Observations of Flame Behavior in a Laboratory-Scale Premixed Natural Gas/Air Gas Turbine Combustor From Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence Measurements of OH, Laser Doppler Anemometer Velocity Measurements, and Coherent Anti-Stokes Roman Spectrometer Temperature Measurements

Abstract

Instantaneous planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) images of OH, simultaneous axial/radial and axial/tangential velocity measurements with an LDA (laser Doppler anemometer), and instantaneous gas temperature measurements using a coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectrometer (CARS) were obtained in a pre-mixed, swirl-stabilized laboratory-scale combustor, fired with natural gas. Four operating conditions were examined (two swirl conditions and equivalence ratios of 0.80 and 0.65). The instantaneous PLIF images of OH illustrate the chaotic nature of the turbulent flame eddies. Mean and standard deviations of each variable were measured at different locations in the flame, along with probability density functions. Stability of the flame at each condition is related to measurements in the central and side recirculation zones.