Evaluation of Non-Vibrating Utility Burner/Furnace Systems for Resistance to Thermoacoustic Oscillations Available to Purchase

Six burner/furnace systems which operated successfully without vibration are evaluated for resistance to thermoacoustic oscillations. The evaluation is based on the Rijke and Sondhauss models representing the combined burner/furnace (cold/hot) thermoacoustic systems. Frequency differences between the lowest vulnerable furnace acoustic frequencies in the burner axial direction and those of the systems’ Rijke and Sondhauss frequencies are evaluated to check for resonances. Most importantly, the stability of the Rijke and Sondhauss models is checked against the published design stability diagram of Eisinger [1] and Eisinger and Sullivan [2]. It is shown that the resistance to thermoacoustic oscillations is adequately defined by the published design stability diagram to which the evaluated cases generally adhere. Once the system falls into the stable range, the frequency differences or resonances appear to play only a secondary role. It is concluded, however, that in conjunction with stability, the primary criterion, sufficient frequency separations shall also be maintained in the design process to preclude resonances. The paper provides sufficient details to aid the design engineers.