Influence of dual-axial swirler configuration on hydrodynamic stability in combustor

Abstract

To improve hydrodynamic stability in a combustor, an unsteady flow analysis method is needed. Hence, the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method based on a large eddy simulation (LES) unsteady flow field and corresponding experimental verification were utilized to analyze and assess the influence of the precession vortex core (PVC) motion law on the pulsation downstream of different swirler configurations. The pulsation outcomes of the unsteady simulation match the experimental data quite well, with case 1 having the highest pulsation quantity. The POD analysis reveals that the majority of pulsation energy is concentrated in the first two modes. The results of the motion state, regularity of the time coefficient, and frequency characteristics also demonstrate that the combustor's PVC features are compatible with modes 1 and 2. There is an optimum value of swirl number, 0.72, for which the flow field's stability has the lowest degree of disturbance. Moreover, the airfoil vane's stability is beyond that of the straight vane. The mean flow field and the coherent flow field in the pulsation flow field of case 3 are the most beneficial factors concerning combustion stability, and the unstable aspects of the transition flow field and the turbulent flow field are the least in shape and energy ratio. The data procured from the experiment certify that there is no characteristic frequency of pulsation within 5000 Hz that exists in case 3.