The majority of recent stationary gas turbine combustors employ swirling flows for flame stabilization. The swirling flow undergoes vortex breakdown (VB) and exhibits a complex flow field including zones of recirculating fluid and regions of high shear intensities. Often, self-excited helical flow instabilities, which manifest in a precession of the vortex core, are found in these flows and may influence the combustion process in beneficial and adverse ways. In the present study, we investigate the occurrence and shape of self-excited hydrodynamic instabilities and their impact on heat release fluctuations and mixing characteristics over a wide range of operating conditions. We employ high-speed stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (S-PIV) and simultaneous OH*-chemiluminescence imaging to resolve the flow velocities and heat release distribution, respectively. The results reveal four different flame shapes: A detached annular flame, a long trumpet shaped flame, a V flame, and a very short flame anchored near the combustor inlet. The flame shapes were found to closely correlate with the reactivity of the mixture. Highly steam-diluted or very lean flames cause a detachment, whereas hydrogen fuel leads to very short flames. The detached flames feature a helical instability, which, in terms of frequency and shape, is similar to the isothermal case. A complete suppression of the helical structure is found for the V flame. Both the trumpet shaped flame and the very short flame feature helical instabilities of different frequencies and appearances. The phase-averaged OH*-chemiluminescence images show that the helical instabilities cause large-scale heat release fluctuations. The helical structure of the fluctuations is exploited to use a tomographic reconstruction technique. Furthermore, it is shown that the helical instability significantly enhances the mixing between the emanating jet and the central recirculation zone.
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April 2015
Research-Article
Flow Field and Flame Dynamics of Swirling Methane and Hydrogen Flames at Dry and Steam Diluted Conditions
Steffen Terhaar,
Steffen Terhaar
1
Chair of Fluid Dynamics
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut,
e-mail: steffen.terhaar@tu-berlin.de
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut,
Technische Universität Berlin
,Müller-Breslau-Str. 8
,Berlin 10623
, Germany
e-mail: steffen.terhaar@tu-berlin.de
1Corresponding author.
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Oliver Krüger,
Oliver Krüger
Chair of Fluid Dynamics
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut,
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut,
Technische Universität Berlin
,Müller-Breslau-Str. 8
,Berlin 10623
, Germany
Search for other works by this author on:
Christian Oliver Paschereit
Christian Oliver Paschereit
Chair of Fluid Dynamics
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut,
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut,
Technische Universität Berlin
,Müller-Breslau-Str. 8
,Berlin 10623
, Germany
Search for other works by this author on:
Steffen Terhaar
Chair of Fluid Dynamics
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut,
e-mail: steffen.terhaar@tu-berlin.de
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut,
Technische Universität Berlin
,Müller-Breslau-Str. 8
,Berlin 10623
, Germany
e-mail: steffen.terhaar@tu-berlin.de
Oliver Krüger
Chair of Fluid Dynamics
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut,
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut,
Technische Universität Berlin
,Müller-Breslau-Str. 8
,Berlin 10623
, Germany
Christian Oliver Paschereit
Chair of Fluid Dynamics
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut,
Hermann-Föttinger-Institut,
Technische Universität Berlin
,Müller-Breslau-Str. 8
,Berlin 10623
, Germany
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Combustion and Fuels Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING FOR GAS TURBINES AND POWER. Manuscript received July 14, 2014; final manuscript received July 24, 2014; published online October 28, 2014. Editor: David Wisler.
J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. Apr 2015, 137(4): 041503 (10 pages)
Published Online: October 28, 2014
Article history
Received:
July 14, 2014
Revision Received:
July 24, 2014
Citation
Terhaar, S., Krüger, O., and Paschereit, C. O. (October 28, 2014). "Flow Field and Flame Dynamics of Swirling Methane and Hydrogen Flames at Dry and Steam Diluted Conditions." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. April 2015; 137(4): 041503. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4028392
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