Transfer function measurements on a swirl stabilized premix burner in an annular combustion chamber

A generic swirl stabilized premix burner for natural gas is experimentally investigated in both a single burner test rig and in an annular combustion chamber. Flame transfer functions are measured relating the fluctuation of the flame heat release to the axial velocity fluctuation at the burner outlet. The OH-chemiluminescence signal of the flame, captured with a photomultiplier tube, is taken as an estimate for flame heat release, whereas the velocity fluctuation is measured with a hot wire probe. As integral measurements of the entire flame reveal important differences between the single burner and the annular combustor, locally resolved measurements are performed observing slices of the flame that are perpendicular to the main flow direction at a variable distance from the burner outlet. In both the single and the annular combustor a near field and a far field of the dynamic flame behavior can be distinguished. The annular combustor flame has a larger near field than the single combustor flame and a different shape in the presence of circumferential acoustic waves. Variation of swirl, thermal power and mass flow and comparison of the steady state heat release distribution within the flames lead to the result that the effective swirl in the annular combustor is lower than for the identical burner in the single burner combustor. When the difference in swirl is compensated for by modifying the burner configuration in the annular combustion chamber the flame transfer function is still not equal to the single combustor flame. The remaining difference can be attributed to the circumferential acoustic waves in the annular combustor which influence the flame shape.