Analysis of the combustion oscillation in a silo-type gas turbine combustor and its suppression

The characteristics of combustion oscillation of a silo-type 79.5 MW gas turbine combustor in commercial operation and its suppression have been investigated. The oscillation of the lean premixed gas turbine combustor resulting from the combustion instability occurred at near full load operation. An FFT analysis of the combustion dynamics showed that the dominant frequency of the oscillation would be that of the 1st longitudinal acoustic resonance mode of the combustor. To suppress the combustion oscillation, a passive control technique for reducing the combustion instability was employed; that is, the fuel to the combustor was redistributed by adjusting the operational schedule of one of six fuel control valves, which would lead the increase of the local operational equivalence ratio near the central recirculation zone of the combustor. By doing so, the oscillation was successfully reduced to the permissible level while the amount of NO x emission met proper regulatory level set by the local government.