Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Breaking the paradigm: A new approach to understanding and controlling combustion instabilities

Project description

A multiphysics analysis of the thermoacoustic instabilities in annular combustion chambers

Advanced gas turbine concepts including annular combustors are prone to thermoacoustic instabilities. These can lead to large pressure fluctuations affecting the performance and structural integrity of both stationary turbines and aeroplane engines. Most studies of these instabilities have employed single axisymmetric and isolated flames that incompletely capture complex turbine dynamics. The ERC-funded TAIAC project will studying thermoacoustic instabilities in annular chambers, including the full multiphysics of the system. To do so, the team will develop a new type of annular facility with engine-relevant boundary conditions enabling full 3D characterisation of highly asymmetric flows, enhanced predictive models, and intelligent design.

Objective

It is well known that current and future low-emission combustion concepts for gas turbines are prone to thermoacoustic instabilities. These give rise to large pressure fluctuations that can drastically reduce the operable range and threaten the structural integrity of stationary gas turbines and aero engines. In the last 6 years the development of laboratory-scale annular combustors and high-performance computing based on Large Eddy Simulations (LES) have been able to reproduce thermoacoustic oscillations in annular combustion chambers, giving us unprecedented access to information about their nature.

Until now, it has been assumed that a complete understanding of thermoacoustic instabilities could be developed by studying the response of single axisymmetric flames. Consequently stability issues crop up far into engine development programmes, or in service, because we lack the knowledge to predict their occurrence at the design stage. However, the ability to experimentally study thermoacoustic instabilities in laboratory-scale annular combustors using modern experimental methods has set the stage for a breakthrough in our scientific understanding capable of yielding truly predictive tools.

This proposal aims to break the existing paradigm of studying isolated flames and provide a step change in our scientific understanding by studying thermoacoustic instabilities in annular chambers where the full multiphysics of the problem are present. The technical goals of the proposal are: to develop a novel annular facility with engine relevant boundary conditions; to use this to radically increase our understanding of the underlying physics and flame response, paving the way for the next generation of predictive methods; and to exploit this understanding to improve system stability through intelligent design. Through these goals the proposal will provide an essential bridge between academic and industrial research and strengthening European thermoacoustic expertises.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

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

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-STG - Starting Grant

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) ERC-2015-STG

See all projects funded under this call

Host institution

NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 929 103,26
Address
HOGSKOLERINGEN 1
7491 TRONDHEIM
Norway

See on map

Region
Norge Trøndelag Trøndelag
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 1 929 103,26

Beneficiaries (1)

My booklet 0 0