Theoretical and experimental investigations on damper performance for suppression of thermoacoustic oscillations

This study deals with a generic approach for prediction of pulsation suppression with acoustic dampers. Although the theory is valid for any self-oscillating system and for any damper type, the focus in this paper is on suppression of thermoacoustic oscillations using Helmholtz dampers. The developed theory has been validated using a novel experimental method. In thermoacoustics the constructive interference between the heat release and the acoustic field is responsible for growth of acoustic amplitudes. In the newly developed measurement method, this interaction has been mimicked by a feedback excitation using loudspeakers and microphones. Nonlinear time-domain acoustic network simulations are also used to support the analytical and experimental framework.