A reduced-order deterministic model describing an intermittency route to combustion instability

Recently, there has been a growing interest in understanding and characterising intermittent burst oscillations that presage the onset of combustion instability. We construct a deterministic model to capture this intermittency route to instability in a bluff-body stabilised combustor by coupling the equations governing vortex shedding and the acoustic wave propagation in a confinement. A feedback mechanism is developed wherein the sound generated due to unsteady combustion affects the vortex shedding. This feedback leads to a variation in the time of impingement of the vortices with the bluff body causing the system to exhibit chaos, intermittency, and limit cycle oscillations. Experimental validation of the model is provided using various precursor measures that quantify the observed intermittent states.     

Flame-acoustic coupling of combustion instability in a non-premixed backward-facing step combustor: the role of acoustic-Reynolds stress

Combustion instability in a laboratory scale backward-facing step combustor is numerically investigated by carrying out an acoustically coupled incompressible large eddy simulation of turbulent reacting flow for various Reynolds numbers with fuel injection at the step. The problem is mathematically formulated as a decomposition of the full compressible Navier–Stokes equations using multi-scale analysis by recognising the small length scale and large time scale of the flow field relative to a longitudinal mode acoustic field for low mean Mach numbers. The equations are decomposed into those for an incompressible flow with temperature-dependent density to zeroth order and linearised Euler equations for acoustics as a first order compressibility correction. Explicit coupling terms between the two equation sets are identified to be the flow dilatation as a source of acoustic energy and the acoustic Reynolds stress (ARS) as a source of flow momentum. The numerical simulations are able to capture the experimentally observed flow–acoustic lock-on that signifies the onset of combustion instability, marked by a shift in the dominant frequency from an acoustic to a hydrodynamic mode and accompanied by a nonlinear variation of pressure amplitude. Attention is devoted to flow conditions at two Reynolds numbers before and after lock-on to show that, after lock-on, the ARS causes large-scale vortical rollup resulting in the evolution of a compact flame. As compared to acoustically uncoupled simulations at these Reynolds numbers that show an elongated flame with no significant roll up and disturbance in the upstream flow field, the ARS is seen to alter the shear layer dynamics by affecting the flow field upstream of the step as well, when acoustically coupled.     

Effect of inlet flow turbulence on the combustion instability in a premixed backward-facing step combustor

This paper reports the effect of inlet flow turbulence intensity on the combustion instability characteristics in a backward facing step combustor. The inlet turbulence intensity is varied by a turbulence generator. Unsteady pressure measurements and OH* chemiluminescence images are recorded over a wide range of operating conditions at different inlet turbulence intensities. The study shows an early onset of instability at low turbulence level, i.e., higher turbulence postpones the onset of instability to higher Reynolds number Re and/or higher equivalence ratio Φ. The early onset of instability in the Re and Φ parameter spaces is due to the change in system parameters such as flame speed and size of the recirculation zone downstream of the step at different turbulence levels. Further, the onset is characterized as subcritical bifurcation. At low Re, the hysteresis zone width is small for low turbulence levels and it is large at higher turbulence levels; and at higher Re, the hysteresis width remains constant at all turbulence levels. Investigation of instability characteristics reveals that there are momentary slippages from limit cycle orbit into brief silent regimes in an intermittent manner. The frequency of occurrence of the momentary silent regimes increases with reduction in turbulence, indicating that higher turbulence helps in maintaining the system in a stable limit cycle orbit. High-speed chemiluminescence imaging reveals the necessity of the vortex rollup in the recirculation zone to grow up to the top wall by dilatation from the heat release for the onset of instability. Considerations of the effect of turbulence on both the flame speed and the recirculation zone size together explain all the observed bifurcation trends. These results suggest that inlet flow turbulence should not just be considered as background noise. The turbulence effects on both the flame and flow should be considered in predicting the instability characteristics.     

Hydrodynamic and chemical scaling for blow-off dynamics of lean premixed flames stabilized on a meso-scale bluff-body

Direct numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the effect of two parameters, density ratio and laminar flame speed, on the conditions of the onset of local extinction and blow-off of lean premixed flames, stabilized on a meso-scale bluff-body in hydrogen-air and syngas–air mixtures. A total of six simulation cases were considered as isolated comparison of the two parametric effects of the fluid dynamic instability and flame time scale. For all cases under study, the general flame development towards the blow-off limit showed a sequence of five distinct modes, with possible cyclic patterns among the different modes for a range of velocity conditions. The onset of local extinction was observed during the asymmetric vortex shedding and vortex street mode. As the density ratio is decreased, the flow inunder reviewstability is promoted through the increased sinuous mode, and such behavior was properly scaled by the Strouhal number. Although the blow-off velocity is altered by the fluid dynamic effects, the condition for the onset of local extinction and blow-off was mainly dictated by the competition between flow residence time associated with the lateral flame motion and ignition delay of the local mixtures. Time scale analysis supported the validity of the findings across all the cases investigated.     

Numerical study of reacting flow characteristics of a 2D twin cavity trapped vortex combustor

In the present work, reacting flow characteristics of a 2D trapped vortex combustor (TVC) have been investigated numerically. Turbulent flow prevailing in the combustor is modelled using the two equation shear stress transport (SST) k-ω model and the turbulence–chemistry interactions are modelled using the eddy dissipation concept (EDC) model. Validation study reveals that the data generated by numerical model for reacting flow cases matches reasonably well with the experimental data. Simulation results indicate that for a particular operating condition, the flow structure within the cavity for reacting flow cases is significantly different from non-reacting flow cases. Besides this, under reacting flow condition, the vortex core location shifts with variation in operating condition. This study also reveals significant differences in the velocity gradient at the shear layer between reacting and non-reacting flow conditions. Furthermore, the turbulent kinetic energy at the cavity zone increases for the reacting flow condition, which is attributed to the volume expansion associated with the combustion processes. Also, temperature contours at locations downstream of the trailing edge indicate that both cavity flames are merged together for higher primary air velocity cases, and this is essential for efficient performance of TVC.     

Influence of adaptive control on vortex-driven instabilities in a scaled model of solid propellant motors

Aeroacoustic instabilities occur in many applications of technological interest and have undesirable effects on the steady operation of the system. Passive and active means are sought to reduce the level of oscillation and eliminate the instability. In the case of segmented solid rocket motors, observations indicate that low-frequency oscillations are generated by a coupling between vortex shedding in shear regions established in the flow and the acoustic eigenmodes of the system. This process is investigated in this article on a model-scale configuration representing the geometry of the motor. An active control loop is exploited to obtain resonant and non-resonant conditions for the same operating point. Adaptive techniques are used to stabilize the flow and the experiment serves as a testbed for active control. It is shown that an adaptive system may be applied to essentially suppress the pressure oscillations. The instability mechanism is then studied by analyzing the flow field with particle image velocimetry. It is found that control noticeably modifies the mean flow structure. Detailed studies of the vortex pattern in the shedding region indicate that the concentrated vorticity and the corresponding circulation values remain in the same range but that vorticity is shed more randomly when the resonance is eliminated by the controller. This indicates that control is achieved by reducing the level of organization in the vortex pattern. Under resonant conditions the level of pressure fluctuations results from coherent interactions between vortices and the downstream nozzle. This process feeds energy in one of the acoustic modes of the system enhancing the pressure level. It is made less effective by the control loop.     

Numerical investigation of low-frequency instability and frequency shifting in a scramjet combustor

The combustion instability in a laboratory-scale direct-connect hydrogen-fueled scramjet combustor is investigated numerically. The numerical simulation has been carried out using a delayed detached eddy simulation (DDES) with a detailed reaction mechanism. The computational framework has high fidelity by applying multi-dimensional high order accurate schemes for handling convective and viscous fluxes. The field data were accumulated up to 100 milliseconds on each case to capture sufficiently the repetitive behavior of low-frequency instability of order of 100 Hz. The numerical results exhibit the formation/dissipation of pressure and shock wave induced by continuous heat release in the combustor. This motion of pressure/shock wave, so-called upstream-traveling shock wave, presents repeated dynamics between isolator and combustor with a period of several milliseconds. With this periodic hydrodynamic characteristic, the upstream-traveling shock wave interacts with the boundary layer and injected fuel stream affecting fuel/air mixing and burning, and finally inducing the combustion instability in a scramjet combustor. Frequency analysis derived major instability frequencies of 190 Hz and 450 Hz in the isolator and combustor for low and high equivalence ratios, respectively. Current numerical results present the underlying flow physics on the shifting of the instability frequency by changing the equivalence ratio observed by the previous experimental studies. The fact that an instability frequency exists homogeneously from isolator to combustor informs that the combustion instability of scramjet engine is the fully coupled flow/combustion dynamics throughout the engine on a macroscopic scale.     

Development of instability in the problem of flow around a sphere

Multimoment hydrodynamics equations are used to solve the problem of flow around a quiescent solid sphere. The solutions to the multimoment hydrodynamics equations are found, which enable to interpret of the phenomenon of vortex shedding. The solutions give a pattern of instability development that qualitatively reproduces experimental data over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. The replacement of one unstable flow mode by another unstable mode is governed the tendency of the system to find the fastest way to depart from the state of statistical equilibrium. After stability loss, the system does not reach a new stable state. Such a scenario is at odds with the ideas of classical hydrodynamics, which interprets the development of instability in terms of a bifurcation transition from one stable state to another. This picture presented shows the direction of solving the problems faced by classical hydrodynamics in the interpretation of the phenomenon of vortex shedding.     

Interaction of induced sound with flow past a square leading edged plate in a duct

The interaction of resonant sounds with the flow past a thick, blunt, flat plate in a rigid walled square duct has been examined. Sound pressure levels of up to 146 dB (re 20 μPa) have been recorded. It has been established that the resonant sound can initially be excited at a harmonic of the normal vortex shedding frequency. In some cases, the sound “feeds back” on the vortex shedding process causing a step change in the shedding frequency, increasing the Strouhal number for the plate by up to twice the normal value. This excited vortex shedding and associated resonances can be suppressed by locating the plate at incidence to the air flow direction. Complex duct modes can be generated by the vortex shedding resulting in different regions of the plate shedding at different Strouhal numbers.     

基于转捩模型及声比拟方法的高精度圆柱分离涡/涡致噪声模拟

基于七阶加权紧致非线性格式(WCNS-E8T7),结合延迟分离涡模拟(DDES)和Ffowcs WilliamsHawkings声比拟方法,对亚临界雷诺数下单圆柱、圆柱-翼型的分离涡/涡致噪声问题进行了数值模拟.针对亚临界雷诺数下圆柱尾迹中的转捩问题,发展了基于γ-Reθ模型高精度转捩-延迟分离涡模拟(Tran-DDES)方法,并与传统基于全湍流剪切应力输运(SST)模型的高精度DDES方法进行了对比.单圆柱模拟结果表明:传统SST-DDES方法会造成平均流场的回流区增大,压差阻力偏小等问题;而添加转捩模型的Tran-DDES方法与实验符合得很好.圆柱尾迹中添加翼型后,翼型对圆柱附近流场产生影响,使SST-DDES方法造成的圆柱后回流区偏大的问题减弱,并与Tran-DDES模拟结果差异变小.但在脉动量预测以及脉动产生的噪声预测方面, Tran-DDES方法仍与实验符合得更好.     

Vortex dynamics of a trapezoidal bluff body placed inside a circular pipe

The influence of Reynolds number and blockage ratio on the vortex dynamics of a trapezoidal bluff body placed inside a circular pipe is studied experimentally and numerically. Low aspect ratio, high blockage ratio, curved end conditions (junction of pipe and bluff body), axisymmetric upstream flow with shear and turbulence are some of the intrinsic features of this class of bluff body flows which have been scarcely addressed in the literature. A large range (200:200,000) of Reynolds number (Re_D) is covered in this study, encompassing all the three pipe flow regimes (laminar, transition and turbulent). Four different flow regimes are defined based on the distinct features of Strouhal number (St)–Re_D relation: steady, laminar irregular, transition and turbulent. The wake in the steady regime is stationary with no oscillations in the shear layer. The laminar regime is termed as irregular owing to irregular vortex shedding. The vortex shedding in this regime is observed to be symmetric. The emergence of separation bubble downstream of the bluff body on either side is another interesting feature of this regime, which is further observed to be symmetric. Two pairs of mean streamwise vortices are noticed in the near-wake regime, which are termed as reverse dipole-type wake topology. Beyond the irregular laminar regime, the Strouhal number falls gradually and vortex shedding becomes more periodic. This regime is named transition and occurs close to the Reynolds number at which transition to turbulence takes place in a fully developed pipe. The turbulent regime is characterised by a nearly constant Strouhal number. Typical Karman-type vortex shedding is noticed in this regime. The convection velocity, wake width formation length and irrecoverable pressure loss are quantified to highlight the influence of blockage ratio. These results will be useful to develop basic understanding of vortex dynamics of confined bluff body flow for several practical applications.     

Feasibility of “intermittent” active control of combustion instabilities in liquid fueled combustors using a “smart” fuel injector

This paper describes an experimental investigation of the feasibility of an “intermittent” active control approach for suppressing combustion instabilities in liquid fueled combustors. The developed controller employs a “smart” fuel injector that can modify the spray properties in response to changes in combustor operating conditions. This action weakens or breaks up the coupling between the combustion process and combustor acoustic modes oscillations, thus preventing the excitation of large amplitude instabilities. This approach differs significantly from previously proposed active control methods, both in concept and implementation, as it requires only “intermittent” modification of the combustion process by a single control action as opposed to the continuous action required by most other active control methods. The “smart” fuel injector used in this study consisted of a double-staged, air-assisted atomizer in which counter swirling, primary (inner stage) and secondary (outer stage) air streams were supplied to the injector through separate sets of tangentially oriented orifices. Control of the ratio of air mass flow rates supplied to these two stages, by use of a diverter valve, resulted in significant changes in the spray shape and its axial, tangential, and radial velocity components. This variation in spray properties of the “smart” injector was characterized for different values of the inner to outer air flow rate ratio in cold flow tests with a PDPA system. These results were then correlated with the characteristics of the “intermittently” controlled combustor. Measured quantities included the instability amplitudes, axial dependence of the mean and oscillatory heat release amplitudes, and the characteristics of the recirculation zones, which were all shown to depend on the fuel spray properties. The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of using “smart” fuel injectors with capabilities for varying the combustion process characteristics to reduce the amplitudes of detrimental combustion instabilities in real engines to acceptable levels.     

Impact of turbulence on flame brush development of acoustically excited rod-stabilized flames

Coherent structures, such as those arising from hydrodynamic instabilities or excited by thermoacoustic oscillations, can significantly impact flame structure and, consequently, the nature of heat release. The focus of this work is to study how coherent oscillations of varying amplitudes can impact the growth of the flame brush in a bluff-body stabilized flame and how this impact is influenced by the free stream turbulence intensity of the flow approaching the bluff body. We do this by providing external acoustic excitation at the natural frequency of vortex shedding to simulate a highly-coupled thermoacoustic instability, and we vary the in-flow turbulence intensity using perforated plates upstream of the flame. We use high-speed stereoscopic particle image velocimetry to obtain the three-component velocity field and we use the Mie-scattering images to quantify the behavior of the flame edge. Our results show that in the low-turbulence conditions, presence of high-amplitude acoustic excitation can cause the flame brush to exhibit a step-function growth, indicating that the presence of strong vortical structures close to the flame can suppress flame brush growth. This impact is strongly dependent on the in-flow turbulence intensity and the flame brush development in conditions with higher levels of in-flow turbulence are minimally impacted by increasing amplitudes of acoustic excitation. These findings suggest that the sensitivity of the flow and flame to high-amplitude coherent oscillations is a strong function of the in-flow turbulence intensity.     

A computational and experimental study of resonators in three dimensions

In a previous work by the present authors, a computational and experimental investigation of the acoustic properties of two-dimensional slit resonators was carried out. The present paper reports the results of a study extending the previous work to three dimensions. This investigation has two basic objectives. The first is to validate the computed results from direct numerical simulations of the flow and acoustic fields of slit resonators in three dimensions by comparing with experimental measurements in a normal incidence impedance tube. The second objective is to study the flow physics of resonant liners responsible for sound wave dissipation. Extensive comparisons are provided between computed and measured acoustic liner properties with both discrete frequency and broadband sound sources. Good agreements are found over a wide range of frequencies and sound pressure levels. Direct numerical simulation confirms the previous finding in two dimensions that vortex shedding is the dominant dissipation mechanism at high sound pressure intensity. However, it is observed that the behavior of the shed vortices in three dimensions is quite different from those of two dimensions. In three dimensions, the shed vortices tend to evolve into ring (circular in plan form) vortices, even though the slit resonator opening from which the vortices are shed has an aspect ratio of 2.5. Under the excitation of discrete frequency sound, the shed vortices align themselves into two regularly spaced vortex trains moving away from the resonator opening in opposite directions. This is different from the chaotic shedding of vortices found in two-dimensional simulations. The effect of slit aspect ratio at a fixed porosity is briefly studied. For the range of liners considered in this investigation, it is found that the absorption coefficient of a liner increases when the open area of the single slit is subdivided into multiple, smaller slits.     

Phase synchronization and collective interaction of multiple flamelets in a laboratory scale spray combustor

In this paper, we investigate the coupled behvior of the acoustic field in the confinement and the unsteady flame dynamics in a laboratory scale spray combustor. We study this interaction during the intermittency route to thermoacoustic instability when the location of the flame is varied inside the combustor. As the flame location is changed, the synchronization properties of the coupled acoustic pressure and heat release rate signals change from desynchronized aperiodicity (combustion noise) to phase synchronized periodicity (thermoacoustic instability) through intermittent phase synchronization (intermittency). We also characterize the collective interaction between the multiple flamelets anchored at the flame holder and the acoustic field in the system, during different dynamical states observed in the combustor operation. When the signals are desynchronized, we notice that the flamelets exhibit a steady combustion without the exhibition of a prominent feedback with the acoustic field. In a state of intermittent phase synchronization, we observe the existence of a short-term coupling between the heat release rate and the acoustic field. We notice that the onset of collective synchronization in the oscillations of multiple flamelets and the acoustic field leads to the simultaneous emergence of periodicity in the global dynamics of the system. This collective periodicity in both the subsystems causes enhancement of oscillations during epochs of amplitude growth in the intermittency signal. On the contrary, the weakening of the coupling induces suppression of periodic oscillations during epochs of amplitude decay in the intermittency signal. During phase synchronization, we notice a sustained synchronized movement of all flamelets with the periodicity of the acoustic cycle in the system.     

“Slow” active control of combustion instabilities by modification of liquid fuel spray properties

This paper describes an experimental investigation of the feasibility of using “slow” active control approaches, which “instantaneously” change liquid fuel spray properties, to suppress combustion instabilities. The objective of this control approach was to break up the feedback between the combustion process heat release and combustor pressure oscillations that drive the instability by changing the characteristics of the combustion process (e.g., the characteristic combustion time). To demonstrate the feasibility of such control, this study used a proprietary fuel injector (Nanomiser^TM), which can vary its fuel spray properties, to investigate the dependence of acoustics–combustion process coupling, i.e., the driving of combustion instabilities, upon the fuel spray properties. This study showed that by changing the spray characteristics it is possible to significantly damp combustion instabilities. Furthermore, using combustion zone chemiluminescence distributions, which were obtained by Abel’s deconvolution synchronized with measured acoustic data, it has been shown that the instabilities were mostly driven midway between the combustor centerline and wall, a short distance downstream from the flame holder, where the mean axial flow velocity is approximately zero in the vortex near the flame holder. The results of this study strongly suggest that a “slow” active control system that employs controllable fuel injectors could be effectively used to prevent the onset of detrimental combustion instabilities.     

The excitation of acoustic resonances by vortex shedding

A single acoustic resonance, excited by vortex shedding from the trailing edge of a flat plate, has been studied in detail. The resonance was generated in the working section of a low-speed wind tunnel and the scale was large enough for accurate measurements to be made. The trailing edge was designed so that it could be made to oscillate slightly to simulate the correlating effect of the resonance on the vortex shedding.     

受限空间内旋流回流区特性

为了研究受限空间内旋流回流区的三维结构特性,采用realizable k-ε模型模拟了旋流数等于0.884时,不同受限空间内的旋流流场.受限率是影响回流区形态的重要因素,受限率大于6时,中心回流区与下游回流区是两个独立的区域,有两对涡结构;受限率在3～6之间时,中心回流区与下游回流区合并到一起,存在两对独立的涡结构;受...     

Review of sound induced by vortex shedding from cylinders

Sound induced by periodic vortex shedding from cylinders has been studied more-or-less continuously since the first quantitative study by Strouhal in 1878. Measurements have shown that vortex shedding is a dipole source of sound. Theoretical models for aeroacoustic sound in a free space, mostly inspired by Lighthill's work, have been developed which can replicate the measurements once the vortex shedding force, coherence, and periodicity are experimentally measured. Vortex shedding from tubes in heat exchanger tube bundles can reach damaging intensities because the acoustic mode is bound by the lower speed of sound within the tube bank itself. However, the amplitude and occurrence of the resonance can only be approximately predicted at present.     

Stability and three-wave interaction of disturbances in supersonic boundary layer with mass exchange on the wall

The interaction of disturbances in a boundary layer of the compressible gas is considered in the linear and nonlinear approximation (the weakly nonlinear theory of stability) in the presence of mass exchange (gas blowing or suction) on the surface. The regimes of moderate (the Mach number M = 2) and high (M = 5.35) supersonic velocities of the flow are considered. The suction from the surface is shown to lead to a considerable variation of the linear evolution of disturbances: the vortex disturbances of the first mode and the acoustic disturbances of the second mode are stabilized, the rate of variation is determined by suction intensity. The nonlinear interactions in three-wave systems between the vortex waves in asymmetric triplets at M = 2 and between the waves of different nature (acoustic and vortex waves) ?? in the symmetric ones at M = 5.35 are considered. The planar acoustic wave is the excitation wave in the latter, which excites the three-dimensional subharmonic components of the vortex nature. It is shown that one can delay considerably the transition region with the aid of suction, thereby one can reduce the skin-friction drag. In the gas blowing regime, strong deformations of the mean fields of boundary layers occur, which lead to the destabilization of the vortex and acoustic waves in the linear region and activate the nonlinear processes in transition region. One can expect that this will lead to the acceleration of tripping in supersonic flow.