Investigation of Thermoacoustic Stability Limits of an Annular Gas Turbine Combustor Test-Rig With and Without Helmholtz-Resonators

Abstract

Providing gas turbine combustion chambers with Helmholtz-resonators is a promising approach for extending the operating range of gas turbines towards higher thermal power input whilst minimizing the risk of thermoacoustic instabilities. The work currently being reported gives an overview of experimental and computational analyses carried out for a full annular combustor test-rig located at Gioia del Colle in Italy. The thermoacoustic stability characteristics of this test-rig were thoroughly analyzed both for a base configuration without Helmholtz-resonators and for an extended configuration with 14 Helmholtz-resonators. An increase of power input to the combustor by 8.5–20% can be realized when the test-rig is equipped with resonators. The experimental analyses are reproduced by a computational model.