Research Fellows

Active Control of Combustion Instabilities

Aimee S. Morgans Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge

Background
Lean premixed combustion in gas turbines offers a means of reducing NOx emissions, but is prone to damaging COMBUSTION INSTABILITIES.
unsteady heat release generates acoustic waves

inputs + + external input

unstable combustion system

outputs
Objective: to design controller so closed loop system is stable

system measurement controller sensor

actuator

... and further perturb the heat release rate

these reflect from the combustor boundaries

Photograph of damaged gas turbine piece courtesy of T. C. Lieuwen

Active control can be used to stabilise combustion instabilities. An external input (usually unsteady fuel addition) is varied in response to a measurement (usually a pressure measurement).

Result selfexcited oscillations Result == selfexcited oscillations

The Combustion Rig

Atmospheric pressure lean premixed combustion rig.
cooling air air

Annular Combustors
Due to circumferential modes, singlesensor singleactuator approach not enough. LOTAN (Low Order ThermoAcoustic Network model*) used as computational tool for investigating controller design methodology. * developed by Stow & Dowling

fuel in

fuel valve

ethylene combustor tapping for (quartz tube) cylinder pressure transducer

Annular Combustion Systems Considered

Several systems considered, all with instability in n=+/1 at 520Hz. Some included effects such as nonaxi symmetry and other unstable modes. Sensing from pressure transducers around combustor, actuation from valves on some/all premix ducts.
0 270 90

Swirler is scalemodel of RollsRoyce RB211 DLE swirler. Instability occurs near 200Hz for equivalence ratios 0.7 0.9. Sensor for control: pressure transducer. Actuator: fuel valve to modulate fuel supply.

180

Modeshape for case 1 instability (spinning)

Controller Design
Open loop transfer function measured experimentally by combining control signal (from trialanderror controller) and wideband identification signal. Controllers designed using Nyquist techniques.

Controller Design
Open loop transfer functions obtained from frequency domain modal heat release forcing in LOTAN. Two approaches to controller design: 1. Control individual circumferential modes. SISO due to modal decoupling if system is axisymmetric. 2. Stabilise sets of sensortoactuator transfer functions. MIMO useful when very few sensors/actuators used.
6 x 10 Control on at t = 0.8s

Results
The controllers were implemented on the combustion rig. All eliminated the instability near 200Hz.
Pressure spectrum at combustor pressure transducer
180 170 spectral peak reduced by 160 44dB 150
SPL, dB

Control off at t = 1.5s

ptransducer(t) (Pa)

1 0 1

controller voltage (V)

maximum spectral level reduced by 41dB

harmonics of unstable freq. also disappear with control

1 0 1 2 0 10 5 10 15 20

Results for modal controller, axisymmetric case.

2
Pressure in Pa

x 10

Effect of control

Results
Controllers were implemented
control switched on

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2 t (s)

1.4

1.6

1.8

2 0 2

140 130 120 110 100 90 0 controller on controller off 100 200 300 400 frequency, Hz 500 600 700

in the time domain in LOTAN. All stabilised the instability,

Valve voltage in V

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2 t (s)

1.4

1.6

1.8

mfuel(t)/mfuel

even from within the limit cycle.

5 10 Time in s 15 20

0.2 0 0.2

0 0

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2 t (s)

1.4

1.6

1.8