The effect of trichostatin A (TSA)-induced histone acetylation on the interphase chromatin structure was visualized in vivo with a HeLa cell line stably expressing histone H2A, which was fused to enhanced yellow fluorescent protein. The globally increased histone acetylation caused a reversible decondensation of dense chromatin regions and led to a more homogeneous distribution. These structural changes were quantified by image correlation spectroscopy and by spatially resolved scaling analysis. The image analysis revealed that a chromatin reorganization on a length scale from 200 nm to >1 μm was induced consistent with the opening of condensed chromatin domains containing several Mb of DNA. The observed conformation changes could be assigned to the folding of chromatin during G1 phase by characterizing the effect of TSA on cell cycle progression and developing a protocol that allowed the identification of G1 phase cells on microscope coverslips. An analysis by flow cytometry showed that the addition of TSA led to a significant arrest of cells in S phase and induced apoptosis. The concentration dependence of both processes was studied.

a b s t r a c tThe precessing vortex core (PVC) is a coherent flow structure that is often encountered in swirling flows in gas turbine (GT) combustors. In some swirl combustors, it has been observed that a PVC is present under non-reacting conditions but disappears in the corresponding reacting cases. Since numerous studies have shown that a PVC has strong effects on the flame stabilization, it is desirable to understand the formation and suppression of PVCs in GT combustors. The present work experimentally studies the flow field in a GT model combustor at atmospheric pressure. Whereas all non-reacting conditions and detached M-shaped flames exhibit a PVC, the PVC is suppressed for attached V-shaped flames. A local linear stability analysis is then applied to the measured time-averaged velocity and density fields. For the cases where a PVC appeared in the experiment, the analysis shows a global hydrodynamic instability that manifests in a single-helical mode with its wavemaker located at the combustor inlet. The frequency of the global mode is in excellent agreement with the measured oscillation frequency and the growth rate is approximately zero, indicating the marginally stable limit-cycle. For the attached V-flame without PVC, strong radial density/temperature gradients are present at the inlet, which are shown to suppress the global instability. The interplay between the PVC and the flame is further investigated by considering a bi-stable case with intermittent transitions between V-and M-flame. The flame and flow transients are investigated experimentally via simultaneous highspeed PIV and OH-PLIF. The experiments reveal a sequence of events wherein the PVC forms prior to the transition of the flame shape. The results demonstrate the essential role of the PVC in the flame stabilization, and thereby the importance of a hydrodynamic stability analysis in the design of a swirl combustor.

a b s t r a c tA detailed analysis of the flow-flame interactions associated with acoustically coupled heat-release rate fluctuations was performed for a 10 kW, CH 4 /air, swirl stabilized flame in a gas turbine model combustor exhibiting self-excited thermo-acoustic oscillations at 308 Hz. High-speed stereoscopic particle image velocimetry, OH planar laser induced fluorescence, and OH* chemiluminescence measurements were performed at a sustained repetition rate of 5 kHz, which was sufficient to resolve the relevant combustor dynamics. Using spatio-temporal proper orthogonal decomposition, it was found that the flow-field contained several simultaneous periodic motions: the reactant flux into the combustion chamber periodically oscillated at the thermo-acoustic frequency (308 Hz), a helical precessing vortex core (PVC) circumscribed the burner nozzle at 515 Hz, and the PVC underwent axial contraction and extension at the thermo-acoustic frequency. The global heat release rate fluctuated at the thermo-acoustic frequency, while the heat release centroid circumscribed the combustor at the difference between the thermoacoustic and PVC frequencies. Hence, the three-dimensional location of the heat release fluctuations depended on the interaction of the PVC with the flame surface. This motivated the compilation of doubly phase resolved statistics based on the phase of both the acoustic and PVC cycles, which showed highly repeatable periodic flow-flame configurations. These include flames stabilized between the inflow and inner recirculation zone, large-scale flame wrap-up by the PVC, radial deflection of the inflow by the PVC, and combustion in the outer recirculation zones. Large oscillations in the flame surface area were observed at the thermo-accoustic frequency that significantly affected the total heat-release oscillations. By filtering the instantaneous reaction layers at different scales, the importance of the various flow-flame interactions affecting the flame area was determined. The greatest contributor was large-scale elongation of the reaction layers associated with the fluctuating reactant flow rate, which accounted for approximately 50% of the fluctuations. The remaining 50% was distributed between fine scale stochastic corrugation and large-scale corrugation due to the PVC.

The interaction of a helical precessing vortex core (PVC) with turbulent swirl flames in a gas turbine model combustor is studied experimentally. The combustor is operated with air and methane at atmospheric pressure and thermal powers from 10 to 35 kW. The flow field is measured using particle image velocimetry (PIV), and the dominant unsteady vortex structures are determined using proper orthogonal decomposition. For all operating conditions, a PVC is detected in the shear layer of the inner recirculation zone (IRZ). In addition, a co-rotating helical vortex in the outer shear layer (OSL) and a central vortex originating in the exhaust tube are found. OH chemiluminescence (CL) images show that the flames are mainly stabilized in the inner shear layer (ISL), where also the PVC is located. Phase-averaged images of OH-CL show that for all conditions, a major part of heat release takes place in a helical zone that is coupled to the PVC. The mechanisms of the interaction between PVC and flame are then studied for the case P =10 kW using simultaneous PIV and OH-PLIF measurements with a repetition rate of 5 kHz. The measurements show that the PVC causes a regular sequence of flame roll-up, mixing of burned and unburned gas, and subsequent ignition of the mixture in the ISL. These effects are directly linked to the periodic vortex motions. A phase-averaged analysis of the flow field further shows that the PVC induces an unsteady lower stagnation point that is not present in the average flow field. The motion of the stagnation point is linked to the periodic precession of the PVC. Near this point burned and unburned gas collide frontally and a significant amount of heat release takes place. The flame dynamics near this point is also coupled to the PVC. In this way, a part of the reaction zone is periodically drawn from the stagnation point into the ISL, and thus serves as an ignition source for the reactions in this layer. In total, the effects in the ISL and at the stagnation point showed that the PVC plays an essential role in the stabilization mechanism of the turbulent swirl flames. In contrast to the PVC, the vortices in the OSL and near the exhaust tube have no direct effect on the flame since they are located outside the flame zone.

Temporally resolved planar measurements of transient phenomena in a partially pre-mixed swirl flame in a gas turbine model combustor, Combust. Flame 157 (2010)

Lean blowout (LBO) of a partially premixed swirl flame is studied using chemiluminescence imaging and simultaneous stereo-PIV and OH-PLIF measurements at repetition rates up to 5 kHz. The flame, which is operated with methane and air in a gas turbine model combustor at atmospheric pressure, features a pronounced precessing vortex core (PVC) at the inner shear layer. In the first part of the study, the stabilization mechanism of the flame close to LBO is investigated. The fields of velocity and OH show that near LBO there are essentially two regions where reaction takes place, namely the helical zone along the PVC and the flame root around the lower stagnation point. The zone along the PVC is favorable to the flame due to low strain rates in the vortex center and accelerated mixing of burned and fresh gas. The flame root, which is located close to the nozzle exit, is characterized by an opposed flow of hot burned gas and relatively fuel-rich fresh gas. Due to the presence of high strain rates, the flame root is inherently unstable near LBO, featuring frequent extinction and re-ignition. The blowout process, discussed in the second part of the study, starts when the extinction of the flame root persists over a critical length of time. Subsequently, the reaction in the helical zone can no longer be sustained and the flame finally blows out. The results highlight the crucial role of the flame root, and suggest that well-aimed modifications of flow field or mixture fraction in this region might shift the LBO limit to leaner conditions.

Simultaneous PIV and OH-PLIF measurements were conducted in an enclosed gas turbine model combustor for investigating the influence of turbulence on local flame characteristics. The non-premixed swirling CH 4 /air flame that was investigated had a thermal power of 10.3 kW, an overall equivalence ratio of φ = 0.75 and exhibited thermoacoustic oscillations at a frequency of approximately 295 Hz. The flame was lifted and burnt partially premixed. Different superequilibrium OH concentration levels were observed in the measurements. Calculations using the PREMIX code with GRI 3.0 mechanism revealed that the different OH levels are a strong function of the local φ and depend much less on the degree of premixing of CH 4 , air and hot gas. Reaction zones were identified by large gradients in the single shot OH-PLIF distributions. The measurements revealed the formation of reaction zones at regions of high flow velocities where the hot burned gas from the inner or outer recirculation zones mixes with the fresh fuel/air mixture at the burner exit. Though the reaction zones are continuous over a few centimeters like in flamelet regime, there exist regions where the mixture has failed to ignite, possibly due to the high local strain rates present, emphasizing the complex turbulence-chemistry interactions leading to finite rate chemistry effects. The instantaneous PIV images showed the existence of small vortical structures close to the shear layers much in contrast to the time averaged PIV images where the flowfields were typical of enclosed swirl burners, namely an inner recirculation zone and an outer recirculation zone. These small vortical structures were seen to play a vital role in the formation and destruction of reaction zone structures. The reaction zones were mostly formed at the interface between the hot and cold gases with the relative orientation of the reaction zone being parallel to the flowfield. However, in some regions the reaction zones were also seen to orient orthogonally to the flowfield without being disturbed by the high velocity flow.

The relation between flow field and flame structure of a turbulent swirl flame is investigated using simultaneous particle image velocimetry (PIV) and planar laser-induced fluorescence of OH (OH-PLIF). The measurements are performed in one axial and three transverse sections through the combustion chamber of a gas turbine model combustor, which is operated with methane and air under atmospheric pressure. Analysis of the velocity fields using proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) shows that the dominant unsteady flow structure is a so-called precessing vortex core (PVC). In each of the four sections, the PVC is represented by a characteristic pair of POD eigenmodes, and the phase angle of the precession can be determined for each instantaneous velocity field from its projection on this pair. Phase-conditioned averages of velocity field and OH distribution are thereby obtained and reveal a pronounced effect of the PVC in the form of convectionenhanced mixing. The increased mixing causes a rapid ignition of the fresh gas, and the swirling motion of the PVC leads to an enlarged flame surface due to flame roll-up. A three-dimensional representation shows that the PVC is accompanied by a co-precessing vortex in the outer shear layer, which, however, has no direct impact on the flame. As an alternative to phase averaging, a low-order representation of the phase-resolved dynamics is calculated based on the first pair of POD modes. It is found that small-scale structures are represented more accurately in the phase averages, whereas