Prediction and control of combustion instabilities in industrial gas turbines

A key enabling technology for highly efficient gas turbines, with low emissions of nitrogen oxides, is the suppression and control of combustion induced thermoacoustic instabilities. This will require an improved understanding of the phenomena governing these instabilities. A multi-partner project, funded in part by the European Commission, has been set up to address this requirement. Known as Preccinsta, the project has the overall aims of: • Investigation of the physics, prediction and control of combustor instabilities. This will lead to the development of validated predictive tools and the development of design rules to avoid such instabilities. These advanced techniques will help to design new combustors for gas turbines with improved efficiency, reliability and availability. • Investigation of the ability of industrial gas turbines to burn a wider range of fuels such as biomass and waste derived fuels. This paper gives an overview of the development of techniques to understand and control combustion instabilities in industrial gas turbines. It also presents some of the results achieved within the first two years of the project, focusing on passive damping and burner characterisation for an annular combustion system. These topics demonstrate the excellent interaction of analytical modelling and experimental testing within the project.