Acoustic resonance in the combustion conduits of a steam locomotive

Conference · Sun Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:403412

Ziada, S; Oengoeren, A ^[1]; Vogel, H H ^[2]

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1. Sulzer Innotec Limited, Winterthur (Switzerland)
2. Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works, Winterthur (Switzerland)

The sound emission of a modern, oil fired steam rack locomotive increased sharply when the locomotive speed exceeded the design value of 12 km/hr. The results of pressure and noise measurements, together with an acoustical model of the combustion conduits indicated that the acoustic resonance modes of the combustion conduits are excited by the pressure pulsations generated by the exhaust from the steam cylinders at multiples of the piston frequency. Additionally, when the acoustic resonance is initiated, the resulting pulsations trigger the flame instability of the oil burners which, in turn, enhances the resonance. By means of the acoustical model, a Helmholtz resonator has been designed and optimized to reduce the acoustic response such that it does not excite the flame instability. A second set of measurements, after installing the resonator, has shown a reduction in the noise level by an amount exceeding 21 dBA. The paper focuses upon the identification of the excitation source and the implementation of the countermeasure which are of interest to other applications involving combustion oscillations.

• OSTI ID: 403412
• Report Number(s): CONF-960706--; ISBN 0-7918-1775-X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
COMBUSTION CHAMBERS
COMBUSTION INSTABILITY
DAMPING
EXHAUST SYSTEMS
HEAT ENGINES
LOCOMOTIVES
MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS
NOISE
OIL BURNERS
SOUND WAVES
STEAM GENERATION