Experiments will be conducted to characterize how unstable combustion in lean premixed combustors is affected by flame-vortex interactions and equivalence-ratio fluctuations. Results obtained from this research will have a significant impact on the development of the flame response models that are needed for the design of stable, low-emission gas-turbine combustors. Such experiments are possible because of the laboratory's optically accessible, swirl-stabilized laboratory-scale combustor that can be run at a broad range of inlet velocities, inlet temperatures and equivalence ratios. Most uniquely and critical to the research, the length of the combustor can be continuously varied while the combustor is in operation. This research will aid successful development of scientific and design models by providing both fundamental insights and a comprehensive database for model validation.
Broad Impacts: Specific activities providing broader impacts include undergraduate honors students performing their senior thesis research on this project, involving undergraduate students from underrepresented groups as part of a summer research program, and actively disseminating results through presentations at technical meetings, conference papers, and journal articles.
