Active control of thermoacoustic instability in a lean-premixed hydrogen-enriched combustor via open-loop acoustic forcing

Abstract

Open-loop control is proven effective in mitigating self-excited oscillations in conventional hydrocarbon-fueled combustors, but its effectiveness in hydrogen-fueled combustors remains unknown. This study experimentally investigates the effectiveness of open-loop acoustic forcing in mitigating self-excited periodic thermoacoustic oscillations in a lean-premixed, hydrogen-enriched turbulent combustor. We conducted experiments across a range of hydrogen volume fractions (20% to 50%), varying both the frequencies and amplitudes of the acoustic forcing introduced via three loudspeakers positioned upstream of the combustor. For the first time, we have demonstrated the effectiveness of open-loop acoustic forcing in mitigating self-excited periodic thermoacoustic oscillations in a hydrogen-enriched combustor, with suppression effects becoming more pronounced as the hydrogen content increases. We achieve up to a 90% reduction in pressure amplitude with minimal energy input—less than 1% of the combustor's thermal power. At lower hydrogen fractions, the acoustic forcing fails to effectively decouple the flame dynamics from the acoustic field, resulting in significant oscillation amplification, with natural mode amplitudes increasing by over 2000%. A critical transition from global amplification to suppression occurs at a hydrogen volume fraction of 40%, where successful decoupling between the flame dynamics from the acoustic field is observed. These findings highlight the potential of open-loop control for mitigating thermoacoustic oscillations in hydrogen-enriched combustion systems, offering a promising approach to aid the decarbonization of gas turbines. Novelty and significance statement This study provides the first experimental evidence that open-loop acoustic forcing can effectively suppress thermoacoustic oscillations in hydrogen-enriched turbulent combustors. We show that increasing hydrogen volume fraction (20% to 50%) in the reactant mixtures enhances oscillation suppression, achieving up to a 90% reduction in pressure oscillation amplitude with minimal energy input (less than 1% of thermal power). A critical transition from oscillation amplification to suppression occurs at a hydrogen volume fraction of 40%, highlighting a threshold where decoupling between flame dynamics and the acoustic field becomes effective. These findings demonstrate the potential of open-loop control for stable operation in future hydrogen-enriched gas turbines.