Effects of Acoustic Excitation on the Combustion Instability of Hydrogen–Methane Lean Premixed Swirling Flames

Lean premixed flames are useful for low nitrogen oxide (NO x ) emissions but more prone to induce combustion instability in gas turbines. Combustion instability of a lean premixed swirling flame (LPSF) with hydrogen-methane was investigated experimentally. The effects of hydrogen addition on combustion instability with equivalence ratios 0.75-1 were investigated with acoustic frequencies (90-240 Hz) and acoustic amplitudes (the ratio of velocity fluctuation to an average velocity of 0-0.5), respectively, which are characterized by the gain and phase of the flame describing function (FDF). The evolution of vortex and the flame morphologies were observed by the particle image velocimetry (PIV), intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD), photomultiplier tube (PMT), and Cassegrain optical systems. The global and local heat release fluctuations of the LPSF were shown by CH*/OH* chemiluminescence and temperature measurements. Results show that the FDF features maximum and minimum gain values in the acoustic frequency range of 90-240 Hz and reaches local maximum peaks at 110 and 180 Hz and local minimum peaks at 160 Hz. It can also be observed that varying velocity amplitudes (0-0.5) have greater effects on the gain and phase of FDF than changing equivalence ratios (0.75-1) for lean swirling flames. Higher velocity amplitudes more effectively intensified the compression of the flame length, which enhanced the mixing of the high-burning gas and the unburned gas, and then heat release fluctuations increased. However, it is more interesting that the effects of hydrogen addition on the combustion instability of the LPSF show a completely opposite phenomenon due to acoustic frequency under all experimental conditions. The FDFs were compared at typical frequencies of 140 and 180 Hz, and it was found that combustion instability enhanced with increasing hydrogen content at 140 Hz while weakened at 180 Hz. The flow field of PIV images shows that it is related to the location and development of vortices in the flame with varying acoustic frequencies. The intensity of OH*/CH* chemiluminescence, local temperature, and heat release rate show the same changing trend with the flame morphology for two acoustic parameters with the increasing hydrogen content in the LPSF. This directly affects the compression and curvature of the LPSF and thereby changes the mixture and temperature of the combustible gas, which influence the heat release fluctuation of the LPSF.