High-repetition-rate burst-mode-laser diagnostics of an unconfined lean premixed swirling flame under external acoustic excitation

Lean premixed swirling flames are important in practical combustors, but a commonly encountered problem of practical swirl combustors is thermo-acoustic instability, which may cause internal structure damage to combustors. In this research, a high-repetition-rate burst-mode laser is used for simultaneous particle image velocimetry and planar laser-induced fluorescence measurement in an unconfined acoustically excited swirl burner. The time-resolved flow field and transient flame response to the acoustic perturbation are visualized at 20 kHz, offering insight into the heat release rate oscillation. The premixed mixture flow rate and acoustic modulation are varied to study the effects of Reynolds number, Strouhal number, and acoustic modulation amplitude on the swirling flame. The results suggest that the Strouhal number has a notable effect on the periodic movements of the inner recirculation zone and swirling flame configuration.