Numerical analysis of combustion noise in an atmospheric swirl-stabilized LDI burner through modal decomposition techniques

Combustion noise in gas turbine engines has recently become a relevant source of noise in the aircraft due to the appearance of new burner architectures that are intrinsically more unstable, and the optimization of other conventional noise sources in this mean of transport (e.g., jet, fan, airframe). In this work, a simulation setup for reactive conditions was prepared in the CONVERGE finite-volume package using the detailed chemistry SAGE solver to model the combustion of a benchmark case, which was solved using a LES approach with three different cell base sizes: 8,10,12 mm. A confined liquid-fueled swirl-stabilized burner located at the CORIA Laboratory, France, was used to validate the numerical results with the experimental measurements obtained at this facility. OH-PLIF measurements and PDA results for both phases were used to guarantee the accuracy of the numerical OH contours and the velocity profiles of both phases. These experimental measurements were collected at CORIA. After ensuring the stabilization of the numerical flame, the reactive simulations were extended with some adjustments in the time step to capture the acoustic motion. Several techniques like Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) were used to analyze these results and confirm the presence of a Precessing Vortex Core (PVC) and a Vortex Breakdown Bubble (VBB) during the coupling of pressure, axial velocity and fuel mass fraction in reactive conditions. Furthermore, the acoustic analysis performed with a Helmholtz solver proved that the second longitudinal mode of the chamber (310 Hz) was present in the pressure signal (300 Hz in the LES calculations) and resonated with the Vortex Breakdown Bubble (VBB). However, this dominant frequency did not appear in the frequency distribution of the OH mass fraction and no feedback interaction between the acoustic and the combustion happened. Thus, only combustion noise was obtained. (c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons .org /licenses /by-nc -nd /4 .0/).

Automated summary

Combustion noise in gas turbine engines has become a relevant source of aircraft noise due to new burner architectures and optimization of other conventional noise sources. The coupling relationship between combustion noise and pressure, axial velocity, and fuel mass fraction is verified through simulation and experimental validation. It is found that the dominant frequency of the pressure signal resonates with the Vortex Breakdown Bubble, but no resonance occurs in the frequency distribution of the OH mass fraction, and there is no feedback interaction between acoustics and combustion, resulting in only combustion noise.