Project description
Enhancing the performance of next-generation sequential combustors
Gas turbines featuring sequential combustion are a new type of gas turbine technology that offers unmatched operational flexibility and very high combined cycle efficiency over a wide load range, with low emissions. The sequential combustor architecture enables the combustion of hydrogen supplied from power-to-gas technologies that may be deployed in future sustainable energy networks. The EU-funded TORCH project plans to develop novel passive and active control technologies to prevent harmful thermoacoustic instabilities in these gas turbine combustors. The project's activities will include the development of metamaterials with broadband acoustic damping in harsh environments as well as the distribution of plasma to coherently enhance autoignition.
Objective
A new type of combustor architecture for large gas turbines has emerged in recent years: sequential combustion systems operated at constant pressure. This major technology change results from the need for more operationally and fuel flexible gas turbines, for future sustainable energy networks. As for regular gas turbines, the risk of combustor breakdown due to thermoacoustic instabilities is a major challenge. While the harmful consequences of these instabilities in novel sequential combustors can be as dramatic as in conventional systems, the associated physics is considerably complexified, because the two flames not only “talk” together via sound waves, but also via entropy waves. Our aim is to propose, investigate and develop novel active and passive control technologies, tailored for this new generation of combustors, in order to suppress their thermoacoustic instabilities. It brings significant scientific challenges in fluid mechanics, acoustics, combustion, nonlinear dynamics and control theory. We will address the problem of controlling these instabilities on two unexplored fronts: First, we intend to significantly move forward the state-of-the-art in passive control of combustion instabilities, by creating acoustic metamaterials with unprecedented acoustic damping properties, and capable of long term operation in harsh environments. Second, we plan to address scientific challenges, required to successfully achieve active combustion control in sequential combustors, by distributing non-equilibrium plasma discharges to locally and dynamically enhance the autoignition chemistry. To achieve these ambitious goals, a combination of experimental, numerical and theoretical methods will be applied with the aim to ultimately establish the potential and limitations of these novel technologies. This research deals with new areas in the field of thermoacoustics, and builds upon the PI’s scientific expertise in combustion and acoustics and on his technological know-how.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2018-COG
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8092 Zuerich
Switzerland
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