Active control of combustion performance in a model gas turbine combustor

Performance of a gas turbine combustor is affected by fuel air mixing in the dome region. While successful combustion requires good mixing within the reaction zone, the high performance required of advanced systems requires that (1) the mixing be "enhanced" to produce the maximum performance, and (2) the maximum performance be retained despite changing operating conditions. In this dissertation, we hypothesize that combustor performance can be enhanced by active control. The goal of this dissertation is to test this hypothesis.; An active control system is conceived, developed, and evaluated on a model combustor. In particular, a radiometer-based prototype sensor for the measurement of combustion efficiency is developed, a prototype control input that affects the fuel air mixing is identified and evaluated, case examples of active control are demonstrated, evaluated, and analyzed, and a fuzzy logic control algorithm is developed to attain and maintain optimal conditions.; High frequency fuel pulsation is found to be a viable control variable that affects both combustion efficiency and reaction stability. For a sensor, a radiometer tuned to the 4.3 {dollar}mu{dollar}m CO{dollar}sb2{dollar} band radiation is shown to serve as an effective non-intrusive sensor for combustion efficiency. Fuzzy logic is implemented and demonstrated successfully as a control algorithm for this highly non-linear combustion application. Overall, active control is shown to successfully and effectively establish enhanced combustor performance.