Fluctuations in the heat release rate that occur during unstable combustion in lean-premixed
gas turbine combustors can be attributed to velocity and equivalence ratio fluctuations. For a
fully premixed flame, velocity fluctuations affect the heat release rate primarily by inducing
changes in the flame area. In this paper, a technique to analyze changes in the flame area
using chemiluminescence-based flame images is presented. The technique decomposes
the flame area into separate components which characterize the relative contributions of …

Fluctuations in the heat release rate that occur during unstable combustion in lean premixed
gas turbine combustors can be attributed to velocity and equivalence ratio fluctuations. For a
fully premixed flame, velocity fluctuations affect the heat release rate primarily by inducing
changes in the flame area. In this paper, a technique to analyze changes in flame area using
chemiluminescence-based flame images is presented. The technique decomposes the
flame area into separate components which characterize the relative contributions of area …