3D Thermoacoustic Properties of Single Can and Multi Can Combustor Configurations

Evaluation of thermoacoustic properties of gas turbine combustion systems during the design phase is crucial to meet time to market requirements for advanced new gas turbines. During the design phase the impact of design changes on engine performance need to be assessed although testing at full scale engine configuration is not possible. In this context a 3D thermoacoustic stability code has been developed providing thermoacoustic stability of combustion systems in rig and engine environments. The code has been applied to can combustion systems utilized by SIEMENS in the latest brand the SGT5-8000H which was successfully first fired in December 2007. While the flame stabilization within can combustors can be realized in single rig systems identical to engine configurations the acoustic environment of test rig and engine will differ due to the can-to-can interaction in multi-can systems. The features of the SIEMENS code are outlined and the successful application to single can and multi can configurations is demonstrated by comparison to experimental data. This provides SIEMENS with the prediction of thermoacoustic stability of respective engine configurations.