2007

OUTAGE HANDBOOK

CDM PRIMER

Monitoringand mitigating combustion dynamics

By Phil Karwowski, Siemens Power Generation Inc

ry low-NOx (DLN) combustors have dramatically lowered pollutant emissions and reduced the consumption of high-purity water at gasturbine-based powerplants. But they are prone to flame instability under certain operating conditions. Resulting pressure pulsations can damage both combustors and downstream hot-gas-path components. To mitigate these so-called combustion dynamics, GT manufacturers have developed sophisticated monitoring and control equipment to warn of impending instability and ensure stable combustion. What follows is a brief primer on combustion dynamics, their potential effects on gas-turbine components, and action items that users should consider.

The turbine designer has several options to minimize the impact of combustion dynamics. These include varying combustor geometries, changing fuel-injector manufacturing tolerances, and beefing up the components known to be vulnerable. However, the design and fabrication of combustion systems involves multiple tradeoffs, including: nPhysical constraints, principally C-stage fuel injection axial length of the Basket with thick combustor and area thermal barrier coating within the chamber. Dual-fuel n Cooling and coatpilot nozzle Transition piece ing requirements that Always been must be balanced there with the overall air Combustion dynamics flow. are not unique to DLN n Thermal expansion combustors, or even to considerations. ConGTs. Whenever comsider that the metal bustion is presentin a temperatures expePilot watercoal-fired furnace, a die- injection skid rienced by an F-class sel-engine cylinder, a transition piece range trash incinerator, etc from ambient temperDynamic monitoring sensor there are combustion ature while the unit dynamics. They are the is on turning gear to approximately 500F when the pressure waves of defined amplitudes 1. In the can-annular combustor of and frequencies that are an inherent a typical GTsuch as the 15-ppm unit is at full-fire. result of the combustion process. The DLN combustor for the W501F shown For resistance to intermediate-fredynamics are caused by small pres- herecombustion dynamics can quency dynamics, the likely design sure oscillations in the flame zone. range in frequency from 50 to 5000 solution is to make affected comAnyone who has heard the popping Hz. These may be benign, or highly ponents more robust, in order to of a gaseous welding torch when the destructive, depending on their ampli- withstand low-cycle fatigue mechagas flow rate is adjusted has expe- tudes and on the resonant frequencies nisms. To combat higher frequency rienced combustion dynamics. The of GT components dynamics, the likely design solution popping noise is a common example requires keeping the amplitudes of of pressure oscillations created in the appropriate changes in these factors, the dynamics low enough to avoid audible range of frequencies. and by injecting water or steam into high-cycle fatigue. In the typical can-annular combus- the combustion zone or adding tuned Remember, its not just large tor of a GT, combustion dynamics resonators to the combustion compo- amplitudes that the designer must can range in frequency from below nents. The reason you hear so much evaluate, but also resonant frequen50 Hz to around 5000 Hz (Fig ). about combustion dynamics today cies. Each pilot-nozzle assembly, In terms of their impact on turbine is that DLN combustors operate at for example, may have a different
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2006 OH-

components, dynamics of these frequencies can range from benign to highly destructive. Trouble begins only when the vibrations are excessive in amplitude, or when they occur at frequencies corresponding to natural resonances in that particular system. Trouble can culminate with fatigue failure of combustor components, which when broken free are launched downstream to inflict secondary damage on other hot-gas-path components. GT combustor dynamics can increase with variations in the fuel/air ratio, changes in fuel composition, or modifications to the combustor hardware. They also can decrease with

ultra-lean fuel/air ratios, on the very edge of flame instability. This yields the low emissions demanded today, but inherently makes them more susceptible to pressure pulsations.

Design solutions

CDM PRIMER

2007 OUTAGE HANDBOOK

natural frequencies. For example, the panels of a transition piece may exhibit relatively low natural frequencies (00 to 200 Hz), while the end-rail assemblies of that transition piece may have higher natural frequencies (typically greater than 500 Hz). three different powerplants (Fig 3). In these cases, equipment changes apparently had reduced the damping in the system as originally designed. Potential solutions here included equipping the baskets with resonators, adjusting the inlet-guide-vane position schedule, and increasing the amount of steam injection (on the turbines that use steam for power augmentation). Full-scale tests using various combinations of combustor baskets and transition pieces identified configurations with improved damping capabilities. The accompanying table is helpful for identifying the potential causes of combustion dynamics in the canannular systems common to many late-model GTs.

Dynamics in the intermediatefrequency range (defined here as

2. Intermediate-frequency combustion dynamics caused damage at the lower panel of this transition piece natural frequency because of slight differences in their diameters, wall thicknesses, and lengths. Think of a large pipe organ: The pitch (or natural frequency) of each individual pipe depends on its length and inner diameter. Short pipes with small diameters produce high notes; larger, longer pipes produce the bass tones. Complicating the designers challenge is the fact that any one combustion component may have several

00 to 500 Hz) are what damaged the lower panel of a transition piece in one gas turbine (Fig 2). Investigation revealed that the root cause was an incorrect valve position on the combustor bypass system. The incorrect valve position substantially increased the amplitudes of these intermediate-frequency combustor dynamics, leading to a fatigue failure and propagation of the crack. Potential design solutions included elimination of the combustor-bypass system, and a more robust design of the transition piece.

At the plant level

While GT manufacturers are working continually to improve combustor designs, users can take steps at the plant level to monitor and detect

Dynamics in the high-frequency range (above 500 Hz) caused

damage to combustor baskets at

3. High-frequency dynamics were the culprit at three different powerplants, where combustor baskets were damaged

Matrix assists in identifying cause of combustion dynamics

Description Frequency range, Hz Amplitude alarm setpoint, psig Component risks Potential causes Mitigation strategies

Lowfrequency dynamics

0 to 25 25 to 100

0.5 1.0

Swirler damage Flashback indications Basket damage Lean blowout Nozzle damage Damaged swirler(s) Air-flow restriction High injection flow rates Pilot-nozzle distress Transition panels Fuel composition Transition seals Fuel splits Fretting Bypass-valve distress Wear Downstream components Fretting Wear Baskets Cross-flame tubes Flashback thermocouples Equipment distress

Increase pilot-stage fuel fraction Increase C-stage fuel fraction Repair/replace the basket Remove air-side obstructions Reduce the injection flow rate Combustion tuning Active tuning

Intermediate- 100 to 500 frequency dynamics Intermediate- 500 to 1500 frequency dynamics Highfrequency dynamics 500 to 5000

2.0

1.0

Inspect and repair combustor components

0.5

Over-firing IGV position error Fuel composition System damping Basket distress

Install Helmholtz resonators Adjust IGV position Increase steam injection Preheat the fuel

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COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2006


NOx emissions, % (compared to emissions when firing pipeline natural gas) 200 180 160 140 120 100

2007 OUTAGE HANDBOOK

CDM PRIMER

4. Variability in fuel compositiontracked using the Wobbe Indexcan change the NOx emissions, and correspondingly the amplitudes of combustor dynamics. Using the same engine and combustor settings, emissions were driven higher by increasing the content of the non-methane components of natural gasethane, propane, and butane

5. Installation of tuned resonators is one way to dampen high-frequency combustion dynamics. Use of 80 1340 1360 1380 1400 1420 1440 1460 1480 thick thermal barrier coatings on combustor baskets also reduces the potential for HFD Wobbe Index, Btu/scf (based on higher heating value, HHV)
Resonators to reduce dynamics

dynamics before they cause extensive damage. In fact, a GTs flame-stability margin is, to a large extent, a function of site-specific, dynamic parametersincluding fuel composition, the amount of wear on combustion-liner seals, and ambient conditions. For example, a sudden decrease in the content of higher hydrocarbons in your fuel will increase combustion dynamics. Similarly, a change in fuel composition that leans out the fuel-air ratio will increase combustion dynamicsthough your regulatory-compliance manager may be pleased because NOx emissions would likely drop. Caution: Just because youre getting pipeline natural gas from the same supplier youve always used doesnt mean your fuel composition isnt changing. In recent years, many pipeline suppliers have cut back on the processing of their product, allowing more ethane (C2), propane (C3), and butanes (the C4s) to remain in the pipeline gas that users once thought of as only methane (CH4). The result is greater variability in heating values and an increased tendency to form damaging liquids. (An article specifically addressing fuelquality concerns appears elsewhere in the 2007 Outage Handbook.) Because of the possible variability in fuel composition, and other sitespecific factors, each DLN combustor should be tuned during plant commissioning, and periodically thereafter. Many plants follow a regimen of semi-annual tuning as the seasons change, typically bringing in the OEMs specially trained engineer to perform the sensitive adjustments using portable pressure-monitoring equipment. But an increasingly popular alternative is to permanently install an online monitoring system that continuously measures the dynamic pressure pulsations and provides early warning that the combustor is out-of-tune. Robust software and skilled analysts can interpret the data collected by this combustion dynamics monitoring (CDM) system. The latest CDM systems even pro-

Thick TBC on baskets reduces cooling flow

vide protection logic to automatically unload and protect the GTs during excursions of combustion dynamics. These active systems provide the best level of protection against damaging amplitudes and frequencies. The CDM system can be designed to monitor the Wobbe Index (WI, sometimes referred to as the Gas Index). This parameter indicates the relationship between the fuels volumetric flow and its energy content. Specifically, the WI is the ratio of the higher heating value to the square root of gas specific gravity. Even more instructive is the Modified Wobbe Index, which takes into account the temperature of the fuel. The MWI is the ratio of the lower heating value to the square root of the product of the specific gravity and the absolute gas temperature. Using this real-time data as input, an effective method of reducing combustion dynamics is to increase the fuel temperaturewhich reduces its density, hence increases its velocity for a given mass flow rate (Fig 4). To learn more about the WI and MWI and the fuel variability being experienced by others, access the following articles from the COMBINED CYCLE Journal at www.psimedia. info/ccjarchives: n CTOTF Spring Turbine Forum report, 4Q/2005 (refer to section Gas quality concerns most GT owner/operators). n Improve GT operating flexibility, reliability with fuel-system mods, 2006 Outage Handbook supplement to the 3Q/2005 issue. Effective control of combustor

dynamics also has been achieved with the installation of Helmholtz resonators, which attenuate specific frequencies in the combustion system (Fig 5). These resonators are passive devices, and are tuned for specific frequencies where dynamics are known to occur. Helmholtz resonators typically are effective for combustor dynamics at frequencies above 000 Hz. ccj oh

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COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Third Quarter 2006