Twenty-Seventh Symposium (International) on Combustion/The Combustion Institute, 1998/pp.

18491856

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF COMBUSTION DYNAMICS OF A PREMIXED SWIRL INJECTOR

J. C. BRODA, S. SEO, R. J. SANTORO, G. SHIRHATTIKAR and V. YANG The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802, USA

A comprehensive experimental study has been conducted on combustion instabilities in a premixed swirler injector system at various equivalence ratios, chamber pressures, and inlet air temperatures. A stability map has been determined to indicate the range of operating conditions conducive to the occurrence of instabilities. The amplitude of instabilities was found to be a strong function of the equivalence ratio, with pressure oscillations as high as 20% of the mean chamber pressure and unsteady velocities comparable to the mean ow values observed for equivalence ratios around 0.6. On the other hand, beyond an initial threshold value of inlet air temperature at which instability suddenly initiated, variations in inlet air temperature had minimal effect on the strength of instabilities. Measurements of steady and unsteady ame structures carried out using CH chemiluminescence and photographic imaging techniques indicate that the onset of instabilities can potentially cause signicant alterations in ame structure, sometimes even causing near extinction of the ame during certain periods of the oscillation cycle. Coupled longitudinal oscillations were observed in the combustion chamber and upstream duct. Instability characteristics such as frequency, mode shape, and phase obtained through pressure measurements were found to be in excellent agreement with predictions from a linear acoustic analysis. A strong correlation was found between the heat release and pressure uctuations near the dump plane, indicating a possible mechanism for creating and sustaining instabilities.

Introduction The concept of lean premixed combustion in gas turbines has become widely accepted in recent years as an effective means to meet stringent environmental standards on NOx emissions [1]. However, lean premixed systems by virtue of the lack of intrinsic damping mechanisms, strong ame holding capability, and the proximity of lean limits are more susceptible to the excitation of combustion instabilities [2]. The mechanisms of combustion instabilities have been extensively studied in the past, especially in rockets [3,4], industrial burners [5], dump combustors in ramjets [6], and pulse combustors [7,8], but little work can be found relevant to modern gas turbines. Active control has received a lot of attention recently [911], but work done in that area was aimed more at the end result of suppressing the instabilities than at the fundamental aspects of the problem. Despite several recent parametric studies on combustion dynamics of swirl injectors [12,13], understanding of the physiochemical mechanisms governing instabilities in lean premixed gas turbines is far from completion. There is a strong need for fundamental investigations into the various underlying mechanisms responsible for excitation and sustenance of ow oscillations in engines. With this objective in mind, a series of experimental studies of combustion dynamics of lean premixed swirl injectors have been conducted in the present work by

means of nonintrusive optical diagnostic methods, including CH chemiluminescence and photographic imaging techniques. Effects of equivalence ratio and inlet ow conditions with respect to temperature and pressure were examined systematically, with emphasis placed on unsteady heat release mechanisms and their interactions with local ow oscillations. In addition, a companion acoustic analysis was conducted to facilitate data analysis and consequently provided more physical insight into the transient response of ame dynamics to acoustic disturbances.

Experimental Setup Figure 1 shows schematically the test facility employed in the present work. Compressed air is delivered to a cylindrical combustor through a premixer at a maximum mass ow rate of 270 g/s at 2.4 MPa or 180 g/s at 3.8 MPa. The inlet air can be heated to a temperature as high as 870 K at the maximum ow rate, thus providing the capability to simulate actual temperatures at the gas turbine compressor exit. Three generic swirlers with vane angles of 35 , 45 , and 55 relative to the incoming air stream were used, although the present paper only reports results obtained using the 45 case. Each swirler consists of eight straight vanes attached to a central bluff body mounted ush with the dump plane. Natural gas is

1849

1850

GAS TURBINES

Fig. 1. Schematic of experimental setup (not to scaleunits indicated in mm).

injected radially from the center body through ten 0.75-mm-diameter holes immediately downstream of the swirler vanes. Thus, conditions inside the combustor are expected to be mostly premixed, but cold ow experiments have been planned for an accurate assessment on the degree of premixing of the fuel with air. To acoustically isolate the test section from the air supply line, a choked venturi is installed at the inlet entrance. The combustor nozzle is also choked to prevent any downstream disturbances from traveling upstream and to maintain the desired chamber pressure. Eight high-frequency pressure transducers positioned at different axial and tangential locations between the two choked points are employed to record acoustic pressure signals. The combustion chamber is comprised of several independent parts that are held together by a hydraulically pressurized assembly. Each stainless steel section houses one or more transducers that can be added to or removed from the overall chamber. This feature makes it possible not only to position the transducers at optimum locations but also to vary the total chamber length from 140 to 370 mm to study its effect on instability behavior. In the present work, a chamber length of 235 mm has been selected for the experiments. An optically accessible cylindrical quartz section is used to visualize the instantaneous ame dynamics. The quartz cylinder is protected during hot-re experiments by impingement of cooling air pressurized at the chamber pressure to equalize forces on the quartz cylinder walls. During each experiment, all important test parameters were digitized and stored for subsequent analysis. Conditioned CH chemiluminescence images were taken using an ICCD camera triggered by the reference pressure signal from one of the transducers. The camera was equipped with a 50-mm focal length lens and a narrow bandpass lter centered at 431 nm. Images were obtained by focusing the camera on the center plane of the cylindrical quartz section. Emissions of key combustion species such as NOx, CO2, O2, and CO were carefully monitored using gas analyzers. This enabled simultaneous evaluation of performance parameters relating to low

emissions, high performance, and stable combustion.

Acoustic Analysis A linear acoustic analysis was established to facilitate data analysis and to help provide more physical insight into the observed phenomena. The analysis covers a domain including both the inlet duct and combustion chamber. The choked combustor exit nozzle is assumed to be acoustically compact and acts as an acoustically closed boundary. The admittance function is (c 1)Me/2, with Me being the Mach number at the nozzle entrance. However, the situation with the choked inlet venturi is quite different. It basically serves as an acoustic damper and can effectively dissipate disturbances arising from downstream [14]. Consequently, the acoustic eld in the inlet section is predominated by an upstreamrunning wave. The entire domain for the acoustic analysis is divided into three regions: a constant-area inlet duct, a combustion chamber, and a premixer within which the variation of the ow passage area due to the fuel supply line and swirler vanes is taken into account. The temperature nonuniformity in the combustor is also considered based on numerical results of a stable ame. The acoustic eld in each region is expressed as the superposition of two plane waves propagating in opposite directions. Matching conditions at the interfaces are derived by requiring continuities of acoustic pressure and mass ow rate. The procedure eventually leads to a transcendental equation for oscillation frequencies. A comprehensive description of the model is given in Ref. [15].

Results and Discussion A series of experiments were performed with a swirl vane angle of 45 . The test conditions are summarized as follows:

COMBUSTION DYNAMICS OF PREMIXED SWIRL INJECTOR

1851

Fig. 2. Effect of equivalence ratio and chamber pressure on amplitude of instabilities.

Fig. 3. Pressure time trace and corresponding power spectral density showing superposition of 1L and 2L modes. Pc 0.47 MPa and 0.57.

Fig. 2. The parameters identied to have a major impact on the onset of instabilities are inlet air temperature, equivalence ratio , and combustion chamber length Lc. Instabilities take place only if Tin is greater than a threshold value T* , which lies bein tween 650 and 670 K. In addition, must fall in the range between 0.5 and 0.7 for instability to be induced. If those two conditions are not met simultaneously, the ame remains stable. Inlet air temperatures higher than T* do not seem to alter the in instability strength in terms of the acoustic pressure amplitude. In contrast, oscillations are quite sensitive to the equivalence ratio and may reach amplitudes as high as 1520% of the mean chamber pressure around 0.6. The instability strength also depends on combustor length. Although not shown here, a companion study of a generic counter-rotating swirl injector showed a drastic increase in oscillation amplitude when Lc was increased to 350 mm. The coupling of oscillations between the chamber and the fuel supply line was examined by choking the fuel ow right at the injection location for many experiments. Under this condition, only a slight decrease in chamber pressure uctuation was observed, suggesting that the instabilities encountered in the present study are intrinsic in nature and not coupled to the fuel supply line. The presence of hysteresis effects with respect to inlet temperature and equivalence ratio on instabilities was noted under certain conditions. For a xed equivalence ratio, stable combustion cannot be reestablished from an unstable operation unless the inlet temperature is reduced to a level signicantly lower than T* , sometimes as low as 630 K. Likewise, in ames often stay unstable even below the equivalence-ratio limit at which they initially became unstable. The mechanisms of hysteresis are currently under investigation. Oscillation Characteristics The measured acoustic pressure signals clearly indicate the presence of standing, longitudinal oscillations in the system. Figure 3 presents a typical time trace of the acoustic pressure signal and its spectral content. Two well-dened harmonics are exhibited, a strong one around 1750 Hz and a much weaker one around 3500 Hz. They correspond to the First (1L) and Second (2L) modes of longitudinal acoustic waves in the combustion chamber. To further identify the acoustic mode structure, pressure measurements were conducted at the same axial but different circumferential locations. No discernible variations of acoustic signals in terms of both amplitude and phase were observed in the transverse plane. The acoustic waves are indeed longitudinal in the present study. Results from the linear acoustic analysis agree quite well with the measured frequencies, pressure

Chamber Pressure, MPa (psia)

Equivalence Ratio,

Inlet Velocity, m/s

0.30 (44) 0.50 0.80 83 0.48 (70) 0.50 0.80 83 0.65 (95) 0.50 0.75 83 Inlet air temperatures, Tin, between 500 and 700 K were chosen for most experiments because no instabilities were observed at temperatures below 550 K. Higher values of Tin were occasionally used because they helped stabilize the ame near lean blow out (LBO) limits. Experimental conditions were conned to a maximum chamber pressure of 0.65 MPa. Stability Map Signicant effort was First devoted to generate a stability map based on measured pressure oscillations and ame intensity signals from a photomultiplier tube (PMT). The results are summarized in

1852

GAS TURBINES

through the premixer, with much of its energy absorbed by the shock wave in the inlet venturi. The premixer behaves as a silencer for disturbances originating from the combustor and consequently leads to a substantial decrease in the wave amplitude. The irregular distribution of the wave amplitude in the upstream section results from the variation of ow passage area in that region. Emissions Data For a combustion instability study to be really meaningful from a practical sense, great care must also be given to engine performance and pollution. High engine efciencies and low emissions are an absolute requirement. Hence, NO, NO2, CO, CO2, and O2 emissions have been systematically monitored in the study. Plots of NOx and CO concentrations versus equivalence ratio are particularly important and are presented in Fig. 5. The trends displayed are typical of lean premixed gas turbine combustors [12,13,16,17]. Especially noteworthy is the low NOx level in the 0.50.6 region. This also indicates that the fuel-injection scheme used in the present work provides adequate fuel-air premixing. Flame StructureInstability Mechanisms Photographic imaging and CH chemiluminescence techniques were employed to capture unsteady ame dynamics. Figure 6 shows two typical time-averaged photo images under stable and unstable operating conditions. The chamber pressure and equivalence ratio were xed at 0.48 MPa and 0.6, respectively, but the ame became unstable when the inlet temperature was increased from 570 to 660 K. Figure 7 represents the calculated temperature contours and streamline patterns for the stable ame corresponding to Fig. 6a. The analysis is based on complete conservation equations in three dimensions and a three-step global reaction mechanism for methane combustion with air [18]. Good agreement with experimental observation is obtained in terms of ame shape and heat release distribution. The streamline plot indicates the existence of three recirculation zones in the chamber as a result of adverse pressure gradients. The central toroidal vortex, consisting of two inner recirculation bubbles in the wake of the center body, is principally caused by the strong swirl and ow expansion. The corner recirculation zone results from the sudden enlargement of the combustor conguration. These different features agree well with other studies of swirling ows [19,20], which reveal that the sizes of the central and corner recirculation regimes are strongly dependent on the inlet swirl level, equivalence ratio, and combustor geometry. When instabilities occur, the ame becomes much

Fig. 4. Amplitude and phase proles of dynamic pressure and velocity for 1L mode from acoustic model. Comparison with experimental points (solid squares).

Fig. 5. Effect of equivalence ratio and chamber pressure on NOx and CO emissions (corrected to 15% O2).

amplitudes, and phases at various locations. Figure 4 shows the predicted and measured acoustic pressure as well as the predicted velocity distribution in the entire domain for the First mode of oscillation. Because the linear analysis cannot calculate the absolute magnitude of oscillation, the comparison is made by matching the calculated pressure uctuation at the combustor exit with the measured data. The acoustic mode shape clearly indicates that unsteady heat release provides the energy for driving standing oscillations in the combustion chamber. The acoustic wave then propagates upstream

COMBUSTION DYNAMICS OF PREMIXED SWIRL INJECTOR

1853

Fig. 6. Photographic images of (a) steady and (b) unsteady ame structures.

shorter and penetrates into the corner recirculation zone, as evidenced in Fig. 6b. The unburned combustible mixture is rolled into large vortical structures originating from the corners of the center body and reacts vigorously once in contact with local hot eddies. Periodic heat release then occurs, providing the energy required for driving ow oscillations. The dynamic evolution of shear-layer structure may be attributed to the strong velocity uctuation at the dump plane. The acoustic analysis suggests that the axial velocity uctuation u downstream of the swirler is about 45 m/s for the present case with p about 20% of the mean pressure. This value is very signicant compared with the local mean velocity of 82 m/s. The impact of u on the downstream vortical ow development and its ensuring inuence on ame holding and spreading characteristics are tremendous. The unsteady ame dynamics are further examined by taking chemiluminescence images of CH radicals, which provide a qualitative measure of heat release rate. Figure 8 shows the phase-locked images with reference to the local acoustic pressure over one cycle of oscillation. Each image is an average of 100 instantaneous shots taken at the same phase. The observed phenomenon of combustion oscillation may be visualized as follows. Initially, the premixed combustible mixture is entrained and mixed with hot gases in the vortical structures downstream of the center body (i.e., image 1). Heat release then follows after a short chemical induction time. The resultant ow expansion tends to push the ame outward and simultaneously blocks the inlet ow at the dump plane due to the local pressure rise (i.e., images 24). Moreover, the phase prole of Fig. 4 indicates that, at that time, u is just coming back from strongly negative values. Thus, the absolute ow velocity is probably much lower, and the ame tends to anchor itself closer to the combustor dump. The ensuing decrease in the incoming mass ow accordingly retards the heat release and causes the chamber pressure to drop. The subsequent pressure drop

Fig. 7. Numerical calculations of streamlines and temperature contours of a stable ame at Pc 0.60, and Swirl number S 0.69.

0.48 MPa,

1854

GAS TURBINES

Fig. 8. Phase-resolved CH chemiluminescence images showing the evolution of unsteady heat release during one cycle of local dynamic pressure. Axial location of pressure transducer is indicated on the First image.

then facilitates the delivery of the fresh mixture into the chamber (i.e., images 68). However, a high ow velocity (u close to its maximum) may stretch and weaken the ame (i.e., images 911), convecting it downstream and delaying the chemical reaction to a later time to re-energize ow oscillations (i.e., images 121). Then, the entire process repeats. To further explore the mutual coupling between combustion response and acoustic motions, the measured heat release uctuation needs to be correlated with local pressure oscillation. The resultant Rayleighs parameter p q , dened as the time-aver aged product of pressure and heat release uctuations, provides a qualitative measure of the extent to which unsteady heat release drives or suppresses instabilities [21,22]. In this regard, the light intensity signal of each CH chemiluminescence image of Fig. 8 has been multiplied by the corresponding local pressure oscillation to yield a two-dimensional distribution of Rayleighs parameter. Figure 9 shows the result for a typical unstable ame under conditions corresponding to those for Fig. 3. As explained earlier, the large velocity uctuation downstream of the premixer induces strong vortical motions entraining the premixed combustible mixture directly into the wake region of the center body. This phe-

nomenon is exactly reected in the two-dimensional contour plots of Rayleighs index. Strong interactions between acoustic oscillations and unsteady heat release occur immediately behind the center body, as opposed to the situations under stable operating conditions where a conical ame anchored at the center body spreads out smoothly. To identify the inuence of unsteady heat release on longitudinal oscillations, the Rayleigh index is integrated over the entire cross section at each axial location, giving the result shown in the graph in Fig. 9. The First mode of the acoustic wave plays a much greater role in driving the instability. It should be cautioned that Rayleighs index only provides a qualitative measure of combustion sensitivity and its contribution to driving instability. The behavior of each acoustic mode can be quantied only if all driving and damping mechanisms are taken into account. In fact, although the Rayleigh index shown in Fig. 9 suggests that both the First and Second modes can be excited by unsteady heat release, the Second mode is most likely stable if all damping mechanisms (such as viscous dissipation and nozzle damping) are considered. The First mode must be unstable and the Second stable in order to exercise limit-cycle oscillations [23].

COMBUSTION DYNAMICS OF PREMIXED SWIRL INJECTOR

1855

shapes of instabilities has been carried out to obtain more physical insight into the acoustic characteristics. The instability mechanism has been argued to stem from the strong interaction between ame dynamics and ow oscillations inside the combustor, but more work is needed to provide an in-depth physical understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the generation and sustenance of combustion instabilities. In particular, detailed analysis of collected data and more advanced numerical and analytical techniques should help attain that goal.
Acknowledgments This material was prepared with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Technology Center, through a cooperative agreement with the South Carolina Energy Research and Development Center at Clemson University, Cooperative Agreement Number DE-FC21-92MC29061.

REFERENCES Fig. 9. Two-dimensional and axial variation of Rayleighs index. Contribution of 1L and 2L modes. 1. Lefebvre, A. H., ASME J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power 117:617654 (1995). 2. Keller, J. J., AIAA J. 33 (12):22802287 (1995). 3. Harrje, D. T. and Reardon, F. H., NASA SP-194, 1972. 4. Yang, V. and Anderson, W., Liquid Rocket Engine Combustion Instability, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cambridge, MA, 1995. 5. Putnam, A. A., Combustion Driven Oscillations in Industry, American Elsevier Publishers, New York, 1971. 6. Schadow, K. C. and Gutmark, E., Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. 18:195205 (1991). 7. Zinn, B. T., in Twenty-Fourth Symposium (International) on Combustion, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, 1992, pp. 12971305. 8. Keller, J. J., Bramlette, T. T., Dec, J. E., and Westbrook, C. K., Combust. Flame 75:3344 (1989). 9. McManus, K. R., Poinsot, T., and Candel, S. M., Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. 19:129 (1993). 10. Schadow, K. C., Yang, V., Culick, F. E. C., Rosfjord, T. J., Sturgess, G., and Zinn, B. T., Active Combustion Control for Propulsion Systems, AGARD-R-820, 1997. 11. Richards, G. A., Yip, M. J., Robey, E., Cowell, L., and Rawlins, D., J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power 119:14 (1997). 12. Richards, G. A. and Janus, M. C., The 1997 ASME/ IGTI Turbo Expo Meeting, June 25, Orlando, FL, 1997. 13. Janus, M. C., Richards, G. A., Yip, M. J., and Robey, E. H., The 1997 ASME/IGTI Turbo Expo Meeting, June 25, Orlando, FL, 1997. 14. Yang, V. and Culick, F. E. C., J. Propul. Power 1 (3):222228 (1985). 15. Shirhattikar, G., Linear Acoustic Analysis for Annular

The sudden onset of the instabilities at a certain threshold inlet air temperature T* may be attributed in to the fact that the ame becomes shorter with a larger spreading angle at a higher inlet temperature. Consequently, more heat release takes place near the pressure antinode point of the 1L mode downstream of the dump plane. This more concentrated energy-addition process gives rise to a higher Rayleigh index p q , which could become high enough to overcome the inherent damping mechanisms and suddenly promote strong instabilities. The same argument can also be applied to explain the observation that instabilities are usually more severe for a longer chamber due to the relatively concentrated distribution of heat release with respect to the mode shapes of acoustic oscillations. This explanation of the onset of instabilities is, of course, only qualitative (and somewhat speculative at this point) and certainly requires future experimental and analytical investigations. Conclusions An experimental study of combustion instability has been undertaken to characterize a generic gasturbine swirler injector at operating conditions similar to practical applications. The range of conditions at which instabilities occur has been recorded using a stability map, and limits for inlet air temperatures and equivalence ratios have been obtained. A detailed acoustic analysis of the frequencies and mode

1856

GAS TURBINES 21. Rayleigh, L. W. S., Royal Inst. Proc. VIII:536542 (1878). 22. Shih, W.-P., Lee, J. G., and Santavicca, D. A., in Twenty-Sixth Symposium (International) on Combustion, The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, 1996, pp. 27712778. 23. Yang, V., Wicker, J. M., and Yoon, M. W., Prog. Astronaut. Aeronaut. 169:357376 (1995).

16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Gas Turbine Combustors, Masters thesis, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 1998. Snyder, T. S., Rosfjord, T. J., McVey, J. B., Hu, A. S., and Schlein, B. C., Trans. ASME 118:3845 (1996). Fric, T. F., J. Propul. Power 9 (5):708713 (1993). Wang, T. L. and Yang, V., AIAA paper 97-0694, 1997. Lilley, D. G., AIAA J. 15 (8):10631078 (1977). Kilik, E., AIAA paper 85-1103, 1985.