A theoretical study of mean azimuthal flow and asymmetry effects on thermo-acoustic modes in annular combustors

The objective of this paper is to develop an analytical model to capture two symmetry breaking effects controlling the frequency and nature (spinning, standing or mixed) of azimuthal modes appearing in annular chambers: (1) Using two different burner types distributed along the chamber (2) Considering the mean azimuthal flow due to the swirlers or to effusion cooling. The ATACAMAC (Analytical Tool to Analyze and Control Azimuthal Modes in Annular Chambers) methodology is applied using the linearized acoustic equations with a steady and uniform azimuthal mean flow. It provides an analytical implicit dispersion relation which can be solved numerically. A fully analytical resolution is possible when the annular chamber is weakly coupled to the burners. Results show that symmetry breaking, either by mixing burners types or with a mean azimuthal flow, splits the azimuthal modes into two waves with different frequencies and structures. Breaking symmetry promotes standing modes but adding even a low azimuthal mean flow fosters spinning modes so that the azimuthal mean flow must be taken into account to study azimuthal modes.