH* and OH PLIF flame visualizations. Our results indicate that the system's responses can be classified into several distinctive stages according to their static and dynamic stability, including flame blowoff and thermoacoustically stable regions under relatively low hydrogen concentration conditions, low-frequency self-excited instabilities in intermediate hydrogen concentration, and triggering of intense pressure perturbations at about 1.7 kHz under high- or pure hydrogen combustion conditions. While the low-frequency combustion dynamics are dominated by axisymmetric translational movements of parallel flame fronts, the higher frequency response originates from significant lateral modulations accompanied by small-scale vortical rollup and flame surface annihilation due to front merging and pinch-off. Longitudinal-to-transverse dynamic transition is observed to play a mechanistic role in kinematically accommodating higher-frequency heat release rate fluctuations, and this newly identified mechanism suggests the possibility of high-frequency transverse modes, if such lateral motions are strong enough to induce inter-element flame interactions. In contrast to the substantial differences in thermoacoustic properties for different fuel compositions, the total nitrogen oxides emissions are found to depend primarily on adiabatic flame temperature; the influence of fuel composition is limited to approximately 20% under the inlet conditions considered.

Effects of Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol (ABE) addition on HCCI-DI engine performance, combustion and emission

Recent research has shown the potential of long-chain alcohols such as butanol for biofuel. However, the production quantity of butanol is very low and consumes high energy in its purification process. To solve such a problem, one of the effective approaches is to use acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) directly from the fermentation process. This study aims to investigate the effects of ABE-diesel blends in an HCCI-DI engine. It was found that although the presence of oxygen in ABE could theoretically promote complete combustion and eventually decrease HC and CO emissions, other significant factors may have played more dominant roles in affecting the HC and CO emissions. The experimental investigation on an HCCI-DI engine fuelled with ABE also did not reduce PM and Soot emissions. Furthermore, the peak in-cylinder combustion pressure decreased with fluctuating heat release rate. However, their p-V areas were larger than pure diesel fuel, which implied a higher indicated work produced per cycle. The addition of ABE also successfully decreased CO2 and NOx emissions. Moreover, improved engine performance in terms of higher BTE, lower BSFC and EGT were observed. All in all, considering its satisfying improved engine performance; ABE has the potential to become a promising alternative biofuel.

Attenuation of combustion instability in a fuel-staged dual-nozzle gas turbine combustor with asymmetric hydrogen composition

The instability attenuation mechanism of fuel staging was investigated in a CH4/H2 fueled dual-nozzle gas turbine combustor. Fuel staging was implemented using an asymmetry in fuel composition between the two nozzles. The fuel composition of the upper nozzle was varied while keeping that of the lower nozzle constant. Under these conditions, the self-excited and forced responses of fuel-staged flames were analyzed using OH* chemiluminescence imaging, OH planar laser-induced fluorescence, and particle image velocimetry. In the self-excited measurements, although strong combustion instability was exhibited in the symmetric condition, it weakened gradually with increasing asymmetry in fuel composition. The symmetric flame exhibited significant fluctuations in the heat release rate around the flame tip, which acted as the primary cause of driving combustion instability. However, in asymmetric flames, the H2 addition induced phase leads in heat release rate fluctuations at the upper region, which damped combustion instability. Thus, our observations revealed a high correlation between the phase leads and the attenuation of combustion instability. Analyses of the forced responses showed that the heat release rate fluctuations were induced by interactions between the flame and the shedding vortex released from the nozzle tip into the downstream. Although these characteristics of shedding vortices did not depend on the H2 addition, the change in the axial position of the flame caused by the H2 addition induced the relocation of the site, at which the flame interacted with the vortex. Subsequently, it induced phase leads in the heat release rate fluctuations. The phase difference of heat release rate fluctuations between the two flames due to this phase leads enlarged progressively with increasing asymmetry in fuel composition, leading to the attenuation of combustion instability in asymmetric conditions.

The Rayleigh integral is always positive in steadily operated combustors

The Rayleigh index has been used for decades by a large number of researchers as an indicator to determine if a flame is driving or damping thermoacoustic interaction mechanisms. The use of the Rayleigh criterion has found applications in rocket combustors, gas turbine combustion technology and basic combustion research. The global Rayleigh index or integral is obtained by integrating the product of heat release rate and pressure fluctuations over space and time. Depending on the phase between pressure oscillations and heat release rate response, the oscillations can be enhanced or damped. It is commonly assumed in literature that the sign of the Rayleigh index from steady state data can be used to determine if the thermoacoustic feedback loop is stabilizing or destabilizing. However, we show in this paper that under fairly general conditions, a correctly measured Rayleigh index is always positive if evaluated from statistically stationary data. This proves to be true even if the heat release rate response to pressure fluctuations is in phase opposition to those pressure fluctuations. This is shown in a straightforward manner by substituting the wave equation with a heat release rate source term into the Rayleigh index. This was verified experimentally on a fully premixed combustion system by measuring the flame chemiluminescence using a photo multiplier and pressure fluctuations using a microphone placed sufficiently close to the flame to ensure acoustic compactness for the frequency range of interest. A large range of operating conditions have been tested, spanning linearly stable and unstable stationary thermoacoustic states, respectively corresponding to resonance or a limit cycle driven by the inherent stochastic forcing from the turbulent combustion noise. The experimental results corroborated the analytic finding: the Rayleigh index is found to be positive for all frequencies and all operating conditions.

Physics-informed recurrent neural networks for linear and nonlinear flame dynamics

This paper demonstrates the ability of recurrent neural networks (RNNs) to predict the linear and the nonlinear response of a premixed laminar flame to incoming velocity perturbations. We develop data-driven models, which require the velocity and heat release rate fluctuations as input data. Both time series are obtained from Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of a laminar flame. The length of the signals, and, hence, the cost of the simulation, is comparable to those used in the linear framework of System Identification. A more robust type of RNNs, namely long short term memory (LSTM), is employed to reduce the dependency on large datasets. The LSTM framework is modeled as a time series regression problem and four models are trained with decreasing data set lengths. All purely data-driven models accurately predict the unsteady time series of the heat release rate and, hence, the Flame Transfer Functions (FTFs). We further improve the model accuracy by incorporating a physical constraint, namely the low-frequency limit for perfectly-premixed flames, into the LSTM model. This step reduces the required data length compared to the purely data-driven approach. The proposed model, called PI-LSTM, is able to reproduce the linear and the nonlinear FTFs for amplitudes up to 50% of the laminar flame based on one numerical simulation, where the length of the time series is 100 ms.

Understanding the role of flow dynamics in thermoacoustic combustion instability

Thermoacoustic combustion instability is one of the most challenging operational issues in several high-performance, low-emissions combustion technologies, including gas turbines, aircraft engines, rockets, and industrial boilers. Driven by the coupling between combustor acoustics and flame heat release rate fluctuations, thermoacoustic combustion instability can lead to reduced operability, increased emissions, and, in the most extreme cases, catastrophic failure of combustor components. The feedback loop between acoustics and combustion is often facilitated by fluid mechanic oscillations, referred to as “velocity coupling,” whereby acoustic oscillations drive flow fluctuations, which in turn create fluctuations in the flame. The character of these fluid mechanic oscillations is highly dependent on the structure of the flow field and the receptivity of the flow to external excitation. Combustor flow fields use features like fluid recirculation and shear to enhance flame holding and reduce emissions, but these are also the same features that can make the flow receptive to acoustic excitation or even drive self-excited oscillations. In this paper, we discuss the basics of thermoacoustic instability with a focus on the role of hydrodynamic oscillations in typical combustor flows. To facilitate this discussion, we explore the hydrodynamic instability characteristics of several key combustor unit flows (wakes, swirling jets, etc.) and show how the hydrodynamic stability of a flow is an important consideration in determining a combustor’s propensity for thermoacoustic oscillations. Several examples of coupling between hydrodynamics and thermoacoustics are discussed to illustrate this important link. The paper concludes by discussing the potential for designing flow fields that are thermoacoustic instability resistant, either through a reduction in the receptivity of the flow or through nonlinear coupling mechanisms by which self-excited flow instabilities can suppress velocity-coupled combustion oscillations.

Thermoacoustic oscillations in a can-annular model combustor with asymmetries in the can-to-can coupling

Can-annular combustors are equipped with a set of nominally identical cans, circumferentially arranged around the shaft. Adjacent cans are coupled acoustically via a small gap at the downstream end, where the circular cross-section transitions into the annular turbine inlet. Recent experimental and theoretical work has shown that the coupling strongly affects thermoacoustic system stability and, hence, may give rise to damaging pressure oscillations that originate from a constructive interference of pressure waves and heat release rate fluctuations. A laboratory-scale can-annular combustor has been operated with premixed CH4–H2–air mixtures to study these instabilities. The combustor consists of eight identical cans, connected acoustically to their respective neighbours via size-adjustable side branches; the latter allow for a variation of the coupling strength. New experimental results are presented in which five asymmetric sets of coupling strengths are investigated and compared to a previously studied symmetric configuration. The sets are chosen such that the symmetry is gradually reduced until a fully asymmetric configuration is realized. The perturbations affect the observed mode type, frequency of oscillation and the pressure amplitude distribution over the eight cans. The perturbations via the can-to-can couplings do not trigger mode localization. The symmetric configuration considered previously, shows activity in an azimuthal mode of third and fourth order, with unsteady switching between the two. The mode shape is characterised through novel phase-averaged OH* chemiluminescence images capturing all eight cans.

Investigation of combustion noise generated by an open lean-premixed H[formula omitted]/air low-swirl flame using the hybrid LES/APE-RF framework

An open lean-premixed hydrogen/air low-swirl (LPHALS) turbulent flame exhibiting a pronounced peak in its combustion noise spectra, is investigated numerically using a hybrid Computational Fluid Dynamics/Computational Aero-Acoustics (CFD/CAA) framework. Under this framework, the reacting flow-field of the flame is computed via Large-Eddy Simulation (LES), while the direct combustion noise it produces is captured by solving the Acoustic Perturbation Equations for Reacting Flows (APE-RF). Flame configuration and simulation conditions correspond to those of an experimental study on an open lean-premixed H2/air flame stabilized using a Low-Swirl Burner (LSB). LES results are validated against experimental data. The CAA simulation is able to predict a pronounced sharp peak in the computed combustion noise spectra, similar to one of the two characteristic peaks observed in the measured combustion noise spectra. Frequency of this spectral peak predicted by the CAA simulation is 840 Hz, which is close to that of the higher frequency secondary spectral peak at 940 Hz measured in the experiment. Upon examining the hybrid LES/APE-RF results, the noise generation mechanism at 840 Hz is found to be the intense local heat release rate fluctuations, caused by strong interaction between the flame and the periodically generated vortical flow structures in the shear layers, downstream of the LSB exit. Additionally, analysis of the spectral content and directivity of the noise generated by different acoustic source terms is performed, in order to investigate their impact on the radiated acoustic field, and hence the characteristics of direct combustion noise produced by the open LPHALS flame.

Analysis of Transition to Thermo-Acoustic Instability in Swirl Combustor Using Variational Auto-Encoders

The prognosis of thermo-acoustic/combustion instability is usually accomplished by applying a priori knowledge about features of unstable operation and measuring deviation from those features using point values. In the present work, we adopt a different methodology, whereby the presence and extent of the signature of unstable combustion are learnt as an anomaly from the distribution of pressure oscillations during stable operation across several protocols. The protocols involve a transition from stable to unstable operation in a swirl combustor. It is inferred that the stable combustion in the present case is stochastic noise with a normal distribution containing values comparable with root-mean-square values at unstable operation with a value 0.05–0.07. We exploit this feature to detect anomalies from flame intensity images, which represents the heat release rate fluctuations by manipulating their features to be a part of multivariate Gaussian distribution. To formulate this distribution, we employ a convolutional-neural-network-based variational auto-encoder (CNN-VAE) and express the associated reconstruction loss as an anomaly metric. The anomalies obtained through CNN-VAE and integrated intensity fluctuations are then evaluated for their sensitivity against the unsteady pressure data. The analysis reveals that the CNN-VAE metric performs better than the integrated intensity fluctuations for predominantly all values.

Similarity phenomena of lean swirling flames at different bulk velocities with acoustic disturbances

In this study, flame responses to acoustic disturbances with different frequencies and amplitudes were experimentally investigated in a lean premixed swirl-stabilized combustor operating at different bulk velocities. The total heat release rate fluctuations and spatial CH* chemiluminescence distributions were captured using a photomultiplier tube and high-speed camera, respectively. The results indicate that the heat release rate exhibits a relatively drastic oscillation and high-order harmonics for low-frequency disturbances. When the bulk velocity and forcing frequency were doubled simultaneously, similar flame structures were observed in the CH* chemiluminescence distributions. As the bulk velocity increases, the gain of the Flame Describing Function (FDF) extends toward the higher frequencies, and the delay time of the flame response decreases. The similarity among FDFs at different bulk velocities was effectively captured by introducing a non-dimensional parameter, defined as the ratio of the flame response delay to the forcing time scale, to replace the dimensional forcing frequency. Furthermore, the availability of the newly defined non-dimensional parameter was verified for flames with different swirl numbers, as this played an important role in determining the flame structures and associated unsteady heat release rate.

Experimental investigation of the helical mode in a stratified swirling flame

In a centrally-staged combustor, the stratified swirling flame often manifests a helical mode, which is characterized by the emergence of helical vortices, including the precessing vortex core (PVC) and the outer helical vortex (OHV). To understand the flame-vortex interaction mechanism responsible for the coherent heat release rate (HRR) fluctuation of such a helical mode, this work employs 20 kHz simultaneous measurements of PIV/CH2O PLIF and PIV/CH* chemiluminescence to resolve the unsteady flow field and flame motion. Through a combination of time-resolved and phase-averaged analysis, together with the three-dimensional reconstruction of the coherent flow and flame structures, we arrive at the qualitative understanding that in the helical mode the pilot flame dominated by PVC is a major source of coherent HRR fluctuation, while the main flame only slightly modifies the fluctuation intensity. Quantitative analyses further demonstrate the different effects of PVC and OHV on the coherent HRR fluctuation. Specifically, the PVC affects the primary heat-release process by dictating the convective transport of the reactants upstream of the flame front. And the OHV contributes to additional heat release by inducing stretching and roll-up of the pilot flame tip; it happens during the OHV's second growth, which is likely caused by the thermal expansion resulting from the primary heat release. This explains our finding that the OHV-induced heat release occurs at a slightly delayed phase angle and a downstream location compared with the primary PVC-induced heat release.

Preventing a global transition to thermoacoustic instability by targeting local dynamics

The burning of fossil fuels to generate power produces harmful emissions. Lowering such emissions in gas turbine engines is possible by operating them at fuel-lean conditions. However, such strategies often fail because, under fuel-lean conditions, the combustors are prone to catastrophic high-amplitude oscillations known as thermoacoustic instability. We reveal that, as an operating parameter is varied in time, the transition to thermoacoustic instability is initiated at specific spatial regions before it is observed in larger regions of the combustor. We use two indicators to discover such inceptive regions: the growth of variance of fluctuations in spatially resolved heat release rate and its spatiotemporal evolution. In this study, we report experimental evidence of suppression of the global transition to thermoacoustic instability through targeted modification of local dynamics at the inceptive regions. We strategically arrange slots on the flame anchor, which, in turn, reduce the local heat release rate fluctuations at the inceptive regions and thus suppress the global transition to thermoacoustic instability. Our results open new perspectives for combustors that are more environmental-friendly.