Active Control Analysis for Combustion-Driven Dynamic Instabilities in Gas-Turbine Combustors

Author(s):  
M. A. Mawid ◽  
T. W. Park ◽  
B. Sekar

A one-dimensional combustor model has been used to simulate combustion-driven dynamic instabilities and then-active control in a generic gas turbine combustor. The combustor model accounts for the unsteady heat release and viscous effects along with choked and open boundaries. Combustion is modeled by using global kinetics for JP-8 fuel. The active control methodology simulated in this study was based upon modulating the primary fuel injection rate. A sinusoidal functional form was implemented to pulse the fuel flow at various frequencies and amounts of pulsated fuel. The numerical results showed that the combustor unstable modes were captured and pressure limit cycle oscillations were attained for certain time lags between the instant of fuel-air mixture injection and heat release. The results also exhibited the effect of varying the time lag to damp out the instability. The simulations also showed that fuel pulsation with frequencies greater or less than the combustor resonant frequencies can suppress the unstable modes.

Author(s):  
Hyung Ju Lee ◽  
Kyu Tae Kim ◽  
Jong Guen Lee ◽  
Bryan D. Quay ◽  
Domenic A. Santavicca

An experimental study was conducted to estimate and confirm equivalence ratio fluctuations at the inlet of a lean premixed gas turbine combustor. Fuel injectors were placed at several locations in the mixing section of the combustor, in order to produce different instability characteristics due to the equivalence ratio fluctuations. An IR absorption technique was used to measure the equivalence ratio fluctuations at the inlet of the dump combustor. The measured IR signals were processed in two different ways and the results were compared to confirm the two calibrated equivalence ratio signals. The processed data showed that the two processing methods gave very similar results, and the phase of the measured equivalence ratio fluctuations at the combustor inlet by the IR absorption technique agreed well with that of equivalence ratio fluctuations predicted by time lags in the mixing section. It was, however, not possible to accurately predict the magnitude of the equivalence ratio fluctuations at the combustor inlet by the time lag analysis because the equivalence ratio fluctuations generataed at the fuel injection location is changed by mixing and diffusion as the fuel is convected through the combustor.


Author(s):  
Tianyu Jin ◽  
Yu Sun ◽  
Chuqiao Wang ◽  
Adams Moro ◽  
Xiwen Wu ◽  
...  

Abstract The stringent emission regulations diesel engines are required to meet has resulted in the usage of multi-hole and ultra-multi-hole injectors, nowadays. In this research study, a double layered 8-hole diesel injection nozzle was investigated both numerically and experimentally. A three-dimensional model of the nozzle which was validated with experimental results was used to analyze the injection characteristics of each hole. The validation was conducted by comparing experiment and simulation injection rate results, acquired simultaneously from all the holes of the injector and the model. The fuel flow rates of the lower layered holes are higher than those of the upper layered holes. Two different needle eccentricity models were established. The first model only included the lateral displacement of the needle during needle lift. The needle reached maximum displacement at full needle lift. The second model considered the needle inelastic deformation into consideration. The needle radially displaces and glides along with the needle seat surface during needle lift. When the eccentricity reached maximum in the radial direction, the needle began to lift upwards vertically. The differences in injection characteristics under the different eccentricity models were apparent. The results indicated that the cycle injection quantity, fuel injection rate and cavitation of each hole were affected during the initial lifting stages of the needle lift. As the eccentricity of the needle increases, the injection rate uniformity from the nozzle hole deteriorates. The result showed that the upper layered holes were affected by the needle eccentricity during needle lift.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 3265
Author(s):  
Ardhika Setiawan ◽  
Bambang Wahono ◽  
Ocktaeck Lim

Experimental research was conducted on a rapid compression and expansion machine (RCEM) that has characteristics similar to a gasoline compression ignition (GCI) engine, using two gasoline–biodiesel (GB) blends—10% and 20% volume—with fuel injection pressures varying from 800 to 1400 bar. Biodiesel content lower than GB10 will result in misfires at fuel injection pressures of 800 bar and 1000 bar due to long ignition delays; this is why GB10 was the lowest biodiesel blend used in this experiment. The engine compression ratio was set at 16, with 1000 µs of injection duration and 12.5 degree before top dead center (BTDC). The results show that the GB20 had a shorter ignition delay than the GB10, and that increasing the injection pressure expedited the autoignition. The rate of heat release for both fuel mixes increased with increasing fuel injection pressure, although there was a degradation of heat release rate for the GB20 at the 1400-bar fuel injection rate due to retarded in-cylinder peak pressure at 0.24 degree BTDC. As the ignition delay decreased, the brake thermal efficiency (BTE) decreased and the fuel consumption increased due to the lack of air–fuel mixture homogeneity caused by the short ignition delay. At the fuel injection rate of 800 bar, the GB10 showed the worst efficiency due to the late start of combustion at 3.5 degree after top dead center (ATDC).


Author(s):  
Kokichi Sawada ◽  
Shinji Nakao ◽  
Tsuneaki Ishima ◽  
Tomio Obokata ◽  
Katsuyoshi Kawachi ◽  
...  

The structure, droplet characteristics and instantaneous fuel injection rate of two stage injection spray designed for direct injection gasoline engine were analyzed experimentally. A particle image velocimetry (PIV) to evaluate the instantaneous two-dimensional velocity field, a phase Doppler anemometer (PDA) and an instantaneous fuel flow rate meter based on a laser Doppler anemometer (LDA flow rate meter) were applied for the measurements. A swirl nozzle injector was used and injection conditions were 25 Hz of spray frequency, 2 ms and 1ms of the first and the second injection durations and 2.4, 3.3 and 9.1 ms of valve opening intervals. The initial jet of the second stage injection can overtook the main spray body of the first stage injection under the valve opening interval of 2.4 and 3.3 ms. The LDA flow rate meter made the injection rate measurement with sufficient accuracy in the two stage injection and showed the unstable second injection due to remaining pressure oscillation in the injection pipe. Both time averaged and time resolved PDA results were compared in the intermittent spray. The interaction between the first and the second sprays was also demonstrated in vector map obtained by the PIV measurement.


Author(s):  
D. Shcherbik ◽  
E. Lubarsky ◽  
Y. Neumeier ◽  
B. T. Zinn ◽  
K. McManus ◽  
...  

This paper describes the application of active, open loop, control in effective damping of severe combustion instabilities in a high pressure (i.e., around 520 psi) gas turbine combustor simulator. Active control was applied by harmonic modulation of the fuel injection rate into the combustor. The open-loop active control system consisted of a pressure sensor and a fast response actuating valve. To determine the dependence of the performance of the active control system upon the frequency, the fuel injection modulation frequency was varied between 300 and 420 Hz while the frequency of instability was around 375 Hz. These tests showed that the amplitude of the combustor pressure oscillations strongly depended upon the frequency of the open loop control. In fact, the amplitude of the combustor pressure oscillations varied ten fold over the range of investigated frequencies, indicating that applying the investigated open loop control approach at the appropriate frequency could effectively damp detrimental combustion instabilities. This was confirmed in subsequent tests in which initiation of open loop modulation of the fuel injection rate at a non resonant frequency of 300Hz during unstable operation with peak to peak instability amplitude of 114 psi and a frequency of 375Hz suppressed the instability to a level of 12 psi within approximately 0.2 sec (i.e., 75 periods). Analysis of the time dependence of the spectra of the pressure oscillations during suppression of the instability strongly suggested that the open loop fuel injection rate modulation effectively damped the instability by “breaking up” (or preventing the establishment of) the feedback loop between the reaction rate and combustor oscillations that drove the instability.


Author(s):  
G. A. Richards ◽  
M. J. Yip ◽  
E. Robey ◽  
L. Cowell ◽  
D. Rawlins

A number of recent articles have demonstrated the use of active control to mitigate the effects of combustion instability in afterburner and dump combustor applications. In these applications, cyclic injection of small quantities of control fuel has been proposed to counteract the periodic heat release that contributes to undesired pressure oscillations. This same technique may also be useful to mitigate oscillations in gas turbine combustors, especially in test rig combustors characterized by acoustic modes that do not exist in the final engine configuration. To address this issue, the present paper reports on active control of a subscale, atmospheric pressure nozzle/combustor arrangement. The fuel is natural gas. Cyclic injection of 14% control fuel in a premix fuel nozzle is shown to reduce oscillating pressure amplitude by a factor of 0.30 (i.e., −10 dB) at 300 Hz. Measurement of the oscillating heat release is also reported.


Author(s):  
Jason G. Kempenaar ◽  
Charles J. Mueller ◽  
Kim A. Shollenberger ◽  
Krishna Lakshminarasimhan

Understanding fuel-injection processes is important for improving combustion in compression-ignition engines. To understand and model injection processes in detail, it is necessary to measure the instantaneous mass flow rate of fuel through each orifice of the injector nozzle. Due to constraints from injector design and operation, injection rate is typically measured downstream from the orifice exit. Measuring injection rate from a multi-orifice nozzle adds several geometric constraints, particularly when measuring fuel flow from a single orifice. The injection ratemeter discussed in this paper is designed to fit inside an optical research engine so that the injection rate can be measured without having to place the injector in an external fixture. The injection rate is calculated from a measurement of the momentum flux of a jet of fuel impinging upon the surface of a piezoelectric force (or pressure) transducer, combined with a measurement of the quantity of fuel injected, as demonstrated previously [1–3]. The ratemeter includes a thermal shield to limit the effects of temperature fluctuations on the transducer output. Data were acquired for one injector nozzle at several different injection durations and compared to results from literature for similar injector designs. Estimates for the uncertainty of the measured injection rates are provided and the calibration technique used is presented.


Author(s):  
Christopher J. Mordaunt ◽  
Seong-Young Lee ◽  
Vickey B. Kalaskar ◽  
Amy Mensch ◽  
Robert J. Santoro ◽  
...  

Future gas turbine technology may require that liquid fuels play an additional role as a coolant over a wide range of combustion-chamber operating conditions. Additionally, in order to satisfy greater efficiency and performance goals, gas turbine operating temperatures and pressures are steadily increasing. Given the desire to reduce dependence on foreign fuels and that current hydrocarbon fuels, such as JP-8, are prone to thermal or catalytic decomposition at such elevated conditions, there is great interest in utilizing alternatively-derived liquid fuels. The successful development of a versatile, multiple-use fuel must achieve the desired operational characteristics of high combustion efficiency, excellent combustion stability, acceptable pollutant emission levels, and compatibility with current engine seals. Combustion instability represents a critical area of concern for future gas turbine engines that may burn alternative fuels. Combustion instability is characterized by large, unsteady combustion-chamber pressure oscillations which occur at the characteristic frequencies associated with the acoustic modes of the combustor. The occurrence of combustion-driven instabilities is closely tied to the details of the injection and fuel-air mixing processes, the heat release characteristics, and the degree to which heat release rate couples with the acoustics of the combustor. Additionally, the efficiency and emissions characteristics are also largely determined by the fuel injection, atomization, and mixing processes associated with combustion. As fuel properties and composition vary, effects on combustion efficiency and emissions, especially the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and soot, can be expected. Therefore, changes in these processes attributed to differing fuel properties can have a dramatic affect on the combustion characteristics and require careful consideration through a well-coordinated combustion research program. The current study investigates whether a coal-based aviation fuel, JP-900, which has the required thermal stability attributes, also satisfies the engine combustion requirements. Additionally, a Fischer-Tropsch fuel and a volumetric 50/50 blend of JP-8 and the Fischer-Tropsch fuel are studied. Previous studies of coal-based fuels have shown that soot production can be a significant problem due to the higher aromatic content than found in conventional fuels. However, improvements in the fuel refinement processes have helped reduce this problem. Experiments included in this current research effort involve studying the combustion instability patterns, the pollutant emission levels, and sooting propensity of coal-based and Fischer-Tropsch fuels as compared to JP-8. The experimental setup consists of an optically-accessible model gas turbine dump combustor, with provisions for laser extinction measurements, which utilizes a Delavan hollow-cone pressure atomizer for fuel injection.


Author(s):  
Seyed M. Ghoreyshi ◽  
Meinhard T. Schobeiri

Abstract The paper investigates the dynamic behavior of an Ultra-High Efficiency Gas Turbine Engine (UHEGT) with Stator Internal Combustion. The UHEGT-technology was introduced for the first time to the gas turbine design community at the Turbo Expo 2015. In developing the UHEGT-technology, the combustion process is no longer contained in isolation between the compressor and turbine, rather distributed in the first three HP-turbine stator rows. Noticeable improvement in the engine thermal efficiency and power along with other performance advantages are brought by this technology. In the current paper, a dynamic simulation is performed on the entire gas turbine engine (UHEGT) using the nonlinear dynamic simulation code GETRAN. The simulations are in 2D (space-time) and include the majority of the engine components including rotor shaft, turbine and compressor, fuel injectors, diffuser, pipes, valves, controllers, etc. The thermo-fluid conservation laws are applied to the flow in each component which create a system of nonlinear partial differential equations that is solved numerically. Two different fuel schedules (steep rise and Gaussian) are applied to all injectors and the engine response is studied in each case. The results show that fluctuations in the fuel flow lead to fluctuations in most of the system parameters such as temperatures, power, shaft speed, etc. However, the shapes and amplitudes of the fluctuations are different and there is a time lag in the response profiles relative to the fuel schedules. It is shown that an increase in average fuel flow in the system leads to a small drop in efficiency due to the cycle change from the design point. Moreover, it is seen that the temperatures usually rise fast with increase of fuel flow, but the system tends to cool down with a slower rate as the fuel is reduced.


Author(s):  
Srihari Dinesh Kumar Juvva ◽  
Sathesh Mariappan ◽  
Abhijit Kushari

The presented study is on a laboratory scaled industrial gas turbine combustor of intensity 25MW/m3 atm, where an open loop active control technique is investigated. Combustion noise is classified as direct and in-direct combustion noise. The present study is focused on the investigation of direct combustion noise. It occurs when the volume of the gas fluctuates due to the fluctuations in heat release rate, caused perhaps due to flow turbulence. This results in sound waves, which propagate outside the boundary of the flame. The radiated acoustic waves are reflected from the boundaries of the combustion chamber, perturbing the fuel flow rate and hence the spray characteristics. This eventually leads to perturbation in the heat release rate and thus a feedback loop is established. At certain conditions, if the unsteady heat release rate drives the acoustic oscillations, satisfying Rayleigh criterion, pressure oscillations grow leading to discrete tonal sound and this phenomena is termed as combustion instability. Experiments are performed in a scaled down swirl stabilized liquid fueled gas turbine combustor, where a new scheme for open-loop control of combustion noise using periodic fuel injection is employed without drastically altering the combustor design or forfeiting its performance. Fuel is modulated in the frequency range of 0.6 to 5 Hz with various duty cycles [25–75%] using square wave. Fuel modulation is achieved by passing fuel through a direct current (DC) powered solenoid valve, which is being controlled using a custom-made circuit. The modulated fuel enters the combustor through an air-blast atomizer and is metered through a turbine flow meter. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the potential of active control to reduce combustion noise in laboratory scaled gas turbine combustor. Pressure transducer is used to capture the sound pressure level inside the combustor. A reduction in overall sound pressure level of 14dB is achieved by modulating fuel with 50% duty cycle at 1.5Hz.


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