Experimental Characterization of Combustion Instabilities and Flow-Flame Dynamics in a Partially-Premixed Gas Turbine Model Combustor.

Abstract

Partially-premixed, swirl combustion is applied in gas turbine combustors to achieve flame stabilization and reduced emission production. However, this method is also inherently sensitive to combustion instabilities which can cause large pressure, velocity, and heat release fluctuations. This thesis investigates thermoacoustic coupling created by flow-flame dynamics in a gas turbine model combustor (GTMC) for a variety of fuels and operating flow rates. Several naturally occurring instability modes were identified to control the acoustic response of the system, including Helmholtz resonances from the plenum and convective-acoustic effects which cause equivalence ratio oscillations. Laser Doppler velocimetry was used to measure radial flow in the GTMC, which can set up flow-fields which create loudly resonating flat-shaped flames, in comparison to quiet V-shaped flames. Flame location and shape altered convective time delays which determine the relative phases of pressure and heat release oscillations. Simultaneous pressure and chemiluminescence imaging showed that the heat release, pressure fluctuations, and flame motion are all coupled at the same instability frequency. Videos of the flame motion also revealed that the precessing vortex core (PVC), created by the swirling flow, influences the rocking behavior of the flame. Acetone was added to the fuel to act as a tracer in fluorescence measurements which indicated the localization of unburned fuel. It was discovered that fuel was distributed in lobes which corresponded to locations surrounding the shear layer outside of the central recirculation zone, and that the relative distribution of the lobes adjusted to forcing by the flow. Finally, high-speed formaldehyde planar laser-induced fluorescence was applied to study the motion of preheat zone surfaces in response to the oscillations of the instability. The flame surface density and wrinkling fluctuated at the acoustic frequency and displayed dampened motions correlated with the PVC precession. In non-resonating flames, the behavior of the formaldehyde structure and marked flame surfaces were dominated by the PVC motion, but the degree of surface area fluctuations was reduced compared to unstable flames. Instabilities in the GTMC are driven by a complex combination of thermoacoustic and flow-field couplings which are influenced by the operational conditions, fueling, mixing, and convective time delays.PhDAerospace EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102385/1/pallison_1.pd