Prediction of Thermoacoustic Instabilities With Focus on the Dynamic Flame Behavior for the 3A-Series Gas Turbine of Siemens KWU

Abstract

Self-induced combustion driven oscillations are a crucial challenge in the design of advanced gas turbine combustors. Lean premixed combustion, typically used in modern gas turbines, has a pronounced tendency to produce these instabilities. Thus, the prediction of these thermoacoustic instabilities in the design phase of an engine becomes more and more important. A method based on linear acoustic four-pole elements to predict the instabilities of the ring combustor of the Siemens 3A-series gas turbines will be presented in this paper. The complex network includes the entire system starting from both compressor outlet and fuel supply system and ending at the turbine inlet. Most of the transfer elements can be described by analytical data. Nevertheless, the most important elements, “flame” and “combustion chamber”, have to be investigated more in detail due to their complex 3D acoustics. For the turbulent, premixed and swirled flame, a numerical simulation of the transient behavior after a sudden jump in mass flow at the inlet (step-function approach) is used to obtain the flame frequency response for axial direction as well as circumferential direction. This method has been verified for numerous different flame types (Krüger et al. (1998), Bohn et al. (1997), Bohn et al. (1996)). The four-pole element of the annular combustor is derived by an eigenfrequency analysis of the chamber, including a numerical predicted temperature and flow distribution. The results show the principle possibilities of the instability analysis described. The frequencies predicted correspond well with experience from engine test fields. The importance of several elements for self-induced combustion driven oscillations is pointed out clearly.