Strange nonchaos in self-excited singing flames

We report the first experimental evidence of strange nonchaotic attractor (SNA) in the natural dynamics of a self-excited laboratory-scale system. In the previous experimental studies, the birth of SNA was observed in quasiperiodically forced systems; however, such an evidence of SNA in an autonomous laboratory system is yet to be reported. We discover the presence of SNA in between the attractors of quasiperiodicity and chaos through a fractalization route in a laboratory thermoacoustic system. The observed dynamical transitions from order to chaos via SNA is confirmed through various nonlinear characterization methods prescribed for the detection of SNA.