Combination of Active Instability Control and Passive Measures to Prevent Combustion Instabilities in a 260MW Heavy Duty Gas Turbine

Abstract : Reducing the output of NOx pollutants and enhancing efficiency are the two major aims pursued by developers of modern gas turbines. In order to achieve them. lean premix combustion is preferred turbine inlet temperatures and thus power densities within the combustion chamber system being continuously increased to augment efficiency. Due to this fact. the tendency of modern combustion systems to develop so-called self- excited combustion oscillations keeps increasing. After briefly discussing the oscillation problems encountered with the annular combustion chamber of a Siemens type V94.3A stationary gas turbine. particular attention will be paid to suppressing these oscillations by passive and active means. The passive measures presented. i.e. extending the burner nozzle were intended to detune the combustion system by prolonging the time lag required by the combustible mixture exiting the burner outlet to reach the combustion zone Moreover. to suppress periodic vortex shedding. another possible cause for combustion instabilities. those extensions were inclined in a certain angle with respect to the main flow direction. To prevent the in-phase lock of all 24 burners promoting the excitation of any azimuthal mode the burners were selected to have different time lags and were arranged asymmetrically within the annular combustion chamber. In addition to these passive measures, a multi-channel Active Instability Control (AIC) system was implemented to achieve further damping. With the AIC system presented. any homer oscillations occurring are measured by p-ressure sensors their signals are processed by means of a multi-channel controller and then transmitted to actuators designed to damp down combustion oscillations. The points of intervention selected to do so were the gas supplies of the pilot flames.