ABSTRACT
Today's gas turbine technology is established in a wide range of applications, including (i) the production of electrical power, (ii) thrust generation in turbojets and (iii) driving large size pumps and compressors. The greatest advantages of gas turbines against other prime mover systems e.g. steam turbine systems and piston engine systems, lie in its higher specific power, compact design and low initial costs based on power output.
A major problem in gas turbine combustors is combustion instabilities which may cause many undesirable effects including; (a) increased noise levels, (b) oscillating thrust, (c) mechanical vibration that may lead to serious damage and even total loss of the system. These instabilities are characterized by large oscillations of the flow parameters, which in many circumstances may result in the inability of the combustion process to sustain these large oscillations; leading to partial or total flame blow-off. These combustion oscillations could, however be desirable as in pulsed combustors; as it enhance combustion intensity, increase thermal efficiency and reduce the emission of pollutants like NOx, CO and soot. In light of the above mentioned concepts, the present study is directed towards extending the previous studies on the recently introduced turbojet EV burner having two-circumferential swirling entry air passages by a four-circumferential swirling air entries configuration.
This burner design concept appears to offer many advantages, including: The replacement of the traditional fixed vane swirler by circumferential swirling air passages; and hence not only minimizes blockage and allows prior premixing of fuel and air within the conically shaped entry section to the combustor but also eliminates possible risk in case of swirler blade damage.
The study is an experimental investigations of the acoustic signature of a newly designed 4-slot EV burner. All the results are to be compared with those obtained by the previously developed 2-slot configuration. This allows the identification of the merits and/or drawbacks of both designs.