This book offers gas turbine users and manufacturers a valuable resource to help them sort through issues associated with combustion instabilities. In the last ten years, substantial efforts have been made in the industrial, governmental, and academic communities to understand the unique issues associated with combustion instabilities in low-emission gas turbines. The objective of this book is to compile these results into a series of chapters that address the various facets of the problem. The Case Studies section speaks to specific manufacturer and user experiences with combustion instabilities in the development stage and in fielded turbine engines. The book then goes on to examine The Fundamental Mechanisms, The Combustor Modeling, and Control Approaches.

This paper details the development of a thermoacoustic model and associated dynamic analysis. The model describes the results obtained in a gas fueled experimental combustion program carried out at UTRC. The contents of the paper are (a) the development of a thermoacoustic model composed of acoustic and heat release components, (b) the dynamic analysis of the resulting non-linear model using harmonic balance methods to compute linear stability boundaries and the amplitudes of oscillations and (c) the calibration of the model to experimental data.

It is well known that the two key elements for achieving low emissions and high performance in a gas turbine combustor are to simultaneously establish (1) a lean combustion zone for maintaining low NO(subscript x) emissions and (2) rapid mixing for good ignition and flame stability. However, these requirements, when coupled with the short combustor lengths used to limit the residence time for NO formation typical of advanced gas turbine combustors, can lead to problems regarding unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions, as well as the occurrence of combustion instabilities. The concurrent development of suitable analytical and numerical models that are validated with experimental studies is important for achieving this objective. A major benefit of the present research will be to provide for the first time an experimentally verified model of emissions and performance of gas turbine combustors. The present study represents a coordinated effort between industry, government and academia to investigate gas turbine combustion dynamics. Specific study areas include development of advanced diagnostics, definition of controlling phenomena, advancement of analytical and numerical modeling capabilities, and assessment of the current status of our ability to apply these tools to practical gas turbine combustors. The present work involves four tasks which address, respectively, (1) the development of a fiber-optic probe for fuel-air ratio measurements, (2) the study of combustion instability using laser-based diagnostics in a high pressure, high temperature flow reactor, (3) the development of analytical and numerical modeling capabilities for describing combustion instability which will be validated against experimental data, and (4) the preparation of a literature survey and establishment of a data base on practical experience with combustion instability.

The analysis of data obtained from sweep-frequency testing of the 585 turbojet combustor is discussed.Bode plots of the response of combustor pressure to sinusoidal disturbances in fuelspray- nozzle pressure are presented for a range of fuel flows. An analog simulation was developed and used to match the experimental data and to identify the combustion dynamics. The effects of primary or burning-zone fuel-to-air ratio on the system response were also investigated. The experimental data were fit by linear transfer function forms to be used in overall system studies.

November, 2008 Anna Schwarz, Johannes Janicka In the last thirty years noise emission has developed into a topic of increasing importance to society and economy. In ?elds such as air, road and rail traf?c, the control of noise emissions and development of associated noise-reduction techno- gies is a central requirement for social acceptance and economical competitiveness. The noise emission of combustion systems is a major part of the task of noise - duction. The following aspects motivate research: • Modern combustion chambers in technical combustion systems with low pol- tion exhausts are 5 - 8 dB louder compared to their predecessors. In the ope- tional state the noise pressure levels achieved can even be 10-15 dB louder. • High capacity torches in the chemical industry are usually placed at ground level because of the reasons of noise emissions instead of being placed at a height suitable for safety and security. • For airplanes the combustion emissions become a more and more important topic. The combustion instability and noise issues are one major obstacle for the introduction of green technologies as lean fuel combustion and premixed burners in aero-engines. The direct and indirect contribution of combustion noise to the overall core noise is still under discussion. However, it is clear that the core noise besides the fan tone will become an important noise source in future aero-engine designs. To further reduce the jet noise, geared ultra high bypass ratio fans are driven by only a few highly loaded turbine stages.

Whereas other books in this area stick to the theory, this book shows the reader how to apply the theory to real engines. It provides access to up-to-date perspectives in the use of a variety of modern advanced control techniques to gas turbine technology.