Metamorphosis of transition to periodic oscillations in a turbulent reactive flow system

Abstract: The emergence of periodic oscillations is observed in various complex systems in nature and engineering. Thermoacoustic oscillations in systems comprising turbulent reactive flow exemplify such complexity in the engineering context, where the emergence of oscillatory dynamics is often undesirable. In this work, we experimentally study the transition to periodic oscillations within a turbulent flow reactive system, with varying fuel-to-air ratio, represented by equivalence ratio as a bifurcation parameter. Further, we explore the change in the nature of the transition by varying a secondary parameter. In our system, we vary the thermal power input and the location of the flame stabilizer position individually as a secondary parameter. Our findings reveal five qualitatively distinct types of transitions to periodic oscillations. Two types of these transitions exhibit a continuous nature. Another two types of transitions involve multiple shifts in the dynamical states consisting of both continuous and discontinuous bifurcations. The last type of transition is characterized by an abrupt bifurcation to high-amplitude periodic oscillations. Understanding this metamorphosis of the transition - from continuous to discontinuous nature - is critical for advancing our comprehension of the dynamic behavior in turbulent reactive flow systems. The insights gained from this study have the potential to inform the design and control of similar engineering systems where managing oscillatory behavior is crucial.