Swirling Flow Dynamics
Gas turbines are used every day, from power generation applications to jet engines. Modern day gas turbines face an increasing demand to reduce pollutant gas emissions, such as CO2 and NOx. To meet this challenge, many gas turbines use a lean premixed combustion process in which air and fuel are mixed upstream of the combustion chamber. Premixed systems are very effective at reducing emissions, but they present a problem during combustion: combustion instability. Combustion instability is caused by the coupling between combustor acoustics and flame heat release fluctuations. It can result in increased emissions, reduced hardware life, and catastrophic turbine failure. Flames in gas turbines are stabilized by use of a swirling flow field. A swirling flow field has many complex fluid-mechanical properties that directly influence combustion instability events. Namely, the velocity coupling mechanism that links the shear layer fluctuations of a swirling flow to combustor acoustic perturbations is key to understanding combustion instability in gas turbines.
The goal of this research is to explore the fundamental physics of swirling flows in order to understand the mechanisms by which velocity fluctuations are impacted by combustor acoustics. This knowledge will allow for the design of flow fields that mitigate and even prevent combustion instability events. Various experimental and analytical techniques are used, such as particle image velocimetry, pressure diagnostics, proper orthogonal decomposition, dynamic mode decomposition, and linear stability analysis.
Frederick, M., Manoharan, K., Dudash, J., Brubaker, B., Hemchandra, S. & O’Connor, J., (2017) “Impact of PVC Dynamics on Shear Layer Response in a Swirling Jet,” Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, in press
O’Connor, J. (2017) “Disturbance Field Decomposition in a Transversely Forced Swirl Flow and Flame.” Journal of Propulsion and Power, 33(3), p. 750-763.
Mathews, B., S. Hansford, J. O’Connor, (2016) “Impact of Swirling Flow Structure on Shear Layer Vorticity Fluctuation Mechanisms,” ASME Turbo Expo, Seoul, South Korea
O’Connor, J. (2015) “Visualization of Shear Layer Dynamics in a Transversely Forced Flow and Flame” AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power, 32(4), p. 1127-1136
Hansford, S., K. Manoharan, S. Hemchandra, J. O’Connor, (2015) “Impact of flow non-axisymmetry on swirling flow dynamics and receptivity to acoustics,” in ASME Turbo Expo, Montreal, Canada.
Manoharan, K., S. Hansford, J. O’Connor, S. Hemchandra, (2015) “Instability mechanism in a swirl flow combustor: Precession of vortex core and influence of density gradient,” in ASME Turbo Expo, Montreal, Canada