Experimental investigation of combustion instabilities in lean swirl-stabilized partially-premixed flames in single- and multiple-burner setup

In the present work, combustion instabilities of a modular combustor are investigated. The combustor operates with partially premixed, swirl-stabilized flames and can be operated in single- and different multiple-burner setups. The design parameters of the combustor prevent large-scale flame-flame interactions in the multiple-burner arrangements. The objective is to investigate how the interaction of the swirl jets affects the thermoacoustic stability of the combustor. Results of measurements of pressure oscillations and high-speed OH*-chemiluminescence imaging for the single-burner setup and two multiple-burner setups are discussed. Additionally, results of investigations with different flame characteristics are presented. These are achieved by varying the ratio of the mass flow rates through the swirlers of the double-concentric swirl nozzle. Several unstable modes with high pressure amplitudes are observed in the single-burner setup as well as in the multiple-burner setups. Numerical studies of the acoustic behavior of the combustor setups were performed that indicate that the different geometries show similar acoustic behaviors. The results lead to the conclusion that the interaction of the swirl jets in the multiple-burner setups affects the thermoacoustic response spectrum of the flame even in the absence of large-scale flame-flame interactions. Based on the findings in earlier studies, it is concluded that the differences in the flame response characteristics are induced by the reduction of the swirl intensity in the multiple-burner arrangements, which is caused by the exchange of momentum between the adjacent swirl jets.