Solution of Combustor Noise in a Coal Gasification Cogeneration Application of 100 MW-Class Combustion Turbines

The field conversion of two W501D5 combustion turbines to burn medium BTU fuel gas supplied by a DOW Chemical coal gasification process at Plaquemine, Louisiana resulted in excessive 105 Hz airborne sound and a corresponding unacceptable non-synchronous engine vibration when burning natural gas. A joint Westinghouse and DOW Chemical corrective action program is described including field tests.Test results indicated that the combustion noise phenomenon was related to the strength of the primary air scoop recirculation pattern and its compatibility with the fuel and steam momentum vectors. A design was selected that eliminated the non-synchronous combustion noise generated vibration and reduced the 100 Hz third-octave noise from 115 db to 97 db, an intensity reduction of 64 to 1.Copyright © 1989 by ASME