Hydrodynamic low-frequency regimes of unstable combustion and methods of their suppression in low-emission combustion chambers of gas-turbine facilities

The mechanisms of excitation of low-frequency unstable combustion of a methane-air mixture in full-scale low-emission combustion chambers are experimentally studied. Experimental investigations of the flow characteristics without combustion in low-emission combustion chambers shows that the central zone of reverse flows can serve as a source of regular hydrodynamic pressure oscillations in a wide range of flow regimes. A model of low-frequency unstable combustion is proposed. The model is based on hydrodynamic instability of the flow in the central zone of reverse flows, which can excite low-frequency regimes of unstable combustion. Methods for suppressing thermohydrodynamic instability of combustion are developed. Based on the proposed model and with the use of methods that ensure suppression of combustion instability, a low-emission combustion chamber with a stable process of combustion in the entire range of its operation conditions is created and tested, which confirms the feasibility of the proposed approach.