Abstract :

Fame response to transverse acoustic fields has recently emerged as an important aspect concerning the phenomenon of thermoacoustic instability in annular gas turbine combustors. Only few studies exist on the subject and our understanding is consequently limited. Note that the annular combustors are a popular contemporary---most likely, also future---configuration for gas turbine combustors. Thus, research on the topic is of immediate practical interest. This talk is a summary of an experimental investigation of the response of a premixed, swirl-stabilized flame to acoustic forcing configurations that simulate acoustics fields experienced by flames in annular combustors. The investigation reveals that transverse acoustic velocity fluctuations have a non-trivial impact on flame response. Furthermore, the impact is dependent on the magnitude of transverse acoustic velocity, the phase of transverse fluctuations with respect to axial fluctuations, operating conditions, and even the inherent asymmetry of the flame.