Applied Energy

Volume 370, 15 September 2024, 123602

Characterizing combustion instability in non-

premixed methane combustion using internal
flue gas recirculation
Jiaying Cheng, Bofan Liu, Tong Zhu

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Highlights

• Combustion instability occur in lean conditions close to LBO.

• Different combustion modes and two bifurcations are found.

• Convection time in non-premixed combustion is established and effective.

• Similar harmonic oscillation modes result from the same convection time.

• Varying nozzle structures affect the flow velocity in the oxidant mixture.

Abstract
Combustion instability (CI) has been widely reported and studied in lean premixed
combustion (LPM), however, there is limited information on the instability aspects in non-
premixed methane combustion using internal flue gas recirculation (IFGR), a frequently
used low-NOx technique in boilers. The existence and nonlinear dynamic features of
combustion instability in non-premixed methane combustion are experimentally examined
by varying IFGR nozzle structures and global equivalence ratios ( ). The experimental
observations reveal that the flammability limits and stability maps are transited according
to different IFGR nozzle structures. Combustion instabilities are prone to occur in lean
conditions due to the intensified axial and tangential heat release rate oscillations. Multiple
combustion states and two bifurcations in thermoacoustic instability by decreasing global
equivalence ratios are found. In the discussion and analysis, a computational method of
convection time is established for non-premixed combustion. To compensate for the lack of
experimental data of local species/flow fields, numerical simulations are conducted to
achieve quantitative data of convection time. A convection time of 34 ms triggers the limit
cycle oscillation modes in the experiments, corresponding to the 2nd thermoacoustic delay
time in the combustion system. Varying IFGR structures and global equivalence ratios have
impacts on the flow velocity in the oxidant mixture, and thus, the convection time is
changed. When the convection time is coupled with the thermoacoustic delay time in the
combustion system, combustion instability occurs. This work establishes a link between
IFGR nozzles and combustion instability in non-premixed methane combustion, and
highlights the influence of varying nozzle structures and global equivalence ratios on
convection time and the flow velocity in the oxidant mixture in non-premixed combustion,
which can provide a foundation for further studies on combustion instability in various low-
NOx combustion types.

Introduction

To eliminate nitric oxides (NOx) emissions that meet regulatory requirements [1], lean
premixed (LPM) combustion appears to be the most reliable technology in gas turbine
combustion systems [2]. In LPM combustion, the reactants of fuel and air are completely
mixed upstream of the combustor. Excess air is injected to reduce the flame temperature
and eliminate NOx formation [3], thus the system usually operates in lean conditions near
the lean blowout limit (LBO). Consequently, combustion instability [4,5], also referred to as
thermoacoustic oscillations, has emerged as a critical issue that hinders the development of
LPM combustors. The large-amplitude pressure oscillations within combustion chambers,
caused by the positive coupling between unsteady heat release and acoustic effects [6], may
interfere with engine operation, and sometimes cause system failure [2].
Extensive research has revealed the various manifestations of combustion instability.
Among them, the limit cycle modes, naming the oscillations with clear and fixed frequency
and amplitude, are the most commonly observed [7,8]. Limit cycle is related to convection
time [[9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14]] according to the time lag theory [15], which depends on
the flame length and nozzle exit velocity in LPM combustion [12]. Most of the studies in the
early years are conducted on lean conditions [16,17], while such thermoacoustic oscillations
are recently reported in fuel-rich combustion [[18], [19], [20]]. Cao et al. [21] examined the
thermoacoustic instability in premixed swirl combustor with several swirlers owning
different vane stagger angles. The limit cycle oscillations are observed in both lean and rich
conditions. Sun et al. [18] conducted experiments on a premixed swirling combustor and
found limit cycle in a fuel-rich condition with global equivalence ratio 1.1.

Besides the limit cycle modes mentioned above, other nonlinear dynamic features of
combustion instability are observed, including intermittency [22,23] and quasi-periodic
oscillations [8,24]. An intermittency stands for the intermittent alternation between regular
and chaotic dynamics. Generally, the intermittent modes exhibit periodic oscillations, but
the oscillation amplitudes are not fixed [25]. There are different interpretations for the
intermittent modes. Some scholars [19,26] believe it represents an extraordinary oscillatory
phenomenon other than limit cycles, while others [27,28] regard it as an intermittent
process in the transition between two limit cycles. Nevertheless, the intermittent modes
present a precursor to impending combustion instability [28,29]. Quasi-periodic
oscillations, a transition state characterized by low-amplitude oscillations [19], are mainly
influenced by vorticity dynamics. Recent articles [30,31] present that such quasi-periodic
oscillations appear in the lower global equivalence ratios than the lean conditions where
limit cycle occurs.

Although mostly seen in LPM combustion, such combustion instabilities are not limited to
one single combustion form, the occurrence of such thermoacoustic oscillations have been
reported in various low-NOx combustion types, especially in large-scale furnace of boilers
[32,33]. Zhou et al. [32] conducted numerical simulations on the effects of swirl burner
geometry on NOx emissions and combustion instability in a 660 MWe heavy oil-fired boiler.
The installation of six separation plates is beneficial for NOx reduction, however, such
technique brings the risks of combustion instability. Pan et al. [33] experimentally
examined the effects of flue gas recirculation (FGR) on a 350 kW boiler. With high
recirculation rates ( 18%), the NOx emissions are reduced by around 85%, however, the
high-amplitude ultra-low frequency (1–2 Hz) oscillations are caused.
Internal flue gas recirculation (IFGR) is a commonly used low-NOx technique in boilers [[34],
[35], [36], [37], [38]]. By recirculating part of the flue gas into the oxidant mixtures, the
oxygen concentration in the reactants is eliminated, leading to reduced flame temperature
and low NOx emissions [35]. Recent articles have confirmed the effective performance of
NOx reduction by IFGR. Coghe et al. [39] experimentally investigated the swirling flow in a
non-premixed 17 kW swirling natural gas burner with IFGR. The EI (emission index) - NOx is
reduced to about 1 g/kg. Tu et al. [38] applied three-dimensional CFD simulation and zero-
dimensional theoretical computation on a premixed 32 MW wood-chip grate firing boiler.
The IFGR rates vary from 47%, 22% to 9%. The minimum NOx formation is achieved at
292 ppm. Thermal NOx is inhibited by IFGR, and prompt NOx is decreased by lower O
fraction.

However, there is limited information on the characteristics of combustion instability in

non-premixed combustion using IFGR. Ranalli et al. [40] measured the flame response in a
low-swirl premixed flame where the CO2 and N2 dilution were adopted as a simulation of
exhaust gas recirculation conditions. The flame transfer functions are studied between the
two dilution methods. The flame lengths are used to compare the flame dynamics at a given
flame temperature. Zhou et al. [41] experimentally investigated the annular N2/O2 and
CO2/O2 dilution on NOx emissions and combustion instabilities in lean-premixed methane
flames. The CO2/O2 dilution performs better than the N2/O2 one in reducing NOx emissions.
However, the oscillation frequencies of heat release rate both shifted from 265.5 Hz to
approximately 125 Hz in the two injection types. Although the previous studies [40,41] use
the diluents to simulate exhaust gas recirculation, the actual heat release rate distributions
and unsteady turbulence oscillations cannot be precisely predicted.

The above observations suggest that scarce information is available on the combustion
instability characteristics of non-premixed methane combustion using IFGR. On the one
hand, a comprehensive understanding of combustion instability can be achieved with a
large number of in-depth studies on LPM combustion. On the other hand, there is a research
gap on systematically analyses on the thermoacoustic oscillations in non-premixed
combustion using IFGR. The thermoacoustic oscillations differ in manifestations between
the two different combustion types, including: (1) The LPM combustors are more prone to
thermoacoustic oscillations than the non-premixed combustion [2]. The LPM combustion is
usually operated in lean conditions ( equals 0.55 and 0.275 [42]), where a small
perturbation in the quivalence ratio can produce a singificant variation in heat release. If
such a difference resonates with the chamber acoustic wave, large excursions of combustion
instability occur [2]. However, the combustion using IFGR are commonly operated close to
the stochiometric conditions ( equals 0.8 [36] or 0.905 [35]) to keep combustion
efficiency. Thus, without sufficient information in previous studies, the operating conditions
that combustion instability may occur in non-premixed combustion using IFGR remain
clear; (2) The nonlinear dynamic characteristics of combustion instability in LPM
combustion mainly occur by varying equivalence ratios [19,30], while for non-premixed
combustion, the IFGR strength is manipulated by IFGR rates, which are controlled by
variations in nozzle structures. Thus, the multiple instabilty manifestations are related to
both nozzle structures and global equivalence ratios in non-premixed combustion using
IFGR; (3) High-swirl-number flames ( equals 0.69 [24] or 0.74 [19]) are often adopted in
LPM to shorten the flame length in the compact gas turbine combustion systems, however,
in contrast, it is not necessary in large-scale boiler combustors. In addition, excessively
strong swirling flows may weaken the NOx reduction performance of the IFGR nozzles [3]
due to the incomplete mixing of the oxidant mixtures. Thus, the flame lengths should be
longer in non-premixed combustion using IFGR than those in LPM combustion, which may
influence the convection time [12] in the themoacoustic systems.

The purpose of the present work is to characterize the presence and nonlinear dynamic
features of combustion instability in non-premixed methane combustion using IFGR, clarify
the relationships between IFGR nozzle structures and the key parameters to cause multiple
nonlinear features such as vortex dynamics and nozzle exit velocity, and further provide a
foundation for studying thermoacoustic oscillations in various low-NOx combustion types.

Section snippets

Experimental configurations

Experiments were performed on a laboratory-scale non-premixed methane combustion

system with replaceable IFGR nozzle structures. The schematic of the experimental set-up is
shown in Fig. 1 (a). Fuel and air are separately supplied upstream of the combustor to
ensure the non-premixed combustion. As inspired by the NOx reduction performance by
previous numerical simulations [35], there are five main components in the IFGR nozzle, as
presented in Fig. 1 (b), including a fuel tube in the middle, a…

Data processing of pressure signals

The RMS (root-mean-square) value of the acoustic pressure oscillations is determined as

follows [18,19]. where is the total sample number in each test.

The time traces of pressure are monitored at the measuring point closer to the combustion
chamber. Here, a signal with a duration of 2 s was selected, hence, = 10,000.

The amplitudes of the instabilities are evaluated with sound pressure level (SPL) [48], which

is defined in the following. where = 2.0 …

Flammability limits and stability map

The flammability limits and stability maps of the combustion system by varying the nozzles
are examined at first, as presented in Fig. 5. The IFGR nozzle structures have obvious
influences on flammability limits. Although all nozzle structures can hold stable
combustion in fuel-rich conditions at the global equivalence ratio of 1.3, the lean blowoff
limits (LBO) are gradually increased in global equivalence ratios with the growing IFGR
intensities. It is difficult to ignite in Nozzle 5 (the…

Conclusions

This study experimentally examines the occurences and the nonlinear dynamic features of
combustion instability in non-premixed methane combustion using IFGR. Five reductive air
tubes with different nozzle contraction ratios ( ) were set to manipulate IFGR intensities,
with a control structure provided for comparison. The findings clearly indicate that:
(1) The flammability limits and stability maps differ among IFGR structures. The growing
IFGR intensities increase the lean blowoff limits (LBO),…

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Jiaying Cheng: Writing – original draft, Visualization, Validation, Supervision, Software,

Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization. Bofan Liu:
Investigation. Tong Zhu: Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Resources, Project
administration, Funding acquisition.…

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal
relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.…

Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant
number 51976140]. We also gratefully acknowledge OSCILOS team for providing the low-
order acoustic network solver and technique support.…

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