Understanding and predicting soot generation in turbulent non-premixed jet flames.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Hai (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA); Kook, Sanghoon; Doom, Jeffrey; Oefelein, Joseph Charles; Zhang, Jiayao; Shaddix, Christopher R.; Schefer, Robert W.; Pickett, Lyle M.

2010-10-01

This report documents the results of a project funded by DoD's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) on the science behind development of predictive models for soot emission from gas turbine engines. Measurements of soot formation were performed in laminar flat premixed flames and turbulent non-premixed jet flames at 1 atm pressure and in turbulent liquid spray flames under representative conditions for takeoff in a gas turbine engine. The laminar flames and open jet flames used both ethylene and a prevaporized JP-8 surrogate fuel composed of n-dodecane and m-xylene. The pressurized turbulent jet flame measurements used the JP-8 surrogate fuel and compared its combustion and sooting characteristics to a world-average JP-8 fuel sample. The pressurized jet flame measurements demonstrated that the surrogate was representative of JP-8, with a somewhat higher tendency to soot formation. The premixed flame measurements revealed that flame temperature has a strong impact on the rate of soot nucleation and particle coagulation, but little sensitivity in the overall trends was found with different fuels. An extensive array of non-intrusive optical and laser-based measurements was performed in turbulent non-premixed jet flames established on specially designed piloted burners. Soot concentration data was collected throughout the flames, together with instantaneous images showing the relationship between soot and the OH radical and soot and PAH. A detailed chemical kinetic mechanism for ethylene combustion, including fuel-rich chemistry and benzene formation steps, was compiled, validated, and reduced. The reduced ethylene mechanism was incorporated into a high-fidelity LES code, together with a moment-based soot model and models for thermal radiation, to evaluate the ability of the chemistry and soot models to predict soot formation in the jet diffusion flame. The LES results highlight the importance of including an optically-thick radiation

Role of the outer-edge flame on flame extinction in nitrogen-diluted non-premixed counterflow flames with finite burner diameters

KAUST Repository

Chung, Yong Ho; Park, Daegeun; Park, Jeong; Kwon, Oh Boong; Yun, Jin Han; Keel, Sang In

2013-01-01

This study of nitrogen-diluted non-premixed counterflow flames with finite burner diameters investigates the important role of the outer-edge flame on flame extinction through experimental and numerical analyses. It explores flame stability diagrams

A simple one-step chemistry model for partially premixed hydrocarbon combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernandez-Tarrazo, Eduardo [Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial, Madrid (Spain); Sanchez, Antonio L. [Area de Mecanica de Fluidos, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Leganes 28911 (Spain); Linan, Amable [ETSI Aeronauticos, Pl. Cardenal Cisneros 3, Madrid 28040 (Spain); Williams, Forman A. [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0411 (United States)

2006-10-15

This work explores the applicability of one-step irreversible Arrhenius kinetics with unity reaction order to the numerical description of partially premixed hydrocarbon combustion. Computations of planar premixed flames are used in the selection of the three model parameters: the heat of reaction q, the activation temperature T{sub a}, and the preexponential factor B. It is seen that changes in q with equivalence ratio f need to be introduced in fuel-rich combustion to describe the effect of partial fuel oxidation on the amount of heat released, leading to a universal linear variation q(f) for f>1 for all hydrocarbons. The model also employs a variable activation temperature T{sub a}(f) to mimic changes in the underlying chemistry in rich and very lean flames. The resulting chemistry description is able to reproduce propagation velocities of diluted and undiluted flames accurately over the whole flammability limit. Furthermore, computations of methane-air counterflow diffusion flames are used to test the proposed chemistry under nonpremixed conditions. The model not only predicts the critical strain rate at extinction accurately but also gives near-extinction flames with oxygen leakage, thereby overcoming known predictive limitations of one-step Arrhenius kinetics. (author)

Soot Formation in Freely-Propagating Laminar Premixed Flames

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, K.-C.; Hassan, M. I.; Faeth, G. M.

1997-01-01

Soot formation within hydrocarbon-fueled flames is an important unresolved problem of combustion science. Thus, the present study is considering soot formation in freely-propagating laminar premixed flames, exploiting the microgravity environment to simplify measurements at the high-pressure conditions of interest for many practical applications. The findings of the investigation are relevant to reducing emissions of soot and continuum radiation from combustion processes, to improving terrestrial and spacecraft fire safety, and to developing methods of computational combustion, among others. Laminar premixed flames are attractive for studying soot formation because they are simple one-dimensional flows that are computationally tractable for detailed numerical simulations. Nevertheless, studying soot-containing burner-stabilized laminar premixed flames is problematical: spatial resolution and residence times are limited at the pressures of interest for practical applications, flame structure is sensitive to minor burner construction details so that experimental reproducibility is not very good, consistent burner behavior over the lengthy test programs needed to measure soot formation properties is hard to achieve, and burners have poor durability. Fortunately, many of these problems are mitigated for soot-containing, freely-propagating laminar premixed flames. The present investigation seeks to extend work in this laboratory for various soot processes in flames by observing soot formation in freely-propagating laminar premixed flames. Measurements are being made at both Normal Gravity (NG) and MicroGravity (MG), using a short-drop free-fall facility to provide MG conditions.

Effects of diluents on cellular instabilities in outwardly propagating spherical syngas-air premixed flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vu, Tran Manh; Park, Jeong; Kwon, Oh Boong; Bae, Dae Seok [School of Mechanical Engineering, Pukyong National University, San 100, Yongdang-dong, Nam-gu, Busan 608-739 (Korea); Yun, Jin Han; Keel, Sang In [Environment and Energy Research Division, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, 171 Jang-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-343 (Korea)

2010-04-15

Experiments were conducted in a constant pressure combustion chamber using schlieren system to investigate the effects of carbon dioxide-nitrogen-helium diluents on cellular instabilities of syngas-air premixed flames at room temperature and elevated pressures. The cellular instabilities for the diluted syngas-air flames were interpreted and evaluated in the viewpoint of the hydrodynamic and diffusional-thermal instabilities. Laminar burning velocities and Markstein lengths were calculated by analyzing high-speed schlieren images at various diluent concentrations and equivalence ratios. The measured unstretched laminar burning velocities were compared with the predicted results computed using the PREMIX code with the kinetic mechanism developed by Sun et al. Also, experimentally measured Peclet numbers were compared with the predicted results for fuel-lean flames. Experimental results showed substantial reduction of the laminar burning velocities and of the Markstein lengths with the diluent additions in the fuel blends. Effective Lewis numbers of helium-diluted syngas-air flames increased but those of carbon dioxide- and nitrogen-diluted syngas-air flames decreased in increase of diluents in the reactant mixtures. With helium diluent, the propensity for cells formation was significantly diminished, whereas the cellular instabilities for carbon dioxide- and nitrogen-diluted syngas-air flames were not suppressed. (author)

Flame Structure and Dynamics for an Array of Premixed Methane-Air Jets

Science.gov (United States)

Nigam, Siddharth P.; Lapointe, Caelan; Christopher, Jason D.; Wimer, Nicholas T.; Hayden, Torrey R. S.; Rieker, Gregory B.; Hamlington, Peter E.

2017-11-01

Premixed flames have been studied extensively, both experimentally and computationally, and their properties are reasonably well characterized for a range of conditions and configurations. However, the premixed combustion process is potentially much more difficult to predict when many such flames are arranged in a closely spaced array. These arrays must be better understood, in particular, for the design of industrial burners used in chemical and heat treatment processes. Here, the effects of geometric array parameters (e.g., angle and diameter of jet inlets, number of inlets and their respective orientation) and operating conditions (e.g., jet velocities, fuel-air ratio) on flame structure and dynamics are studied using large eddy simulations (LES). The simulations are performed in OpenFOAM using multi-step chemistry for a methane-air mixture, and temperature and chemical composition fields are characterized for a variety of configurations as functions of height above the array. Implications of these results for the design and operation of industrial burners are outlined.

Effects of non-thermal plasmas and electric field on hydrocarbon/air flames

Science.gov (United States)

Ganguly, Biswa

2009-10-01

Need to improve fuel efficiency, and reduce emission from hydrocarbon combustor in automotive and gas turbine engines have reinvigorated interest in reducing combustion instability of a lean flame. The heat generation rate in a binary reaction is HQ =N^2 c1c2 Q exp(-E/RT), where N is the density, c1 and c2 are mol fractions of the reactants, Q is the reaction heat release, E is the activation energy, R is the gas constant and T is the average temperature. For hydrocarbon-air reactions, the typical value of E/R ˜20, so most heat release reactions are confined to a thin reaction sheet at T >=1400 K. The lean flame burning condition is susceptible to combustion instability due to a critical balance between heat generation and heat loss rates, especially at high gas flow rate. Radical injection can increase flame speed by reducing the hydrocarbon oxidation reaction activation barrier and it can improve flame stability. Advances in nonequilibrium plasma generation at high pressure have prompted its application for energy efficient radical production to enhance hydrocarbon-air combustion. Dielectric barrier discharges and short pulse excited corona discharges have been used to enhance combustion stability. Direct electron impact dissociation of hydrocarbon and O2 produces radicals with lower fuel oxidation reaction activation barriers, initiating heat release reaction CnHm+O CnHm-1+ OH (and other similar sets of reactions with partially dissociated fuel) below the typical cross-over temperature. Also, N2 (A) produced in air discharge at a moderate E/n can dissociate O2 leading to oxidation of fuel at lower gas temperature. Low activation energy reactions are also possible by dissociation of hydrocarbon CnHm+e -> CnHm-2+H2+e, where a chain propagation reaction H2+ O OH+H can be initiated at lower gas temperature than possible under thermal equilibrium kinetics. Most of heat release comes from the reaction CO+OH-> CO2 +H, nonthermal OH production seem to improve

Effects of Driving Frequency on Propagation Characteristics of Methane - Air Premixed Flame Influenced by Ultrasonic Standing Wave

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bae, Dae Seok; Kim, Jeong Soo [Pukyong National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Seo, Hang Seok [Hanwha Corporation, DaeJeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-02-15

An experimental study was conducted to scrutinize the influence of the frequency of an ultrasonic standing wave on the variation in the behavior of a methane-air premixed flame. The evolutionary features of the propagating flame were captured by a high-speed camera, and the macroscopic flame behavior, including the flame structure and local velocities, was investigated in detail using a post-processing analysis of the high-speed images. It was found that a structural variation and propagation-velocity augmentation of the methane-air premixed flame were caused by the intervention of the ultrasonic standing wave, which enhanced the combustion reaction. Conclusive evidence for the dependency of the flame behaviors on the driving frequency of the ultrasonic standing wave and equivalence ratio of the reactants is presented.

The flow field structure of highly stabilized partially premixed flames in a concentric flow conical nozzle burner with coflow

KAUST Repository

Elbaz, Ayman M.

2015-08-29

The stability limits, the stabilization mechanism, and the flow field structure of highly stabilized partially premixed methane flames in a concentric flow conical nozzle burner with air co-flow have been investigated and presented in this work. The stability map of partial premixed flames illustrates that the flames are stable between two extinction limits. A low extinction limit when partial premixed flames approach non-premixed flame conditions, and a high extinction limit, with the partial premixed flames approach fully premixed flame conditions. These two limits showed that the most stable flame conditions are achieved at a certain degree of partial premixed. The stability is improved by adding air co-flow. As the air co-flow velocity increases the most stable flames are those that approach fully premixed. The turbulent flow field of three flames at 0, 5, 10 m/s co-flow velocity are investigated using Stereo Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV) in order to explore the improvement of the flame stability due to the use of air co-flow. The three flames are all at a jet equivalence ratio (Φj) of 2, fixed level of partial premixing and jet Reynolds number (Rej) of 10,000. The use of co-flow results in the formation of two vortices at the cone exit. These vortices act like stabilization anchors for the flames to the nozzle tip. With these vortices in the flow field, the reaction zone shifts toward the reduced turbulence intensity at the nozzle rim of the cone. Interesting information about the structure of the flow field with and without co-flow are identified and reported in this work.

A LES-CMC formulation for premixed flames including differential diffusion

Science.gov (United States)

Farrace, Daniele; Chung, Kyoungseoun; Bolla, Michele; Wright, Yuri M.; Boulouchos, Konstantinos; Mastorakos, Epaminondas

2018-05-01

A finite volume large eddy simulation-conditional moment closure (LES-CMC) numerical framework for premixed combustion developed in a previous studyhas been extended to account for differential diffusion. The non-unity Lewis number CMC transport equation has an additional convective term in sample space proportional to the conditional diffusion of the progress variable, that in turn accounts for diffusion normal to the flame front and curvature-induced effects. Planar laminar simulations are first performed using a spatially homogeneous non-unity Lewis number CMC formulation and validated against physical-space fully resolved reference solutions. The same CMC formulation is subsequently used to numerically investigate the effects of curvature for laminar flames having different effective Lewis numbers: a lean methane-air flame with Leeff = 0.99 and a lean hydrogen-air flame with Leeff = 0.33. Results suggest that curvature does not affect the conditional heat release if the effective Lewis number tends to unity, so that curvature-induced transport may be neglected. Finally, the effect of turbulence on the flame structure is qualitatively analysed using LES-CMC simulations with and without differential diffusion for a turbulent premixed bluff body methane-air flame exhibiting local extinction behaviour. Overall, both the unity and the non-unity computations predict the characteristic M-shaped flame observed experimentally, although some minor differences are identified. The findings suggest that for the high Karlovitz number (from 1 to 10) flame considered, turbulent mixing within the flame weakens the differential transport contribution by reducing the conditional scalar dissipation rate and accordingly the conditional diffusion of the progress variable.

Dynamics and Suppression Effectiveness of Monodisperse Water Droplets in Non-Premixed Counterflow Flames

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Zegers, E. J; Williams, B. A; Sheinson, R. S; Fleming, J. W

2000-01-01

...-premixed propane/air counterflow flames are reported. Droplets were generated piezoelectrically, and the size and velocity distributions and the number density were determined by phase-Doppler particle anemometry...

THE EFFECTS OF EQUIVALENCE RATIO ON THE FORMATION OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS AND SOOT IN PREMIXED ETHANE FLAMES. (R825412)

Science.gov (United States)

AbstractThe formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and soot has been investigated in atmospheric-pressure, laminar, ethane/oxygen/argon premixed flames as a function of mixture equivalence ratio. Mole fraction profiles of major products, trace aromatics, ...

Modeling of Dissipation Element Statistics in Turbulent Non-Premixed Jet Flames

Science.gov (United States)

Denker, Dominik; Attili, Antonio; Boschung, Jonas; Hennig, Fabian; Pitsch, Heinz

2017-11-01

The dissipation element (DE) analysis is a method for analyzing and compartmentalizing turbulent scalar fields. DEs can be described by two parameters, namely the Euclidean distance l between their extremal points and the scalar difference in the respective points Δϕ . The joint probability density function (jPDF) of these two parameters P(Δϕ , l) is expected to suffice for a statistical reconstruction of the scalar field. In addition, reacting scalars show a strong correlation with these DE parameters in both premixed and non-premixed flames. Normalized DE statistics show a remarkable invariance towards changes in Reynolds numbers. This feature of DE statistics was exploited in a Boltzmann-type evolution equation based model for the probability density function (PDF) of the distance between the extremal points P(l) in isotropic turbulence. Later, this model was extended for the jPDF P(Δϕ , l) and then adapted for the use in free shear flows. The effect of heat release on the scalar scales and DE statistics is investigated and an extended model for non-premixed jet flames is introduced, which accounts for the presence of chemical reactions. This new model is validated against a series of DNS of temporally evolving jet flames. European Research Council Project ``Milestone''.

Experimental study on a comparison of typical premixed combustible gas-air flame propagation in a horizontal rectangular closed duct.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Kaiqiang; Duan, Qiangling; Liew, K M; Peng, Zhongjing; Gong, Liang; Sun, Jinhua

2017-04-05

Research surrounding premixed flame propagation in ducts has a history of more than one hundred years. Most previous studies focus on the tulip flame formation and flame acceleration in pure gas fuel-air flame. However, the premixed natural gas-air flame may show different behaviors and pressure dynamics due to its unique composition. Natural gas, methane and acetylene are chosen here to conduct a comparison study on different flame behaviors and pressure dynamics, and to explore the influence of different compositions on premixed flame dynamics. The characteristics of flame front and pressure dynamics are recorded using high-speed schlieren photography and a pressure transducer, respectively. The results indicate that the compositions of the gas mixture greatly influence flame behaviors and pressure. Acetylene has the fastest flame tip speed and the highest pressure, while natural gas has a faster flame tip speed and higher pressure than methane. The Bychkov theory for predicting the flame skirt motion is verified, and the results indicate that the experimental data coincide well with theory in the case of equivalence ratios close to 1.00. Moreover, the Bychkov theory is able to predict flame skirt motion for acetylene, even outside of the best suitable expansion ratio range of 6

Role of the outer-edge flame on flame extinction in nitrogen-diluted non-premixed counterflow flames with finite burner diameters

KAUST Repository

Chung, Yong Ho

2013-03-01

This study of nitrogen-diluted non-premixed counterflow flames with finite burner diameters investigates the important role of the outer-edge flame on flame extinction through experimental and numerical analyses. It explores flame stability diagrams mapping the flame extinction response of nitrogen-diluted non-premixed counterflow flames to varying global strain rates in terms of burner diameter, burner gap, and velocity ratio. A critical nitrogen mole fraction exists beyond which the flame cannot be sustained; the critical nitrogen mole fraction versus global strain rate curves have C-shapes for various burner diameters, burner gaps, and velocity ratios. At sufficiently high strain-rate flames, these curves collapse into one curve; therefore, the flames follow the one-dimensional flame response of a typical diffusion flame. Low strain-rate flames are significantly affected by radial conductive heat loss, and therefore flame length. Three flame extinction modes are identified: flame extinction through shrinkage of the outer-edge flame with or without oscillations at the outer-edge flame prior to the extinction, and flame extinction through a flame hole at the flame center. The extinction modes are significantly affected by the behavior of the outer-edge flame. Detailed explanations are provided based on the measured flame-surface temperature and numerical evaluation of the fractional contribution of each term in the energy equation. Radial conductive heat loss at the flame edge to ambience is the main mechanism of extinction through shrinkage of the outer-edge flame in low strain-rate flames. Reduction of the burner diameter can extend the flame extinction mode by shrinking the outer-edge flame in higher strain-rate flames. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Premixed and non-premixed generated manifolds in large-eddy simulation of Sandia flame D and F

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vreman, A.W.; Albrecht, B.A.; Oijen, van J.A.; Goey, de L.P.H.; Bastiaans, R.J.M.

2008-01-01

Premixed and nonpremixed flamelet-generated manifolds have been constructed and applied to large-eddy simulation of the piloted partially premixed turbulent flames Sandia Flame D and F. In both manifolds the chemistry is parameterized as a function of the mixture fraction and a progress variable.

Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Computed Tomography of Chemiluminescence for Hydrogen-Air Premixed Laminar Flames

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liang Lv

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Computed tomography of chemiluminescence (CTC is a promising technique for combustion diagnostics, providing instantaneous 3D information of flame structures, especially in harsh circumstance. This work focuses on assessing the feasibility of CTC and investigating structures of hydrogen-air premixed laminar flames using CTC. A numerical phantom study was performed to assess the accuracy of the reconstruction algorithm. A well-designed burner was used to generate stable hydrogen-air premixed laminar flames. The OH⁎ chemiluminescence intensity field reconstructed from 37 views using CTC was compared to the OH⁎ chemiluminescence distributions recorded directly by a single ICCD camera from the side view. The flame structures in different flow velocities and equivalence ratios were analyzed using the reconstructions. The results show that the CTC technique can effectively indicate real distributions of the flame chemiluminescence. The height of the flame becomes larger with increasing flow velocities, whereas it decreases with increasing equivalence ratios (no larger than 1. The increasing flow velocities gradually lift the flame reaction zones. A critical cone angle of 4.76 degrees is obtained to avoid blow-off. These results set up a foundation for next studies and the methods can be further developed to reconstruct 3D structures of flames.

Thermal Radiation Properties of Turbulent Lean Premixed Methane Air Flames

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Ji, Jun; Sivathanu, Y. R; Gore, J. P

2000-01-01

... of turbulent premixed flames. Reduced cooling airflows in lean premixed combustors, miniaturization of combustors, and the possible use of radiation sensors in combustion control schemes are some of the practical reasons...

Impact of flame-wall interaction on premixed flame dynamics and transfer function characteristics

KAUST Repository

Kedia, K.S.; Altay, H.M.; Ghoniem, A.F.

2011-01-01

In this paper, we numerically investigate the response of a perforated-plate stabilized laminar methane-air premixed flame to imposed inlet velocity perturbations. A flame model using detailed chemical kinetics mechanism is applied and heat exchange

Temperature-field measurements of a premixed butane/air circular impinging-flame using reference-beam interferometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qi, J.A.; Leung, C.W.; Wong, W.O.; Probert, S.D.

2006-01-01

Reference-beam interferometry (RBI) was applied to study the axisymmetric temperature fields of a small-scale, low Reynolds-number, low-pressure and fuel-rich premixed butane/air circular-flame jet, when it was impinging vertically upwards onto a horizontal copper plate. By maintaining a Reynolds number, Re, of 500 and an equivalence ratio, φ, of 1.8, interferograms of the impinging-flame jet were obtained for various nozzle-to-plate-distances. Temperature fields of the flame were then determined using the inverse Abel transformation from the obtained interferograms. Temperatures at several locations were measured experimentally with a T-type thermocouple: they were used as a reference to help in the determination as well as the validation. In the present study, a non-contact method has been successfully developed to measure the temperature fields of a circular impinging gas-fired flame jet

Study on laminar burning velocity of syngas-air premixed flames in various mixing conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kee Man; Jeong, Byeong Gyu; Lee, Seung Ro

2015-01-01

The laminar burning velocity of syngas-air premixed flames was measured with various equivalence ratios from 0.5 to 5.0 and a mole fraction of H 2 from 0.05 to 0.75. The laminar burning velocity was experimentally determined using a Bunsen flame according to the cone angle and surface area methods. A premixed code with a USC-II detailed reaction mechanism was used for the numerical calculations to predict the laminar burning velocity and to examine the relationship between the burning velocity enhancement and the hydrogen-related reactions. The results indicate that an appropriate method for the measurement of laminar burning velocity is necessary in the H 2 /CO/air syngas premixed flame. In addition, the burning velocity linearly increased with the increase of the H 2 mole fraction in the syngas mixture, although the burning velocity of H 2 was 10 times larger than that of CO. This result is attributed to the rapid production of H-radicals at the early stage of combustion. Furthermore, the predicted mole fractions of H and OH radicals increased with the increase of H 2 mole fraction for a lean syngas mixture. However, the mole fraction of OH radicals, an indicator of heat release rate, decreased for rich syngas mixture, resulting in a reduction of the laminar burning velocity, even with an increase of the H 2 mole fraction.

Understanding premixed flame chemistry of gasoline fuels by comparing quantities of interest

KAUST Repository

Selim, Hatem

2016-07-23

Gasoline fuels are complex mixtures that vary in composition depending on crude oil feedstocks and refining processes. Gasoline combustion in high-speed spark ignition engines is governed by flame propagation, so understanding fuel composition effects on premixed flame chemistry is important. In this study, the combustion chemistry of low-pressure, burner-stabilized, premixed flames of two gasoline fuels was investigated under stoichiometric conditions. Flame speciation was conducted using vacuum-ultraviolet synchrotron photoionization time-of-flight molecular beam mass spectroscopy. Stable end-products, intermediate hydrocarbons, and free radicals were detected and quantified. In addition, several isomeric species in the reaction pool were distinguished and quantified with the help of the highly tunable synchrotron radiation. A comparison between the products of both flames is presented and the major differences are highlighted. Premixed flame numerical simulations were conducted using surrogate fuel kinetic models for each flame. Furthermore, a new approach was developed to elucidate the main discrepancies between experimental measurements and the numerical predictions by comparing quantities of interest. © 2016.

Analysis of Hydrogen/Air Turbulent Premixed Flames at Different Karlovitz Numbers Using Computational Singular Perturbation

KAUST Repository

Manias, Dimitrios

2018-01-08

The dynamics and structure of two turbulent H2/air premixed flames, representative of the corrugated flamelet (Case 1) and thin reaction zone (Case 2) regimes, are analyzed and compared, using the computational singular perturbation (CSP) tools, by incorporating the tangential stretch rate (TSR) approach. First, the analysis is applied to a laminar premixed H2/air flame for reference. Then, a two-dimensional (2D) slice of Case 1 is studied at three time steps, followed by the comparison between two representative 2D slices of Case 1 and Case 2, respectively. Last, statistical analysis is performed on the full three-dimensional domain for the two cases. The dominant reaction and transport processes are identified for each case and the overall role of kinetics/transport is determined.

An Investigation on Flame Shape and Size for a High-Pressure Turbulent Non-Premixed Swirl Combustion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhongya Xi

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Flame shape and size for a high-pressure turbulent non-premixed swirl combustion were experimentally investigated over a wide range of varying parameters including fuel mass flow rate, combustor pressure, primary-air mass flow rate, and nozzle exit velocity. A CFD simulation was conducted to predict the flame profile. Meanwhile, a theoretical calculation was also performed to estimate flame length. It was observed that flame length increased linearly with increasing fuel mass flow rate but decreased with the increment of combustor pressure in the power function. The flame diminished at a larger primary-air mass flow rate but remained unaffected by the increasing nozzle exit velocity. Considering the global effect of all parameters at a particular pressure, the flame length generally decreased as the primary-air to fuel ratio increased. This was attributed to the reduced air entrainment required to dilute the fuel to stoichiometric proportions. The CFD simulation offered a good prediction of the variation trends of flame length, although some deviations from experimental values were observed. The theoretical calculation estimated the trends of flame length variation particularly well. Nevertheless the difference between the theoretical and experimental results was found to be due to the swirl influence. Hence, a swirl factor was proposed to be added to the original equation for swirl flames.

Gravity Effects Observed In Partially Premixed Flames

Science.gov (United States)

Puri, Ishwar K.; Aggarwal, Suresh K.; Lock, Andrew J.; Gauguly, Ranjan; Hegde, Uday

2003-01-01

Partially premixed flames (PPFs) contain a rich premixed fuel air mixture in a pocket or stream, and, for complete combustion to occur, they require the transport of oxidizer from an appropriately oxidizer-rich (or fuel-lean) mixture that is present in another pocket or stream. Partial oxidation reactions occur in fuel-rich portions of the mixture and any remaining unburned fuel and/or intermediate species are consumed in the oxidizer-rich portions. Partial premixing, therefore, represents that condition when the equivalence ratio (phi) in one portion of the flowfield is greater than unity, and in another section its value is less than unity. In general, for combustion to occur efficiently, the global equivalence ratio is in the range fuel-lean to stoichiometric. These flames can be established by design by placing a fuel-rich mixture in contact with a fuel-lean mixture, but they also occur otherwise in many practical systems, which include nonpremixed lifted flames, turbulent nonpremixed combustion, spray flames, and unwanted fires. Other practical applications of PPFs are reported elsewhere. Although extensive experimental studies have been conducted on premixed and nonpremixed flames under microgravity, there is a absence of previous experimental work on burner stabilized PPFs in this regard. Previous numerical studies by our group employing a detailed numerical model showed gravity effects to be significant on the PPF structure. We report on the results of microgravity experiments conducted on two-dimensional (established on a Wolfhard-Parker slot burner) and axisymmetric flames (on a coannular burner) that were investigated in a self-contained multipurpose rig. Thermocouple and radiometer data were also used to characterize the thermal transport in the flame.

Analysis of Hydrogen/Air Turbulent Premixed Flames at Different Karlovitz Numbers Using Computational Singular Perturbation

KAUST Repository

Manias, Dimitrios; Tingas, Alexandros-Efstathios; Hernandez Perez, Francisco E.; Im, Hong G.; Galassi, Riccardo Malpica; Ciottoli, Pietro Paolo; Valorani, Mauro

2018-01-01

The dynamics and structure of two turbulent H2/air premixed flames, representative of the corrugated flamelet (Case 1) and thin reaction zone (Case 2) regimes, are analyzed and compared, using the computational singular perturbation (CSP) tools

Flame kernel generation and propagation in turbulent partially premixed hydrocarbon jet

KAUST Repository

Mansour, Mohy S.

2014-04-23

Flame development, propagation, stability, combustion efficiency, pollution formation, and overall system efficiency are affected by the early stage of flame generation defined as flame kernel. Studying the effects of turbulence and chemistry on the flame kernel propagation is the main aim of this work for natural gas (NG) and liquid petroleum gas (LPG). In addition the minimum ignition laser energy (MILE) has been investigated for both fuels. Moreover, the flame stability maps for both fuels are also investigated and analyzed. The flame kernels are generated using Nd:YAG pulsed laser and propagated in a partially premixed turbulent jet. The flow field is measured using 2-D PIV technique. Five cases have been selected for each fuel covering different values of Reynolds number within a range of 6100-14400, at a mean equivalence ratio of 2 and a certain level of partial premixing. The MILE increases by increasing the equivalence ratio. Near stoichiometric the energy density is independent on the jet velocity while in rich conditions it increases by increasing the jet velocity. The stability curves show four distinct regions as lifted, attached, blowout, and a fourth region either an attached flame if ignition occurs near the nozzle or lifted if ignition occurs downstream. LPG flames are more stable than NG flames. This is consistent with the higher values of the laminar flame speed of LPG. The flame kernel propagation speed is affected by both turbulence and chemistry. However, at low turbulence level chemistry effects are more pronounced while at high turbulence level the turbulence becomes dominant. LPG flame kernels propagate faster than those for NG flame. In addition, flame kernel extinguished faster in LPG fuel as compared to NG fuel. The propagation speed is likely to be consistent with the local mean equivalence ratio and its corresponding laminar flame speed. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Study on Combustion Oscillation of Premixed Flame with Pilot Fuel at Elevated Pressures

Science.gov (United States)

Ohtsuka, Masaya; Yoshida, Shohei; Hirata, Yoshitaka; Kobayashi, Nariyoshi

Acoustically-coupled combustion oscillation is studied for premixed flame with pilot fuel to be used in gas turbine combustors. Premixed gas is passed through swirl vanes and burnt with the centrally injected pilot fuel. The dependencies of pressure, fuel to air ratio, premixed fuel rate, inlet velocity and air temperature on the combustion oscillation are investigated. Two kinds of oscillation modes of ˜100Hz and ˜350Hz are activated according to inlet velocities. Fluctuating pressures are amplified when the premixed fuel rate is over ˜80% at elevated pressures. The fluctuating pressure peak moves to a higher premixed fuel ratio region with increased pressure or fuel to air ratio for the Helmholz type mode. Combustion oscillation occurs when the pilot fuel velocity is changed proportionally with the flame length.

Study on laminar burning velocity of syngas-air premixed flames in various mixing conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Kee Man; Jeong, Byeong Gyu [Sunchon National University, Suncheon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Seung Ro [Chonbuk National University, Jeonju (Korea, Republic of)

2015-07-15

The laminar burning velocity of syngas-air premixed flames was measured with various equivalence ratios from 0.5 to 5.0 and a mole fraction of H{sub 2} from 0.05 to 0.75. The laminar burning velocity was experimentally determined using a Bunsen flame according to the cone angle and surface area methods. A premixed code with a USC-II detailed reaction mechanism was used for the numerical calculations to predict the laminar burning velocity and to examine the relationship between the burning velocity enhancement and the hydrogen-related reactions. The results indicate that an appropriate method for the measurement of laminar burning velocity is necessary in the H{sub 2}/CO/air syngas premixed flame. In addition, the burning velocity linearly increased with the increase of the H{sub 2} mole fraction in the syngas mixture, although the burning velocity of H{sub 2} was 10 times larger than that of CO. This result is attributed to the rapid production of H-radicals at the early stage of combustion. Furthermore, the predicted mole fractions of H and OH radicals increased with the increase of H{sub 2} mole fraction for a lean syngas mixture. However, the mole fraction of OH radicals, an indicator of heat release rate, decreased for rich syngas mixture, resulting in a reduction of the laminar burning velocity, even with an increase of the H{sub 2} mole fraction.

Large eddy simulation of premixed and non-premixed combustion in a Stagnation Point Reverse Flow combustor

Science.gov (United States)

Undapalli, Satish

some ad hoc adjustments to account these effects accurately (TF). The results from LEMLES, using a reduced chemical mechanism, have been analyzed in the premixed mode. The results show that mass entrainment occurs along the shear layer in the combustor. The entrained mass carries products into the reactant stream and provides reactant preheating. Thus, product entrainment enhances the reaction rates and help stabilize the flame even at very lean conditions. These products have been shown to enter into the flame through local extinction zones present on the flame surface. The flame structure has been further analyzed, and the combustion mode was found to be primarily in thin reaction zones. Closer to the injector, there are isolated regions, where the combustion mode is in broken reaction zones, while the downstream flame structure is closer to a flamelet regime. The emissions in the combustor have been studied using simple global mechanisms for NO x. Computations have shown extremely low NOx values, comparable to the measured emissions. These low emissions have been shown to be primarily due to the low temperatures in the combustor. LEMLES computations have also been performed with a detailed chemistry to capture more accurate flame structure. The flame in the detailed chemistry case shows more extinction zones close to the injector than that in the reduced chemical mechanism. The LEMLES approach has also been used to resolve the combustion mode in the non-premixed case. The studies have indicated that the mixing of the fuel and air close to the injector controls the combustion process. The predictions in the near field have been shown to be very sensitive to the inflow conditions. Analysis has shown that the fuel and air mixing occurs to lean proportions in the combustor before any burning takes place. The flame structure in the non-premixed mode was very similar to the premixed mode. Along with the fuel air mixing, the products also mixed with the reactants and

Quantification of extinction mechanism in counterflow premixed flames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Sang Kyu; Cho, Eun Seong; Chung, Suk Ho

2014-01-01

The extinction mechanisms of stretched premixed flames have been investigated numerically for the fuels of CH 4 , C 3 H 8 , H 2 , CO and for the mixture fuels of CH 4 +H 2 and CO+H 2 by adopting symmetric double premixed flames in a counterflow configuration. The local equilibrium temperature concept was used as a measure of energy loss or gain in order to quantify the extinction mechanism by preferential diffusion and/or incomplete reaction. The energy loss ratio from preferential diffusion arising from non-unity Lewis number and the loss ratio from incomplete reaction were calculated at various equivalence ratios near flame extinction. The results showed that the extinction of lean H 2 , CH 4 , CH 4 +H 2 , CO+H 2 , and rich C 3 H 8 premixed flames was caused by incomplete reaction due to insufficient reaction time, indicating that the effective Lewis number was smaller than unity, while the effect of preferential diffusion resulted in energy gain. However, the extinction of rich H 2 , CH 4 , CH 4 +H 2 , CO+H 2 , and lean C 3 H 8 premixed flames was affected by the combined effects of preferential diffusion and incomplete reaction indicating that the effective Lewis number was larger than unity. In CO premixed flames, incomplete reaction was dominant in both lean and rich cases due to the effective Lewis number close to unity. The effect of H 2 mixing to CO is found to be quite significant as compared to CH 4 +H 2 cases, which can alter the flame behavior of CO flames to that of H 2 .

Quantification of extinction mechanism in counterflow premixed flames

KAUST Repository

Choi, Sangkyu

2014-09-01

The extinction mechanisms of stretched premixed flames have been investigated numerically for the fuels of CH4, C3H8, H2, CO and for the mixture fuels of CH4+H2 and CO+H2 by adopting symmetric double premixed flames in a counterflow configuration. The local equilibrium temperature concept was used as a measure of energy loss or gain in order to quantify the extinction mechanism by preferential diffusion and/or incomplete reaction. The energy loss ratio from preferential diffusion arising from non-unity Lewis number and the loss ratio from incomplete reaction were calculated at various equivalence ratios near flame extinction. The results showed that the extinction of lean H2, CH4, CH4+H2, CO+H2, and rich C3H8 premixed flames was caused by incomplete reaction due to insufficient reaction time, indicating that the effective Lewis number was smaller than unity, while the effect of preferential diffusion resulted in energy gain. However, the extinction of rich H2, CH4, CH4+H2, CO+H2, and lean C3H8 premixed flames was affected by the combined effects of preferential diffusion and incomplete reaction indicating that the effective Lewis number was larger than unity. In CO premixed flames, incomplete reaction was dominant in both lean and rich cases due to the effective Lewis number close to unity. The effect of H2 mixing to CO is found to be quite significant as compared to CH4+H2 cases, which can alter the flame behavior of CO flames to that of H2.

Numerical Investigation of Soot Formation in Non-premixed Flames

KAUST Repository

Abdelgadir, Ahmed Gamaleldin

2017-05-01

Soot is a carbon particulate formed as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels. Due to the health hazard posed by the carbon particulate, government agencies have applied strict regulations to control soot emissions from road vehicles, airplanes, and industrial plants. Thus, understanding soot formation and evolution is critical. Practical combustion devices operate at high pressure and in the turbulent regime. Elevated pressures and turbulence on soot formation significantly and fundamental understanding of these complex interactions is still poor. In this study, the effects of pressure and turbulence on soot formation and growth are investigated numerically. As the first step, the evolution of the particle size distribution function (PSDF) and soot particles morphology are investigated in turbulent non-premixed flames. A Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) code is developed and used. The stochastic reactor describes the evolution of soot in fluid parcels following Lagrangian trajectories in a turbulent flow field. The trajectories are sampled from a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of an n-heptane turbulent non-premixed flame. Although individual trajectories display strong bimodality as in laminar flames, the ensemble-average PSDF possesses only one mode and a broad tail, which implies significant polydispersity induced by turbulence. Secondly, the effect of the flow and mixing fields on soot formation at atmospheric and elevated pressures is investigated in coflow laminar diffusion flames. The experimental observation and the numerical prediction of the spatial distribution are in good agreement. Based on the common scaling methodology of the flames (keeping the Reynolds number constant), the scalar dissipation rate decreases as pressure increases, promoting the formation of PAH species and soot. The decrease of the scalar dissipation rate significantly contributes to soot formation occurring closer to the nozzle and outward on the flames wings as pressure

Direct numerical simulations of non-premixed ethylene-air flames: Local flame extinction criterion

KAUST Repository

Lecoustre, Vivien R.

2014-11-01

Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of ethylene/air diffusion flame extinctions in decaying two-dimensional turbulence were performed. A Damköhler-number-based flame extinction criterion as provided by classical large activation energy asymptotic (AEA) theory is assessed for its validity in predicting flame extinction and compared to one based on Chemical Explosive Mode Analysis (CEMA) of the detailed chemistry. The DNS code solves compressible flow conservation equations using high order finite difference and explicit time integration schemes. The ethylene/air chemistry is simulated with a reduced mechanism that is generated based on the directed relation graph (DRG) based methods along with stiffness removal. The numerical configuration is an ethylene fuel strip embedded in ambient air and exposed to a prescribed decaying turbulent flow field. The emphasis of this study is on the several flame extinction events observed in contrived parametric simulations. A modified viscosity and changing pressure (MVCP) scheme was adopted in order to artificially manipulate the probability of flame extinction. Using MVCP, pressure was changed from the baseline case of 1 atm to 0.1 and 10 atm. In the high pressure MVCP case, the simulated flame is extinction-free, whereas in the low pressure MVCP case, the simulated flame features frequent extinction events and is close to global extinction. Results show that, despite its relative simplicity and provided that the global flame activation temperature is correctly calibrated, the AEA-based flame extinction criterion can accurately predict the simulated flame extinction events. It is also found that the AEA-based criterion provides predictions of flame extinction that are consistent with those provided by a CEMA-based criterion. This study supports the validity of a simple Damköhler-number-based criterion to predict flame extinction in engineering-level CFD models. © 2014 The Combustion Institute.

Impact of Equivalence Ratio on the Macrostructure of Premixed Swirling CH 4 /Air and CH 4 /O 2 /CO 2 Flames

KAUST Repository

Watanabe, Hirotatsu

2015-06-15

Premixed CH4/O2/CO2 flames (oxy-flames) and CH4/air flames (air-flames) were experimentally studied in a swirl-stabilized combustor. For comparing oxy and air flames, the same equivalence ratio and adiabatic flame temperature were used. CO2 dilution was adjusted to attain the same adiabatic temperature for the oxy-flame and the corresponding air-flame while keeping the equivalence ratio and Reynolds number (=20,000) the same. For high equivalence ratios, we observed flames stabilized along the inner and outer shear layers of the swirling flow and sudden expansion, respectively, in both flames. However, one notable difference between the two flames appears as the equivalence ratio reaches 0.60. At this point, the outer shear layer flame disappears in the air-flame while it persists in the oxy-flame, despite the lower burning velocity of the oxy-flame. Prior PIV measurements (Ref. 9) showed that the strains along the outer shear layer are higher than along the inner shear layer. Therefore, the extinction strain rates in both flames were calculated using a counter-flow premixed twin flame configuration. Calculations at the equivalence ratio of 0.60 show that the extinction strain rate is higher in the oxy than in the air flame, which help explain why it persists on the outer shear layer with higher strain rate. It is likely that extinction strain rates contribute to the oxy-flame stabilization when air flame extinguish in the outer shear layer. However, the trend reverses at higher equivalence ratio, and the cross point of the extinction strain rate appears at equivalence ratio of 0.64.

Investigation of flame structure in plasma-assisted turbulent premixed methane-air flame

Science.gov (United States)

Hualei, ZHANG; Liming, HE; Jinlu, YU; Wentao, QI; Gaocheng, CHEN

2018-02-01

The mechanism of plasma-assisted combustion at increasing discharge voltage is investigated in detail at two distinctive system schemes (pretreatment of reactants and direct in situ discharge). OH-planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) technique is used to diagnose the turbulent structure methane-air flame, and the experimental apparatus consists of dump burner, plasma-generating system, gas supply system and OH-PLIF system. Results have shown that the effect of pretreatment of reactants on flame can be categorized into three regimes: regime I for voltage lower than 6.6 kV; regime II for voltage between 6.6 and 11.1 kV; and regime III for voltage between 11.1 and 12.5 kV. In regime I, aerodynamic effect and slower oxidation of higher hydrocarbons generated around the inner electrode tip plays a dominate role, while in regime III, the temperature rising effect will probably superimpose on the chemical effect and amplify it. For wire-cylinder dielectric barrier discharge reactor with spatially uneven electric field, the amount of radicals and hydrocarbons are decreased monotonically in radial direction which affects the flame shape. With regard to in situ plasma discharge in flames, the discharge pattern changes from streamer type to glow type. Compared with the case of reactants pretreatment, the flame propagates further in the upstream direction. In the discharge region, the OH intensity is highest for in situ plasma assisted combustion, indicating that the plasma energy is coupled into flame reaction zone.

Direct Numerical Simulations of Statistically Stationary Turbulent Premixed Flames

KAUST Repository

Im, Hong G.

2016-07-15

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulent combustion have evolved tremendously in the past decades, thanks to the rapid advances in high performance computing technology. Today’s DNS is capable of incorporating detailed reaction mechanisms and transport properties of hydrocarbon fuels, with physical parameter ranges approaching laboratory scale flames, thereby allowing direct comparison and cross-validation against laser diagnostic measurements. While these developments have led to significantly improved understanding of fundamental turbulent flame characteristics, there are increasing demands to explore combustion regimes at higher levels of turbulent Reynolds (Re) and Karlovitz (Ka) numbers, with a practical interest in new combustion engines driving towards higher efficiencies and lower emissions. The article attempts to provide a brief overview of the state-of-the-art DNS of turbulent premixed flames at high Re/Ka conditions, with an emphasis on homogeneous and isotropic turbulent flow configurations. Some important qualitative findings from numerical studies are summarized, new analytical approaches to investigate intensely turbulent premixed flame dynamics are discussed, and topics for future research are suggested. © 2016 Taylor & Francis.

Applying flame colors to mixture strength measurement in laminar premixed flames. 2nd Report; Kaenshoku ni yoru soryu yokongo kaen no toryohi keisoku. 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tatsuta, S. [Asahikawa National College of Technology, Hokkaido (Japan); Fujita, O.; Ito, K. [Hokkaido University, Sapporo (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

1998-09-25

The flame color method to measure mixture strength in laminar premixed flames was investigated as a new combustion diagnostic technique. Flame colors were quantitatively determined by chromaticity coordinates (x, y) defined by the CIE 1931 standard colorimetric system. Using 12 types of hydrocarbons, the (x, y) of an inner cone in premixed laminar flames held on a circular tube burner were measured with a colorimeter, and the relationship between the (x, y) and the equivalence ratio {phi} of the mixture was examined in a range of {phi}=0.9 to 1.4. The experimental results indicated that the equivalence ratio could be measured with accuracy of 0.008-0.014 and error due to axial position in the inner cone was less than 0.02-0.05. Humidity of air had almost negligible effects on the accuracy of the measurement. Results also indicated that the effect of back-light could be corrected by introducing the concept of additive mixture of color stimuli. 21 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs.

Soot reduction under DC electric fields in counterflow non-premixed laminar ethylene flames

KAUST Repository

Park, Daegeun

2014-04-23

The effects of DC electric fields on non-premixed ethylene flames in a counterflow burner were studied experimentally with a focus on the reduction of soot particles. The experiment was conducted by connecting a high voltage terminal and a ground terminal to a lower (fuel) and upper (oxidizer) nozzle, respectively. We applied direct current (DC) potentials in a range of -5 kV < Vdc < 5 kV. Uniform electric fields were then generated in the gap between the two nozzles. The experimental conditions were selected to cover both soot formation (SF) and soot formation oxidation (SFO) flames. The flames subjected to the negative electric fields moved toward the fuel nozzle because of an ionic wind due to the Lorentz force acting on the positive ions in the flames. In addition, the yellow luminosity significantly decreased, indicating changes in the sooting characteristics. To analyze the sooting characteristics under the electric fields, planar laser induced incandescence (PLII) and fluorescence (PLIF) techniques were used to visualize the soot, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and OH radicals. The sooting limits in terms of the fuel and oxygen mole fractions were measured. No substantial soot formation due to the effects of the DC electric fields for the tested range of voltages and reactant mole fractions could be identified. The detailed flame behaviors and sooting characteristics under the DC electric fields are discussed. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Quantification of extinction mechanism in counterflow premixed flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Sang Kyu [Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Eun Seong [Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, Changwon (Korea, Republic of); Chung, Suk Ho [Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal (Saudi Arabia)

2014-09-15

The extinction mechanisms of stretched premixed flames have been investigated numerically for the fuels of CH{sub 4}, C{sub 3}H{sub 8}, H{sub 2}, CO and for the mixture fuels of CH{sub 4}+H{sub 2} and CO+H{sub 2} by adopting symmetric double premixed flames in a counterflow configuration. The local equilibrium temperature concept was used as a measure of energy loss or gain in order to quantify the extinction mechanism by preferential diffusion and/or incomplete reaction. The energy loss ratio from preferential diffusion arising from non-unity Lewis number and the loss ratio from incomplete reaction were calculated at various equivalence ratios near flame extinction. The results showed that the extinction of lean H{sub 2} , CH{sub 4}, CH{sub 4}+H{sub 2}, CO+H{sub 2}, and rich C{sub 3}H{sub 8} premixed flames was caused by incomplete reaction due to insufficient reaction time, indicating that the effective Lewis number was smaller than unity, while the effect of preferential diffusion resulted in energy gain. However, the extinction of rich H{sub 2}, CH{sub 4}, CH{sub 4}+H{sub 2}, CO+H{sub 2}, and lean C{sub 3}H{sub 8} premixed flames was affected by the combined effects of preferential diffusion and incomplete reaction indicating that the effective Lewis number was larger than unity. In CO premixed flames, incomplete reaction was dominant in both lean and rich cases due to the effective Lewis number close to unity. The effect of H{sub 2} mixing to CO is found to be quite significant as compared to CH{sub 4}+H{sub 2} cases, which can alter the flame behavior of CO flames to that of H{sub 2}.

NEAR-BLOWOFF DYNAMICS OF BLUFF-BODY-STABILIZED PREMIXED HYDROGEN/AIR FLAMES IN A NARROW CHANNEL

KAUST Repository

Lee, Bok Jik

2015-06-07

The flame stability is known to be significantly enhanced when the flame is attached to a bluff-body. The main interest of this study is on the stability of the flame in a meso-scale channel, considering applications such as combustion-based micro power generators. We investigate the dynamics of lean premixed hydrogen/air flames stabilized behind a square box in a two-dimensional meso-scale channel with high-fidelity numerical simulations. Characteristics of both non-reacting flows and reacting flows over the bluff-body are studied for a range of the mean inflow velocity. The flame stability in reacting flows is investigated by ramping up the mean inflow velocity step by step. As the inlet velocity is increased, the initially stable steady flames undergo a transition to an unsteady mode of regular asymmetric fluctuation. When the inlet velocity is further increased, the flame is eventually blown off. Between the regular fluctuation mode and blowoff limit, there exists a narrow range of the inlet velocity where the flames exhibit periodic local extinction and recovery. Approaching further to blowoff limit, the local extinction and recovery becomes highly transient and a failure of recovery leads blowoff and extinction of the flame kernel.

Three-dimensional simulations of cellular non-premixed jet flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valaer, A.L.; Frouzakis, C.E.; Boulouchos, K. [Aerothermochemistry and Combustion System Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, CH-8092 Zurich (Switzerland); Papas, P. [Division of Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401 (United States); Tomboulides, A.G. [Department of Engineering and Management of Energy Resources, University of Western Macedonia, 50100 Kozani (Greece)

2010-04-15

The formation, dynamics and structure of cellular flames in circular non-premixed jets are examined with three-dimensional numerical simulations incorporating detailed descriptions of chemistry and transport. Similar to past experiments reported in the literature, CO{sub 2}-diluted hydrogen in diluted or pure oxygen co-flowing streams in the proximity of the extinction limit are considered. As in the experiments, several preferred cellular states are found to co-exist with the particular state realized depending on initial conditions as well as on the jet characteristics. The simulations provide additionally the temporal transitions to different stationary or rotating cellular flames, their detailed structure, and the dependence of the scaling of the realized number of cells with the vorticity thickness. (author)

DNS of turbulent premixed slot flames with mixture inhomogeneity: a study of NOx formation

Science.gov (United States)

Luca, Stefano; Attili, Antonio; Bisetti, Fabrizio

2016-11-01

A set of Direct Numerical Simulations of three-dimensional methane/air lean flames in a spatially developing turbulent slot burner are performed. The flames are in the thin-reaction zone regimes and the jet Reynolds number is 5600. This configuration is of interest since it displays turbulent production by mean shear as in real devices. The gas phase hydrodynamics are modeled with the reactive, unsteady Navier-Stokes equations in the low Mach number limit. Combustion is treated with finite-rate chemistry. The jet is characterized by a non-uniform equivalence ratio at the inlet and varying levels of incomplete premixing for the methane/air mixture are considered. The global equivalence ratio is 0.7 and temperature is 800 K. All simulations are performed at 4 atm. The instantaneous profiles of the mass fractions of methane and air at the inlet are sampled from a set of turbulent channel simulations that provide realistic, fully turbulent fields. The data are analyzed to study the influence of partial premixing on the flame structure. Particular focus is devoted to the assessment of heat release rate fluctuations and NOx formation. In particular, the effects of partial premixing on the production rates for the various pathways to NOx formation are investigated.

Pulsed Current-Voltage-Induced Perturbations of a Premixed Propane/Air Flame

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacob. B. Schmidt

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of millisecond wide sub-breakdown pulsed voltage-current induced flow perturbation has been measured in premixed laminar atmospheric pressure propane/air flame. The flame equivalence ratios were varied from 0.8 to 1.2 with the flow speeds near 1.1 meter/second. Spatio-temporal flame structure changes were observed through collection of CH (A-X and OH (A-X chemiluminescence and simultaneous spontaneous Raman scattering from N2. This optical collection scheme allows us to obtain a strong correlation between the measured gas temperature and the chemiluminescence intensity, verifying that chemiluminescence images provide accurate measurements of flame reaction zone structure modifications. The experimental results suggest that the flame perturbation is caused by ionic wind originating only from the radial positive space-charge distribution in/near the cathode fall. A net momentum transfer acts along the annular space discharge distribution in the reaction zone at or near the cathode fall which modifies the flow field near the cathodic burner head. This radially inward directed body force appears to enhance mixing similar to a swirl induced modification of the flame structure. The flame fluidic response exhibit a strong dependence on the voltage pulse width ≤10 millisecond.

Soot Particle Size Distribution Functions in a Turbulent Non-Premixed Ethylene-Nitrogen Flame

KAUST Repository

Boyette, Wesley

2017-02-21

A scanning mobility particle sizer with a nano differential mobility analyzer was used to measure nanoparticle size distribution functions in a turbulent non-premixed flame. The burner utilizes a premixed pilot flame which anchors a C2H4/N2 (35/65) central jet with ReD = 20,000. Nanoparticles in the flame were sampled through a N2-filled tube with a 500- μm orifice. Previous studies have shown that insufficient dilution of the nanoparticles can lead to coagulation in the sampling line and skewed particle size distribution functions. A system of mass flow controllers and valves were used to vary the dilution ratio. Single-stage and two-stage dilution systems were investigated. A parametric study on the effect of the dilution ratio on the observed particle size distribution function indicates that particle coagulation in the sampling line can be eliminated using a two-stage dilution process. Carbonaceous nanoparticle (soot) concentration particle size distribution functions along the flame centerline at multiple heights in the flame are presented. The resulting distributions reveal a pattern of increasing mean particle diameters as the distance from the nozzle along the centerline increases.

Soot Particle Size Distribution Functions in a Turbulent Non-Premixed Ethylene-Nitrogen Flame

KAUST Repository

Boyette, Wesley; Chowdhury, Snehaunshu; Roberts, William L.

2017-01-01

A scanning mobility particle sizer with a nano differential mobility analyzer was used to measure nanoparticle size distribution functions in a turbulent non-premixed flame. The burner utilizes a premixed pilot flame which anchors a C2H4/N2 (35/65) central jet with ReD = 20,000. Nanoparticles in the flame were sampled through a N2-filled tube with a 500- μm orifice. Previous studies have shown that insufficient dilution of the nanoparticles can lead to coagulation in the sampling line and skewed particle size distribution functions. A system of mass flow controllers and valves were used to vary the dilution ratio. Single-stage and two-stage dilution systems were investigated. A parametric study on the effect of the dilution ratio on the observed particle size distribution function indicates that particle coagulation in the sampling line can be eliminated using a two-stage dilution process. Carbonaceous nanoparticle (soot) concentration particle size distribution functions along the flame centerline at multiple heights in the flame are presented. The resulting distributions reveal a pattern of increasing mean particle diameters as the distance from the nozzle along the centerline increases.

Effects of elliptical burner geometry on partially premixed gas jet flames in quiescent surroundings

Science.gov (United States)

Baird, Benjamin

This study is the investigation of the effect of elliptical nozzle burner geometry and partial premixing, both 'passive control' methods, on a hydrogen/hydrocarbon flame. Both laminar and turbulent flames for circular, 3:1, and 4:1 aspect ratio (AR) elliptical burners are considered. The amount of air mixed with the fuel is varied from fuel-lean premixed flames to fuel-rich partially premixed flames. The work includes measurements of flame stability, global pollutant emissions, flame radiation, and flame structure for the differing burner types and fuel conditions. Special emphasis is placed on the near-burner region. Experimentally, both conventional (IR absorption, chemiluminecent, and polarographic emission analysis,) and advanced (laser induced fluorescence, planar laser induced fluorescence, Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV), Rayleigh scattering) diagnostic techniques are used. Numerically, simulations of 3-dimensional laminar and turbulent reacting flow are conducted. These simulations are run with reduced chemical kinetics and with a Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) for the turbulence modeling. It was found that the laminar flames were similar in appearance and overall flame length for the 3:1 AR elliptical and the circular burner. The laminar 4:1 AR elliptical burner flame split into two sub-flames along the burner major axis. This splitting had the effect of greatly shortening the 4:1 AR elliptical burner flame to have an overall flame length about half of that of the circular and 3:1 AR elliptical burner flames. The length of all three burners flames increased with increasing burner exit equivalence ratio. The blowout velocity for the three burners increased with increase in hydrogen mass fraction of the hydrogen/propane fuel mixture. For the rich premixed flames, the circular burner was the most stable, the 3:1 AR elliptical burner, was the least stable, and the 4:1 AR elliptical burner was intermediate to the two other burners. This order of stability was due

Large-eddy simulation of a bluff-body stabilised turbulent premixed flame using the transported flame surface density approach

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chin Yik; Cant, Stewart

2017-07-01

A premixed propane-air flame stabilised on a triangular bluff body in a model jet-engine afterburner configuration is investigated using large-eddy simulation (LES). The reaction rate source term for turbulent premixed combustion is closed using the transported flame surface density (TFSD) model. In this approach, there is no need to assume local equilibrium between the generation and destruction of subgrid FSD, as commonly done in simple algebraic closure models. Instead, the key processes that create and destroy FSD are accounted for explicitly. This allows the model to capture large-scale unsteady flame propagation in the presence of combustion instabilities, or in situations where the flame encounters progressive wrinkling with time. In this study, comprehensive validation of the numerical method is carried out. For the non-reacting flow, good agreement for both the time-averaged and root-mean-square velocity fields are obtained, and the Karman type vortex shedding behaviour seen in the experiment is well represented. For the reacting flow, two mesh configurations are used to investigate the sensitivity of the LES results to the numerical resolution. Profiles for the velocity and temperature fields exhibit good agreement with the experimental data for both the coarse and dense mesh. This demonstrates the capability of LES coupled with the TFSD approach in representing the highly unsteady premixed combustion observed in this configuration. The instantaneous flow pattern and turbulent flame behaviour are discussed, and the differences between the non-reacting and reacting flow are described through visualisation of vortical structures and their interaction with the flame. Lastly, the generation and destruction of FSD are evaluated by examining the individual terms in the FSD transport equation. Localised regions where straining, curvature and propagation are each dominant are observed, highlighting the importance of non-equilibrium effects of FSD generation and

Premixed burner experiments: Geometry, mixing, and flame structure issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gupta, A.K.; Lewis, M.J.; Gupta, M. [Univ of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)] [and others

1995-10-01

This research program is exploring techniques for improved fuel-air mixing, with the aim of achieving combustor operations up to stoichiometric conditions with minimal NO x and maximum efficiency. The experimental studies involve the use of a double-concentric natural gas burner that is operable in either premixed or non-premixed modes, and the system allows systematic variation of equivalence ratio, swirl strength shear length region and flow momentum in each annulus. Flame structures formed with various combinations of swirl strengths, flow throughput and equivalence ratios in premixed mode show the significant impact of swirl flow distribution on flame structure emanating from the mixedness. This impact on flame structure is expected to have a pronounced effect on the heat release rate and the emission of NO{sub x}. Thus, swirler design and configuration remains a key factor in the quest for completely optimized combustion. Parallel numerical studies of the flow and combustion phenomena were carried out, using the RSM and thek-{epsilon} turbulence models. These results have not only indicated the strengths and limitations of CFD in performance and pollutants emission predictions, but have provided guidelines on the size and strength of the recirculation produced and the spatio-temporal structure of the combustion flowfield. The first stage of parametric studies on geometry and operational parameters at Morgan State University have culminated in the completion of a one-dimensional flow code that is integrated with a solid, virtual model of the existing premixed burner. This coupling will provide the unique opportunity to study the impact of geometry on the flowfield and vice-versa, with particular emphasis on concurrent design optimization.

Effects of Buoyancy on Laminar and Turbulent Premixed V-Flame

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Robert K.; Bedat, Benoit

1997-01-01

characterize microgravity (micro g) premixed flames. The results are used to derive appropriate scaling parameters for guiding the development of theoretical models to include the effects of buoyancy. Knowledge gain from the analysis will also contribute to further understanding of the elliptical nature of premixed flames. Our current emphasis is to examine the momentum limit above which the effects of buoyancy would become insignificant. This is accomplished by comparing the flowfields and the mean properties of normal gravity flames (+g), and reversed gravity flames (-g, up-side-down flames) at different flow velocities and turbulence intensities. Microgravity (micro g) flames experiments provide the key reference data to reconcile the differences between flames in +g and -g. As flame configuration has significant impact on premixed flames characteristics we have studied axi-symmetric conical flames and plane-symmetric rod-stabilized v-flames. The two configurations produce distinct features that dictates how the flames couple with buoyancy. In a conical flame, the hot products plume completely envelopes the flame cone and shields the flame from direct interaction with the ambient air. The plume originates at the burner rim and generates a divergent flowfield. In comparison, the products region of v-flames forms between the twin flame sheets and it is convergent towards the center-plane. Interaction with ambient air is limited to the two end regions of the stabilized rod and beyond the flame sheets.

Visualization of the heat release zone of highly turbulent premixed jet flames

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, Liang; Tan, Jianguo; Zhu, Jiajian

2017-10-01

Visualization of the heat release zone (HRZ) of highly turbulent flames is significantly important to understand the interaction between turbulence and chemical reactions, which is the foundation to design and optimize engines. Simultaneous measurements of OH and CH2O using planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) were performed to characterize the HRZ. A well-designed piloted premixed jet burner was employed to generate four turbulent premixed CH4/air jet flames, with different jet Reynolds numbers (Rejet) ranging from 4900 to 39200. The HRZ was visualized by both the gradient of OH and the pixel-by-pixel product of OH and CH2O. It is shown that turbulence has an increasing effect on the spatial structure of the flame front with an increasing height above the jet exit for the premixed jet flames, which results in the broadening of the HRZ and the increase of the wrinkling. The HRZ remains thin as the Rejet increases, whereas the preheat zone is significantly broadened and thickened. This indicates that the smallest turbulent eddies can only be able to enter the flame front rather than the HRZ in the present flame conditions. The flame quenching is observed with Rejet = 39200, which may be due to the strong entrainment of the cold air from outside of the burned gas region.

Liftoff characteristics of partially premixed flames under normal and microgravity conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lock, Andrew J.; Briones, Alejandro M.; Aggarwal, Suresh K. [Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607 (United States); Qin, Xiao [Department of Mechanical & amp; Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Puri, Ishwar K. [Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (United States); Hegde, Uday [National Center for Microgravity Research, Cleveland, OH 44135 (United States)

2005-11-01

An experimental and computational investigation on the liftoff characteristics of laminar partially premixed flames (PPFs) under normal (1-g) and microgravity ({mu}-g) conditions is presented. Lifted methane-air PPFs were established in axisymmetric coflowing jets using nitrogen dilution and various levels of partial premixing. The {mu}-g experiments were conducted in the 2.2-s drop tower at the NASA Glenn Research Center. A time-accurate, implicit algorithm that uses a detailed description of the chemistry and includes radiation effects is used for the simulations. The predictions are validated through a comparison of the flame reaction zone topologies, liftoff heights, lengths, and oscillation frequencies. The effects of equivalence ratio, gravity, jet velocity, and radiation on flame topology, liftoff height, flame length, base structure, and oscillation frequency are characterized. Both the simulations and measurements indicate that under identical conditions, a lifted {mu}-g PPF is stabilized closer to the burner compared with the 1-g flame, and that the liftoff heights of both 1-g and {mu}-g flames decrease with increasing equivalence ratio and approach their respective nonpremixed flame limits. The liftoff height also increases as the jet velocity is increased. In addition, the flame base structure transitions from a triple- to a double-flame structure as the flame liftoff height decreases. A modified flame index is developed to distinguish between the rich premixed, lean premixed, and nonpremixed reaction zones near the flame base. The 1-g lifted flames exhibit well-organized oscillations due to buoyancy-induced instability, while the corresponding {mu}-g flames exhibit steady-state behavior. The effect of thermal radiation is to slightly decrease the liftoff heights of both 1-g and {mu}-g flames under coflow conditions.

Direct Numerical Simulations of NOx formation in spatially developing turbulent premixed Bunsen flames with mixture inhomogeneity

KAUST Repository

Luca, Stefano

2017-01-05

Direct Numerical Simulation of three-dimensional spatially developing turbulent methane/air flames are performed. Four flames are simulated; they differ for the level of premixing of the fuel inlet: one has a fully premixed inlet, the other three have a partially premixed inlet that mimic a common injection strategy in stationary gas turbines. The jet consist of a methane/air mixture with global equivalence ratio ɸ = 0.7 and temperature of 800 K. The simulations are performed at 4 atm. The inlet velocity field and the fuel/air fields were extracted from a fully developed turbulent channel simulation. Chemistry is treated with a new skeletal chemical mechanism consisting of 33 species developed specifically for the DNS. The data are analyzed to study possible influences of partial premixing on the flame structure and the combustion efficiency. The results show that increasing the level of partial premixing, the fluctuations of heat release rate increase, due to the richer and leaner pockets of mixture in the flame, while the conditional mean decreases. Increasing the level of partial premixing, the peak of NO and the range of NO values for a given temperature increase. An analysis of NO production is performed categorizing the different initiation steps in the Ndecomposition through four pathways: thermal, prompt, NNH and NO. Different behaviour with respect to laminar flames is found for the NNH pathway suggesting that turbulence influences this pathway of formation of NO.

Conical quarl swirl stabilized non-premixed flames: flame and flow field interaction

KAUST Repository

Elbaz, Ayman M.; Roberts, William L.

2017-01-01

The flame-flow field interaction is studied in non-premixed methane swirl flames stabilized in quartz quarl via simultaneous measurements of the flow field using a stereo PIV and OH-PLIF at 5 KHz repetition rate. Under the same swirl intensity, two flames with different fuel jet velocity were investigated. The time-averaged flow field shows a unique flow pattern at the quarl exit, where two recirculation vortices are formed; a strong recirculation zone formed far from the quarl exit and a larger recirculation zone extending inside the quarl. However, the instantaneous images show that, the flow pattern near the quarl exit plays a vital role in the spatial location and structure of the reaction zone. In the low fuel jet velocity flame, a pair of vortical structures, located precisely at the corners of the quarl exit, cause the flame to roll up into the central region of low speed flow, where the flame sheet then tracks the axial velocity fluctuations. The vorticity field reveals a vortical structure surrounding the reaction zones, which reside on a layer of low compressive strain adjacent to that vortical structure. In the high fuel jet velocity flame, initially a laminar flame sheet resides at the inner shear layer of the main jet, along the interface between incoming fresh gas and high temperature recirculating gas. Further downstream, vortex breakdown alters the flame sheet path toward the central flame region. The lower reaction zones show good correlation to the regions of maximum vorticity and track the regions of low compressive strain associated with the inner shear layer of the jet flow. In both flames the reactions zones conform the passage of the large structure while remaining inside the low speed regions or at the inner shear layer.

Conical quarl swirl stabilized non-premixed flames: flame and flow field interaction

KAUST Repository

Elbaz, Ayman M.

2017-09-19

The flame-flow field interaction is studied in non-premixed methane swirl flames stabilized in quartz quarl via simultaneous measurements of the flow field using a stereo PIV and OH-PLIF at 5 KHz repetition rate. Under the same swirl intensity, two flames with different fuel jet velocity were investigated. The time-averaged flow field shows a unique flow pattern at the quarl exit, where two recirculation vortices are formed; a strong recirculation zone formed far from the quarl exit and a larger recirculation zone extending inside the quarl. However, the instantaneous images show that, the flow pattern near the quarl exit plays a vital role in the spatial location and structure of the reaction zone. In the low fuel jet velocity flame, a pair of vortical structures, located precisely at the corners of the quarl exit, cause the flame to roll up into the central region of low speed flow, where the flame sheet then tracks the axial velocity fluctuations. The vorticity field reveals a vortical structure surrounding the reaction zones, which reside on a layer of low compressive strain adjacent to that vortical structure. In the high fuel jet velocity flame, initially a laminar flame sheet resides at the inner shear layer of the main jet, along the interface between incoming fresh gas and high temperature recirculating gas. Further downstream, vortex breakdown alters the flame sheet path toward the central flame region. The lower reaction zones show good correlation to the regions of maximum vorticity and track the regions of low compressive strain associated with the inner shear layer of the jet flow. In both flames the reactions zones conform the passage of the large structure while remaining inside the low speed regions or at the inner shear layer.

EINOx scaling in a non-premixed turbulent hydrogen jet with swirled coaxial air

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oh, Jeongseog; Hwang, Jeongjae; Yoon, Youngbin [School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742 (Korea)

2010-08-15

The effect of swirl flow on pollutant emission (nitrous oxide) was studied in a non-premixed turbulent hydrogen jet with coaxial air. A swirl vane was equipped in a coaxial air feeding line and the angle of the swirl vane was varied from 30 to 90 degrees. Under a fixed global equivalence ratio of {phi}{sub G} = 0.5, fuel jet air velocity and coaxial air velocity were varied in an attached flame region as u{sub F} = 85.7-160.2 m/s and u{sub A} = 7.4-14.4 m/s. In the present study, two mixing variables of coaxial air and swirl flow were considered: the flame residence time and global strain rate. The objective of the current study was to analyze the flame length behavior, and the characteristics of nitrous oxide emissions under a swirl flow conditions, and to suggest a new parameter for EINOx (the emission index of nitrous oxide) scaling. From the experimental results, EINOx decreased with the swirl vane angle and increased with the flame length (L). We found the scaling variables for the flame length and EINOx using the effective diameter (d{sub F,eff}) in a far-field concept. Normalized flame length (L divided by d{sub F,eff}) fitted well with the theoretical expectations. EINOx increased in proportion to the flame residence time ({proportional_to}{tau}{sub R}{sup 1/2.8}) and the global strain rate ({proportional_to}S{sub G}{sup 1/2.8}). (author)

Investigation of non-premixed flame combustion characters in GO2/GH2 shear coaxial injectors using non-intrusive optical diagnostics

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Jian; Yu, NanJia; Cai, GuoBiao

2015-12-01

Single-element combustor experiments are conducted for three shear coaxial geometry configuration injectors by using gaseous oxygen and gaseous hydrogen (GO2/GH2) as propellants. During the combustion process, several spatially and timeresolved non-intrusive optical techniques, such as OH planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF), high speed imaging, and infrared imaging, are simultaneously employed to observe the OH radical concentration distribution, flame fluctuations, and temperature fields. The results demonstrate that the turbulent flow phenomenon of non-premixed flame exhibits a remarkable periodicity, and the mixing ratio becomes a crucial factor to influence the combustion flame length. The high speed and infrared images have a consistent temperature field trend. As for the OH-PLIF images, an intuitionistic local flame structure is revealed by single-shot instantaneous images. Furthermore, the means and standard deviations of OH radical intensity are acquired to provide statistical information regarding the flame, which may be helpful for validation of numerical simulations in future. Parameters of structure configurations, such as impinging angle and oxygen post thickness, play an important role in the reaction zone distribution. Based on a successful flame contour extraction method assembled with non-linear anisotropic diffusive filtering and variational level-set, it is possible to implement a fractal analysis to describe the fractal characteristics of the non-premixed flame contour. As a result, the flame front cannot be regarded as a fractal object. However, this turbulent process presents a self-similarity characteristic.

Experimental and numerical study on premixed hydrogen/air flame propagation in a horizontal rectangular closed duct

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao, Huahua; Wang, Qingsong; He, Xuechao; Sun, Jinhua; Yao, Liyin [State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026 (China)

2010-02-15

Hydrogen is a promising energy in the future, and it is desirable to characterize the combustion behavior of its blends with air. The premixed hydrogen/air flame microstructure and propagation in a horizontal rectangular closed duct were recorded using high-speed video and Schlieren device. Numerical simulation was also performed on Fluent CFD code to compare with the experimental result. A tulip flame is formed during the flame propagating, and then the tulip flame formation mechanism was proposed based on the analysis. The induced reverse flow and vortex motion were observed both in experiment and simulation. The interactions among the flame, reverse flow and vortices in the burned gas change the flame shape and ultimately it develops into a tulip flame. During the formation of the tulip flame, the tulip cusp slows down and stops moving after its slightly forward moving, and then, it starts to move backward and keeps on a longer time, after that, it moves forward again. The structure of the tulip flame is becoming less stable with its length decreasing in flame propagation direction. The flame thickness increases gradually which is due to turbulence combustion. (author)

Soot Formation in Laminar Premixed Methane/Oxygen Flames at Atmospheric Pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, F.; Lin, K.-C.; Faeth, G. M.

1998-01-01

Flame structure and soot formation were studied within soot-containing laminar premixed mc1hane/oxygen flames at atmospheric pressure. The following measurements were made: soot volume fractions by laser extinction, soot temperatures by multiline emission, gas temperatures (where soot was absent) by corrected fine-wire thermocouples, soot structure by thermophoretic sampling and transmission electron microscope (TEM), major gas species concentrations by sampling and gas chromatography, and gas velocities by laser velocimetry. Present measurements of gas species concentrations were in reasonably good agreement with earlier measurements due to Ramer et al. as well as predictions based on the detailed mechanisms of Frenklach and co-workers and Leung and Lindstedt: the predictions also suggest that H atom concentrations are in local thermodynamic equilibrium throughout the soot formation region. Using this information, it was found that measured soot surface growth rates could be correlated successfully by predictions based on the hydrogen-abstraction/carbon-addition (HACA) mechanisms of both Frenklach and co-workers and Colket and Hall, extending an earlier assessment of these mechanisms for premixed ethylene/air flames to conditions having larger H/C ratios and acetylene concentrations. Measured primary soot particle nucleation rates were somewhat lower than the earlier observations for laminar premixed ethylene/air flames and were significantly lower than corresponding rates in laminar diffusion flames. for reasons that still must be explained.

Tabulated Combustion Model Development For Non-Premixed Flames

Science.gov (United States)

Kundu, Prithwish

Turbulent non-premixed flames play a very important role in the field of engineering ranging from power generation to propulsion. The coupling of fluid mechanics and complicated combustion chemistry of fuels pose a challenge for the numerical modeling of these type of problems. Combustion modeling in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is one of the most important tools used for predictive modeling of complex systems and to understand the basic fundamentals of combustion. Traditional combustion models solve a transport equation of each species with a source term. In order to resolve the complex chemistry accurately it is important to include a large number of species. However, the computational cost is generally proportional to the cube of number of species. The presence of a large number of species in a flame makes the use of CFD computationally expensive and beyond reach for some applications or inaccurate when solved with simplified chemistry. For highly turbulent flows, it also becomes important to incorporate the effects of turbulence chemistry interaction (TCI). The aim of this work is to develop high fidelity combustion models based on the flamelet concept and to significantly advance the existing capabilities. A thorough investigation of existing models (Finite-rate chemistry and Representative Interactive Flamelet (RIF)) and comparative study of combustion models was done initially on a constant volume combustion chamber with diesel fuel injection. The CFD modeling was validated with experimental results and was also successfully applied to a single cylinder diesel engine. The effect of number of flamelets on the RIF model and flamelet initialization strategies were studied. The RIF model with multiple flamelets is computationally expensive and a model was proposed on the frame work of RIF. The new model was based on tabulated chemistry and incorporated TCI effects. A multidimensional tabulated chemistry database generation code was developed based on the 1

An Investigation of a Hybrid Mixing Model for PDF Simulations of Turbulent Premixed Flames

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Hua; Li, Shan; Wang, Hu; Ren, Zhuyin

2015-11-01

Predictive simulations of turbulent premixed flames over a wide range of Damköhler numbers in the framework of Probability Density Function (PDF) method still remain challenging due to the deficiency in current micro-mixing models. In this work, a hybrid micro-mixing model, valid in both the flamelet regime and broken reaction zone regime, is proposed. A priori testing of this model is first performed by examining the conditional scalar dissipation rate and conditional scalar diffusion in a 3-D direct numerical simulation dataset of a temporally evolving turbulent slot jet flame of lean premixed H2-air in the thin reaction zone regime. Then, this new model is applied to PDF simulations of the Piloted Premixed Jet Burner (PPJB) flames, which are a set of highly shear turbulent premixed flames and feature strong turbulence-chemistry interaction at high Reynolds and Karlovitz numbers. Supported by NSFC 51476087 and NSFC 91441202.

Turbulent Non-Premixed Flames Stabilized on Double-Slit Curved Wall-Jet Burner with Simultaneous OH-Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence and Particle Image Velocimetry Measurements

KAUST Repository

Mansour, Morkous S.

2015-04-29

A double-slit curved wall-jet (CWJ) burner utilizing a Coanda effect by supplying fuel and air as annular-inward jets over a curved surface was employed to investigate the stabilization characteristics and structure of propane/air turbulent non-premixed flames with varying global equivalence ratio and Reynolds number. Simultaneous time-resolved measurements of particle image velocimetry (PIV) and planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of OH radicals were conducted. The burner showed a potential of stable and non-sooting operation for relatively large fuel loading and overall rich conditions. Mixing characteristics in cold flow were first examined using an acetone fluorescence technique, indicating substantial transport between the fuel and air by exhibiting appreciable premixing conditions. PIV measurements revealed that the flow field consisted of a wall-jet region leading to a recirculation zone through flow separation, an interaction jet region resulting from the collision of annular-inward jets, followed by a merged-jet region. The flames were stabilized in the recirculation zone and, in extreme cases, only a small flame seed remained in the recirculation zone. Together with the collision of the slit jets in the interaction jet region, the velocity gradients in the shear layers at the boundaries of the annular jets generate the turbulence. Turbulent mean and rms velocities were influenced by the presence of the flame, particularly in the recirculation zone. Flames with a high equivalence ratio were found to be more resistant to local extinction and exhibited a more corrugated and folded nature, particularly at high Reynolds numbers. For flames with a low equivalence ratio, local quenching and re-ignition processes maintained flames in the merged jet region, revealing a strong intermittency, which was substantiated by the increased principal strain rates for these flames. © 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Premixed Flames Under Microgravity and Normal Gravity Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Krikunova, Anastasia I.; Son, Eduard E.

2018-03-01

Premixed conical CH4-air flames were studied experimentally and numerically under normal straight, reversed gravity conditions and microgravity. Low-gravity experiments were performed in Drop tower. Classical Bunsen-type burner was used to find out features of gravity influence on the combustion processes. Mixture equivalence ratio was varied from 0.8 to 1.3. Wide range of flow velocity allows to study both laminar and weakly turbulized flames. High-speed flame chemoluminescence video-recording was used as diagnostic. The investigations were performed at atmospheric pressure. As results normalized flame height, laminar flame speed were measured, also features of flame instabilities were shown. Low- and high-frequency flame-instabilities (oscillations) have a various nature as velocity fluctuations, preferential diffusion instability, hydrodynamic and Rayleigh-Taylor ones etc., that was explored and demonstrated.

Combustion Characteristics for Turbulent Prevaporized Premixed Flame Using Commercial Light Diesel and Kerosene Fuels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed S. Shehata

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Experimental study has been carried out for investigating fuel type, fuel blends, equivalence ratio, Reynolds number, inlet mixture temperature, and holes diameter of perforated plate affecting combustion process for turbulent prevaporized premixed air flames for different operating conditions. CO2, CO, H2, N2, C3H8, C2H6, C2H4, flame temperature, and gas flow velocity are measured along flame axis for different operating conditions. Gas chromatographic (GC and CO/CO2 infrared gas analyzer are used for measuring different species. Temperature is measured using thermocouple technique. Gas flow velocity is measured using pitot tube technique. The effect of kerosene percentage on concentration, flame temperature, and gas flow velocity is not linearly dependent. Correlations for adiabatic flame temperature for diesel and kerosene-air flames are obtained as function of mixture strength, fuel type, and inlet mixture temperature. Effect of equivalence ratio on combustion process for light diesel-air flame is greater than for kerosene-air flame. Flame temperature increases with increased Reynolds number for different operating conditions. Effect of Reynolds number on combustion process for light diesel flame is greater than for kerosene flame and also for rich flame is greater than for lean flame. The present work contributes to design and development of lean prevaporized premixed (LPP gas turbine combustors.

A numerical study of a premixed flame on a slit burner

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Somers, L.M.T.; Goey, de L.P.H.

1995-01-01

A numerical study of a premixed methane/air flame on a 4 mm slit burner is presented. A local grid refinement technique is used to deal with large gradients and curvature of all variables encountered in the flame, keeping the number of grid points within reasonable bounds. The method used here leads

Prediction of flame formation in highly preheated air combustion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Jang Sik; Choi, Gyung Min; Kim, Duck Jool; Katsuki, Masashi

2008-01-01

Fundamental information about the ignition position and shape of a flame in highly preheated air combustion was obtained, and the suitability of the suggested reduced kinetic mechanism that reflects the characteristics of the highly preheated air combustion was demonstrated. Flame lift height and flame length with variations of premixed air temperature and oxygen concentration were measured by CH chemiluminescence intensity, and were computed with a reduced kinetic mechanism. Flame attached near a fuel nozzle started to lift when preheated air temperature became close to auto-ignition temperature and/or oxygen concentration reduced. The flame lift height increased but the flame length decreased with decreasing preheated air temperature and flame length reversed after a minimum value. Calculated results showed good agreement with those of experiment within tolerable error. Flame shape shifted from diffusion flame shape to partial premixed flame shape with increasing lift height and this tendency was also observed in the computation results

Prediction of flame formation in highly preheated air combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Jang Sik; Choi, Gyung Min; Kim, Duck Jool [Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Katsuki, Masashi [Osaka University, Osaka (Japan)

2008-11-15

Fundamental information about the ignition position and shape of a flame in highly preheated air combustion was obtained, and the suitability of the suggested reduced kinetic mechanism that reflects the characteristics of the highly preheated air combustion was demonstrated. Flame lift height and flame length with variations of premixed air temperature and oxygen concentration were measured by CH chemiluminescence intensity, and were computed with a reduced kinetic mechanism. Flame attached near a fuel nozzle started to lift when preheated air temperature became close to auto-ignition temperature and/or oxygen concentration reduced. The flame lift height increased but the flame length decreased with decreasing preheated air temperature and flame length reversed after a minimum value. Calculated results showed good agreement with those of experiment within tolerable error. Flame shape shifted from diffusion flame shape to partial premixed flame shape with increasing lift height and this tendency was also observed in the computation results

A two-step chemical scheme for kerosene-air premixed flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franzelli, B.; Riber, E.; Sanjose, M. [CERFACS, CFD Team, 42 Avenue G. Coriolis, 31057 Toulouse Cedex 01 (France); Poinsot, T. [IMFT-UMR 5502, allee du Professeur Camille Soula, 31400 Toulouse (France)

2010-07-15

A reduced two-step scheme (called 2S-KERO-BFER) for kerosene-air premixed flames is presented in the context of Large Eddy Simulation of reacting turbulent flows in industrial applications. The chemical mechanism is composed of two reactions corresponding to the fuel oxidation into CO and H{sub 2}O, and the CO - CO{sub 2} equilibrium. To ensure the validity of the scheme for rich combustion, the pre-exponential constants of the two reactions are tabulated versus the local equivalence ratio. The fuel and oxidizer exponents are chosen to guarantee the correct dependence of laminar flame speed with pressure. Due to a lack of experimental results, the detailed mechanism of Dagaut composed of 209 species and 1673 reactions, and the skeletal mechanism of Luche composed of 91 species and 991 reactions have been used to validate the reduced scheme. Computations of one-dimensional laminar flames have been performed with the 2S{sub K}ERO{sub B}FER scheme using the CANTERA and COSILAB softwares for a wide range of pressure ([1; 12] atm), fresh gas temperature ([300; 700] K), and equivalence ratio ([0.6; 2.0]). Results show that the flame speed is correctly predicted for the whole range of parameters, showing a maximum for stoichiometric flames, a decrease for rich combustion and a satisfactory pressure dependence. The burnt gas temperature and the dilution by Exhaust Gas Recirculation are also well reproduced. Moreover, the results for ignition delay time are in good agreement with the experiments. (author)

Effect of hydrogen addition on burning rate and surface density of turbulent lean premixed methane-air flames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, H.; Tayebi, B.; Galizzi, C.; Escudie, D.

2009-01-01

Hydrogen (H 2 ) is a clean burning component, but relatively expensive. Mixing a small amount of hydrogen with other fuels is an effective way to use H 2 . H 2 enriched combustion significantly improves fuel efficiency and reduces pollutant (nitrogen oxide and particulate matter) emissions. This presentation discussed the effect of hydrogen addition on burning rate and surface density of turbulent lean premixed methane-air flames. The presentation discussed flame configuration; the experimental methodology using laser tomography; and results for typical images, burning velocity, ratio of turbulent to laminar burning velocities, flame surface density, curvature, flame brush thickness, and integrated flame surface area. It was concluded that the increase of turbulent burning velocity was faster than that of laminar burning velocity, which contradicted traditional theory. figs.

Effect of hydrogen on hydrogen-methane turbulent non-premixed flame under MILD condition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mardani, Amir; Tabejamaat, Sadegh [Department of Aerospace engineering, Amirkabir university of technology (Tehran polytechnic), Hafez Ave., PO. Box: 15875-4413, Tehran (Iran)

2010-10-15

Energy crises and the preservation of the global environment are placed man in a dilemma. To deal with these problems, finding new sources of fuel and developing efficient and environmentally friendly energy utilization technologies are essential. Hydrogen containing fuels and combustion under condition of the moderate or intense low-oxygen dilution (MILD) are good choices to replace the traditional ones. In this numerical study, the turbulent non-premixed CH{sub 4}+H{sub 2} jet flame issuing into a hot and diluted co-flow air is considered to emulate the combustion of hydrogen containing fuels under MILD conditions. This flame is related to the experimental condition of Dally et al. [Proc. Combust. Inst. 29 (2002) 1147-1154]. In general, the modelling is carried out using the EDC model, to describe turbulence-chemistry interaction, and the DRM-22 reduced mechanism and the GRI2.11 full mechanism to represent the chemical reactions of H{sub 2}/methane jet flame. The effect of hydrogen content of fuel on flame structure for two co-flow oxygen levels is studied by considering three fuel mixtures, 5%H{sub 2}+95%CH{sub 4}, 10%H{sub 2}+90%CH{sub 4} and 20% H{sub 2}+80%CH{sub 4}(by mass). In this study, distribution of species concentrations, mixture fraction, strain rate, flame entrainment, turbulent kinetic energy decay and temperature are investigated. Results show that the hydrogen addition to methane leads to improve mixing, increase in turbulent kinetic energy decay along the flame axis, increase in flame entrainment, higher reaction intensities and increase in mixture ignitability and rate of heat release. (author)

Early structure of LPG partially premixed conically stabilized flames

KAUST Repository

Elbaz, Ayman M.

2013-01-01

This paper presents experimental investigation of LPG partially premixed turbulent flames stabilized within a conical nozzle burner under constant degree of partial premixing. The stability limits and mean flame structure are presented based

Investigation of Scalar Filtered Density Function in Turbulent Partially Premixed Flames

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Tong, Chenning

2006-01-01

... using measurement data obtained in turbulent partially premixed methane/air (Sandia) flames. For SGS scalar variance small compared to its mean, the FMDF is not far from Gaussian and the SGS scalar is well mixed...

Quantification of extinction mechanism in counterflow premixed flames

KAUST Repository

Choi, Sangkyu; Cho, Eunseong; Chung, Suk-Ho

2014-01-01

The extinction mechanisms of stretched premixed flames have been investigated numerically for the fuels of CH4, C3H8, H2, CO and for the mixture fuels of CH4+H2 and CO+H2 by adopting symmetric double premixed flames in a counterflow configuration

Early structure of LPG partially premixed conically stabilized flames

KAUST Repository

Elbaz, Ayman M.

2013-01-01

This paper presents experimental investigation of LPG partially premixed turbulent flames stabilized within a conical nozzle burner under constant degree of partial premixing. The stability limits and mean flame structure are presented based on the mean gas temperature and the concentration of CO, O 2, NO, and HC at the flame early region of reaction. The investigation covered the influence of the nozzle cone angle, the jet exit velocity and the jet equivalence ratio. The stability results show that the flames with cone are more stable than those without cone. For conical stabilized flames, the stability results exhibit three different sensitivity regions between the jet velocity and equivalence ratio. The inflame measurements prove that the flame stability could be attributed to the triple flame structure at the flame leading edge. The data show that the triple flame structure is influenced by cone angle, the jet velocity and the equivalence ratio. The flame is believed to be controlled by the recirculation flow inside the cone. Increasing the cone angle induced higher air entrainment to the reaction zone as depicted by a higher O 2 concentration within the flame leading edge. Increasing the jet velocity to a certain limit enhances the intensity of combustion at the flame leading edge, while excessive increase in jet velocity reduces this intensity. At a fixed jet velocity the higher the equivalence ratio, the higher the amount of fuel diffused and engulfed to the reaction zone, the more delay of the combustion completion and the higher the emission concentrations of the flame. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

Experimental study on flame propagation characteristics of Hydrogen premixed gas in gas pipeline

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Danzhu; Li, Zhuang; Jia, Fengrui; Li, Zhou

2018-06-01

Hydrogen is the cleanest high-energy gas fuel, and also is the main industrial material. However, hydrogen is more explosive and more powerful than conventional gas fuels, which restricts its application. In particular, the expansion of premixed combustion under a strong constraint is more complicated, the reaction spreads faster. The flame propagation characteristics of premixed hydrogen/air were investigated by experiment. The mechanism of reaction acceleration is discussed, and then the speed of the flame propagation and the reaction pressure were tested and analysed.

The instability characteristics of lean premixed hydrogen and syngas flames stabilized on meso-scale bluff-body

KAUST Repository

Kim, Yu Jeong

2017-01-05

Bluff-body flame stabilization has been used as one of main flame stabilization schemes to improve combustion stability in both large and small scale premixed combustion systems. The detailed investigation of instability characteristics is needed to understand flame stability mechanism. Direct numerical simulations are conducted to investigate flame dynamics on the instability of lean premixed hydrogen/air and syngas/air flames stabilized on a meso-scale bluff-body. A two-dimensional channel of 10 mm height and 10 mm length with a square bluff-body stabilizer of 0.5 mm is considered. The height of domain is chosen as an unconfined condition to minimize the effect of the blockage ratio. Flame/flow dynamics are observed by increasing the mean inflow velocity from a steady stable to unsteady asymmetrical instability, followed by blowoff. Detailed observations between hydrogen and syngas flames with a time scale analysis are presented.

Probe sampling measurements and modeling of nitric oxide formation in ethane + air flames

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dyakov, I.V.; Ruyck, de J.; Konnov, A.A.

2007-01-01

Burning velocity and probe sampling measurements of the concentrations of O2, CO2, CO and NO in the post-flame zone of ethane + air flames are reported. The heat flux method was used for stabilization of laminar, premixed, non-stretched flames on a perforated plate burner at 1 atm. Axial profiles of

Effect of AC electric fields on the stabilization of premixed bunsen flames

KAUST Repository

Kim, Minkuk; Chung, Suk-Ho; Kim, Hwanho

2011-01-01

The stabilization characteristics of laminar premixed bunsen flames have been investigated experimentally for stoichiometric methane-air mixture by applying AC voltage to the nozzle with the single-electrode configuration. The detachment velocity

Response mechanisms of attached premixed flames subjected to harmonic forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Shreekrishna

The persistent thrust for a cleaner, greener environment has prompted air pollution regulations to be enforced with increased stringency by environmental protection bodies all over the world. This has prompted gas turbine manufacturers to move from nonpremixed combustion to lean, premixed combustion. These lean premixed combustors operate quite fuel-lean compared to the stochiometric, in order to minimize CO and NOx productions, and are very susceptible to oscillations in any of the upstream flow variables. These oscillations cause the heat release rate of the flame to oscillate, which can engage one or more acoustic modes of the combustor or gas turbine components, and under certain conditions, lead to limit cycle oscillations. This phenomenon, called thermoacoustic instabilities, is characterized by very high pressure oscillations and increased heat fluxes at system walls, and can cause significant problems in the routine operability of these combustors, not to mention the occasional hardware damages that could occur, all of which cumulatively cost several millions of dollars. In a bid towards understanding this flow-flame interaction, this research works studies the heat release response of premixed flames to oscillations in reactant equivalence ratio, reactant velocity and pressure, under conditions where the flame preheat zone is convectively compact to these disturbances, using the G-equation. The heat release response is quantified by means of the flame transfer function and together with combustor acoustics, forms a critical component of the analytical models that can predict combustor dynamics. To this end, low excitation amplitude (linear) and high excitation amplitude (nonlinear) responses of the flame are studied in this work. The linear heat release response of lean, premixed flames are seen to be dominated by responses to velocity and equivalence ratio fluctuations at low frequencies, and to pressure fluctuations at high frequencies which are in the

Measurements of Turbulent Flame Speed and Integral Length Scales in a Lean Stationary Premixed Flame

OpenAIRE

Klingmann, Jens; Johansson, Bengt

1998-01-01

Turbulent premixed natural gas - air flame velocities have been measured in a stationary axi-symmetric burner using LDA. The flame was stabilized by letting the flow retard toward a stagnation plate downstream of the burner exit. Turbulence was generated by letting the flow pass through a plate with drilled holes. Three different hole diameters were used, 3, 6 and 10 mm, in order to achieve different turbulent length scales. Turbulent integral length scales were measured using two-point LD...

Identification of combustion intermediates in low-pressure premixed pyridine/oxygen/argon flames.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Zhenyu; Li, Yuyang; Zhang, Taichang; Zhu, Aiguo; Qi, Fei

2008-12-25

Combustion intermediates of two low-pressure premixed pyridine/oxygen flames with respective equivalence ratios of 0.56 (C/O/N = 1:4.83:0.20) and 2.10 (C/O/N = 1:1.29:0.20) have been identified with tunable synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization and molecular-beam mass spectrometry techniques. About 80 intermediates in the rich flame and 60 intermediates in the lean flame, including nitrogenous, oxygenated, and hydrocarbon intermediates, have been identified by measurements of photoionization mass spectra and photoionization efficiency spectra. Some radicals and new nitrogenous intermediates are identified in the present work. The experimental results are useful for studying the conversion of volatile nitrogen compounds and understanding the formation mechanism of NO(x) in flames of nitrogenous fuels.

An experimental study on the structural alteration of C3H8-air premixed flame affected by ultrasonic standing waves of various frequencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sang Shin; Kim, Jeong Soo; Kim, Heuy Dong

2015-01-01

This experimental study scrutinizes the structural variation of a premixed propane-air flame according to the frequency change of ultrasonic standing waves (USWs) at various equivalence ratios. Visualization technique via Schlieren photography is employed in the observation of the flame structure and in the analysis of the flame velocities along the propagation. A distorted flame front and horizontal splitting in the burnt zone result from the USW. The vertical locations of the distortion and horizontal stripes are closely dependent on the frequency of the USW. In addition, the propagation velocity of the flame front floored by the standing wave is greater than that in the case without the excitation by the standing wave. As expected, the influence of the USW on the premixed-flame propagation becomes prominent as the frequency increases. The results suggest that a well-defined USW may be applied to combustion devices, such as gas turbines and chemical rocket engines, to achieve an active control of the instability that frequently intervenes in such systems.

The Effect of Hydrogen Addition on the Combustion Characteristics of RP-3 Kerosene/Air Premixed Flames

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen Zeng

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Experimental studies have been performed to investigate the effects of hydrogen addition on the combustion characteristics of Chinese No.3 jet fuel (RP-3 kerosene/air premixed flames. Experiments were carried out in a constant volume chamber and the influences of the initial temperatures of 390 and 420 K, initial pressures of 0.1 and 0.3 MPa, equivalence ratios of 0.6–1.6 and hydrogen additions of 0.0–0.5 on the laminar burning velocities, and Markstein numbers of Hydrogen (H2/RP-3/air mixtures were investigated. The results show that the flame front surfaces of RP-3/air mixtures remain smooth throughout the entire flame propagation process at a temperature of 390 K, pressure of 0.3 MPa, equivalence ratio of 1.3 and without hydrogen addition, but when the hydrogen addition increases from 0.0 to 0.5 under the same conditions, flaws and protuberances occur at the flame surfaces. It was also found that with the increase of the equivalence ratio from 0.9 to 1.5, the laminar burning velocities of the mixtures increase at first and then decrease, and the highest laminar burning velocity was measured at an equivalence ratio of 1.2. Meanwhile, with the increase of hydrogen addition, laminar burning velocities of H2/RP-3/air mixtures increase. However, the Markstein numbers of H2/RP-3/air mixtures decrease with the increase of hydrogen addition, which means that the flames of H2/RP-3/air mixtures become unstable with the increase of hydrogen addition.

Deformation Study of Lean Methane-Air Premixed Spherically Expanding Flames under a Negative Direct Current Electric Field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chao Li

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This paper compares numerical simulations with experiments to study the deformation of lean premixed spherically expanding flames under a negative direct current (DC electric field. The experiments, including the flame deformation and the ionic distribution on the flame surface were investigated in a mesh to mesh electric field. Besides, a numerical model of adding an electric body force to the positive ions on the flame surface was also established to perform a relevant simulation. Results show that the spherical flame will acquire an elliptical shape with a marked flame stretch in the horizontal direction and a slight inhibition in the vertical direction under a negative DC electric field. Meanwhile, a non-uniform ionic distribution on the flame surface was also detected by the Langmuir probe. The simulation results from the numerical model show good agreement with experimental data. According to the velocity field analysis in simulation, it was found the particular motion of positive ions and neutral molecules on the flame surface should be responsible for the special flame deformation. When a negative DC electric field was applied, the majority of positive ions and colliding neutral molecules will form an ionic flow along the flame surface by a superposition of the electric field force and the aerodynamic drag. The ionic flow was not uniform and mainly formed on the upper and lower sides, so it will lead to a non-uniform ionic distribution along the flame surface. What’s more, this ionic flow will also induce two vortexes both inside and outside of the flame surface due to viscosity effects. The external vortexes could produce an entraining effect on the premixed gas and take away the heat from the flame surface by forced convection, and then suppress the flame propagation in the vertical direction, while, the inner vortexes would scroll the burned zones and induce an inward flow at the horizontal center, which could be the reason for the

Ion measurements in premixed methane-oxygen flames

KAUST Repository

Alquaity, Awad

2014-07-25

Ions are formed as a result of chemi-ionization processes in combustion systems. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in understanding flame ion chemistry due to the possible application of external electric fields to reduce emissions and improve combustion efficiency by active control of combustion process. In order to predict the effect of external electric fields on combustion plasma, it is critical to gain a good understanding of the flame ion chemistry. In this work, a Molecular Beam Mass Spectrometer (MBMS) is utilized to measure ion concentration profiles in premixed methane-oxygen-argon burner-stabilized flames. Lean, stoichiometric and rich flames at atmospheric pressure are used to study the dependence of ion chemistry on equivalence ratio of premixed flames. The relative ion concentration profiles are compared qualitatively with previous methane-oxygen studies and show good agreement. The relative ion concentration data obtained in the present study can be used to validate and improve ion chemistry models for methane-oxygen flames.

An Experimental Study of the Structure of Turbulent Non-Premixed Jet Flames in Microgravity

Science.gov (United States)

Boxx, Isaac; Idicheria, Cherian; Clemens, Noel

2000-11-01

The aim of this work is to investigate the structure of transitional and turbulent non-premixed jet flames under microgravity conditions. The microgravity experiments are being conducted using a newly developed drop rig and the University of Texas 1.5 second drop tower. The rig itself measures 16”x33”x38” and contains a co-flowing round jet flame facility, flow control system, CCD camera, and data/image acquisition computer. These experiments are the first phase of a larger study being conducted at the NASA Glenn Research Center 2.2 second drop tower facility. The flames being studied include methane and propane round jet flames at jet exit Reynolds numbers as high as 10,000. The primary diagnostic technique employed is emission imaging of flame luminosity using a relatively high-speed (350 fps) CCD camera. The high-speed images are used to study flame height, flame tip dynamics and burnout characteristics. Results are compared to normal gravity experimental results obtained in the same apparatus.

Ion measurements in premixed methane-oxygen flames

KAUST Repository

Alquaity, Awad; Hourani, Nadim; Chahine, May; Selim, Hatem; Sarathy, Mani; Farooq, Aamir

2014-01-01

Mass Spectrometer (MBMS) is utilized to measure ion concentration profiles in premixed methane-oxygen-argon burner-stabilized flames. Lean, stoichiometric and rich flames at atmospheric pressure are used to study the dependence of ion chemistry

Propagation of a premixed flame in a divided-chamber combustor

Science.gov (United States)

Cattolica, R. J.; Barr, P. K.; Mansour, N. N.

1989-01-01

Experimental observations on the propagation of lean premixed ethylene-air flames in a divided-chamber combustion vessel have been compared with the results of numerical simulations based on a flame sheet-vortex dynamics model in axisymmetric coordinates. Flame speeds were found to increase from 10-24 cm/s as the equivalence ratio was varied from 0.5-0.65 in the experiments. Using the associated increase in gas velocity with equivalence ratio, the estimated Reynolds number in the experiment was changed from 1870 to 8090. Good agreement between experimental and theoretical results was obtained for the prechamber flame propagation rates and for the spatial and temporal development of the flame in the main combustion chamber at the lowest Reynolds number.

Calculation and analysis of the mobility and diffusion coefficient of thermal electrons in methane/air premixed flames

KAUST Repository

Bisetti, Fabrizio

2012-12-01

Simulations of ion and electron transport in flames routinely adopt plasma fluid models, which require transport coefficients to compute the mass flux of charged species. In this work, the mobility and diffusion coefficient of thermal electrons in atmospheric premixed methane/air flames are calculated and analyzed. The electron mobility is highest in the unburnt region, decreasing more than threefold across the flame due to mixture composition effects related to the presence of water vapor. Mobility is found to be largely independent of equivalence ratio and approximately equal to 0.4m 2V -1s -1 in the reaction zone and burnt region. The methodology and results presented enable accurate and computationally inexpensive calculations of transport properties of thermal electrons for use in numerical simulations of charged species transport in flames. © 2012 The Combustion Institute.

Structure of Unsteady Partially Premixed Flames and the Existence of State Relationships

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suresh K. Aggarwal

2009-09-01

Full Text Available In this study, we examine the structure and existence of state relationships in unsteady partially premixed flames (PPFs subjected to buoyancy-induced and external perturbations. A detailed numerical model is employed to simulate the steady and unsteady two-dimensional PPFs established using a slot burner under normal and zero-gravity conditions. The coflow velocity is parametrically varied. The methane-air chemistry is modeled using a fairly detailed mechanism that contains 81 elementary reactions and 24 species. Validation of the computational model is provided through comparisons of predictions with nonintrusive measurements. The combustion proceeds in two reaction zones, one a rich premixed zone and the other a nonpremixed zone. These reaction zones are spatially separated, but involve strong interactions between them due to thermochemistry and scalar transport. The fuel is mostly consumed in the premixed zone to produce CO and H2, which are transported to and consumed in the nonpremixed zone. The nonpremixed zone in turn provides heat and H-atoms to the premixed zone. For the range of conditions investigated, the zero-g partially premixed flames exhibit a stable behavior and a remarkably strong resistance to perturbations. In contrast, the corresponding normal-gravity flames exhibit oscillatory behavior at low coflow velocities but a stable behavior at high coflow velocities, and the behavior can be explained in terms of a global and convective instabilities. The effects of coflow and gravity on the flames are characterized through a parameter VR, defined as the ratio of coflow velocity to jet velocity. For VR ≤ 1 (low coflow velocity regime, the structures of both 0- and 1-g flames are strongly sensitive to changes in VR, while they are only mildly affected by coflow in the high coflow velocity regime (VR > 1. In addition, the spatio-temporal characteristics of the 0- and 1-g flames are markedly different in the first regime, but are

LES of a laboratory-scale turbulent premixed bunsen flame using FSD, PCM-FPI and thickened flame models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hernandez Perez, F.E.; Yuen, F.T.C.; Groth, C.P.T.; Gülder, O.L.

2011-01-01

Large-eddy simulations (LES) of a turbulent premixed Bunsen flame were carried out with three subfilter-scale (SFS) modelling approaches for turbulent premixed combustion. One approach is based on the artificially thickened flame and power-law flame wrinkling models, the second approach is based on

LES of the interaction between a premixed flame and complex turbulent swirling flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iudiciani, P; Duwig, C; Szasz, R Z; Fuchs, L; Gutmark, E

2011-01-01

In this paper the Triple Annular Research Swirler, a fuel injector characterized by complex design with three concentric air passages, has been studied numerically. A swirl-stabilized lean premixed flame has been simulated by means of Large Eddy Simulation. The computations characterize successfully the dynamics of the flame and their interactions with the complex swirling flow. The flame is stabilized upstream the fuel injector exit, and the dynamics are led by a Precessing Vortex Core which seems to originate in the inner air passage. The results obtained by Proper Orthogonal Decomposition analysis are in agreement with previous findings in the context of swirling flows/flames.

Chemiluminescence-based multivariate sensing of local equivalence ratios in premixed atmospheric methane-air flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tripathi, Markandey M.; Krishnan, Sundar R.; Srinivasan, Kalyan K.; Yueh, Fang-Yu; Singh, Jagdish P.

2011-09-07

Chemiluminescence emissions from OH*, CH*, C2, and CO2 formed within the reaction zone of premixed flames depend upon the fuel-air equivalence ratio in the burning mixture. In the present paper, a new partial least square regression (PLS-R) based multivariate sensing methodology is investigated and compared with an OH*/CH* intensity ratio-based calibration model for sensing equivalence ratio in atmospheric methane-air premixed flames. Five replications of spectral data at nine different equivalence ratios ranging from 0.73 to 1.48 were used in the calibration of both models. During model development, the PLS-R model was initially validated with the calibration data set using the leave-one-out cross validation technique. Since the PLS-R model used the entire raw spectral intensities, it did not need the nonlinear background subtraction of CO2 emission that is required for typical OH*/CH* intensity ratio calibrations. An unbiased spectral data set (not used in the PLS-R model development), for 28 different equivalence ratio conditions ranging from 0.71 to 1.67, was used to predict equivalence ratios using the PLS-R and the intensity ratio calibration models. It was found that the equivalence ratios predicted with the PLS-R based multivariate calibration model matched the experimentally measured equivalence ratios within 7%; whereas, the OH*/CH* intensity ratio calibration grossly underpredicted equivalence ratios in comparison to measured equivalence ratios, especially under rich conditions ( > 1.2). The practical implications of the chemiluminescence-based multivariate equivalence ratio sensing methodology are also discussed.

Effect of Low Co-flow Air Velocity on Hydrogen-air Non-premixed Turbulent Flame Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noor Mohsin Jasim

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to provide information concerning the effect of low co-flow velocity on the turbulent diffusion flame for a simple type of combustor, a numerical simulated cases of turbulent diffusion hydrogen-air flame are performed. The combustion model used in this investigation is based on chemical equilibrium and kinetics to simplify the complexity of the chemical mechanism. Effects of increased co-flowing air velocity on temperature, velocity components (axial and radial, and reactants have been investigated numerically and examined. Numerical results for temperature are compared with the experimental data. The comparison offers a good agreement. All numerical simulations have been performed using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD commercial code FLUENT. A comparison among the various co-flow air velocities, and their effects on flame behavior and temperature fields are presented.

An Investigation of a Hybrid Mixing Timescale Model for PDF Simulations of Turbulent Premixed Flames

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Hua; Kuron, Mike; Ren, Zhuyin; Lu, Tianfeng; Chen, Jacqueline H.

2016-11-01

Transported probability density function (TPDF) method features the generality for all combustion regimes, which is attractive for turbulent combustion simulations. However, the modeling of micromixing due to molecular diffusion is still considered to be a primary challenge for TPDF method, especially in turbulent premixed flames. Recently, a hybrid mixing rate model for TPDF simulations of turbulent premixed flames has been proposed, which recovers the correct mixing rates in the limits of flamelet regime and broken reaction zone regime while at the same time aims to properly account for the transition in between. In this work, this model is employed in TPDF simulations of turbulent premixed methane-air slot burner flames. The model performance is assessed by comparing the results from both direct numerical simulation (DNS) and conventional constant mechanical-to-scalar mixing rate model. This work is Granted by NSFC 51476087 and 91441202.

Soot volume fraction in a piloted turbulent jet non-premixed flame of natural gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qamar, N.H.; Alwahabi, Z.T.; King, K.D. [Fluid Mechanics, Energy and Combustion Group, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); Chan, Q.N. [Fluid Mechanics, Energy and Combustion Group, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); School of Chemical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); Nathan, G.J. [Fluid Mechanics, Energy and Combustion Group, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005 (Australia); Roekaerts, D. [Department of Multi-Scale Physics, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg, 1, NL-2628 CJ Delft (Netherlands)

2009-07-15

Planar laser-induced incandescence (LII) has been used to measure soot volume fraction in a well-characterised, piloted, turbulent non-premixed flame known as the ''Delft Flame III''. Simulated Dutch natural gas was used as the fuel to produce a flame closely matching those in which a wide range of previous investigations, both experimental and modelling, have been performed. The LII method was calibrated using a Santoro-style burner with ethylene as the fuel. Instantaneous and time-averaged data of the axial and radial soot volume fraction distributions of the flame are presented here along with the Probability Density Functions (PDFs) and intermittency. The PDFs were found to be well-characterised by a single exponential distribution function. The distribution of soot was found to be highly intermittent, with intermittency typically exceeding 97%, which increases measurement uncertainty. The instantaneous values of volume fraction are everywhere less than the values in strained laminar flames. This is consistent with the soot being found locally in strained flame sheets that are convected and distorted by the flow. (author)

Analysis of the flamelet concept in the numerical simulation of laminar partially premixed flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Consul, R.; Oliva, A.; Perez-Segarra, C.D.; Carbonell, D. [Centre Tecnologic de Transferencia de Calor (CTTC), Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), Colom 11, E-08222, Terrassa, Barcelona (Spain); de Goey, L.P.H. [Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven (Netherlands)

2008-04-15

The aim of this work is to analyze the application of flamelet models based on the mixture fraction variable and its dissipation rate to the numerical simulation of partially premixed flames. Although the main application of these models is the computation of turbulent flames, this work focuses on the performance of flamelet concept in laminar flame simulations removing, in this way, turbulence closure interactions. A well-known coflow methane/air laminar flame is selected. Five levels of premixing are taken into account from an equivalence ratio {phi}={infinity} (nonpremixed) to {phi}=2.464. Results obtained using the flamelet approaches are compared to data obtained from the detailed solution of the complete transport equations using primitive variables. Numerical simulations of a counterflow flame are also presented to support the discussion of the results. Special emphasis is given to the analysis of the scalar dissipation rate modeling. (author)

An Investigation of Fuel Mixing and Reaction in a CH4/Syngas/Air Premixed Impinging Flame with Varied H2/CO Proportion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chih-Pin Chiu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available For industrial applications, we propose a concept of clean and efficient combustion through burning syngas on an impinging burner. We performed experimental measurements of particle image velocimetry, OH radical (OH* chemiluminescence, flame temperature, and CO emission to examine the fuel mixing and reaction of premixed impinging flames of CH4/syngas/air with H2/CO in varied proportions. The velocity distribution of the combustion flow field showed that a deceleration area in the main flow formed through the mutual impingement of two jet flows, which enhanced the mixing of fuel and air because of an increased momentum transfer. The deceleration area expanded with an increased CO proportion, which indicated that the mixing of fuel and air also increased with the increased CO proportion. Our examination of the OH* chemiluminescence demonstrated that its intensity increased with increased CO proportion, which showed that the reaction between fuel and air accordingly increased. CO provided in the syngas hence participated readily in the reaction of the CH4/syngas/air premixed impinging flames when the syngas contained CO in a large proportion. Although the volume flow rate of the provided CO quadrupled, the CO emission increased by only 12% to 15%. The results of this work are useful to improve the feasibility of fuel-injection systems using syngas as an alternative fuel.

The anchoring mechanism of a bluff-body stabilized laminar premixed flame

KAUST Repository

Kedia, Kushal S.

2014-09-01

The objective of this work is to investigate the mechanism of the laminar premixed flame anchoring near a heat-conducting bluff-body. We use unsteady, fully resolved, two-dimensional simulations with detailed chemical kinetics and species transport for methane-air combustion. No artificial flame anchoring boundary conditions were imposed. Simulations show a shear-layer stabilized flame just downstream of the bluff-body, with a recirculation zone formed by the products of combustion. A steel bluff-body resulted in a slightly larger recirculation zone than a ceramic bluff-body; the size of which grew as the equivalence ratio was decreased. A significant departure from the conventional two-zone flame-structure is shown in the anchoring region. In this region, the reaction zone is associated with a large negative energy convection (directed from products to reactants) resulting in a negative flame-displacement speed. It is shown that the premixed flame anchors at an immediate downstream location near the bluff-body where favorable ignition conditions are established; a region associated with (1) a sufficiently high temperature impacted by the conjugate heat exchange between the heat-conducting bluff-body and the hot reacting flow and (2) a locally maximum stoichiometry characterized by the preferential diffusion effects. © 2014 The Combustion Institute.

Experimental study of the stabilization process of a non-premixed flame via the destabilization analysis of the blue ring flame

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinguet, Guillaume; Escudie, Dany [Centre de Thermique de Lyon (CETHIL) UMR 5008 CNRS-INSA-UCBL, INSA de Lyon, 20 av. A. Einstein, 69621 Villeurbanne cedex (France)

2007-04-15

The flame stabilization phenomenon remains a crucial issue. The experimental study of flame stabilization behind a tulip-shaped flame-holder is addressed in this paper. The process leading to the transition between specific modes - the blue ring flame and the instable ring - of a non-premixed flame stabilized on a tulip-shaped bluff-body is detailed. The aim of this study is to provide an accurate description of the destabilization of specific combustion modes, which enables a further understanding of the entire stabilization mechanism. The aerodynamic and mixing fields are described by laser Doppler anemometry and concentration measurements by sampling probe respectively. The behaviour of shear layers developing at the wake and jet boundaries are characterized by means of a spectral analysis of the fluctuating radial velocity. Results show that the destabilization process is related to the intensification of hot gas recirculation, inducing an upheaval of the dynamical condition of stabilization and a transition of mixing phenomena. (author)

An experimental study on the structural alteration of C{sub 3}H{sub 8}-air premixed flame affected by ultrasonic standing waves of various frequencies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Sang Shin [SK E and S, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jeong Soo [Pukyong National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Heuy Dong [Andong National University, Andong (Korea, Republic of)

2015-03-15

This experimental study scrutinizes the structural variation of a premixed propane-air flame according to the frequency change of ultrasonic standing waves (USWs) at various equivalence ratios. Visualization technique via Schlieren photography is employed in the observation of the flame structure and in the analysis of the flame velocities along the propagation. A distorted flame front and horizontal splitting in the burnt zone result from the USW. The vertical locations of the distortion and horizontal stripes are closely dependent on the frequency of the USW. In addition, the propagation velocity of the flame front floored by the standing wave is greater than that in the case without the excitation by the standing wave. As expected, the influence of the USW on the premixed-flame propagation becomes prominent as the frequency increases. The results suggest that a well-defined USW may be applied to combustion devices, such as gas turbines and chemical rocket engines, to achieve an active control of the instability that frequently intervenes in such systems.

Experimental and numerical study of premixed hydrogen/air flame propagating in a combustion chamber.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Huahua; Sun, Jinhua; Chen, Peng

2014-03-15

An experimental and numerical study of dynamics of premixed hydrogen/air flame in a closed explosion vessel is described. High-speed shlieren cinematography and pressure recording are used to elucidate the dynamics of the combustion process in the experiment. A dynamically thickened flame model associated with a detailed reaction mechanism is employed in the numerical simulation to examine the flame-flow interaction and effect of wall friction on the flame dynamics. The shlieren photographs show that the flame develops into a distorted tulip shape after a well-pronounced classical tulip front has been formed. The experimental results reveal that the distorted tulip flame disappears with the primary tulip cusp and the distortions merging into each other, and then a classical tulip is repeated. The combustion dynamics is reasonably reproduced in the numerical simulations, including the variations in flame shape and position, pressure build-up and periodically oscillating behavior. It is found that both the tulip and distorted tulip flames can be created in the simulation with free-slip boundary condition at the walls of the vessel and behave in a manner quite close to that in the experiments. This means that the wall friction could be unimportant for the tulip and distorted tulip formation although the boundary layer formed along the sidewalls has an influence to a certain extent on the flame behavior near the sidewalls. The distorted tulip flame is also observed to be produced in the absence of vortex flow in the numerical simulations. The TF model with a detailed chemical scheme is reliable for investigating the dynamics of distorted tulip flame propagation and its underlying mechanism. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparative study of non-premixed and partially-premixed combustion simulations in a realistic Tay model combustor

OpenAIRE

Zhang, K.; Ghobadian, A.; Nouri, J. M.

2017-01-01

A comparative study of two combustion models based on non-premixed assumption and partially premixed assumptions using the overall models of Zimont Turbulent Flame Speed Closure Method (ZTFSC) and Extended Coherent Flamelet Method (ECFM) are conducted through Reynolds stress turbulence modelling of Tay model gas turbine combustor for the first time. The Tay model combustor retains all essential features of a realistic gas turbine combustor. It is seen that the non-premixed combustion model fa...

Response of partially premixed flames to acoustic velocity and equivalence ratio perturbations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, K.T.; Lee, J.G.; Quay, B.D.; Santavicca, D.A. [Center for Advanced Power Generation, Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA (United States)

2010-09-15

This article describes an experimental investigation of the forced response of a swirl-stabilized partially premixed flame when it is subjected to acoustic velocity and equivalence ratio fluctuations. The flame's response is analyzed using phase-resolved CH{sup *} chemiluminescence images and flame transfer function (FTF) measurements, and compared with the response of a perfectly premixed flame under acoustic perturbations. The nonlinear response of the partially premixed flame is manifested by a partial extinction of the reaction zone, leading to rapid reduction of flame surface area. This nonlinearity, however, is observed only when the phase difference between the acoustic velocity and the equivalence ratio at the combustor inlet is close to zero. The condition, {delta}{phi}{sub {phi}}'-V'{approx}0 , indicates that reactant mixtures with high equivalence ratio impinge on the flame front with high velocity, inducing large fluctuations of the rate of heat release. It is found that the phase difference between the acoustic velocity and equivalence ratio nonuniformities is a key parameter governing the linear/nonlinear response of a partially premixed flame, and it is a function of modulation frequency, inlet velocity, fuel injection location, and fuel injector impedance. The results presented in this article will provide insight into the response of a partially premixed flame, which has not been well explored to date. (author)

Effect of pressure on high Karlovitz number lean turbulent premixed hydrogen-enriched methane-air flames using LES

Science.gov (United States)

Cicoria, David; Chan, C. K.

2017-07-01

Large eddy simulation (LES) is employed to investigate the effect of pressure on lean CH4-H2-air turbulent premixed flames at high Karlovitz number for mixtures up to 60% of hydrogen in volume. The subfilter combustion term representing the interaction between turbulence and chemistry is modelled using the PaSR model, along with complex chemistry using a skeletal mechanism based on GRI-MECH3.0. The influence of pressure at high turbulence levels is studied by means of the local flame structure, and the assessment of species formation inside the flame. Results show that the ratio of turbulent flame thickness to laminar flame thickness δt/δu increases faster with pressure, and increases with the fraction of hydrogen in the mixture, leading to higher ratio of turbulent to laminar flame speed. The flame displays smaller structures and higher degree of wrinkling at higher pressure. Final species of CO2 and H2O formation is almost independent of pressure. For intermediate species CO and OH, an increase in pressure at constant volume fraction of hydrogen β leads to a decrease of emission of these species.

Autoignition characteristics of laminar lifted jet flames of pre-vaporized iso-octane in heated coflow air

KAUST Repository

Al-Noman, Saeed M.; Choi, Sang Kyu; Chung, Suk-Ho

2015-01-01

The stabilization characteristics of laminar non-premixed jet flames of pre-vaporized iso-octane, one of the primary reference fuels for octane rating, have been studied experimentally in heated coflow air. Non-autoignited and autoignited lifted

Impact of fuel composition on the recirculation zone structure and its role in lean premixed flame anchoring

KAUST Repository

Hong, Seunghyuck; Shanbhogue, Santosh J.; Ghoniem, Ahmed F.

2015-01-01

) and chemiluminescence measurements for C3H8/H2/air lean premixed flames stabilized in a backward-facing step combustor. Results show an intricate coupling between the flame anchoring and the RZ structure and length. For a fixed fuel composition, at relatively low

The formation of aromatics and PAH's in laminar flames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marinov, N M; Pitz, W J; Westbrook, C K

1999-01-01

The formation of aromatics and PAH's is an important problem in combustion. These compounds are believed to contribute to the formation of soot whose emission from diesel engines is regulated widely throughout the industrial world. Additionally, the United States Environmental Protection Agency regulates the emission of many aromatics and PAH species from stationary industrial burners, under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. The above emission regulations have created much interest in understanding how these species are formed in combustion systems. Much previous work has been done on aromatics and PAH's. The work is too extensive to review here, but is reviewed in Reference 1. A few recent developments are highlighted here. McEnally, Pfefferle and coworkers have studied aromatic, PAH and soot formation in a variety of non-premixed flames with hydrocarbon additives[2-4]. They found additives that contain a C5 ring increase the concentration of aromatics and soot[4]. Howard and coworkers have studied the formation of aromatic and PAH's in low pressure, premixed, laminar hydrocarbon flames. They found the cyclopentadienyl radical to be a key species in naphthalene formation in a fuel-rich, benzene/Ar/O2 flame[5

Behavioral Characteristics of the Non-Premixed Methane-Air Flame Oppositely Injected in a Narrow Channel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yun, Young Min; Lee, Min Jung; Cho, Sang Moon; Kim, Nam Il

2009-01-01

Characteristics of a counter flowing diffusion flame, which is formulated by an oppositely-injected methane-jet flow in a narrow channel of a uniform air flow. The location of the flame fronts and the flame lengths were compared by changing the flow rates of fuel. To distinguish the effects of the narrow channel on the diffusion flame, a numerical simulation for an ideal two-dimensional flame was conducted. Overall trends of the flame behavior were similar in both numerical and experimental results. With the increase of the ratio of jet velocity to air velocity flame front moved farther upstream. It is thought that the flow re-direction in the channel suppresses fuel momentum more significantly due to the higher temperature and increased viscosity of burned gas. Actual flames in a narrow channel suffer heat loss to the ambient and it has finite length of diffusion flame in contrast to the numerical results of infinite flame length. Thus a convective heat loss was additionally employed in numerical simulation and closer results were obtained. These results can be used as basic data in development of a small combustor of a nonpremixed flame

Behavioral Characteristics of the Non-Premixed Methane-Air Flame Oppositely Injected in a Narrow Channel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yun, Young Min; Lee, Min Jung; Cho, Sang Moon; Kim, Nam Il [Chungang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2009-04-15

Characteristics of a counter flowing diffusion flame, which is formulated by an oppositely-injected methane-jet flow in a narrow channel of a uniform air flow. The location of the flame fronts and the flame lengths were compared by changing the flow rates of fuel. To distinguish the effects of the narrow channel on the diffusion flame, a numerical simulation for an ideal two-dimensional flame was conducted. Overall trends of the flame behavior were similar in both numerical and experimental results. With the increase of the ratio of jet velocity to air velocity flame front moved farther upstream. It is thought that the flow re-direction in the channel suppresses fuel momentum more significantly due to the higher temperature and increased viscosity of burned gas. Actual flames in a narrow channel suffer heat loss to the ambient and it has finite length of diffusion flame in contrast to the numerical results of infinite flame length. Thus a convective heat loss was additionally employed in numerical simulation and closer results were obtained. These results can be used as basic data in development of a small combustor of a nonpremixed flame.

Cellular burning in lean premixed turbulent hydrogen-air flames: Coupling experimental and computational analysis at the laboratory scale

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Day, M S; Bell, J B; Beckner, V E; Lijewski, M J; Cheng, R K; Tachibana, S

2009-01-01

One strategy for reducing US dependence on petroleum is to develop new combustion technologies for burning the fuel-lean mixtures of hydrogen or hydrogen-rich syngas fuels obtained from the gasification of coal and biomass. Fuel-flexible combustion systems based on lean premixed combustion have the potential for dramatically reducing pollutant emissions in transportation systems, heat and stationary power generation. However, lean premixed flames are highly susceptible to fluid-dynamical combustion instabilities making robust and reliable systems difficult to design. Low swirl burners are emerging as an important technology for meeting design requirements in terms of both reliability and emissions for next generation combustion devices. In this paper, we present simulations of a lean, premixed hydrogen flame stabilized on a laboratory-scale low swirl burner. The simulations use detailed chemistry and transport without incorporating explicit models for turbulence or turbulence/chemistry interaction. Here we discuss the overall structure of the flame and compare with experimental data. We also use the simulation data to elucidate the characteristics of the turbulent flame interaction and how this impacts the analysis of experimental measurements.

On the Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of Lean Partially Premixed Combustion, Burning Speed, Flame Instability and Plasma Formation of Alternative Fuels at High Temperatures and Pressures

Science.gov (United States)

Askari, Omid

This dissertation investigates the combustion and injection fundamental characteristics of different alternative fuels both experimentally and theoretically. The subjects such as lean partially premixed combustion of methane/hydrogen/air/diluent, methane high pressure direct-injection, thermal plasma formation, thermodynamic properties of hydrocarbon/air mixtures at high temperatures, laminar flames and flame morphology of synthetic gas (syngas) and Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) fuels were extensively studied in this work. These subjects will be summarized in three following paragraphs. The fundamentals of spray and partially premixed combustion characteristics of directly injected methane in a constant volume combustion chamber have been experimentally studied. The injected fuel jet generates turbulence in the vessel and forms a turbulent heterogeneous fuel-air mixture in the vessel, similar to that in a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Direct-Injection (DI) engines. The effect of different characteristics parameters such as spark delay time, stratification ratio, turbulence intensity, fuel injection pressure, chamber pressure, chamber temperature, Exhaust Gas recirculation (EGR) addition, hydrogen addition and equivalence ratio on flame propagation and emission concentrations were analyzed. As a part of this work and for the purpose of control and calibration of high pressure injector, spray development and characteristics including spray tip penetration, spray cone angle and overall equivalence ratio were evaluated under a wide range of fuel injection pressures of 30 to 90 atm and different chamber pressures of 1 to 5 atm. Thermodynamic properties of hydrocarbon/air plasma mixtures at ultra-high temperatures must be precisely calculated due to important influence on the flame kernel formation and propagation in combusting flows and spark discharge applications. A new algorithm based on the statistical thermodynamics was developed to calculate the ultra-high temperature plasma

Numerical study of turbulent normal diffusion flame CH4-air stabilized by coaxial burner

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riahi Zouhair

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The practical combustion systems such as combustion furnaces, gas turbine, engines, etc. employ non-premixed combustion due to its better flame stability, safety, and wide operating range as compared to premixed combustion. The present numerical study characterizes the turbulent flame of methane-air in a coaxial burner in order to determine the effect of airflow on the distribution of temperature, on gas consumption and on the emission of NOx. The results in this study are obtained by simulation on FLUENT code. The results demonstrate the influence of different parameters on the flame structure, temperature distribution and gas emissions, such as turbulence, fuel jet velocity, air jet velocity, equivalence ratio and mixture fraction. The lift-off height for a fixed fuel jet velocity is observed to increase monotonically with air jet velocity. Temperature and NOx emission decrease of important values with the equivalence ratio, it is maximum about the unity.

Combined Influence of Strain and Heat Loss on Turbulent Premixed Flame Stabilization

KAUST Repository

Tay-Wo-Chong, Luis

2015-11-16

The present paper argues that the prediction of turbulent premixed flames under non-adiabatic conditions can be improved by considering the combined effects of strain and heat loss on reaction rates. The effect of strain in the presence of heat loss on the consumption speed of laminar premixed flames was quantified by calculations of asymmetric counterflow configurations (“fresh-to-burnt”) with detailed chemistry. Heat losses were introduced by setting the temperature of the incoming stream of products on the “burnt” side to values below those corresponding to adiabatic conditions. The consumption speed decreased in a roughly exponential manner with increasing strain rate, and this tendency became more pronounced in the presence of heat losses. An empirical relation in terms of Markstein number, Karlovitz Number and a non-dimensional heat loss parameter was proposed for the combined influence of strain and heat losses on the consumption speed. Combining this empirical relation with a presumed probability density function for strain in turbulent flows, an attenuation factor that accounts for the effect of strain and heat loss on the reaction rate in turbulent flows was deduced and implemented into a turbulent combustion model. URANS simulations of a premixed swirl burner were carried out and validated against flow field and OH chemiluminescence measurements. Introducing the effects of strain and heat loss into the combustion model, the flame topology observed experimentally was correctly reproduced, with good agreement between experiment and simulation for flow field and flame length.

Detection of carbon monoxide (CO) in sooting hydrocarbon flames using femtosecond two-photon laser-induced fluorescence (fs-TPLIF)

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yejun; Kulatilaka, Waruna D.

2018-01-01

Ultrashort-pulse, femtosecond (fs)-duration, two-photon laser-induced fluorescence (fs-TPLIF) measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) are reported in rich, sooting hydrocarbon flames. CO-TPLIF detection using conventional nanosecond or picosecond lasers are often plagued by photochemical interferences, specifically under fuel-rich flames conditions. In the current study, we investigate the commonly used CO two-photon excitation scheme of the B1Σ+ ← X1Σ+ electronic transition, using approximately 100-fs-duration excitation pulses. Fluorescence emission was observed in the Ångström band originating from directly populated B1Σ+ upper state, as well as, in the third positive band from collisionally populated b3Σ+ upper state. The current work was focused on the Ångström band emission. Interference from nascent C2 emissions originating from hot soot particles in the flame could be reduced to a negligible level using a narrower detection gate width. In contrast, avoiding interferences from laser-generated C2 Swan-band emissions required specific narrowband spectral filtering in sooting flame conditions. The observed less than quadratic laser pulse energy dependence of the TPLIF signal suggests the presence of strong three-photon ionization and stimulated emission processes. In a range of CH4/air and C2H4/air premixed flames investigated, the measured CO fluorescence signals agree well with the calculated equilibrium CO number densities. Reduced-interference CO-TPLIF imaging in premixed C2H4/O2/N2 jet flames is also reported.

Effects of platinum stagnation surface on the lean extinction limits of premixed methane/air flames at moderate surface temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiswall, J.T.; Li, J.; Wooldridge, M.S.; Im, H.G. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

2011-01-15

A stagnation flow reactor was used to study the effects of platinum on the lean flammability limits of atmospheric pressure premixed methane/air flames at moderate stagnation surface temperatures. Experimental and computational methods were used to quantify the equivalence ratio at the lean extinction limit ({phi}{sub ext}) and the corresponding stagnation surface temperature (T{sub s}). A range of flow rates (57-90 cm/s) and corresponding strain rates were considered. The results indicate that the gas-phase methane/air flames are sufficiently strong relative to the heterogeneous chemistry for T{sub s} conditions less than 750 K that the platinum does not affect {phi}{sub ext}. The computational results are in good agreement with the experimentally observed trends and further indicate that higher reactant flow rates (>139 cm/s) and levels of dilution (>{proportional_to}10% N{sub 2}) are required to weaken the gas-phase flame sufficiently for surface reaction to play a positive role on extending the lean flammability limits. (author)

Experimental study of a premixed oscillating flame stabilized inside the tube

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, B.I.; Shin, H.D. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1998-04-01

An experimental study of premixed oscillating flame stabilized inside the tube has been conducted in order to examine the kinematic behavior of premixed flame under the flow oscillation and flame/flow interaction. Flow oscillation is accomplished by an acoustic excitation. Oscillating nature of flow has been studied with and without the flame using velocity and pressure measurements by a LDV and microphone, respectively Kinematic behavior of the oscillating flame is examined using triggered ICCD camera system. Velocity oscillation and flame oscillation is the same frequency as that produced by the acoustic excitation and flame shape has a similarity at various phase of oscillation. Upstream velocity field near the flame zone is greatly influenced by the flame oscillation. This is the typical example of flame/flow interaction. (author). 9 refs., 7 figs.

Investigation of Turbulent Hydrogen Premixed Flame Topologies at Different Combustion Regimes Using Computational Singular Perturbation

Science.gov (United States)

Tingas, Efstathios-Alexandros; Hernandez Perez, Francisco; Im, Hong

2017-11-01

The investigation of turbulent flames at higher Reynolds and Karlovitz numbers has been gaining research interest, due to the advances in the computational power that has facilitated the use of direct numerical simulations (DNS). One of the additional challenges associated with highly turbulent premixed flames is the difficulties in identifying the turbulent flame topologies as the flame structures become severely corrugated or even disrupted by the small scale turbulent eddies. In these conditions, the conventional methods using a scalar iso-surface may lead to uncertainties in describing the flame front dynamics. In this study, the computational singular perturbation (CSP) is utilized as an automated tool to identify the flame front topologies based on the dynamical time scales and eigenvalues. In particular, the tangential stretch rate (TSR) approach, an extended generalized method to depict the dynamics of chemical and transport processes, is used for the flame front identification. The CSP/TSR approach and tools are used to compare the flame fronts of two turbulent H2/air premixed flames and to identify their similarities/differences, from a dynamical point of view. The results for two different combustion regimes are analyzed and compared.

An experimental study on the effects of swirling oxidizer flow and diameter of fuel nozzle on behaviour and light emittance of propane-oxygen non-premixed flame

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javareshkian Alireza

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, the stability and the light emittance of non-premixed propane-oxygen flames have been experimentally evaluated with respect to swirling oxidizer flow and variations in fuel nozzle diameter. Hence, three types of the vanes with the swirl angles of 30°, 45°, and 60° have been chosen for producing the desired swirling flows. The main aims of this study are to determine the flame behaviour, light emittance, and also considering the effect of variation in fuel nozzle diameter on combustion phenomena such as flame length, flame shape, and soot free length parameter. The investigation into the flame phenomenology was comprised of variations of the oxidizer and fuel flow velocities (respective Reynolds numbers and the fuel nozzle diameter. The results showed that the swirl effect could change the flame luminosity and this way could reduce or increase the maximum value of the flame light emittance in the combustion zone. Therefore, investigation into the flame light emittance can give a good clue for studying the mixing quality of reactants, the flame phenomenology (blue flame or sooty flame, localized extinction, and the combustion intensity in non-premixed flames.

An experimental and kinetic investigation of premixed furan/oxygen/argon flames.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Zhenyu; Yuan, Tao; Fournet, Rene; Glaude, Pierre-Alexandre; Sirjean, Baptiste; Battin-Leclerc, Frédérique; Zhang, Kuiwen; Qi, Fei

2011-04-01

The detailed chemical structures of three low-pressure (35 Torr) premixed laminar furan/oxygen/argon flames with equivalence ratios of 1.4, 1.8 and 2.2 have been investigated by using tunable synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization and molecular-beam mass spectrometry. About 40 combustion species including hydrocarbons and oxygenated intermediates have been identified by measurements of photoionization efficiency spectra. Mole fraction profiles of the flame species including reactants, intermediates and products have been determined by scanning burner position with some selected photon energies near ionization thresholds. Flame temperatures have been measured by a Pt-6%Rh/Pt-30%Rh thermocouple. A new mechanism involving 206 species and 1368 reactions has been proposed whose predictions are in reasonable agreement with measured species profiles for the three investigated flames. Rate-of-production and sensitivity analyses have been performed to track the key reaction paths governing furan consumption for different equivalence ratios. Both experimental and modeling results indicate that few aromatics could be formed in these flames. Furthermore, the current model has been validated against previous pyrolysis results of the literature obtained behind shock waves and the agreement is reasonable as well.

A computational study of ethylene–air sooting flames: Effects of large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

KAUST Repository

Selvaraj, Prabhu

2015-11-05

An updated reduced gas-phase kinetic mechanism was developed and integrated with aerosol models to predict soot formation characteristics in ethylene nonpremixed and premixed flames. A primary objective is to investigate the sensitivity of the soot formation to various chemical pathways for large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The gas-phase chemical mechanism adopted the KAUST-Aramco PAH Mech 1.0, which utilized the AramcoMech 1.3 for gas-phase reactions validated for up to C2 fuels. In addition, PAH species up to coronene (C24H12 or A7) were included to describe the detailed formation pathways of soot precursors. In this study, the detailed chemical mechanism was reduced from 397 to 99 species using directed relation graph with expert knowledge (DRG-X) and sensitivity analysis. The method of moments with interpolative closure (MOMIC) was employed for the soot aerosol model. Counterflow nonpremixed flames at low strain rate sooting conditions were considered, for which the sensitivity of soot formation characteristics to different nucleation pathways were investigated. Premixed flame experiment data at different equivalence ratios were also used for validation. The findings show that higher PAH concentrations result in a higher soot nucleation rate, and that the total soot volume and average size of the particles are predicted in good agreement with experimental results. Subsequently, the effects of different pathways, with respect to pyrene- or coronene-based nucleation models, on the net soot formation rate were analyzed. It was found that the nucleation processes (i.e., soot inception) are sensitive to the choice of PAH precursors, and consideration of higher PAH species beyond pyrene is critical for accurate prediction of the overall soot formation.

Effects of pressure fluctuations on the combustion process in turbulent premixed flames

Science.gov (United States)

Beardsell, Guillaume; Lapointe, Simon; Blanquart, Guillaume

2016-11-01

The need for a thorough understanding of turbulence-combustion interactions in compressible flows is driven by recent technological developments in propulsion as well as renewed interest in the development of next generation supersonic and hypersonic vehicles. In such flows, pressure fluctuations displaying a wide range of length and timescales are present. These fluctuations are expected to impact the combustion process to varying degrees, depending amongst other things on the amplitude of the pressure variations and the timescales of the chemical reactions taking place in the flame. In this context, numerical simulations of these flows can provide insight into the impact of pressure fluctuations on the combustion process. In the present work, we analyze data from simulations of statistically-flat premixed n-heptane/air flames at high Karlovitz numbers. The compressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved exactly (DNS) and results obtained with both detailed kinetic modeling and one-step chemistry are considered. The effects of pressure fluctuations on the fuel burning rate are investigated. The findings are compared with results obtained from simulations of one-dimensional premixed flames subjected to various pressure waves.

Impact of flame-wall interaction on premixed flame dynamics and transfer function characteristics

KAUST Repository

Kedia, K.S.

2011-01-01

In this paper, we numerically investigate the response of a perforated-plate stabilized laminar methane-air premixed flame to imposed inlet velocity perturbations. A flame model using detailed chemical kinetics mechanism is applied and heat exchange between the burner plate and the gas mixture is incorporated. Linear transfer functions, for low mean inlet velocity oscillations, are analyzed for different equivalence ratio, mean inlet velocity, plate thermal conductivity and distance between adjacent holes. The oscillations of the heat exchange rate at the top of the burner surface plays a critical role in driving the growth of the perturbations over a wide range of conditions, including resonance. The flame response to the perturbations at its base takes the form of consumption speed oscillations in this region. Flame stand-off distance increases/decreases when the flame-wall interaction strengthens/weakens, impacting the overall dynamics of the heat release. The convective lag between the perturbations and the flame base response govern the phase of heat release rate oscillations. There is an additional convective lag between the perturbations at the flame base and the flame tip which has a weaker impact on the heat release rate oscillations. At higher frequencies, the flame-wall interaction is weaker and the heat release oscillations are driven by the flame area oscillations. The response of the flame to higher amplitude oscillations are used to gain further insight into the mechanisms. © 2010 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Combustion Institute. All rights reserved.

Formation, growth, and transport of soot in a three-dimensional turbulent non-premixed jet flame

KAUST Repository

Attili, Antonio; Bisetti, Fabrizio; Mü eller, Michael E.; Pitsch, Heinz G.

2014-01-01

The formation, growth, and transport of soot is investigated via large scale numerical simulation in a three-dimensional turbulent non-premixed n-heptane/air jet flame at a jet Reynolds number of 15,000. For the first time, a detailed chemical mechanism, which includes the soot precursor naphthalene and a high-order method of moments are employed in a three-dimensional simulation of a turbulent sooting flame. The results are used to discuss the interaction of turbulence, chemistry, and the formation of soot. Compared to temperature and other species controlled by oxidation chemistry, naphthalene is found to be affected more significantly by the scalar dissipation rate. While the mixture fraction and temperature fields show fairly smooth spatial and temporal variations, the sensitivity of naphthalene to turbulent mixing causes large inhomogeneities in the precursor fields, which in turn generate even stronger intermittency in the soot fields. A strong correlation is apparent between soot number density and the concentration of naphthalene. On the contrary, while soot mass fraction is usually large where naphthalene is present, pockets of fluid with large soot mass are also frequent in regions with very low naphthalene mass fraction values. From the analysis of Lagrangian statistics, it is shown that soot nucleates and grows mainly in a layer close to the flame and spreads on the rich side of the flame due to the fluctuating mixing field, resulting in more than half of the total soot mass being located at mixture fractions larger than 0.6. Only a small fraction of soot is transported towards the flame and is completely oxidized in the vicinity of the stoichiometric surface. These results show the leading order effects of turbulent mixing in controlling the dynamics of soot in turbulent flames. Finally, given the difficulties in obtaining quantitative data in experiments of turbulent sooting flames, this simulation provides valuable data to guide the development of

Formation, growth, and transport of soot in a three-dimensional turbulent non-premixed jet flame

KAUST Repository

Attili, Antonio

2014-07-01

The formation, growth, and transport of soot is investigated via large scale numerical simulation in a three-dimensional turbulent non-premixed n-heptane/air jet flame at a jet Reynolds number of 15,000. For the first time, a detailed chemical mechanism, which includes the soot precursor naphthalene and a high-order method of moments are employed in a three-dimensional simulation of a turbulent sooting flame. The results are used to discuss the interaction of turbulence, chemistry, and the formation of soot. Compared to temperature and other species controlled by oxidation chemistry, naphthalene is found to be affected more significantly by the scalar dissipation rate. While the mixture fraction and temperature fields show fairly smooth spatial and temporal variations, the sensitivity of naphthalene to turbulent mixing causes large inhomogeneities in the precursor fields, which in turn generate even stronger intermittency in the soot fields. A strong correlation is apparent between soot number density and the concentration of naphthalene. On the contrary, while soot mass fraction is usually large where naphthalene is present, pockets of fluid with large soot mass are also frequent in regions with very low naphthalene mass fraction values. From the analysis of Lagrangian statistics, it is shown that soot nucleates and grows mainly in a layer close to the flame and spreads on the rich side of the flame due to the fluctuating mixing field, resulting in more than half of the total soot mass being located at mixture fractions larger than 0.6. Only a small fraction of soot is transported towards the flame and is completely oxidized in the vicinity of the stoichiometric surface. These results show the leading order effects of turbulent mixing in controlling the dynamics of soot in turbulent flames. Finally, given the difficulties in obtaining quantitative data in experiments of turbulent sooting flames, this simulation provides valuable data to guide the development of

Turbulent piloted partially-premixed flames with varying levels of O2/N2: stability limits and PDF calculations

Science.gov (United States)

Juddoo, Mrinal; Masri, Assaad R.; Pope, Stephen B.

2011-12-01

This paper reports measured stability limits and PDF calculations of piloted, turbulent flames of compressed natural gas (CNG) partially-premixed with either pure oxygen, or with varying levels of O2/N2. Stability limits are presented for flames of CNG fuel premixed with up to 20% oxygen as well as CNG-O2-N2 fuel where the O2 content is varied from 8 to 22% by volume. Calculations are presented for (i) Sydney flame B [Masri et al. 1988] which uses pure CNG as well as flames B15 to B25 where the CNG is partially-premixed with 15-25% oxygen by volume, respectively and (ii) Sandia methane-air (1:3 by volume) flame E [Barlow et al. 2005] as well as new flames E15 and E25 that are partially-premixed with 'reconstituted air' where the O2 content in nitrogen is 15 and 25% by volume, respectively. The calculations solve a transported PDF of composition using a particle-based Monte Carlo method and employ the EMST mixing model as well as detailed chemical kinetics. The addition of oxygen to the fuel increases stability, shortens the flames, broadens the reaction zone, and shifts the stoichiometric mixture fraction towards the inner side of the jet. It is found that for pure CNG flames where the reaction zone is narrow (∼0.1 in mixture fraction space), the PDF calculations fail to reproduce the correct level of local extinction on approach to blow-off. A broadening in the reaction zone up to about 0.25 in mixture fraction space is needed for the PDF/EMST approach to be able to capture these finite-rate chemistry effects. It is also found that for the same level of partial premixing, increasing the O2/N2 ratio increases the maximum levels of CO and NO but shifts the peak to richer mixture fractions. Over the range of oxygenation investigated here, stability limits have shown to improve almost linearly with increasing oxygen levels in the fuel and with increasing the contribution of release rate from the pilot.

Experimental study of flame stability in biogas premix system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diaz G, Carlos A; Amell A Andres; Cardona Luis F

2008-01-01

Utilization of new renewable energy sources have had a special interest in last years looking for decrease the dependence of fossil fuels and the environmental impact generated for them. This work studies experimentally the flame stability of a simulated biogas with a volumetric composition of 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide. The objective of this study is to obtain information about design and interchangeability of gases in premixed combustion systems that operate with different fuel gases. The critical velocity gradient was the stability criteria used. Utilization of this criteria and the experimental method followed, using a partial premixed burner, stability flame diagram of biogas studied had been obtained. Presence of carbon dioxide has a negative effect in flame stability, decreasing significantly the laminar flame speed and consequently, the stability range of biogas burners because of apparition of blow off.

Blowoff dynamics of bluff body stabilized turbulent premixed flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chaudhuri, Swetaprovo; Kostka, Stanislav; Renfro, Michael W.; Cetegen, Baki M. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Connecticut, 191 Auditorium Road, U-3139, Storrs, CT 06269 (United States)

2010-04-15

This article concerns the flame dynamics of a bluff body stabilized turbulent premixed flame as it approaches lean blowoff. Time resolved chemiluminescence imaging along with simultaneous particle image velocimetry and OH planar laser-induced fluorescence were utilized in an axisymmetric bluff body stabilized, propane-air flame to determine the sequence of events leading to blowoff and provide a quantitative analysis of the experimental results. It was found that as lean blowoff is approached by reduction of equivalence ratio, flame speed decreases and the flame shape progressively changes from a conical to a columnar shape. For a stably burning conical flame away from blowoff, the flame front envelopes the shear layer vortices. Near blowoff, the columnar flame front and shear layer vortices overlap to induce high local stretch rates that exceed the extinction stretch rates instantaneously and in the mean, resulting in local flame extinction along the shear layers. Following shear layer extinction, fresh reactants can pass through the shear layers to react within the recirculation zone with all other parts of the flame extinguished. This flame kernel within the recirculation zone may survive for a few milliseconds and can reignite the shear layers such that the entire flame is reestablished for a short period. This extinction and reignition event can happen several times before final blowoff which occurs when the flame kernel fails to reignite the shear layers and ultimately leads to total flame extinguishment. (author)

Flow characterization and dilution effects of N2 and CO2 on premixed CH4/air flames in a swirl-stabilized combustor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han Yue; Cai Guo-Biao; Wang Hai-Xing; Bruno Renou; Abdelkrim Boukhalfa

2014-01-01

Numerically-aided experimental studies are conducted on a swirl-stabilized combustor to investigate the dilution effects on flame stability, flame structure, and pollutant emissions of premixed CH 4 /air flames. Our goal is to provide a systematic assessment on combustion characteristics in diluted regimes for its application to environmentally-friendly approaches such as biogas combustion and exhaust-gas recirculation technology. Two main diluting species, N 2 and CO 2 , are tested at various dilution rates. The results obtained by means of optical diagnostics show that five main flame regimes can be observed for N 2 -diluted flames by changing excess air and dilution rate. CO 2 -diluted flames follow the same pattern evolution except that all the domains are shifted to lower excess air. Both N 2 and CO 2 dilution affect the lean blowout (LBO) limits negatively. This behavior can be counter-balanced by reactant preheating which is able to broaden the flammability domain of the diluted flames. Flame reactivity is degraded by increasing dilution rate. Meanwhile, flames are thickened in the presence of both diluting species. NO x emissions are significantly reduced with dilution and proved to be relevant to flame stability diagrams: slight augmentation in NO x emission profiles is related to transitional flame states where instability occurs. Although dilution results in increase in CO emissions at certain levels, optimal dilution rates can still be proposed to achieve an ideal compromise

PREMIXED FLAME PROPAGATION AND MORPHOLOGY IN A CONSTANT VOLUME COMBUSTION CHAMBER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hariharan, A; Wichman, IS

2014-06-04

This work presents an experimental and numerical investigation of premixed flame propagation in a constant volume rectangular channel with an aspect ratio of six (6) that serves as a combustion chamber. Ignition is followed by an accelerating cusped finger-shaped flame-front. A deceleration of the flame is followed by the formation of a "tulip"-shaped flame-front. Eventually, the flame is extinguished when it collides with the cold wall on the opposite channel end. Numerical computations are performed to understand the influence of pressure waves, instabilities, and flow field effects causing changes to the flame structure and morphology. The transient 2D numerical simulation results are compared with transient 3D experimental results. Issues discussed are the appearance of oscillatory motions along the flame front and the influences of gravity on flame structure. An explanation is provided for the formation of the "tulip" shape of the premixed flame front.

The Impact of Variable Inlet Mixture Stratification on Flame Topology and Emissions Performance of a Premixer/Swirl Burner Configuration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Koutmos

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The work presents the assessment of a low emissions premixer/swirl burner configuration utilizing lean stratified fuel preparation. An axisymmetric, single- or double-cavity premixer, formed along one, two, or three concentric disks promotes propane-air premixing and supplies the combustion zone at the afterbody disk recirculation with a radial equivalence ratio gradient. The burner assemblies are operated with a swirl co-flow to study the interaction of the recirculating stratified flame with the surrounding swirl. A number of lean and ultra-lean flames operated either with a plane disk stabilizer or with one or two premixing cavity arrangements were evaluated over a range of inlet mixture conditions. The influence of the variation of the imposed swirl was studied for constant fuel injections. Measurements of turbulent velocities, temperatures, OH* chemiluminescence and gas analysis provided information on the performance of each burner set up. Comparisons with Large Eddy Simulations, performed with an 11-step global chemistry, illustrated the flame front interaction with the vortex formation region under the influence of the variable inlet mixture stratifications. The combined effort contributed to the identification of optimum configurations in terms of fuel consumption and pollutants emissions and to the delineation of important controlling parameters and limiting fuel-air mixing conditions.

Extinction of corrugated hydrogen/air flames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mizomoto, M.; Asaka, Y.; Ikai, S.; Law, C.K.

1982-01-01

Recent studies on flammability limits reveal the importance of flow nonuniformity, flame curvature, and molecular and thermal diffusivities in determining the extinguishability and the associated limits of premixed fuel/air flames. In particular, it is found that conditions which favor extinction of a lean flame may cause intensification of a rich flame. In the present study the authors have experimentally determined the extinction characteristics and limits of highly curved hydrogen/air flames as represented by the opening of bunsen flame tips. Results show that the tip opens at a constant fuel equivalence ratio of phi = 1.15, regardless of the velocity and uniformity of the upstream flow. This critical mixture concentration, while being rich, is still on the lean side of that corresponding to the maximum burning velocity (phi = 1.8), implying that for highly diffusive systems, the relevant reference concentration is that for maximum burning velocity instead of stoichiometry

On flame kernel formation and propagation in premixed gases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eisazadeh-Far, Kian; Metghalchi, Hameed [Northeastern University, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Parsinejad, Farzan [Chevron Oronite Company LLC, Richmond, CA 94801 (United States); Keck, James C. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

2010-12-15

Flame kernel formation and propagation in premixed gases have been studied experimentally and theoretically. The experiments have been carried out at constant pressure and temperature in a constant volume vessel located in a high speed shadowgraph system. The formation and propagation of the hot plasma kernel has been simulated for inert gas mixtures using a thermodynamic model. The effects of various parameters including the discharge energy, radiation losses, initial temperature and initial volume of the plasma have been studied in detail. The experiments have been extended to flame kernel formation and propagation of methane/air mixtures. The effect of energy terms including spark energy, chemical energy and energy losses on flame kernel formation and propagation have been investigated. The inputs for this model are the initial conditions of the mixture and experimental data for flame radii. It is concluded that these are the most important parameters effecting plasma kernel growth. The results of laminar burning speeds have been compared with previously published results and are in good agreement. (author)

Autoignited lifted flames of dimethyl ether in heated coflow air

KAUST Repository

Al-Noman, Saeed M.

2018-05-16

Autoignited lifted flames of dimethyl ether (DME) in laminar nonpremixed jets with high-temperature coflow air have been studied experimentally. When the initial temperature was elevated to over 860 K, an autoignition occurred without requiring an external ignition source. A planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) technique for formaldehyde (CH2O) visualized qualitatively the zone of low temperature kinetics in a premixed flame. Two flame configurations were investigated; (1) autoignited lifted flames with tribrachial edge having three distinct branches of a lean and a rich premixed flame wings with a trailing diffusion flame and (2) autoignited lifted flames with mild combustion when the fuel was highly diluted. For the autoignited tribrachial edge flames at critical autoignition conditions, exhibiting repetitive extinction and re-ignition phenomena near a blowout condition, the characteristic flow time (liftoff height scaled with jet velocity) was correlated with the square of the ignition delay time of the stoichiometric mixture. The liftoff heights were also correlated as a function of jet velocity times the square of ignition delay time. Formaldehydes were observed between the fuel nozzle and the lifted flame edge, emphasizing a low-temperature kinetics for autoignited lifted flames, while for a non-autoignited lifted flame, formaldehydes were observed near a thin luminous flame zone.For the autoignited lifted flames with mild combustion, especially at a high temperature, a unique non-monotonic liftoff height behavior was observed; decreasing and then increasing liftoff height with jet velocity. This behavior was similar to the binary mixture fuels of CH4/H2 and CO/H2 observed previously. A transient homogeneous autoignition analysis suggested that such decreasing behavior with jet velocity can be attributed to partial oxidation characteristics of DME in producing appreciable amounts of CH4/CO/H2 ahead of the edge flame region.

Autoignited lifted flames of dimethyl ether in heated coflow air

KAUST Repository

Al-Noman, Saeed M.; Choi, Byung Chul; Chung, Suk-Ho

2018-01-01

Autoignited lifted flames of dimethyl ether (DME) in laminar nonpremixed jets with high-temperature coflow air have been studied experimentally. When the initial temperature was elevated to over 860 K, an autoignition occurred without requiring an external ignition source. A planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) technique for formaldehyde (CH2O) visualized qualitatively the zone of low temperature kinetics in a premixed flame. Two flame configurations were investigated; (1) autoignited lifted flames with tribrachial edge having three distinct branches of a lean and a rich premixed flame wings with a trailing diffusion flame and (2) autoignited lifted flames with mild combustion when the fuel was highly diluted. For the autoignited tribrachial edge flames at critical autoignition conditions, exhibiting repetitive extinction and re-ignition phenomena near a blowout condition, the characteristic flow time (liftoff height scaled with jet velocity) was correlated with the square of the ignition delay time of the stoichiometric mixture. The liftoff heights were also correlated as a function of jet velocity times the square of ignition delay time. Formaldehydes were observed between the fuel nozzle and the lifted flame edge, emphasizing a low-temperature kinetics for autoignited lifted flames, while for a non-autoignited lifted flame, formaldehydes were observed near a thin luminous flame zone.For the autoignited lifted flames with mild combustion, especially at a high temperature, a unique non-monotonic liftoff height behavior was observed; decreasing and then increasing liftoff height with jet velocity. This behavior was similar to the binary mixture fuels of CH4/H2 and CO/H2 observed previously. A transient homogeneous autoignition analysis suggested that such decreasing behavior with jet velocity can be attributed to partial oxidation characteristics of DME in producing appreciable amounts of CH4/CO/H2 ahead of the edge flame region.

Premixed CH4-Air Flame Structure Characteristic and Flow Behavior Induced by Obstacle in an Open Duct

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DengKe Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available To study the fuel gas combustion hazards, the methane/air flame structure and flow characteristic in an open duct influenced by a rectangular obstacle were explored by experiment and realizable k-∊ model (RKE. In the test, the high-speed schlieren photography technology and dynamic detection technology were applied to record the flame propagation behavior. Meanwhile, the interaction between flame front and flame flow field induced by the obstacle was disclosed. In addition, the laminar-turbulence transition was also taken into consideration. The RKE and eddy dissipation concept (EDC premixed combustion model were applied to obtain an insight into the phenomenon of flow change and wrinkle appearing, which potently explained the experimental observations. As a result, the obstacle blocked the laminar flame propagation velocity and increased pressure a little in an open duct. Some small-scale vortices began to appear near the obstacle, mainly due to Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI, and gradually grew into large-scale vortices, which led to laminar-turbulent transition directly. The vortices thickened the reaction area and hastened the reaction rate; reversely, the higher reaction rate induced larger vortices. The RKE model result fitted the test data well and explained the wrinkle forming mechanism of two special vortices in the case.

Role of soot in the transport of chlorine in hydrocarbon-air diffusion flames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venkatesh, S.; Saito, K.; Stencel, J.M.; Majidi, V.; Owens, M.

1991-01-01

Soot is an inevitable product of incomplete combustion in many practical combustion systems such as automobiles, incinerators and furnaces. Recent studies on chlorinated hydrocarbon combustion have shown that soot and other praticulates (eg. fly ash) play an important role in secondary reactions leading to the formation of chlorine substituted polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In order to attain very high destruction efficiencies the fundamental chemical and physical processes that are associated with combustion, and post-combustion cleanup must be well understood. In order to understand the effect of chlorine on the soot formed in a combustion system, fundamental studies using a coflow laminar hydrocarbon-air diffusion flame have been carried out. Phenomenological studies have revealed the effect of chlorine on the visible structure of the flame. Soot inception activation energies were estimated for methane, ethane and ethylene diffusion flames for the case of with and without chlorine addition. No significant difference in the activation energy was estimated for either case. The effect of chlorine on the soot escape rate of an acetylene diffusion flame was estimated. The soot formed in these diffusion flames was analyzed for chlorine using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and by laser induced plasma spectroscopy (LIPS). REsults from these techniques indicate the presence of chlorine in the soot formed. In this paper a chemical scheme to explain the chlorine found in the soot is proposed based on known theories of soot formation

Evaluation of Presumed Probability-Density-Function Models in Non-Premixed Flames by using Large Eddy Simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao Hong-Jun; Zhang Hui-Qiang; Lin Wen-Yi

2012-01-01

Four kinds of presumed probability-density-function (PDF) models for non-premixed turbulent combustion are evaluated in flames with various stoichiometric mixture fractions by using large eddy simulation (LES). The LES code is validated by the experimental data of a classical turbulent jet flame (Sandia flame D). The mean and rms temperatures obtained by the presumed PDF models are compared with the LES results. The β-function model achieves a good prediction for different flames. The predicted rms temperature by using the double-δ function model is very small and unphysical in the vicinity of the maximum mean temperature. The clip-Gaussian model and the multi-δ function model make a worse prediction of the extremely fuel-rich or fuel-lean side due to the clip at the boundary of the mixture fraction space. The results also show that the overall prediction performance of presumed PDF models is better at mediate stoichiometric mixture fractions than that at very small or very large ones. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

Effect of Dimethyl Ether Mixing on Soot Size Distribution in Premixed Ethylene Flame

KAUST Repository

Li, Zepeng

2016-04-21

As a byproduct of incomplete combustion, soot attracts increasing attentions as extensive researches exploring serious health and environmental effects from soot particles. Soot emission reduction requires a comprehensive understanding of the mechanism for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and of soot formation and aging processes. Therefore, advanced experimental techniques and numerical simulations have been conducted to investigate this procedure. In order to investigate the effects of dimethyl ether (DME) mixing on soot particle size distribution functions (PSDFs), DME was mixed in premixed ethylene/oxygen/argon at flames at the equivalence ratio of 2.0 with a range of mixing ratio from 0% to 30% of the total carbon fed. Two series of atmospheric pressure flames were tested in which cold gas velocity was varied to obtain different flame temperatures. The evolution of PSDFs along the centerline of the flame was determined by burner stabilized stagnation probe and scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) techniques, yielding the PSDFs for various separation distances above the burner surface. Meanwhile, the flame temperature profiles were carefully measured by a thermocouple and the comparison to that of simulated laminar premixed burner-stabilized stagnation flame was satisfactory. Additionally, to understand the chemical role of DME mixing in soot properties, characterization measurements were conducted on soot samples using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and elemental analysis (EA). Results of the evolution of PSDFs and soot volume fraction showed that adding DME into ethylene flame could reduce soot yield significantly. The addition of DME led to the decrease of both the soot nucleation rate and the particle mass growth rate. To explain the possible mechanism for the observation, numerical simulations were performed. Although DME addition resulted in the slight increase of methyl radicals from pyrolysis, the decrease in acetylene and propargyl radicals

A computational study of the effects of DC electric fields on non-premixed counterflow methane-air flames

KAUST Repository

Belhi, Memdouh

2017-10-19

Two-dimensional axisymmetric simulations for counterflow nonpremixed methane-air flames were undertaken as an attempt to reproduce the experimentally observed electro-hydrodynamic effect, also known as the ionic wind effect, on flames. Incompressible fluid dynamic solver was implemented with a skeletal chemical kinetic mechanism and transport property evaluations. The simulation successfully reproduced the key characteristics of the flames subjected to DC bias voltages at different intensity and polarity. Most notably, the simulation predicted the flame positions and showed good qualitative agreement with experimental data for the current-voltage curve. The flame response to the electric field with positive and negative polarity exhibited qualitatively different characteristics. In the negative polarity of the configuration considered, a non-monotonic variation of the current with the voltage was observed along with the existence of an unstable regime at an intermediate voltage level. With positive polarity, a typical monotonic current-voltage curve was obtained. This behavior was attributed to the asymmetry in the distribution of the positive and negative ions resulting from ionization processes. The present study demonstrated that the mathematical and computational models for the ion chemistry, transport, and fluid dynamics were able to describe the key processes responsible for the flame-electric field interaction.

EFFECTS OF SIMPLIFIED CHEMICAL KINETIC MODEL ON THE MICRO-FLAME STRUCTURE AND TEMPERATURE OF THE LEAN PREMIXED METHANE-AIR MIXTURES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JUNJIE CHEN

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The effect of simplified chemical kinetic model on the micro-flame structure, central axis and wall temperatures were investigated with different one-step global chemical kinetic mechanisms following Mantel, Duterque and Fernández-Tarrazo models. Numerical investigations of the premixed methane-air flame in the micro-channel and lean conditions were carried out to compare and analyze the effect of the comprehensive chemical kinetic mechanisms. The results indicate that one-step global chemical kinetic mechanism affects both the micro-flame shape and the combustion temperature. Among three simulation models, Mantel model allows a stable micro-flame with a bamboo shoot form, which anchor at the inlet. Duterque model gives a stable elongated micro-flame with a considerable ignition delay, and a dead zone with fluid accumulation is observed at the entrance, which may explain the very high combustion temperature and the fast reaction rate obtained, despite the micro-flame development presents a very hot spot and causes a broadening of the combustion zone. Fernández-Tarrazo model results in a rapid extinction and doesn't seem to take all the kinetic behavior into account for the appropriate micro-combustion simulations.

Turbulent Premixed Flame Propagation in Microgravity

Science.gov (United States)

Menon, S.; Disseau, M.; Chakravarthy, V. K.; Jagoda, J.

1997-01-01

A facility in which turbulent Couette flow could be generated in a microgravity environment was designed and built. To fit into the NASA Lewis drop tower the device had to be very compact. This means that edge effects and flow re-circulation were expected to affect the flow. The flow was thoroughly investigated using LDV and was found to be largely two dimensional away from the edges with constant turbulence intensities in the core. Slight flow asymmetries are introduced by the non symmetric re-circulation of the fluid outside the test region. Belt flutter problems were remedied by adding a pair of guide plates to the belt. In general, the flow field was found to be quite similar to previously investigated Couette flows. However, turbulence levels and associated shear stresses were higher. This is probably due to the confined re-circulation zone reintroducing turbulence into the test section. An estimate of the length scales in the flow showed that the measurements were able to resolve nearly all the length scales of interest. Using a new LES method for subgrid combustion it has been demonstrated that the new procedure is computational feasible even on workstation type environment. It is found that this model is capable of capturing the propagation of the premixed names by resolving the flame in the LES grid within 2-3 grid points. In contrast, conventional LES results in numerical smearing of the flame and completely inaccurate estimate of the turbulent propagation speed. Preliminary study suggests that there is observable effect of buoyancy in the 1g environment suggesting the need for microgravity experiments of the upcoming experimental combustion studies. With the cold flow properties characterized, an identical hot flow facility is under construction. It is assumed that the turbulence properties ahead of the flame in this new device will closely match the results obtained here. This is required since the hot facility will not enable LDV measurements. The

New optical method for heat flux measurements in stagnation point laminar methane/air flames and hydrogen/methane/air flames using thermographic phosphors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elmnefi, Mohamed Salem

2010-11-24

In the present study, a new optical method was implemented to study the heat transfer from flat stagnation point flames which can be regarded as one-dimensional in the central part. Premixed methane-air flames and hydrogen-methane-air flames were investigated. The effects of burner-to-plate distance and the fresh gas mixture velocity on heat transfer were examined. Experiments were performed using light induced phosphorescence from thermographic phosphors to study the wall temperatures and heat fluxes of nearly one-dimensional flat premixed flames impinging upward normally on a horizontal water cooled circular flat plate. The investigated flames were stoichiometric, lean and rich laminar methane/air flames with different equivalence ratios of {phi} =1, {phi} = 0.75 and {phi} = 1.25 and stoichiometric laminar hydrogen/methane/air flames. Mixtures of air with 10, 25, 50 and 75 % hydrogen in methane (CH{sub 4}) as well as a pure hydrogen flames at ambient pressure were investigated. The central part of this plate was an alumina ceramic plate coated from both sides with chromium doped alumina (ruby) and excited with a Nd:YAG laser or a green light emitting diode (LED) array to measure the wall temperature from both sides and thus the heat flux rate from the flame. The outlet velocity of the gases was varied from 0.1 m/s to 1.2 m/s. The burner to plate distance ranged from 0.5 to 2 times the burner exit diameter (d = 30 mm).The accuracy of the method was evaluated. The measured heat flux indicate the change of the flame stabilization mechanism from a burner stabilized to a stagnation plate stabilized flame. The results were compared to modeling results of a one dimensional stagnation point flow, with a detailed reaction mechanism. In order to prove the model, also measured gas phase temperatures by OH LIF for a stoichiometric stagnation point flame were discussed. It turns out that the flame stabilization mechanism and with it the heat fluxes change from low to high

An experimental and kinetic modeling study of premixed nitroethane flames at low pressure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Kuiwen; Zhang, Lidong; Xie, Mingfeng

2013-01-01

An experimental and kinetic modeling study is reported on three premixed nitroethane/oxygen/argon flames at low pressure (4.655kPa) with the equivalence ratios (Φ) of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0. Over 30 flame species were identified with tunable synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrome......An experimental and kinetic modeling study is reported on three premixed nitroethane/oxygen/argon flames at low pressure (4.655kPa) with the equivalence ratios (Φ) of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0. Over 30 flame species were identified with tunable synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass...

Strained flamelets for turbulent premixed flames II: Laboratory flame results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kolla, H.; Swaminathan, N. [Department of Engineering, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 1PZ (United Kingdom)

2010-07-15

The predictive ability of strained flamelets model for turbulent premixed flames is assessed using Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) calculations of laboratory flames covering a wide range of conditions. Reactant-to-product (RtP) opposed flow laminar flames parametrised using the scalar dissipation rate of reaction progress variable are used as strained flamelets. Two turbulent flames: a rod stabilised V-flame studied by Robin et al. [Combust. Flame 153 (2008) 288-315] and a set of pilot stabilised Bunsen flames studied by Chen et al. [Combust. Flame 107 (1996) 223-244] are calculated using a single set of model parameters. The V-flame corresponds to the corrugated flamelets regime. The strained flamelet model and an unstrained flamelet model yield similar predictions which are in good agreement with experimental measurements for this flame. On the other hand, for the Bunsen flames which are in the thin reaction zones regime, the unstrained flamelet model predicts a smaller flame brush compared to experiment. The predictions of the strained flamelets model allowing for fluid-dynamics stretch induced attenuation of the chemical reaction are in good agreement with the experimental data. This model predictions of major and minor species are also in good agreement with experimental data. The results demonstrate that the strained flamelets model using the scalar dissipation rate can be used across the combustion regimes. (author)

Effects of premixed flames on turbulence and turbulent scalar transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lipatnikov, A.N.; Chomiak, J. [Department of Applied Mechanics, Chalmers University of Technology, 412 75 Goeteborg (Sweden)

2010-02-15

Experimental data and results of direct numerical simulations are reviewed in order to show that premixed combustion can change the basic characteristics of a fluctuating velocity field (the so-called flame-generated turbulence) and the direction of scalar fluxes (the so-called countergradient or pressure-driven transport) in a turbulent flow. Various approaches to modeling these phenomena are discussed and the lack of a well-elaborated and widely validated predictive approach is emphasized. Relevant basic issues (the transition from gradient to countergradient scalar transport, the role played by flame-generated turbulence in the combustion rate, the characterization of turbulence in premixed flames, etc.) are critically considered and certain widely accepted concepts are disputed. Despite the substantial progress made in understanding the discussed effects over the past decades, these basic issues strongly need further research. (author)

Large-eddy simulation of a turbulent piloted methane/air diffusion flame (Sandia flame D)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitsch, H.; Steiner, H.

2000-01-01

The Lagrangian Flamelet Model is formulated as a combustion model for large-eddy simulations of turbulent jet diffusion flames. The model is applied in a large-eddy simulation of a piloted partially premixed methane/air diffusion flame (Sandia flame D). The results of the simulation are compared to experimental data of the mean and RMS of the axial velocity and the mixture fraction and the unconditional and conditional averages of temperature and various species mass fractions, including CO and NO. All quantities are in good agreement with the experiments. The results indicate in accordance with experimental findings that regions of high strain appear in layer like structures, which are directed inwards and tend to align with the reaction zone, where the turbulence is fully developed. The analysis of the conditional temperature and mass fractions reveals a strong influence of the partial premixing of the fuel. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics

Blow-off characteristics of turbulent premixed flames in curved-wall Jet Burner

KAUST Repository

Mansour, Morkous S.

2015-08-02

This study concerns the flame dynamics of a curved-wall jet (CWJ) stabilized turbulent premixed flame as it approaches blow-off conditions. Time resolved OH planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) delineated reaction zone contours and simultaneously stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (SPIV) quantified the turbulent flow field features. Ethylene/air flames were stabilized in CWJ burner to determine the sequence of events leading to blowoff. For stably burning flames far from blowoff, flames are characterized with a recirculation zone (RZ) upstream for flame stabilization followed by an intense turbulent interaction jet (IJ) and merged-jet regions downstream; the flame front counterparts the shear layer vortices. Near blowoff, as the velocity of reactants increases, high local stretch rates exceed the extinction stretch rates instantaneously resulting in localized flame extinction along the IJ region. As Reynolds number (Re) increases, flames become shorter and are entrained by larger amounts of cold reactants. The increased strain rates together with heat loss effects result in further fragmentation of the flame, eventually leading to the complete quenching of the flame. This is explained in terms of local turbulent Karlovitz stretch factor (K) and principal flow strain rates associated with C contours. Hydrogen addition and increasing the RZ size lessen the tendency of flames to be locally extinguished.

Laminar Flame Velocity and Temperature Exponent of Diluted DME-Air Mixture

Science.gov (United States)

Naseer Mohammed, Abdul; Anwar, Muzammil; Juhany, Khalid A.; Mohammad, Akram

2017-03-01

In this paper, the laminar flame velocity and temperature exponent diluted dimethyl ether (DME) air mixtures are reported. Laminar premixed mixture of DME-air with volumetric dilutions of carbon dioxides (CO2) and nitrogen (N2) are considered. Experiments were conducted using a preheated mesoscale high aspect-ratio diverging channel with inlet dimensions of 25 mm × 2 mm. In this method, flame velocities are extracted from planar flames that were stabilized near adiabatic conditions inside the channel. The flame velocities are then plotted against the ratio of mixture temperature and the initial reference temperature. A non-linear power law regression is observed suitable. This regression analysis gives the laminar flame velocity at the initial reference temperature and temperature exponent. Decrease in the laminar flame velocity and increase in temperature exponent is observed for CO2 and N2 diluted mixtures. The addition of CO2 has profound influence when compared to N2 addition on both flame velocity and temperature exponent. Numerical prediction of the similar mixture using a detailed reaction mechanism is obtained. The computational mechanism predicts higher magnitudes for laminar flame velocity and smaller magnitudes of temperature exponent compared to experimental data.

Turbulent premixed flames on fractal-grid-generated turbulence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soulopoulos, N; Kerl, J; Sponfeldner, T; Beyrau, F; Hardalupas, Y; Taylor, A M K P [Mechanical Engineering Department, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Vassilicos, J C, E-mail: ns6@ic.ac.uk [Department of Aeronautics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)

2013-12-15

A space-filling, low blockage fractal grid is used as a novel turbulence generator in a premixed turbulent flame stabilized by a rod. The study compares the flame behaviour with a fractal grid to the behaviour when a standard square mesh grid with the same effective mesh size and solidity as the fractal grid is used. The isothermal gas flow turbulence characteristics, including mean flow velocity and rms of velocity fluctuations and Taylor length, were evaluated from hot-wire measurements. The behaviour of the flames was assessed with direct chemiluminescence emission from the flame and high-speed OH-laser-induced fluorescence. The characteristics of the two flames are considered in terms of turbulent flame thickness, local flame curvature and turbulent flame speed. It is found that, for the same flow rate and stoichiometry and at the same distance downstream of the location of the grid, fractal-grid-generated turbulence leads to a more turbulent flame with enhanced burning rate and increased flame surface area. (paper)

Experimental and numerical study of the accuracy of flame-speed measurements for methane/air combustion in a slot burner

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Selle, L.; Ferret, B. [Universite de Toulouse, INPT, UPS, IMFT, Institut de Mecanique des Fluides de Toulouse (France); CNRS, IMFT, Toulouse (France); Poinsot, T. [Universite de Toulouse, INPT, UPS, IMFT, Institut de Mecanique des Fluides de Toulouse (France); CNRS, IMFT, Toulouse (France); CERFACS, Toulouse (France)

2011-01-15

Measuring the velocities of premixed laminar flames with precision remains a controversial issue in the combustion community. This paper studies the accuracy of such measurements in two-dimensional slot burners and shows that while methane/air flame speeds can be measured with reasonable accuracy, the method may lack precision for other mixtures such as hydrogen/air. Curvature at the flame tip, strain on the flame sides and local quenching at the flame base can modify local flame speeds and require corrections which are studied using two-dimensional DNS. Numerical simulations also provide stretch, displacement and consumption flame speeds along the flame front. For methane/air flames, DNS show that the local stretch remains small so that the local consumption speed is very close to the unstretched premixed flame speed. The only correction needed to correctly predict flame speeds in this case is due to the finite aspect ratio of the slot used to inject the premixed gases which induces a flow acceleration in the measurement region (this correction can be evaluated from velocity measurement in the slot section or from an analytical solution). The method is applied to methane/air flames with and without water addition and results are compared to experimental data found in the literature. The paper then discusses the limitations of the slot-burner method to measure flame speeds for other mixtures and shows that it is not well adapted to mixtures with a Lewis number far from unity, such as hydrogen/air flames. (author)

Laser-saturated fluorescence of nitric oxide and chemiluminescence measurements in premixed ethanol flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marques, Carla S.T.; Barreta, Luiz G.; Sbampato, Maria E.; dos Santos, Alberto M. [Aerothermodynamic and Hypersonic Division, Institute of Advanced Studies - General Command of Aerospatial Technology, Rodovia dos Tamoios, km 5.5, 12228-001 Sao Jose dos Campos - SP (Brazil)

2010-11-15

In this study, nitric oxide laser-saturated fluorescence (LSF) measurements were acquired from premixed ethanol flames at atmospheric pressure in a burner. NO-LSF experimental profiles for fuel-rich premixed ethanol flames ({phi} = 1.34 and {phi} = 1.66) were determined through the excitation/detection scheme of the Q{sub 2}(26.5) rotational line in the A{sup 2}{sigma}{sup +} - X{sup 2}{pi} (0,0) vibronic band and {gamma}(0,1) emission band. A calibration procedure by NO doping into the flame was applied to establish the NO concentration profiles in these flames. Chemiluminescent emission measurements in the (0, 0) vibronic emission bands of the OH{sup *} (A{sup 2}{sigma}{sup +} - X{sup 2}{pi}) and CH{sup *}(A{sup 2}{delta} - X{sup 2}{pi}) radicals were also obtained with high spatial and spectral resolution for fuel-rich premixed ethanol flames to correlate them with NO concentrations. Experimental chemiluminescence profiles and the ratios of the integrated areas under emission spectra (A{sub CH*}/A{sub CH*}(max.) and A{sub CH*}/A{sub OH*}) were determined. The relationships between chemiluminescence and NO concentrations were established along the premixed ethanol flames. There was a strong connection between CH{sup *} radical chemiluminescence and NO formation and the prompt-NO was identified as the governing mechanism for NO production. The results suggest the optimum ratio of the chemiluminescence of two radicals (A{sub CH*}/A{sub OH*}) for NO diagnostic purposes. (author)

Linear Stability Analysis of Laminar Premixed Fuel-Rich Double-Spray Flames

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noam Weinberg

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the stability of a double-spray premixed flame formed when both fuel and oxidizer are initially present in the form of sprays of evaporating liquid droplets. To simplify the inherent complexity that characterizes the analytic solution of multi-phase combustion processes, the analysis is restricted to fuel-rich laminar premixed double-spray flames, and assumes a single-step global chemical reaction mechanism. Steady-state solutions are obtained and the sensitivity of the flame temperature and the flame propagating velocity to the initial liquid fuel and/or oxidizer loads are established. The stability analysis revealed an increased proneness to cellular instability induced by the presence of the two sprays, and for the fuel-rich case considered here the influence of the liquid oxidizer was found to be more pronounced than that of the liquid fuel. Similar effects were noted for the neutral pulsating stability boundaries. The impact of unequal latent heats of vaporization is also investigated and found to be in keeping with the destabilizing influence of heat loss due to droplet evaporation. It should be noted that as far as the authors are aware no experimental evidence is available for (at least validation of the predictions. However, they do concur in a general and reasonable fashion with independent experimental evidence in the literature of the behavior of single fuel spray laminar premixed flames.

Theoretical analysis of the conical premixed flame response to upstream velocity disturbances considering flame speed development effects

OpenAIRE

Ghazaleh Esmaeelzade; Mohammad Reza Khani; Rouzbeh Riazi; Mohammad Hossein Sabour

2017-01-01

The effect of upstream velocity perturbations on the response of a premixed flame was investigated in terms of the flame transfer function dependency on excitation frequency. In this study, the assumption of constant flame speed was extended and the effect of flame speed development was considered; i.e., the flame speed would grow with the time after ignition or with the distance from a flame-holder. In the present study, the kinematics of a conical flame was investigated by linearization of ...

Effects of combined dimension reduction and tabulation on the simulations of a turbulent premixed flame using a large-eddy simulation/probability density function method

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jeonglae; Pope, Stephen B.

2014-05-01

A turbulent lean-premixed propane-air flame stabilised by a triangular cylinder as a flame-holder is simulated to assess the accuracy and computational efficiency of combined dimension reduction and tabulation of chemistry. The computational condition matches the Volvo rig experiments. For the reactive simulation, the Lagrangian Large-Eddy Simulation/Probability Density Function (LES/PDF) formulation is used. A novel two-way coupling approach between LES and PDF is applied to obtain resolved density to reduce its statistical fluctuations. Composition mixing is evaluated by the modified Interaction-by-Exchange with the Mean (IEM) model. A baseline case uses In Situ Adaptive Tabulation (ISAT) to calculate chemical reactions efficiently. Its results demonstrate good agreement with the experimental measurements in turbulence statistics, temperature, and minor species mass fractions. For dimension reduction, 11 and 16 represented species are chosen and a variant of Rate Controlled Constrained Equilibrium (RCCE) is applied in conjunction with ISAT to each case. All the quantities in the comparison are indistinguishable from the baseline results using ISAT only. The combined use of RCCE/ISAT reduces the computational time for chemical reaction by more than 50%. However, for the current turbulent premixed flame, chemical reaction takes only a minor portion of the overall computational cost, in contrast to non-premixed flame simulations using LES/PDF, presumably due to the restricted manifold of purely premixed flame in the composition space. Instead, composition mixing is the major contributor to cost reduction since the mean-drift term, which is computationally expensive, is computed for the reduced representation. Overall, a reduction of more than 15% in the computational cost is obtained.

The flow field structure of highly stabilized partially premixed flames in a concentric flow conical nozzle burner with coflow

KAUST Repository

Elbaz, Ayman M.; Zayed, M.F.; Samy, M.; Roberts, William L.; Mansour, Mohy S.

2015-01-01

The stability limits, the stabilization mechanism, and the flow field structure of highly stabilized partially premixed methane flames in a concentric flow conical nozzle burner with air co-flow have been investigated and presented in this work

Aerodynamic features of flames in premixed gases

Science.gov (United States)

Oppenheim, A. K.

1984-01-01

A variety of experimentally established flame phenomena in premixed gases are interpreted by relating them to basic aerodynamic properties of the flow field. On this basis the essential mechanism of some well known characteristic features of flames stabilized in the wake of a bluff-body or propagating in ducts are revealed. Elementary components of the flame propagation process are shown to be: rotary motion, self-advancement, and expansion. Their consequences are analyzed under a most strict set of idealizations that permit the flow field to be treated as potential in character, while the flame is modelled as a Stefan-like interface capable of exerting a feed-back effect upon the flow field. The results provide an insight into the fundamental fluid-mechanical reasons for the experimentally observed distortions of the flame front, rationalizing in particular its ability to sustain relatively high flow velocities at amazingly low normal burning speeds.

NO formation in the burnout region of a partially premixed methane-air flame with upstream heat loss

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mokhov, A.V.; Levinsky, H.B.

1999-09-01

Measurements of temperature and NO concentration in laminar, partially premixed methane-air flames stabilized on a ceramic burner in coflow are reported. The NO concentration and temperature were determined by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS), respectively. Upstream heat loss to the burner was varied by changing the exit velocity of the fuel-air mixture at a constant equivalence ratio of 1,3; this alters the structure of the flame from an axisymmetric Bunsen-type to a strongly stabilized flat flame. To facilitate analysis of the results, a method is derived for separating the effects of dilution from those of chemical reaction based on the relation between the measured temperature and the local mixture fraction, including the effects of upstream heat loss. Using this method, the amount of NO formed during burnout of the hot, fuel-rich combustion products can be ascertained. In the Bunsen-type flame, it is seen that {approximately}40 ppm of NO are produced in this burnout region, at temperatures between {approximately}2,100 K and {approximately}1,900 K, probably via the Zeldovich mechanism. Reducing the exit velocity of 12 cm/s reduces the flame temperature substantially, and effectively eliminates this contribution. At velocities of 12 and 8 cm/s, {approximately}10 ppm of NO are formed in the burnout region, even though the gas temperatures are too low for Zeldovich NO to be significant. Although the mechanism responsible for these observations is as yet unclear, the results are consistent with the idea that the low temperatures in the fuel-rich gases caused by upstream heat loss retard the conversion of HCN (formed via the Fenimore mechanism) to NO, with this residual HCN then being converted to NO during burnout.

Analytic prediction of unconfined boundary layer flashback limits in premixed hydrogen-air flames

Science.gov (United States)

Hoferichter, Vera; Hirsch, Christoph; Sattelmayer, Thomas

2017-05-01

Flame flashback is a major challenge in premixed combustion. Hence, the prediction of the minimum flow velocity to prevent boundary layer flashback is of high technical interest. This paper presents an analytic approach to predicting boundary layer flashback limits for channel and tube burners. The model reflects the experimentally observed flashback mechanism and consists of a local and global analysis. Based on the local analysis, the flow velocity at flashback initiation is obtained depending on flame angle and local turbulent burning velocity. The local turbulent burning velocity is calculated in accordance with a predictive model for boundary layer flashback limits of duct-confined flames presented by the authors in an earlier publication. This ensures consistency of both models. The flame angle of the stable flame near flashback conditions can be obtained by various methods. In this study, an approach based on global mass conservation is applied and is validated using Mie-scattering images from a channel burner test rig at ambient conditions. The predicted flashback limits are compared to experimental results and to literature data from preheated tube burner experiments. Finally, a method for including the effect of burner exit temperature is demonstrated and used to explain the discrepancies in flashback limits obtained from different burner configurations reported in the literature.

Evaluation of partially premixed turbulent flame stability from mixture fraction statistics in a slot burner

KAUST Repository

Kruse, Stephan

2018-04-11

Partially premixed combustion is characterized by mixture fraction inhomogeneity upstream of the reaction zone and occurs in many applied combustion systems. The temporal and spatial fluctuations of the mixture fraction have tremendous impact on the combustion characteristics, emission formation, and flame stability. In this study, turbulent partially premixed flames are experimentally studied in a slot burner configuration. The local temperature and gas composition is determined by means of one-dimensional, simultaneous detection of Rayleigh and Raman scattering. The statistics of the mixture fraction are utilized to characterize the impact of the Reynolds number, the global equivalence ratio, the progress of mixing within the flame, as well as the mixing length on the mixing field. Furthermore, these effects are evaluated by means of a regime diagram for partially premixed flames. In this study, it is shown that the increase of the mixing length results in a significantly more stable flame. The impact of the Reynolds number on flame stability is found to be minor.

Evaluation of partially premixed turbulent flame stability from mixture fraction statistics in a slot burner

KAUST Repository

Kruse, Stephan; Mansour, Mohy S.; Elbaz, Ayman M.; Varea, Emilien; Grü nefeld, Gerd; Beeckmann, Joachim; Pitsch, Heinz

2018-01-01

Partially premixed combustion is characterized by mixture fraction inhomogeneity upstream of the reaction zone and occurs in many applied combustion systems. The temporal and spatial fluctuations of the mixture fraction have tremendous impact on the combustion characteristics, emission formation, and flame stability. In this study, turbulent partially premixed flames are experimentally studied in a slot burner configuration. The local temperature and gas composition is determined by means of one-dimensional, simultaneous detection of Rayleigh and Raman scattering. The statistics of the mixture fraction are utilized to characterize the impact of the Reynolds number, the global equivalence ratio, the progress of mixing within the flame, as well as the mixing length on the mixing field. Furthermore, these effects are evaluated by means of a regime diagram for partially premixed flames. In this study, it is shown that the increase of the mixing length results in a significantly more stable flame. The impact of the Reynolds number on flame stability is found to be minor.

Development of rapid mixing fuel nozzle for premixed combustion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katsuki, Masashi; Chung, Jin Do; Kim, Jang Woo; Hwang, Seung Min; Kim, Seung Mo; Ahn, Chul Ju

2009-01-01

Combustion in high-preheat and low oxygen concentration atmosphere is one of the attractive measures to reduce nitric oxide emission as well as greenhouse gases from combustion devices, and it is expected to be a key technology for the industrial applications in heating devices and furnaces. Before proceeding to the practical applications, we need to elucidate combustion characteristics of non-premixed and premixed flames in high-preheat and low oxygen concentration conditions from scientific point of view. For the purpose, we have developed a special mixing nozzle to create a homogeneous mixture of fuel and air by rapid mixing, and applied this rapidmixing nozzle to a Bunsen-type burner to observe combustion characteristics of the rapid-mixture. As a result, the combustion of rapid-mixture exhibited the same flame structure and combustion characteristics as the perfectly prepared premixed flame, even though the mixing time of the rapid-mixing nozzle was extremely short as a few milliseconds. Therefore, the rapid-mixing nozzle in this paper can be used to create preheated premixed flames as far as the mixing time is shorter than the ignition delay time of the fuel

Characteristics of strongly-forced turbulent jets and non-premixed jet flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lakshminarasimhan, K.; Ezekoye, O.A. [University of Texas at Austin, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Austin, TX (United States); Clemens, N.T. [University of Texas at Austin, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Austin, TX (United States)

2006-10-15

Previous researchers have demonstrated that strong pulsations of the fuel flow rate can significantly reduce the flame length and luminosity of laminar/transitional non-premixed jet flames. The physical mechanisms responsible for these changes are investigated experimentally in acoustically-forced jet flows where the peak velocity fluctuations are up to eight times the mean flow velocity. Both reacting and non-reacting flows were studied and Reynolds numbers, based on the mean flow properties, ranged from 800 to 10,000 (corresponding to peak Reynolds numbers of 1,450-23,000), and forcing frequencies ranged from 290 to 1,140 Hz. Both the first and second organ-pipe resonance modes of the fuel delivery tube were excited to obtain these frequencies. An analysis of the acoustic forcing characteristics within the resonance tube is provided in order to understand the source of the high amplitude forcing. Flow visualization of jets with first resonant forcing confirms the presence of large-scale coherent vortices and strong reverse flow near the exit of the fuel tube. With second-resonant forcing, however, vortices are not emitted from the tube as they are drawn back into the fuel tube before they can fully form. Increased fine-scale turbulence is associated with both resonant cases, but particularly at second resonance. The power spectra of the velocity fluctuations for a resonantly pulsed jet show the presence of an inertial subrange indicating that the flow becomes fully turbulent even for mean-Reynolds-number jets that are nominally laminar. It is shown that these pulsed jet flows exhibit strong similarities to synthetic jets and that the Strouhal number, based on the maximum velocity at the fuel tube exit, is the dominant parameter for scaling these flows. The Strouhal number determines the downstream location where the coherent vortices breakdown, and is found to provide better collapse of flame length data (both current and previous) than other parameters that have

Two-dimensional simulations of steady perforated-plate stabilized premixed flames

KAUST Repository

Altay, H. Murat

2010-03-17

The objective of this work is to examine the impact of the operating conditions and the perforated-plate design on the steady, lean premixed flame characteristics. We perform two-dimensional simulations of laminar flames using a reduced chemical kinetics mechanism for methane-air combustion, consisting of 20 species and 79 reactions. We solve the heat conduction problem within the plate, allowing heat exchange between the gas mixture and the solid plate. The physical model is based on a zero-Mach-number formulation of the axisymmetric compressible conservation equations. The results suggest that the flame consumption speed, the flame structure, and the flame surface area depend significantly on the equivalence ratio, mean inlet velocity, the distance between the perforated-plate holes and the plate thermal conductivity. In the case of an adiabatic plate, a conical flame is formed, anchored near the corner of the hole. When the heat exchange between themixture and the plate is finite, the flame acquires a Gaussian shape stabilizing at a stand-off distance, that grows with the plate conductivity. The flame tip is negatively curved; i.e. concave with respect to the reactants. Downstream of the plate, the flame base is positively curved; i.e. convex with respect to the reactants, stabilizing above a stagnation region established between neighboring holes. As the plate\\'s thermal conductivity increases, the heat flux to the plate decreases, lowering its top surface temperature. As the equivalence ratio increases, the flame moves closer to the plate, raising its temperature, and lowering the flame stand-off distance. As the mean inlet velocity increases, the flame stabilizes further downstream, the flame tip becomes sharper, hence raising the burning rate at that location. The curvature of the flame base depends on the distance between the neighboring holes; and the flame there is characterized by high concentration of intermediates, like carbon monoxide. © 2010 Taylor

A comparison of the thermal, emission and heat transfer characteristics of swirl-stabilized premixed and inverse diffusion flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhen, H.S.; Leung, C.W.; Cheung, C.S. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong (China)

2011-02-15

Two swirl-stabilized flames, a premixed flame (PMF-s) and an inverse diffusion flame (IDF-s), were investigated experimentally in order to obtain information on their thermal, emission and heat transfer characteristics. The two flames, having different global air/fuel mixing mechanisms, were compared under identical air and fuel flow rates. Results showed that the two flames have similar visual features such as flame shape, size and structure because the Reynolds number and the swirl number which are important parameters representative of the aerodynamic characteristics of a swirling jet flow, are almost the same for the two flames. The minor dissimilarity in flame color and flame length indicates that the IDF-s is more diffusional. Both the PMF-s and IDF-s are stabilized by the internal recirculation zone (IRZ) and the IDF-s is more stable. Flame temperature is uniformly distributed in the IRZ due to the strong mixing caused by flow recirculation. The highest flame temperature is achieved at the main reaction zone and it is higher for the PMF-s due to more rapid and localized heat release. For the IDF-s, the thermal NO mechanism dominates the NO{sub x} formation. For the PMF-s, both the thermal and prompt mechanisms tend to play important roles in the global NO{sub x} emission under rich conditions. The comparison of EINO{sub x} and EICO shows that the PMF-s has lower level of NO{sub x} emission under lean combustion and lower level of CO emission under all conditions. The reason is that the air/fuel premixing in the PMF-s significantly enhances the mixedness of the supplied air/fuel mixture. The analysis of the behaviors of the impinging PMF-s and IDF-s heat transfer reveals that because the PMF-s has more rapid and localized heat release at the main reaction zone, the peak heat flux is higher than that of the IDF-s and the IDF-s has more uniform heating effect. A comparison of the overall heat transfer rates shows that, due to more complete combustion, the PMF

A comparison of the thermal, emission and heat transfer characteristics of swirl-stabilized premixed and inverse diffusion flames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhen, H.S.; Leung, C.W.; Cheung, C.S.

2011-01-01

Two swirl-stabilized flames, a premixed flame (PMF-s) and an inverse diffusion flame (IDF-s), were investigated experimentally in order to obtain information on their thermal, emission and heat transfer characteristics. The two flames, having different global air/fuel mixing mechanisms, were compared under identical air and fuel flow rates. Results showed that the two flames have similar visual features such as flame shape, size and structure because the Reynolds number and the swirl number which are important parameters representative of the aerodynamic characteristics of a swirling jet flow, are almost the same for the two flames. The minor dissimilarity in flame color and flame length indicates that the IDF-s is more diffusional. Both the PMF-s and IDF-s are stabilized by the internal recirculation zone (IRZ) and the IDF-s is more stable. Flame temperature is uniformly distributed in the IRZ due to the strong mixing caused by flow recirculation. The highest flame temperature is achieved at the main reaction zone and it is higher for the PMF-s due to more rapid and localized heat release. For the IDF-s, the thermal NO mechanism dominates the NO x formation. For the PMF-s, both the thermal and prompt mechanisms tend to play important roles in the global NO x emission under rich conditions. The comparison of EINO x and EICO shows that the PMF-s has lower level of NO x emission under lean combustion and lower level of CO emission under all conditions. The reason is that the air/fuel premixing in the PMF-s significantly enhances the mixedness of the supplied air/fuel mixture. The analysis of the behaviors of the impinging PMF-s and IDF-s heat transfer reveals that because the PMF-s has more rapid and localized heat release at the main reaction zone, the peak heat flux is higher than that of the IDF-s and the IDF-s has more uniform heating effect. A comparison of the overall heat transfer rates shows that, due to more complete combustion, the PMF-s has higher overall

Numerical study of the behavior of methane-hydrogen/air pre-mixed flame in a micro reactor equipped with catalytic segmented bluff body

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baigmohammadi, Mohammadreza; Tabejamaat, Sadegh; Zarvandi, Jalal

2015-01-01

In this work, combustion characteristics of premixed methane-hydrogen/air in a micro reactor equipped with a catalytic bluff body is investigated numerically. In this regard, the detailed chemistry schemes for gas phase (homogeneous) and the catalyst surface (heterogeneous) are used. The applied catalytic bluff body is coated with a thin layer of platinum (Pt) on its surface. Also, the lean reactive mixture is entered to the reactor with equivalence ratio 0.9. The results of this study showed that the use of catalytic bluff body in the center of a micro reactor can significantly increase the flame stability, especially at high velocities. Moreover, it is found that a catalytic bluff body with several cavities on its surface and also high thermal conductivity improves the flame stability more than a catalytic bluff body without cavities and low thermal conductivity. Finally, it is maintained that the most advantage of using the catalytic bluff body is its easy manufacturing process as compared to the catalytic wall. This matter seems to be more prevalent when we want to create several cavities with various sizes on the bluff-body. - Highlights: • Presence of a bluff body in a micro reactor can move the flame towards the upstream. • Catalytic bluff body can significantly increase flame stability at high velocities. • Creating non-catalytic cavities on the bluff body promotes homogeneous reactions. • Segmented catalytic bluff body improves the flame stability more than a simple one. • Creating the segments on a bluff body is easier compared to a wall

A Numerical Study on Premixed Bluff Body Flame of Different Bluff Apex Angle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gelan Yang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In order to investigate effects of apex angle (α on chemically reacting turbulent flow and thermal fields in a channel with a bluff body V-gutter flame holder, a numerical study has been carried out in this paper. With a basic geometry used in a previous experimental study, the apex angle was varied from 45° to 150°. Eddy dissipation concept (EDC combustion model was used for air and propane premixed flame. LES-Smagorinsky model was selected for turbulence. The gird-dependent learning and numerical model verification were done. Both nonreactive and reactive conditions were analyzed and compared. The results show that as α increases, recirculation zone becomes bigger, and Strouhal number increases a little in nonreactive cases while decreases a little in reactive cases, and the increase of α makes the flame shape wider, which will increase the chamber volume heat release ratio and enhance the flame stability.

Streamline segment statistics of premixed flames with nonunity Lewis numbers

Science.gov (United States)

Chakraborty, Nilanjan; Wang, Lipo; Klein, Markus

2014-03-01

The interaction of flame and surrounding fluid motion is of central importance in the fundamental understanding of turbulent combustion. It is demonstrated here that this interaction can be represented using streamline segment analysis, which was previously applied in nonreactive turbulence. The present work focuses on the effects of the global Lewis number (Le) on streamline segment statistics in premixed flames in the thin-reaction-zones regime. A direct numerical simulation database of freely propagating thin-reaction-zones regime flames with Le ranging from 0.34 to 1.2 is used to demonstrate that Le has significant influences on the characteristic features of the streamline segment, such as the curve length, the difference in the velocity magnitude at two extremal points, and their correlations with the local flame curvature. The strengthenings of the dilatation rate, flame normal acceleration, and flame-generated turbulence with decreasing Le are principally responsible for these observed effects. An expression for the probability density function (pdf) of the streamline segment length, originally developed for nonreacting turbulent flows, captures the qualitative behavior for turbulent premixed flames in the thin-reaction-zones regime for a wide range of Le values. The joint pdfs between the streamline length and the difference in the velocity magnitude at two extremal points for both unweighted and density-weighted velocity vectors are analyzed and compared. Detailed explanations are provided for the observed differences in the topological behaviors of the streamline segment in response to the global Le.

Investigation of the effects of quarl and initial conditions on swirling non-premixed methane flames: Flow field, temperature, and species distributions

KAUST Repository

Elbaz, Ayman M.

2015-12-19

Detailed measurements are presented of the turbulent flow field, gas species concentrations and temperature field in a non-premixed methane swirl flame. Attention is given to the effect of the quarl geometry on the flame structure and emission characteristics due to its importance in gas turbine and industrial burner applications. Two different quarls were fitted to the burner exit, one a straight quarl and the other a diverging quarl of 15° half cone angle. Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (SPIV) was applied to obtain the three components of the instantaneous velocity on a vertical plane immediately downstream of the quarl exit. Temperature and gaseous species measurements were made both inside and downstream of the quarls, using a fine wire thermocouple and sampling probe, respectively. This work provides experimental verification by complementary techniques. The results showed that although the main flame structures were governed by the swirl motion imparted to the air stream, the quarl geometry, fuel loading and air loading also had a significant effect on the flow pattern, turbulence intensity, mixture formation, temperature distribution, emissions and flame stabilization. Particularly, in the case of the straight quarl flame, the flow pattern leads to strong, rapid mixing and reduces the residence time for NO formation within the internal recirculation zone (IRZ). However, for the diverging quarl flames, the recirculation zone is shifted radially outward, and the turbulent interaction between the central fuel jet and the internal recirculation zone IRZ induces another small vortex between these two flow features. Less mixing near the diverging quarl exit is observed, with a higher concentration of NO and CO in the post-combustion zone. The instantaneous flow field for both flames showed the existence of small scale vortical structure near the shear layers which were not apparent in the time averaged flow field. These structures, along with high levels

3D velocity measurements in a premixed flame by tomographic PIV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokarev, M P; Sharaborin, D K; Lobasov, A S; Chikishev, L M; Dulin, V M; Markovich, D M

2015-01-01

Tomographic particle image velocimetry (PIV) has become a standard tool for 3D velocity measurements in non-reacting flows. However, the majority of the measurements in flows with combustion are limited to small resolved depth compared to the size of the field of view (typically 1 : 10). The limitations are associated with inhomogeneity of the volume illumination and the non-uniform flow seeding, the optical distortions and errors in the 3D calibration, and the unwanted flame luminosity. In the present work, the above constraints were overcome for the tomographic PIV experiment in a laminar axisymmetric premixed flame. The measurements were conducted for a 1 : 1 depth-to-size ratio using a system of eight CCD cameras and a 200 mJ pulsed laser. The results show that camera calibration based on the triangulation of the tracer particles in the non-reacting conditions provided reliable accuracy for the 3D image reconstruction in the flame. The modification of the tomographic reconstruction allowed a posteriori removal of unwanted bright objects, which were located outside of the region of interest but affected the reconstruction quality. This study reports on a novel experience for the instantaneous 3D velocimetry in laboratory-scale flames by using tomographic PIV. (paper)

Large scale Direct Numerical Simulation of premixed turbulent jet flames at high Reynolds number

Science.gov (United States)

Attili, Antonio; Luca, Stefano; Lo Schiavo, Ermanno; Bisetti, Fabrizio; Creta, Francesco

2016-11-01

A set of direct numerical simulations of turbulent premixed jet flames at different Reynolds and Karlovitz numbers is presented. The simulations feature finite rate chemistry with 16 species and 73 reactions and up to 22 Billion grid points. The jet consists of a methane/air mixture with equivalence ratio ϕ = 0 . 7 and temperature varying between 500 and 800 K. The temperature and species concentrations in the coflow correspond to the equilibrium state of the burnt mixture. All the simulations are performed at 4 atm. The flame length, normalized by the jet width, decreases significantly as the Reynolds number increases. This is consistent with an increase of the turbulent flame speed due to the increased integral scale of turbulence. This behavior is typical of flames in the thin-reaction zone regime, which are affected by turbulent transport in the preheat layer. Fractal dimension and topology of the flame surface, statistics of temperature gradients, and flame structure are investigated and the dependence of these quantities on the Reynolds number is assessed.

Tip opening of premixed bunsen flames: Extinction with negative stretch and local Karlovitz number

KAUST Repository

Vu, Tranmanh

2015-04-01

The characteristics of tip openings in premixed bunsen flames have been studied experimentally by measuring OH radicals from laser-induced fluorescence and tip curvatures from chemiluminescent images. Results showed that the tip opening occurred at a constant equivalence ratio and was independent of the jet velocity in propane/air mixtures. The observation of a local extinction phenomenon of the negatively stretched flame due to the flame curvature could not be consistently explained based on flame stretch or the Karlovitz number, since they varied appreciably with the jet velocity. The concept of the local Karlovitz number (KaL) was introduced, which is defined as the ratio of the characteristic reaction time in the normal direction for a stretched flame to the characteristic flow time in the tangential direction for the stretched flame. The local Karlovitz number maintained a constant value under tip opening conditions, irrespective of the jet velocity. Tip opening occurred at a reasonably constant local Karlovitz number of about ~1.72 when the nitrogen dilution level in propane and n-butane fuels was varied.

Correspondence Between Uncoupled Flame Macrostructures and Thermoacoustic Instability in Premixed Swirl-Stabilized Combustion

KAUST Repository

Taamallah, Soufien

2014-06-16

In this paper, we conduct an experimental investigation of a confined premixed swirl-stabilized dump combustor similar to those found in modern gas turbines. We operate the combustor with premixed methane-air in the lean range of equivalence ratio ϕ ∈ [0.5–0.75]. First, we observe different dynamic modes in the lean operating range, as the equivalence ratio is raised, confirming observations made previously in a similar combustor geometry but with a different fuel [1]. Next we examine the correspondence between dynamic mode transitions and changes in the mean flame configuration or macrostructure. We show that each dynamic mode is associated with a specific flame macrostructure. By modifying the combustor length without changing the underlying flow, the resonant frequencies of the geometry are altered allowing for decoupling the heat release fluctuations and the acoustic field, in a certain range of equivalence ratio. Mean flame configurations in the modified (short) combustor and for the same range of equivalence ratio are examined. It is found that not only the same sequence of flame configurations is observed in both combustors (long and short) but also that the set of equivalence ratio where transitions in the flame configuration occur is closely related to the onset of thermo-acoustic instabilities. For both combustor lengths, the flame structure changes at similar equivalence ratio whether thermo-acoustic coupling is allowed or not, suggesting that the flame configuration holds the key to understanding the onset of self-excited thermo-acoustic instability in this range. Finally, we focus on the flame configuration transition that was correlated with the onset of the first dynamically unstable mode ϕ ∈ [0.61–0.64]. Our analysis of this transition in the short, uncoupled combustor shows that it is associated with an intermittent appearance of a flame in the outer recirculation zone (ORZ). The spectral analysis of this “ORZ flame flickering” �

Correspondence Between Uncoupled Flame Macrostructures and Thermoacoustic Instability in Premixed Swirl-Stabilized Combustion

KAUST Repository

Taamallah, Soufien; LaBry, Zachary A.; Shanbhogue, Santosh J.; Ghoniem, Ahmed F.

2014-01-01

In this paper, we conduct an experimental investigation of a confined premixed swirl-stabilized dump combustor similar to those found in modern gas turbines. We operate the combustor with premixed methane-air in the lean range of equivalence ratio ϕ ∈ [0.5–0.75]. First, we observe different dynamic modes in the lean operating range, as the equivalence ratio is raised, confirming observations made previously in a similar combustor geometry but with a different fuel [1]. Next we examine the correspondence between dynamic mode transitions and changes in the mean flame configuration or macrostructure. We show that each dynamic mode is associated with a specific flame macrostructure. By modifying the combustor length without changing the underlying flow, the resonant frequencies of the geometry are altered allowing for decoupling the heat release fluctuations and the acoustic field, in a certain range of equivalence ratio. Mean flame configurations in the modified (short) combustor and for the same range of equivalence ratio are examined. It is found that not only the same sequence of flame configurations is observed in both combustors (long and short) but also that the set of equivalence ratio where transitions in the flame configuration occur is closely related to the onset of thermo-acoustic instabilities. For both combustor lengths, the flame structure changes at similar equivalence ratio whether thermo-acoustic coupling is allowed or not, suggesting that the flame configuration holds the key to understanding the onset of self-excited thermo-acoustic instability in this range. Finally, we focus on the flame configuration transition that was correlated with the onset of the first dynamically unstable mode ϕ ∈ [0.61–0.64]. Our analysis of this transition in the short, uncoupled combustor shows that it is associated with an intermittent appearance of a flame in the outer recirculation zone (ORZ). The spectral analysis of this “ORZ flame flickering” �

Direct numerical simulation of bluff-body-stabilized premixed flames

KAUST Repository

Arias, Paul G.

2014-01-10

To enable high fidelity simulation of combustion phenomena in realistic devices, an embedded boundary method is implemented into direct numerical simulations (DNS) of reacting flows. One of the additional numerical issues associated with reacting flows is the stable treatment of the embedded boundaries in the presence of multicomponent species and reactions. The implemented method is validated in two test con gurations: a pre-mixed hydrogen/air flame stabilized in a backward-facing step configuration, and reactive flows around a square prism. The former is of interest in practical gas turbine combustor applications in which the thermo-acoustic instabilities are a strong concern, and the latter serves as a good model problem to capture the vortex shedding behind a bluff body. In addition, a reacting flow behind the square prism serves as a model for the study of flame stabilization in a micro-channel combustor. The present study utilizes fluid-cell reconstruction methods in order to capture important flame-to-solid wall interactions that are important in confined multicomponent reacting flows. Results show that the DNS with embedded boundaries can be extended to more complex geometries without loss of accuracy and the high fidelity simulation data can be used to develop and validate turbulence and combustion models for the design of practical combustion devices.

Impact of Vitiation on a Swirl-Stabilized and Premixed Methane Flame

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mao Li

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Vitiation refers to the condition where the oxygen concentration in the air is reduced due to the mix of dilution gas. The vitiation effects on a premixed methane flame were investigated on a swirl-stabilized gas turbine model combustor under atmospheric pressure. The main purpose is to analyze the combustion stability and CO emission performance in vitiated air and compare the results with the flame without vitiation. The N2, CO2, and H2O (steam were used as the dilution gas. Measurements were conducted in a combustor inlet temperature of 384 K and 484 K. The equivalence ratio was varied from stoichiometric conditions to the LBO (Lean Blowout limits where the flame was physically blown out from the combustor. The chemical kinetics calculation was performed with Chemkin software to analyze the vitiation effects on the flame reaction zone. Based on the calculation results, the changes in the temperature gradient, CO concentration, and active radicals across the flame reaction zone were identified. The time-averaged CH chemiluminescence images were recorded and the results indicated the features of the flame shape and location. The CH signal intensity provided the information about the heat-release zone in the combustor. The combustion LBO limits were measured and the vitiation of CO2 and H2O were found to have a stronger impact to elevate the LBO limits than N2. Near the LBO limits, the instability of the flame reaction was revealed by the high-speed chemiluminescence imaging and the results were analyzed by FFT (Fast Fourier Transfer. CO emission was measured with a water-cooled probe which is located at the exit of the combustor. The combustion vitiation has been found to have the compression effect on the operation range for low CO emission. However, this compression effect could be compensated by improving the combustor inlet temperature.

Dynamics of Practical Premixed Flames, Part I: Model Structure and Identification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Huber

2009-06-01

Full Text Available For the analysis of thermoacoustic instabilities it is most important to determine the dynamic flame response to acoustic disturbances. Premixed flames are often modelled as single-input single-output system, where the “output” (the overall rate of heat release responds to a single “input” variable (often the velocity at the exit of the burner nozzle. However, for practical premixed flames, where perturbations of pressure or velocity at the fuel injector will modulate the fuel equivalence ratio, the heat release rate will respond to fluctuations of equivalence ratio as well as nozzle mass flow rate. In this case, a multiple-input, single-output (MISO model structure for the flame is appropriate. Such a model structure is developed in the present paper. Staged fuel injection as well as fuel line impedances can be taken into account, the integration with low-order or finite-element based models for stability analysis is straightforward. In order to determine unit impulse and frequency response functions for such a model structure, an identification scheme based on unsteady CFD calculation with broadband excitation followed by correlation analysis is proposed and validated successfully. Identification of MISO model coefficients is a challenging task, especially in the presence of noise. Therefore criteria are introduced which allow to ascertain a posteriori how well the identified model represents the true system dynamics. Using these criteria, it is investigated how excitation signal type, time series length and signal-to-noise ratio influence the results of the identification process. Consequences for passive design strategies based on multi-stage fuel injection and experimental work on practical premixed flame dynamics are discussed.

Comprehensive Validation of Skeletal Mechanism for Turbulent Premixed Methane–Air Flame Simulations

KAUST Repository

Luca, Stefano; Al-Khateeb, Ashraf N.; Attili, Antonio; Bisetti, Fabrizio

2017-01-01

A new skeletal mechanism, consisting of 16 species and 72 reactions, has been developed for lean methane–air premixed combustion from the GRI-Mech 3.0. The skeletal mechanism is validated for elevated unburnt temperatures (800 K) and pressures up

Cavity ring down spectroscopy of CH, CH2, HCO, and H2CO in a premixed flat flame at both atmospheric and sub-atmospheric pressure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evertsen, R.; Staicu, A.D.; Oijen, van J.A.; Dam, N.J.; Goey, de L.P.H.; Meulen, ter J.J.; Cheauveau, C.; Vovelle, C.

2003-01-01

Density distributions of CH, CH2, HCO and H2CO have been measured in a premixed CH4/air flat flame by Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy (CRDS). At atmospheric pressure problems are encountered due to the narrow spatial distribution of these species. Rotational flame Temperatures have been derived from

Electrical Characteristics, Electrode Sheath and Contamination Layer Behavior of a Meso-Scale Premixed Methane-Air Flame Under AC/DC Electric Fields

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Qi; Yan, Limin; Zhang, Hao; Li, Guoxiu

2016-05-01

Electrical characteristics of a nozzle-attached meso-scale premixed methane-air flame under low-frequency AC (0-4300 V, 0-500 Hz) and DC (0-3300 V) electric fields were studied. I-V curves were measured under different experimental conditions to estimate the magnitude of the total current 100-102 μA, the electron density 1015-1016 m-3 and further the power dissipation ≤ 0.7 W in the reaction zone. At the same time, the meso-scale premixed flame conductivity 10-4-10-3 Ω-1·m-1 as a function of voltage and frequency was experimentally obtained and was believed to represent a useful order-of magnitude estimate. Moreover, the influence of the collision sheath relating to Debye length (31-98 μm) and the contamination layer of an active electrode on measurements was discussed, based on the combination of simulation and theoretical analysis. As a result, the electrode sheath dimension was evaluated to less than 0.5 mm, which indicated a complex effect of the collision sheath on the current measurements. The surface contamination effect of an active electrode was further analyzed using the SEM imaging method, which showed elements immigration during the contamination layer formation process. supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51376021), and the Fundamental Research Fund for Major Universities (No. 2013JBM079)

Stability enhancement of ozone-assisted laminar premixed Bunsen flames in nitrogen co-flow

KAUST Repository

Vu, Tran Manh

2014-04-01

Ozone (O3) is known as one of the strongest oxidizers and therefore is widely used in many applications. Typically in the combustion field, a combination of non-thermal plasma and combustion systems have been studied focusing on the effects of ozone on flame propagation speeds and ignition characteristics. Here, we experimentally investigated the effects of ozone on blowoff of premixed methane/air and propane/air flames over a full range of equivalence ratios at room temperature and atmospheric pressure by using a co-flow burner and a dielectric barrier discharge. The results with ozone showed that a nozzle exit jet velocity at the moment of flame blowoff (blowoff velocity) significantly increased, and flammability limits for both fuel-lean and rich mixtures were also extended. Ozone had stronger effects of percent enhancement in the blowoff velocity for off-stoichiometric mixtures, while minimum enhancements could be observed around stoichiometric conditions for both fuels showing linear positive dependence on a tested range of ozone concentration up to 3810ppm. Through chemical kinetic simulations, the experimentally observed trends of the enhancement in blowoff velocity were identified as a result of the modification of the laminar burning velocity. Two ozone decomposition pathways of O3+N2→O+O2+N2 and O3+H→O2+OH were identified as the most controlling steps. These reactions, coupled with fuel consumption characteristics of each fuel determined the degree of promotion in laminar burning velocities, supporting experimental observations on blowoff velocities with ozone addition. © 2013 The Combustion Institute.

Properties of plasma flames sustained by microwaves and burning hydrocarbon fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Yong Cheol; Uhm, Han Sup

2006-01-01

Plasma flames made of atmospheric microwave plasma and a fuel-burning flame were presented and their properties were investigated experimentally. The plasma flame generator consists of a fuel injector and a plasma flame exit connected in series to a microwave plasma torch. The plasma flames are sustained by injecting hydrocarbon fuels into a microwave plasma torch in air discharge. The microwave plasma torch in the plasma flame system can burn a hydrocarbon fuel by high-temperature plasma and high atomic oxygen density, decomposing the hydrogen and carbon containing fuel. We present the visual observations of the sustained plasma flames and measure the gas temperature using a thermocouple device in terms of the gas-fuel mixture and flow rate. The plasma flame volume of the hydrocarbon fuel burners was more than approximately 30-50 times that of the torch plasma. While the temperature of the torch plasma flame was only 868 K at a measurement point, that of the diesel microwave plasma flame with the addition of 0.019 lpm diesel and 30 lpm oxygen increased drastically to about 2280 K. Preliminary experiments for methane plasma flame were also carried out, measuring the temperature profiles of flames along the radial and axial directions. Finally, we investigated the influence of the microwave plasma on combustion flame by observing and comparing OH molecular spectra for the methane plasma flame and methane flame only

The impact of reactants composition and temperature on the flow structure in a wake stabilized laminar lean premixed CH4/H2/air flames; mechanism and scaling

KAUST Repository

Michaels, D.

2016-11-11

In this paper we investigate the role of reactants composition and temperature in defining the steady flow structure in bluff body stabilized premixed flames. The study was motivated by experiments which showed that the flow structure and stability map for different fuels and inlet conditions collapse using the extinction strain rate as the chemical time scale. The investigation is conducted using a laminar lean premixed flame stabilized on a heat conducting bluff-body. Calculations are performed for a wide range of mixtures of CH4/H2/air (0.35 ≤ ϕ ≤ 0.75, 0 ≤ %H2 ≤ 40, 300 ≤ Tin [K] ≤ 500) in order to systematically vary the burning velocity (2.0–35.6 cm/s), dilatation ratio (2.7–6.4), and extinction strain rate (106–2924 1/s). The model is based on a fully resolved unsteady two-dimensional flow with detailed chemistry and species transport, and with no artificial flame anchoring boundary conditions. Calculations reveal that the recirculation zone length correlates with a chemical time scale based on the flame extinction strain rate corresponding to the inlet fuel composition, stoichiometry, pressure and temperature; and are consistent with experimental data in literature. It was found that in the wake region the flame is highly stretched and its location and interaction with the flow is governed by the reactants combustion characteristics under high strain.

Development of Criteria for Flameholding Tendencies within Premixer Passages for High Hydrogen Content Fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lewis, Elliot Sullivan- [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); McDonell, Vincent G. [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)

2014-12-01

Due to increasingly stringent air quality requirements stationary power gas turbines have moved to lean-premixed operation, which reduces pollutant emissions but can result in flashback. Flashback can cause serious damage to the premixer hardware. Curtailing flashback can be difficult with hydrocarbon fuels and becomes even more challenging when hydrogen is used as the fuel. The two main approaches for coping with flashback are either to design a combustor that is resistant to flashback, or to design a premixer that will not anchor a flame if flashback occurs. Even with a well-designed combustor flashback can occur under certain circumstances, thus it is necessary to determine how to avoid flameholding within the premixer passageways of a gas turbine. To this end, an experiment was designed that would determine the flameholding propensities at elevated pressures and temperatures of three different classes of geometric features commonly found in gas turbine premixers, with both natural gas and hydrogen fuel. Experiments to find the equivalence ratio at blow off were conducted within an optically accessible test apparatus with four flameholders: 0.25 and 0.50 inch diameter cylinders, a reverse facing step with a height of 0.25 inches, and a symmetric airfoil with a thickness of 0.25 inches and a chord length of one inch. Tests were carried out at temperatures between 300 K and 750 K, at pressures up to 9 atmospheres. Typical bulk velocities were between 40 and 100 m/s. The effect of airfoil’s angle of rotation was also investigated. Blow off for hydrogen flames was found to occur at much lower adiabatic flame temperatures than natural gas flames. Additionally it was observed that at high pressures and high turbulence intensities, reactant velocity does not have a noticeable effect on the point of blow off due in large part to corresponding increases in turbulent flame speed. Finally a semi empirical correlation was developed that predicts flame extinction for both

Measurements of the laminar burning velocity of hydrogen-air premixed flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pareja, Jhon; Burbano, Hugo J. [Science and Technology of Gases and Rational Use of Energy Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Antioquia, Calle 67 N 53, 108 Bloque 20, 447 Medellin (Colombia); Ogami, Yasuhiro [Institute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577 (Japan)

2010-02-15

Experimental and numerical studies on laminar burning velocities of hydrogen-air mixtures were performed at standard pressure and room temperature varying the equivalence ratio from 0.8 to 3.0. The flames were generated using a contoured slot-type nozzle burner (4 mm x 10 mm). Measurements of laminar burning velocity were conducted using particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) combined with Schlieren photography. This technique provides the information of instantaneous local burning velocities in the whole region of the flame front, and laminar burning velocities were determined using the mean value of local burning velocities in the region of non-stretch. Additionally, average laminar burning velocities were determined using the angle method and compared with the data obtained with the PTV method. Numerical calculations were also conducted using detailed reaction mechanisms and transport properties. The experimental results from the PTV method are in good agreement with the numerical results at every equivalence ratio of the range of study. Differences between the results obtained with the angle method and those with the PTV method are reasonably small when the effects of flame stretch and curvature are reduced by using a contoured slot-type nozzle. (author)

Mensuration of the propagation speed of mixed flames of Methane-air and gas natural, Guajira - air using the method of the angle of the cone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benjumea Hernandez, Pedro Nel; Higuita Bedoya Carlos Mario; Cordoba Perez, Camilo Andres

2004-01-01

In this work, the burning velocity of premixed laminar flames of methane-air and Guajira natural gas-air mixtures was measured by the cone's angle method using a cylindrical Bunsen burner. In the development of the experiments, a fuel concentration in the fuel-air mixture ranging from 9% -11% was taken. The maximum value of the burning velocity was obtained for mixtures a little bit richer than the stoichiometric case. For methane, this flame velocity was 44.1 cm/s and for the Guajira natural gas was 43.1 cm/s. From the results, it was possible to see that the Guajira natural gas inert content led to a burning velocity value lesser than the methane's, in spite of the Guajira natural gas having a higher heavy hydrocarbon content. Methane burning velocity values following similar trends to those reported by the literature were obtained. The systematic error found in the results is mainly a consequence of inaccuracies in the method used to measure the fuel-gas mixture velocity at the burner exit

EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELING STUDY OF PREMIXED LAMINAR FLAMES OF ETHANOL AND METHANE.

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Luc-Sy; Glaude, Pierre-Alexandre; Fournet, René; Battin-Leclerc, Frédérique

2013-04-18

To better understand the chemistry of the combustion of ethanol, the structure of five low pressure laminar premixed flames has been investigated: a pure methane flame (φ=1), three pure ethanol flames (φ=0.7, 1.0, and 1.3), and an ethanol/methane mixture flames (φ=1). The flames have been stabilized on a burner at a pressure of 6.7 kPa using argon as dilutant, with a gas velocity at the burner of 64.3 cm/s at 333 K. The results consist of mole fraction profiles of 20 species measured as a function of the height above the burner by probe sampling followed by online gas chromatography analyses. A mechanism for the oxidation of ethanol was proposed. The reactions of ethanol and acetaldehyde were updated and include recent theoretical calculations while that of ethenol, dimethyl ether, acetone, and propanal were added in the mechanism. This mechanism was also tested against experimental results available in the literature for laminar burning velocities and laminar premixed flame where ethenol was detected. The main reaction pathways of consumption of ethanol are analyzed. The effect of the branching ratios of reaction C 2 H 5 OH+OH→Products+H 2 O is also discussed.

Effect of energetic electrons on combustion of premixed burner flame

Science.gov (United States)

Sasaki, Koichi

2011-10-01

In many studies of plasma-assisted combustion, authors superpose discharges onto flames to control combustion reactions. This work is motivated by more fundamental point of view. The standpoint of this work is that flames themselves are already plasmas. We irradiated microwave power onto premixed burner flame with the intention of heating electrons in it. The microwave power was limited below the threshold for a discharge. We obtained the enhancement of burning velocity by the irradiation of the microwave power, which was understood by the shortening of the flame length. At the same time, we observed the increases in the optical emission intensities of OH and CH radicals. Despite the increases in the optical emission intensities, the optical emission spectra of OH and CH were not affected by the microwave irradiation, indicating that the enhancement of the burning velocity was not attributed to the increase in the gas temperature. On the other hand, we observed significant increase in the optical emission intensity of the second positive system of molecular nitrogen, which is a clear evidence for electron heating in the premixed burner flame. Therefore, it is considered that the enhancement of the burning velocity is obtained by nonequilibrium combustion chemistry which is driven by energetic electrons. By irradiating pulsed microwave power, we examined the time constants for the increases and decreases in the optical emission intensities of N2, OH, CH, and continuum radiation.

Near-field local flame extinction of Oxy-Syngas non-premixed jet flames : a DNS study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ranga Dinesh, K.K.J.; Oijen, van J.A.; Luo, Kai; Jiang, X.

2014-01-01

An investigation of the local flame extinction of H2/CO oxy-syngas and syngas-air nonpremixed jet flames was carried out using three-dimensional direct numerical simulations (DNS) with detailed chemistry by using flamelet generated manifold chemistry (FGM). The work has two main objectives: identify

Autoignition characteristics of laminar lifted jet flames of pre-vaporized iso-octane in heated coflow air

KAUST Repository

Alnoman, Saeed

2015-12-01

The stabilization characteristics of laminar non-premixed jet flames of pre-vaporized iso-octane, one of the primary reference fuels for octane rating, have been studied experimentally in heated coflow air. Non-autoignited and autoignited lifted flames were analyzed. With the coflow air at relatively low initial temperatures below 940 K, an external ignition source was required to stabilize the flame. These lifted flames had tribrachial edge structures and their liftoff heights correlated well with the jet velocity scaled by stoichiometric laminar burning velocity, indicating the importance of the edge propagation speed on flame stabilization. At high initial temperatures over 940 K, the autoignited flames were stabilized without requiring an external ignition source. These autoignited lifted flames exhibited either tribrachial edge structures or mild combustion behaviors depending on the level of fuel dilution. Two distinct transition behaviors were observed in the autoignition regime from a nozzle-attached flame to a lifted tribrachial-edge flame and then to lifted mild combustion as the jet velocity increased at a certain fuel dilution level. The liftoff data of the autoignited flames with tribrachial edges were analyzed based on calculated ignition delay times. Analysis of the experimental data suggested that ignition delay time may be much less sensitive to initial temperature under atmospheric pressure conditions as compared with predictions. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experiment and Simulation of Autoignition in Jet Flames and its Relevance to Flame Stabilization and Structure

KAUST Repository

Al-Noman, Saeed M.

2016-01-01

temperature coflow air were studied numerically. Several flame configurations were investigated by varying the initial temperature and fuel mole fraction. Characteristics of chemical kinetics structures for autoignited lifted flames were discussed based on the kinetic structures of homogeneous autoignition and flame propagation of premixed mixtures. Results showed that for autoignited lifted flame with tribrachial structure, a transition from autoignition to flame propagation modes occurs for reasonably stoichiometric mixtures. Characteristics of Mild combustion can be treated as an autoignited lean premixed lifted flame. Transition behavior from Mild combustion to a nozzle-attached flame was also investigated by increasing the fuel mole fraction.

Numerical study of laminar nonpremixed methane flames in coflow jets: Autoignited lifted flames with tribrachial edges and MILD combustion at elevated temperatures

KAUST Repository

M. Al-Noman, Saeed

2016-07-07

Autoignition characteristics of laminar nonpremixed methane jet flames in high-temperature coflow air are studied numerically. Several flame configurations are investigated by varying the initial temperature and fuel mole fraction. At a relatively low initial temperature, a non-autoignited nozzle-attached flame is simulated at relatively low jet velocity. When the initial temperature is higher than that required for autoignition, two regimes are investigated: an autoignited lifted flame with tribrachial edge structure and an autoignited lifted flame with Mild combustion. The autoignited lifted flame with tribrachial edge exhibited three branches: lean and rich premixed flame wings and a trailing diffusion flame. Characteristics of kinetic structure for autoignited lifted flames are discussed based on the kinetic structures of homogeneous autoignition and flame propagation of stoichiometric mixture. Results showed that a transition from autoignition to flame propagation modes occurs for reasonably stoichiometric mixtures. The autoignited lifted flame with Mild combustion occurs when methane fuel is highly diluted with nitrogen. The kinetic structure analysis shows that the characteristics of Mild combustion can be treated as an autoignited lean premixed lifted flame. Transition behavior from Mild combustion to nozzle-attached flame was investigated by increasing the fuel mole fraction. As the maximum flame temperature increases with decreasing liftoff height, the kinetic structure showed a transition behavior from autoignition to flame propagation of a lean premixed flame. © 2016 The Combustion Institute

An experimental and kinetic modeling study of premixed nitromethane flames at low pressure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Kuiwen; Li, Yuyang; Yuan, Tao

2011-01-01

An experimental and modeling study is reported on three premixed nitromethane/oxygen/argon flames at low pressure (4.655kPa) with equivalence ratios (ϕ) of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0. Flame species were identified with tunable synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization. The mole fraction profiles of more...

Flame holding tolerant fuel and air premixer for a gas turbine combustor

Science.gov (United States)

York, William David; Johnson, Thomas Edward; Ziminsky, Willy Steve

2012-11-20

A fuel nozzle with active cooling is provided. It includes an outer peripheral wall, a nozzle center body concentrically disposed within the outer wall in a fuel and air pre-mixture. The fuel and air pre-mixture includes an air inlet, a fuel inlet and a premixing passage defined between the outer wall in the center body. A gas fuel flow passage is provided. A first cooling passage is included within the center body in a second cooling passage is defined between the center body and the outer wall.

Strained flamelets for turbulent premixed flames, I: Formulation and planar flame results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kolla, H.; Swaminathan, N. [Department of Engineering, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 1PZ (United Kingdom)

2010-05-15

A strained flamelet model is proposed for turbulent premixed flames using scalar dissipation rate as a parameter. The scalar dissipation rate of reaction progress variable is a suitable quantity to describe the flamelet structure since it is governed by convection-diffusion-reaction balance and it is defined at every location in the flamelets, which are represented by laminar flames in reactant-to-product opposed flow configuration. The mean reaction rate is obtained by using the flamelets reaction rate and the joint pdf of the progress variable and its dissipation rate. The marginal pdf of the progress variable is presumed to be {beta}-pdf and the pdf of the conditional dissipation rate is taken to be log-normal. The conditional mean dissipation rate is obtained from modelled mean dissipation rate. This reaction rate closure is assessed using RANS calculations of statistically planar flames in the corrugated flamelets and thin reaction zones regimes. The flame speeds calculated using this closure are close to the experimental data of Abdel-Gayed et al. (1987) for flames in both the regimes. Comparisons with other reaction rate closures showed the benefits of the strained flamelets approach. (author)

Influence of Pilot Flame Parameters on the Stability of Turbulent Jet Flames

KAUST Repository

Guiberti, Thibault F.

2016-11-08

This paper presents a comprehensive study of the effects of pilot parameters on flame stability in a turbulent jet flame. The Sydney inhomogeneous piloted burner is employed as the experimental platform with two main fuels, namely, compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas. Various concentrations of five gases are used in the pilot stream, hydrogen, acetylene, oxygen, nitrogen, and argon, to enable a sufficient range in exploring the following parameters: pilot heat release, temperature, burnt gas velocity, equivalence ratio, and H/C ratio. The experimental results are mainly presented in the form of blow-off limits and supported by simple calculations, which simulate various conditions of the pilot–mixture interface. It is found that increasing the pilot adiabatic flame temperature benefits the flame stability and has an even greater influence than the heat release, which is also known to enhance the blow-off limits. Conversely, increasing the pilot burnt gas velocity reduces the blow-off velocity, except for the limiting case when the jet is fully non-premixed. The H/C ratio has negligible effects, while resorting to lean pilots significantly increases the stability of globally rich partially premixed and premixed jets. Such findings are consistent with trends obtained from laminar flame calculations for rich fuel/air mixtures issuing against hot combustion products to simulate the pilot stream.

Premixed combustion on ceramic foam burners

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bouma, P.H.; Goey, de L.P.H.

1999-01-01

Combustion of a lean premixed methane–air mixture stabilized on a ceramic foam burner has been studied. The stabilization of the flame in the radiant mode has been simulated using a one-dimensional numerical model for a burner stabilized flat-flame, taking into account the heat transfer between the

Saturation mechanism of the heat release response of a premixed swirl flame using LES

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krediet, H.J.; Beck, C. H.; Krebs, W.; Kok, J. B.W.

2013-01-01

The nonlinear heat release response of a premixed swirl flame to velocity perturbations is investigated using Large Eddy Simulation. The nonlinear heat release response is required for the prediction of thermoacoustic limit cycle pressure amplitudes and is represented here by the Flame Describing

The blow-off mechanism of a bluff-body stabilized laminar premixed flame

KAUST Repository

Kedia, Kushal S.

2015-04-01

© 2014 The Combustion Institute. The objective of this work is to investigate the dynamics leading to blow-off of a laminar premixed flame stabilized on a confined bluff-body using high fidelity numerical simulations. We used unsteady, fully resolved, two-dimensional simulations with detailed chemical kinetics and species transport for methane-air combustion. The flame-wall interaction between the hot reactants and the heat conducting bluff-body was accurately captured by incorporating the conjugate heat exchange between them. Simulations showed a shear-layer stabilized flame just downstream of the bluff-body, with a recirculation zone formed by the products of combustion. The flame was negatively stretched along its entire length, primarily dominated by the normal component of the strain. Blow-off was approached by decreasing the mixture equivalence ratio, at a fixed Reynolds number, of the incoming flow. A flame is stable (does not undergo blow-off) when (1) flame displacement speed is equal to the flow speed and (2) the gradient of the flame displacement speed normal to its surface is higher than the gradient of the flow speed along the same direction. As the equivalence ratio is reduced, the difference between the former and the latter shrinks until the dynamic stability condition (2) is violated, leading to blow-off. Blow-off initiates at a location where this is first violated along the flame. Our results showed that this location was far downstream from the flame anchoring zone, near the end of the recirculation zone. Blow-off started by flame pinching separating the flame into an upstream moving (carried within the recirculation zone) and a downstream convecting (detached from the recirculation zone) flame piece. Within the range of operating conditions investigated, the conjugate heat exchange with the bluff-body had no impact on the flame blow-off.

Numerical study of influences of crosswind and additional steam on the flow field and temperature of propane non-premixed turbulence flame

Science.gov (United States)

Wusnah; Bindar, Y.; Yunardi; Nur, F. M.; Syam, A. M.

2018-03-01

This paper presents results the process of combustion propane using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate the turbulent non-premixed flame under the influences of crosswinds and the ratio of fuel (propane) to steam, S. Configuration, discretization and boundary conditions of the flame are described using GambitTM software and integrated with FluentTM software for calculations of flow and reactive fields. This work focuses on the influence of various crosswind speeds (0–10 m/s) and values of S (0.14–2.35) while the velocity of fuel issued from the nozzle was kept constant at 20 m/s. A turbulence model, k-ɛ standard and combustion model, Eddy Dissipation model were employed for the calculation of velocity and temperature fields, respectively. The results are displayed in the form of predictive terrain profile of the propane flame at different crosswind speeds. The results of the propane flame profile demonstrated that the crosswind significantly affect the structure velocity and position of the flame which was off-center moving towards the direction of crosswind, eventually affect the temperature along the flame. As the values of S is increasing, the flame contour temperature decreases, until the flame was extinguished at S equals to 2.35. The combustion efficiency for a variety of crosswind speeds decreases with increasing values of S.

Effect of the mixing fields on the stability and structure of turbulent partially premixed flames in a concentric flow conical nozzle burner

KAUST Repository

Mansour, Mohy S.

2016-10-22

The mixing field is known to be one of the key parameters that affect the stability and structure of partially premixed flames. Data in these flames are now available covering the effects of turbulence, combustion system geometry, level of partially premixing and fuel type. However, quantitative analyses of the flame structure based on the mixing field are not yet available. The aim of this work is to present a comprehensive study of the effects of the mixing fields on the structure and stability of partially premixed methane flames. The mixing field in a concentric flow conical nozzle (CFCN) burner with well-controlled mechanism of the mixing is investigated using Rayleigh scattering technique. The flame stability, structure and flow field of some selected cases are presented using LIF of OH and PIV. The experimental data of the mixing field cover wide ranges of Reynolds number, equivalence ratio and mixing length. The data show that the mixing field is significantly affected by the mixing length and the ratio of the air-to-fuel velocities. The Reynolds number has a minimum effect on the mixing field in high turbulent flow regime and the stability is significantly affected by the turbulence level. The temporal fluctuations of the range of mixture fraction within the mixing field correlate with the flame stability. The highest point of stability occurs at recess distances where fluid mixtures near the jet exit plane are mostly within the flammability limits. This paper provides some correlations between the stability range in mixture fraction space and the turbulence level for different equivalence ratios.

Mechanisms of stabilization and blowoff of a premixed flame downstream of a heat-conducting perforated plate

KAUST Repository

Kedia, Kushal S.

2012-03-01

The objective of this work is to investigate the flame stabilization mechanism and the conditions leading to the blowoff of a laminar premixed flame anchored downstream of a heat-conducting perforated-plate/multi-hole burner, with overall nearly adiabatic conditions. We use unsteady, fully resolved, two-dimensional simulations with detailed chemical kinetics and species transport for methane-air combustion. Results show a bell-shaped flame stabilizing above the burner plate hole, with a U-shaped section anchored between neighboring holes. The base of the positively curved U-shaped section of the flame is positioned near the stagnation point, at a location where the flame displacement speed is equal to the flow speed. This location is determined by the combined effect of heat loss and flame stretch on the flame displacement speed. As the mass flow rate of the reactants is increased, the flame displacement speed at this location varies non-monotonically. As the inlet velocity is increased, the recirculation zone grows slowly, the flame moves downstream, and the heat loss to the burner decreases, strengthening the flame and increasing its displacement speed. As the inlet velocity is raised, the stagnation point moves downstream, and the flame length grows to accommodate the reactants mass flow. Concomitantly, the radius of curvature of the flame base decreases until it reaches an almost constant value, comparable to the flame thickness. While the heat loss decreases, the higher flame curvature dominates thereby reducing the displacement speed of the flame base. For a stable flame, the gradient of the flame base displacement speed normal to the flame is higher than the gradient of the flow speed along the same direction, leading to dynamic stability. As inlet velocity is raised further, the former decreases while the latter increases until the stability condition is violated, leading to blowoff. The flame speed during blow off is determined by the feedback between the

Turbulence-flame interactions in DNS of a laboratory high Karlovitz premixed turbulent jet flame

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Haiou; Hawkes, Evatt R.; Chen, Jacqueline H.

2016-09-01

In the present work, direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a laboratory premixed turbulent jet flame was performed to study turbulence-flame interactions. The turbulent flame features moderate Reynolds number and high Karlovitz number (Ka). The orientations of the flame normal vector n, the vorticity vector ω and the principal strain rate eigenvectors ei are examined. The in-plane and out-of-plane angles are introduced to quantify the vector orientations, which also measure the flame geometry and the vortical structures. A general observation is that the distributions of these angles are more isotropic downstream as the flame and the flow become more developed. The out-of-plane angle of the flame normal vector, β, is a key parameter in developing the correction of 2D measurements to estimate the corresponding 3D quantities. The DNS results show that the correction factor is unity at the inlet and approaches its theoretical value of an isotropic distribution downstream. The alignment characteristics of n, ω and ei, which reflect the interactions of turbulence and flame, are also studied. Similar to a passive scalar gradient in non-reacting flows, the flame normal has a tendency to align with the most compressive strain rate, e3, in the flame, indicating that turbulence contributes to the production of scalar gradient. The vorticity dynamics are examined via the vortex stretching term, which was found to be the predominant source of vorticity generation balanced by dissipation, in the enstrophy transport equation. It is found that although the vorticity preferentially aligns with the intermediate strain rate, e2, the contribution of the most extensive strain rate, e1, to vortex stretching is comparable with that of the intermediate strain rate, e2. This is because the eigenvalue of the most extensive strain rate, λ1, is always large and positive. It is confirmed that the vorticity vector is preferentially positioned along the flame tangential plane, contributing

Radiation Effects on the Thermodiffusive Instability of Premixed Flames on a Cylindrical Porous Flame Holder

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Minglong; Yang, Lijun

2017-10-01

A linear analysis method was used to investigate the mechanics of radiation heat loss and mass transfer in the porous wall of premixed annular flames and their effect on thermodiffusive instability. The dispersion relation between the disturbance wave growth rate and wavenumber was calculated numerically. Results showed that radiation heat loss elevated the annular flame slightly away from the porous wall. In the annular flame with small Lewis numbers, radiation heat loss changed the thermodiffusive instability from a pulsating to a cellular state, while for the large Lewis numbers, only the pulsating instability was represented. Increasing radiation heat loss and the radius of the porous wall enhanced the instability of the annular flames. Heat losses decreased with the continued increase in thickness of the porous wall and the decrease in porosity. Annular flames with long-wave mode along the angular direction were more unstable than the shortwave mode.

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for the Measurement of Spatial Structures and Fuel Distribution in Flames.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotzagianni, Maria; Kakkava, Eirini; Couris, Stelios

2016-04-01

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is used for the mapping of local structures (i.e., reactants and products zones) and for the determination of fuel distribution by means of the local equivalence ratio ϕ in laminar, premixed air-hydrocarbon flames. The determination of laser threshold energy to induce breakdown in the different zones of flames is employed for the identification and demarcation of the local structures of a premixed laminar flame, while complementary results about fuel concentration were obtained from measurements of the cyanogen (CN) band Β(2)Σ(+)--Χ(2)Σ(+), (Δυ = 0) at 388.3 nm and the ratio of the atomic lines of hydrogen (Hα) and oxygen (O(I)), Hα/O. The combination of these LIBS-based methods provides a relatively simple to use, rapid, and accurate tool for online and in situ combustion diagnostics, providing valuable information about the fuel distribution and the spatial variations of the local structures of a flame. © The Author(s) 2016.

Analysis of the step responses of laminar premixed flames to forcing by non-thermal plasma

KAUST Repository

Lacoste, Deanna; Moeck, Jonas P.; Roberts, William L.; Chung, Suk-Ho; Cha, Min

2016-01-01

The step responses of lean methane-air flames to non-thermal plasma forcing is reported. The experimental setup consists of an axisymmetric burner, with a nozzle made of a quartz tube. The equivalence ratio is 0.95, allowing stabilization

Characteristics of Oscillating Flames in a Coaxial Confined Jet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min Suk Cha

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Flame characteristics when a non-premixed n-butane jet is ejected into a coaxial cylindrical tube are investigated experimentally. Flame stability depends mainly on the characteristics of flame propagation as well as air entrainment which depend on the jet momentum and on the distance between the nozzle exit and the base of a confined tube. As flow rate increases, the flame lifts off from a nozzle attached diffusion flame and a stationary lifted flame can be stabilized. The liftoff height increases nearly linearly with the average velocity at the nozzle exit. The lifted flame has a tribrachial flame structure, which consists of a rich premixed flame, a lean premixed flame, and a diffusion flame, all extending from a single location. As flow rate further increases, periodically oscillating flames are observed inside the confined tube. Once flame oscillation occurs, the flame undergoes relatively stable oscillation such that it has nearly constant oscillation amplitude and frequency. The criteria of flame oscillation are mapped as functions of nozzle diameter, the distance between nozzle and tube, and jet velocity. This type of flame oscillation can be characterized by Strouhal number in terms of flame oscillation amplitude, frequency, and jet velocity. Buoyancy driven flame oscillation which is one of the viable mechanism for flame oscillation is modeled and the results agrees qualitatively with experimental results, suggesting that the oscillation is due to periodic blowoff and flashback under the influence of buoyancy.

A Detailed Chemical Kinetic Reaction Mechanism for Oxidation of Four Small Alkyl Esters in Laminar Premixed Flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Westbrook, C K; Pitz, W J; Westmoreland, P R; Dryer, F L; Chaos, M; Osswald, P; Kohse-Hoinghaus, K; Cool, T A; Wang, J; Yang, B; Hansen, N; Kasper, T

2008-02-08

A detailed chemical kinetic reaction mechanism has been developed for a group of four small alkyl ester fuels, consisting of methyl formate, methyl acetate, ethyl formate and ethyl acetate. This mechanism is validated by comparisons between computed results and recently measured intermediate species mole fractions in fuel-rich, low pressure, premixed laminar flames. The model development employs a principle of similarity of functional groups in constraining the H atom abstraction and unimolecular decomposition reactions in each of these fuels. As a result, the reaction mechanism and formalism for mechanism development are suitable for extension to larger oxygenated hydrocarbon fuels, together with an improved kinetic understanding of the structure and chemical kinetics of alkyl ester fuels that can be extended to biodiesel fuels. Variations in concentrations of intermediate species levels in these flames are traced to differences in the molecular structure of the fuel molecules.

Variations in non-thermal NO formation pathways in alcohol flames

KAUST Repository

Bohon, Myles

2016-07-04

This work investigates the formation of NO in a range of laminar, premixed, burner-stabilized C1 to C3 alcohol and alkane flames, in the equivalence ratio between 0.8 and 1.2. Measurements of temperature and NO concentration were conducted, and simulations utilizing the measured temperature profile allowed for the comparison of predicted NO with experiment, as well as a detailed investigation of the contributions from a number of NO formation pathways. In the alcohol flames, reduced contributions to Prompt NO were observed along with reduced consumption of NO through the NO-HCN Reburn mechanism, demonstrating the importance of hydrocarbon radicals (CH, CH2, CH3, and HCCO) to NO formation. Additionally, significant contributions to NO through the combined NNH and N2O mechanism were observed, representing a greater proportion of the NO produced in the alcohol flames. © 2016.

Emission noise spectrum in a premixed H2-O2-N2 flame

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alkemade, C.T.J.; Hooymayers, H.P.; Lijnse, P.L.; Vierbergen, T.J.M.J.

Experimental noise spectra in the frequency range of 15–105 Hz are reported for the thermal emission of the first resonance doublet of Na and K in a premixed H2-O2-N2 flame, and for the flame background emission. Under certain conditions, low-frequency peaks arise in the noise spectrum below 100 Hz,

Nonorthogonality analysis of a thermoacoustic system with a premixed V-shaped flame

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji, Chenzhen; Zhao, Dan; Li, Xinyan; Li, Shihuai; Li, Junwei

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Nonorthogonality analysis of a choked thermoacoustic system is conducted. • A thermoacoustic model of a premixed V-shaped flame is developed. • Nonorthogonality is identified to arise from the boundary condition and the flame. • The contribution from the flame is shown to play a dominant role. • Eigenmodes nonorthogonality leads to transient growth of acoustic disturbances. - Abstract: Thermoacoustic instability occurs in many combustion systems, such as aero-engine afterburners, rocket motors, ramjets and gas turbines. It most often arises due to the coupling between unsteady heat release and acoustic waves. In this work, nonorthogonality analysis of a choked combustor with a gutter confined is conducted. Such configuration is used as a simplified model of the afterburner of an aero-engine. A thermoacoustic model is developed first to study the nonnormal interaction between acoustic disturbances and a premixed V-shaped flame anchored to the tip of the gutter. Eigenmode nonorthogonality analysis is then conducted. The thermoacoustic system is shown to be nonnormal and characterized by nonorthogonal eigenmodes. The nonorthogonality is identified to arise from both the complex boundary condition and the monopole-like flame. However, the contribution from the Robin-type boundary is approximately 1.5% of that from the flame. Thus the flame is identified to play a dominant role. One practical conclusions is that acoustic disturbances undergo transient growth in a combustion system with nonorthogonal eigenmodes. Such finite-time growth, which cannot be predicted by using classical linear theory might trigger high-amplitude self-sustained oscillations

2-d LIF measurements of the thermo-acoustic phenomena in lean premixed flames of a gas turbine combustor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bombach, R.; Hubschmid, W.; Inauen, A.; Kreutner, W.; Schenker, S.; Flohr, P.; Haffner, K.; Motz, C.; Paschereit, C.O.; Schuermans, B.; Zajadatz, M.

2003-03-01

Thermo-acoustic phenomena give rise to pressure oscillations in lean premixed flames of gas turbines at distinct frequencies characteristic of the burner design and its operation. They can lead to early materials ageing or even severe damages. Therefore, a detailed understanding of the underlying principles is fundamental for gas turbine design and improvement. In order to study the coupling between the heat release and the acoustics in the combustor as well as their feedback to the fuel/air premixing, upstream of the combustion chamber, phase-locked 2-D laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) measurements of the hydroxyl radical (OH) and acetone, respectively, have been performed. These experiments were carried out on a test rig equipped with a commercial 700 kW burner and a combustion chamber of UV transparent quartz, using a pulsed Nd:YAG/dye laser system and an intensified CCD camera for detection. Intensity variations in the integral OH LIF signal of up to {+-}10 % for one oscillation period are observed for peak sound pressure of 6 mbar and more. In addition, the phase-averaged position of the flame zone varies in axial direction, i.e. the main flow direction. The analysis shows that the observed flame motion is not only due to the acoustic motion of the gas itself, but is caused by a change of the flame velocity relative to the gas. (author)

Experimental quantification of transient stretch effects from vortices interacting with premixed flames

Science.gov (United States)

Danby, Sean James

The understanding of complex premixed combustion reactions is paramount to the development of new concepts and devices used to increase the overall usefulness and capabilities of current technology. The complex interactions which occur within any modern practical combustion device were studied by isolating a single turbulent scale of the turbulence-chemistry interaction. Methane-air flame equivalence ratios (φ = 0.64, 0.90, and 1.13) were chosen to observe the mild affects of thermo-diffusive stability on the methane-air flame. Nitrogen was used as a diluent to retard the flame speeds of the φ = 0.90, and 1.13 mixtures so that the undisturbed outwardly propagating spherical flame kernel propagation rates, drf/dt, were approximately equal. Five primary propane equivalence ratios were utilized for investigation: φ = 0.69, 0.87, 1.08, 1.32, and 1.49. The choice of equivalence ratio was strategically made so that the φ = 0.69/1.49 and φ = 0.87/1.32 mixtures have the same undiluted flame propagation rate, drf/dt. Therefore, in the undiluted case, there are three flame speeds (in laboratory coordinates, not to be confused with burning velocity) represented by these mixtures. Three vortices were selected to be used in this investigation. The vortex rotational velocities were measured to be 77 cm/s, 266 cm/s and 398 cm/s for the "weak", "medium" and "strong" vortices, respectively. Ignition of the flame occurred in two ways: (1) spark-ignition or (2) laser ignition using an Nd:YAG laser at its second harmonic (lambda = 532 nm) in order to quantify the effect of electrode interference. Accompanying high-speed chemiluminescence imaging measurements, instantaneous pressure measurements were obtained to give a more detailed understanding of the effect of vortex strength on the overall flame speed and heat release rate over an extended time scale and to explore the use of a simple measurement to describe turbulent mixing. Further local flame-vortex interface analysis was

Low and High Temperature Combustion Chemistry of Butanol Isomers in Premixed Flames and Autoignition Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarathy, S M; Pitz, W J; Westbrook, C K; Mehl, M; Yasunaga, K; Curran, H J; Tsujimura, T; Osswald, P; Kohse-Hoinghaus, K

2010-12-12

Butanol is a fuel that has been proposed as a bio-derived alternative to conventional petroleum derived fuels. The structural isomer in traditional 'bio-butanol' fuel is n-butanol, but newer conversion technologies produce iso-butanol as a fuel. In order to better understand the combustion chemistry of bio-butanol, this study presents a comprehensive chemical kinetic model for all the four isomers of butanol (e.g., 1-, 2-, iso- and tert-butanol). The proposed model includes detailed high temperature and low temperature reaction pathways. In this study, the primary experimental validation target for the model is premixed flat low-pressure flame species profiles obtained using molecular beam mass spectrometry (MBMS). The model is also validated against previously published data for premixed flame velocity and n-butanol rapid compression machine and shock tube ignition delay. The agreement with these data sets is reasonably good. The dominant reaction pathways at the various pressures and temperatures studied are elucidated. At low temperature conditions, we found that the reaction of alphahydroxybutyl with O{sub 2} was important in controlling the reactivity of the system, and for correctly predicting C{sub 4} aldehyde profiles in low pressure premixed flames. Enol-keto isomerization reactions assisted by HO{sub 2} were also found to be important in converting enols to aldehydes and ketones in the low pressure premixed flames. In the paper, we describe how the structural features of the four different butanol isomers lead to differences in the combustion properties of each isomer.

Numerical simulation of nitrogen oxide formation in lean premixed turbulent H2/O2/N2 flames

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Day, Marc S.; Bell, John B.; Gao, Xinfeng

2011-01-01

Lean premixed hydrogen flames are thermodiffusively unstable and burn in cellular structures. Within these cellular structures the flame is locally enriched by preferential diffusion of hydrogen, leading to local hotspots that burn more intensely than an idealized flat steady flame at comparable ...

Direct numerical simulations of premixed turbulent flames with flamelet-generated manifolds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oijen, van J.A.; Bastiaans, R.J.M.; Goey, de L.P.H.

2005-01-01

Direct numerical simulation is a very powerful tool to evaluate the validity of new models and theories for turbulent combustion. In this paper, direct numerical simulations of spherically expanding premixed turbulent flames in the thin reaction zone regime and in the broken reaction zone regime are

Effects of H2O, CO2, and N2 Air Contaminants on Critical Airside Strain Rates for Extinction of Hydrogen-Air Counterflow Diffusion Flames

Science.gov (United States)

Pellett, G. L.; Wilson, L. G.; Northam, G. B.; Guerra, Rosemary

1989-01-01

Coaxial tubular opposed jet burners (OJB) were used to form dish shaped counterflow diffusion flames (CFDF), centered by opposing laminar jets of H2, N2 and both clean and contaminated air (O2/N2 mixtures) in an argon bath at 1 atm. Jet velocities for flame extinction and restoration limits are shown versus wide ranges of contaminant and O2 concentrations in the air jet, and also input H2 concentration. Blowoff, a sudden breaking of CFDF to a stable ring shape, occurs in highly stretched stagnation flows and is generally believed to measure kinetically limited flame reactivity. Restore, a sudden restoration of central flame, is a relatively new phenomenon which exhibits a H2 dependent hysteresis from Blowoff. For 25 percent O2 air mixtures, mole for mole replacement of 25 percent N2 contaminant by steam increased U(air) or flame strength at Blowoff by about 5 percent. This result is consistent with laminar burning velocity results from analogous substitution of steam for N2 in a premixed stoichiometric H2-O2-N2 (or steam) flame, shown by Koroll and Mulpuru to promote a 10 percent increase in experimental and calculated laminar burning velocity, due to enhanced third body efficiency of water in: H + O2 + M yields HO2 + M. When the OJB results were compared with Liu and MacFarlane's experimental laminar burning velocity of premixed stoichiometric H2 + air + steam, a crossover occurred, i.e., steam enhanced OJB flame strength at extinction relative to laminar burning velocity.

Effect of AC electric fields on the stabilization of premixed bunsen flames

KAUST Repository

Kim, Minkuk

2011-01-01

The stabilization characteristics of laminar premixed bunsen flames have been investigated experimentally for stoichiometric methane-air mixture by applying AC voltage to the nozzle with the single-electrode configuration. The detachment velocity either at blowoff or partial-detachment has been measured by varying the applied voltage and frequency of AC. The result showed that the detachment velocity increased with the applied AC electric fields, such that the flame could be nozzle-attached even over five times of the blowoff velocity without having electric fields. There existed four distinct regimes depending on applied AC voltage and frequency. In the low voltage regime, the threshold condition of AC electric fields was identified, below which the effect of electric fields on the detachment velocity is minimal. In the moderate voltage regime, the flame base oscillated with the frequency synchronized to AC frequency and the detachment velocity increased linearly with the applied AC voltage and nonlinearly with the frequency. In the high voltage regime, two different sub-regimes depending on AC frequency were observed. For relatively low frequency, the flame base oscillated with the applied AC frequency together with the half frequency and the variation of the detachment velocity was insensitive to the applied voltage. For relatively high frequency, the stabilization of the flame was significantly affected by the generation of streamers and the detachment velocity decreased with the applied voltage. © 2010 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Combustion Institute. All rights reserved.

Determination and Scaling of Thermo Acoustic Characteristics of Premixed Flames

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. R. Alemela

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The paper investigates the determination and the scaling of thermo acoustical characteristics of lean premixed flames as used in gas turbine combustion systems. In the first part, alternative methods to characterize experimentally the flame dynamics are outlined and are compared on the example of a scaled model of an industrial gas turbine burner. Transfer matrix results from the most general direct method are contrasted with data obtained from the hybrid method, which is based on Rankine-Hugoniot relations and the experimental flame transfer function obtained from OH*-chemiluminescence measurements. Also the new network model based regression method is assessed, which is based on a n – τ – σ dynamic flame model. The results indicate very good consistency between the three techniques, providing a global check of the methods/tools used for analyzing the thermo acoustic mechanisms of flames. In the second part, scaling rules are developed that allow to calculate the dynamic flame characteristics at different operation points. Towards this a geometric flame length model is formulated. Together with the other operational data of the flame it provides the dynamic flame model parameters at these points. The comparison between the measured and modeled flame lengths as well as the n – τ – σ parameters shows an excellent agreement.

Computational Enhancements for Direct Numerical Simulations of Statistically Stationary Turbulent Premixed Flames

KAUST Repository

Mukhadiyev, Nurzhan

2017-05-01

Combustion at extreme conditions, such as a turbulent flame at high Karlovitz and Reynolds numbers, is still a vast and an uncertain field for researchers. Direct numerical simulation of a turbulent flame is a superior tool to unravel detailed information that is not accessible to most sophisticated state-of-the-art experiments. However, the computational cost of such simulations remains a challenge even for modern supercomputers, as the physical size, the level of turbulence intensity, and chemical complexities of the problems continue to increase. As a result, there is a strong demand for computational cost reduction methods as well as in acceleration of existing methods. The main scope of this work was the development of computational and numerical tools for high-fidelity direct numerical simulations of premixed planar flames interacting with turbulence. The first part of this work was KAUST Adaptive Reacting Flow Solver (KARFS) development. KARFS is a high order compressible reacting flow solver using detailed chemical kinetics mechanism; it is capable to run on various types of heterogeneous computational architectures. In this work, it was shown that KARFS is capable of running efficiently on both CPU and GPU. The second part of this work was numerical tools for direct numerical simulations of planar premixed flames: such as linear turbulence forcing and dynamic inlet control. DNS of premixed turbulent flames conducted previously injected velocity fluctuations at an inlet. Turbulence injected at the inlet decayed significantly while reaching the flame, which created a necessity to inject higher than needed fluctuations. A solution for this issue was to maintain turbulence strength on the way to the flame using turbulence forcing. Therefore, a linear turbulence forcing was implemented into KARFS to enhance turbulence intensity. Linear turbulence forcing developed previously by other groups was corrected with net added momentum removal mechanism to prevent mean

Experimental study of a laminar premixed LFG/air flame in a slot burner using Mach-Zehnder interferometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Najafian Ashrafi Zabihollah

2016-01-01

Full Text Available An experimental study was conducted to investigate the influence of Reynolds number and equivalence ratio on flame temperature field and thermal flame height of laminar premixed LFG fuel. Mach-Zehnder interferometry technique is used to obtain an insight to the overall temperature field. The slot burner with large aspect ratio (L/W, length of L=60 mm and width of W=6 mm was used to eliminate the three- dimensional effect of temperature field. Two kinds of mixed fuels, LFG70 (70%CH4- 30%CO2 on volume basis and LFG50 (50%CH4- 50%CO2 were used to investigate flame characteristics under the test conditions of 100 ≤ Re ≤ 600 and 0.7 ≤ φ ≤ 1.3. The present measurement reveals that the variation of maximum flame temperature with increment of Reynolds number is mainly due to heat transfer effects and is negligible. On the other hand, the equivalence ratio and fuel composition have a noticeable effect on flame temperature. In addition, the results show that the LFG flames compared to the CH4 ones have a lower flame temperature. With increment of CO2 volume fraction at lean combustion, thermal flame height is augmented while at stoichiometric and rich combustion, its value reduced. Thermal flame height augments linearly by Reynolds number increase, while its increment at rich mixture is higher and the effect of Reynolds number at lean mixtures is insignificant. For validation of experimental results from Mach-Zehnder Interferometry, K-type thermocouples are used at peripherally low and moderate isotherm lines.

Mechanisms of stabilization and blowoff of a premixed flame downstream of a heat-conducting perforated plate

KAUST Repository

Kedia, Kushal S.; Ghoniem, Ahmed F.

2012-01-01

The objective of this work is to investigate the flame stabilization mechanism and the conditions leading to the blowoff of a laminar premixed flame anchored downstream of a heat-conducting perforated-plate/multi-hole burner, with overall nearly

CFD analysis of premixed hydrogen/air combustion in an upright, rectangular shaped combustion chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gera, B.; Singh, R.K.; Vaze, K.K.

2014-01-01

Premixed hydrogen/air combustion in an upright, rectangular shaped combustion chamber has been performed numerically using commercial CFD code CFD-ACE+. The combustion chamber had dimensions 1 m X 0.024 m X 1 m. Simulations were carried out for 10% (v/v) hydrogen concentration for which experimental results were available. Effect of different boundary condition and ignition position on flame propagation was studied. Time dependent flame propagation in the chamber was predicted by CFD code. The computed transient flame propagation in the chamber was in good agreement with experimental results. The present work demonstrated that the available commercial CFD codes are capable of modeling hydrogen deflagration in a realistic manner. (author)

CSP-based chemical kinetics mechanisms simplification strategy for non-premixed combustion: An application to hybrid rocket propulsion

KAUST Repository

Ciottoli, Pietro P.

2017-08-14

A set of simplified chemical kinetics mechanisms for hybrid rocket applications using gaseous oxygen (GOX) and hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) is proposed. The starting point is a 561-species, 2538-reactions, detailed chemical kinetics mechanism for hydrocarbon combustion. This mechanism is used for predictions of the oxidation of butadiene, the primary HTPB pyrolysis product. A Computational Singular Perturbation (CSP) based simplification strategy for non-premixed combustion is proposed. The simplification algorithm is fed with the steady-solutions of classical flamelet equations, these being representative of the non-premixed nature of the combustion processes characterizing a hybrid rocket combustion chamber. The adopted flamelet steady-state solutions are obtained employing pure butadiene and gaseous oxygen as fuel and oxidizer boundary conditions, respectively, for a range of imposed values of strain rate and background pressure. Three simplified chemical mechanisms, each comprising less than 20 species, are obtained for three different pressure values, 3, 17, and 36 bar, selected in accordance with an experimental test campaign of lab-scale hybrid rocket static firings. Finally, a comprehensive strategy is shown to provide simplified mechanisms capable of reproducing the main flame features in the whole pressure range considered.

Visualization of ionic wind in laminar jet flames

KAUST Repository

Park, Daegeun

2017-07-03

Electric field, when it is applied to hydrocarbon flames, generates ionic wind due to the electric body force on charge carrying species. Ionic wind has been shown to influence soot emission, propagation speed, and stability of flames; however, a detailed behavior of ionic wind and its effects on flames is still not clear. Here, we investigated the dynamic behaviors of flames and ionic wind in the presence of direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) electric fields in nonpremixed and premixed jet flames with a jet nozzle placed between two parallel electrodes. We observed a skewed flame toward a lower potential electrode with DC and lower frequency AC (e.g., 10Hz) and a steady flame with higher frequencies AC (1000Hz), while we found that the ionic wind blew toward both the anode and cathode regardless of flame type (nonpremixed or premixed) or the source of the electric field (DC and AC).

Measurements of turbulent premixed flame dynamics using cinema stereoscopic PIV

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steinberg, Adam M.; Driscoll, James F. [University of Michigan, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Ceccio, Steven L. [University of Michigan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

2008-06-15

A new experimental method is described that provides high-speed movies of turbulent premixed flame wrinkling dynamics and the associated vorticity fields. This method employs cinema stereoscopic particle image velocimetry and has been applied to a turbulent slot Bunsen flame. Three-component velocity fields were measured with high temporal and spatial resolutions of 0.9 ms and 140{mu}m, respectively. The flame-front location was determined using a new multi-step method based on particle image gradients, which is described. Comparisons are made between flame fronts found with this method and simultaneous CH-PLIF images. These show that the flame contour determined corresponds well to the true location of maximum gas density gradient. Time histories of typical eddy-flame interactions are reported and several important phenomena identified. Outwardly rotating eddy pairs wrinkle the flame and are attenuated at they pass through the flamelet. Significant flame-generated vorticity is produced downstream of the wrinkled tip. Similar wrinkles are caused by larger groups of outwardly rotating eddies. Inwardly rotating pairs cause significant convex wrinkles that grow as the flame propagates. These wrinkles encounter other eddies that alter their behavior. The effects of the hydrodynamic and diffusive instabilities are observed and found to be significant contributors to the formation and propagation of wrinkles. (orig.)

Kinetic parameters, collision rates, energy exchanges and transport coefficients of non-thermal electrons in premixed flames at sub-breakdown electric field strengths

KAUST Repository

Bisetti, Fabrizio

2014-01-02

The effects of an electric field on the collision rates, energy exchanges and transport properties of electrons in premixed flames are investigated via solutions to the Boltzmann kinetic equation. The case of high electric field strength, which results in high-energy, non-thermal electrons, is analysed in detail at sub-breakdown conditions. The rates of inelastic collisions and the energy exchange between electrons and neutrals in the reaction zone of the flame are characterised quantitatively. The analysis includes attachment, ionisation, impact dissociation, and vibrational and electronic excitation processes. Our results suggest that Townsend breakdown occurs for E/N = 140 Td. Vibrational excitation is the dominant process up to breakdown, despite important rates of electronic excitation of CO, CO2 and N2 as well as impact dissociation of O2 being apparent from 50 Td onwards. Ohmic heating in the reaction zone is found to be negligible (less than 2% of peak heat release rate) up to breakdown field strengths for realistic electron densities equal to 1010 cm-3. The observed trends are largely independent of equivalence ratio. In the non-thermal regime, electron transport coefficients are insensitive to mixture composition and approximately constant across the flame, but are highly dependent on the electric field strength. In the thermal limit, kinetic parameters and transport coefficients vary substantially across the flame due to the spatially inhomogeneous concentration of water vapour. A practical approach for identifying the plasma regime (thermal versus non-thermal) in studies of electric field effects on flames is proposed. © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

Measurements and Experimental Database Review for Laminar Flame Speed Premixed Ch4/Air Flames

Science.gov (United States)

Zubrilin, I. A.; Matveev, S. S.; Matveev, S. G.; Idrisov, D. V.

2018-01-01

Laminar flame speed (SL ) of CH4 was determined at atmospheric pressure and initial gas temperatures in range from 298 to 358 K. The heat flux method was employed to measure the flame speed in non-stretched flames. The kinetic mechanism GRI 3.0 [1] were used to simulate SL . The measurements were compared with available literature results. The data determined with the heat flux method agree with some previous burner measurements and disagree with the data from some vessel closed method and counterflow method. The GRI 3.0 mechanism was able to reproduce the present experiments. Laminar flame speed was determined at pressures range from of 1 to 20 atmospheres through mechanism GRI 3.0. Based on experimental data and calculations was obtained SL dependence on pressure and temperature. The resulting of dependence recommended use during the numerical simulation of methane combustion.

Modeling and Simulation of Swirl Stabilized Turbulent Non-Premixed Flames

Science.gov (United States)

Badillo-Rios, Salvador; Karagozian, Ann

2017-11-01

Flame stabilization is an important design criterion for many combustion chambers, especially at lean conditions and/or high power output, where insufficient stabilization can result in dangerous oscillations and noisy or damaged combustors. At high flow rates, swirling flow can offer a suitable stabilization mechanism, although understanding the dynamics of swirl-stabilized turbulent flames remains a significant challenge. Utilizing the General Equation and Mesh Solver (GEMS) code, which solves the Navier-Stokes equations along with the energy equation and five species equations, 2D axisymmetric and full 3D parametric studies and simulations are performed to guide the design and development of an experimental swirl combustor configuration and to study the effects of swirl on statistically stationary combustion. Results show that as the momentum of air is directed into the inner air inlet rather than the outer inlet of the swirl combustor, the central recirculating region becomes stronger and more unsteady, improving mixing and burning efficiency in that region. A high temperature region is found to occur as a result of burning of the trapped fuel from the central toroidal vortex. The effects of other parameters on flowfield and flame-stabilization dynamics are explored. Supported by ERC, Inc. (PS150006) and AFOSR (Dr. Chiping Li).

Kinetic parameters, collision rates, energy exchanges and transport coefficients of non-thermal electrons in premixed flames at sub-breakdown electric field strengths

KAUST Repository

Bisetti, Fabrizio; El Morsli, Mbark

2014-01-01

The effects of an electric field on the collision rates, energy exchanges and transport properties of electrons in premixed flames are investigated via solutions to the Boltzmann kinetic equation. The case of high electric field strength, which

Emission characteristics and axial flame temperature distribution of producer gas fired premixed burner

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhoi, P.R. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, L and T-Sargent and Lundy Limited, L and T Energy Centre, Near Chhani Jakat Naka, Baroda 390 002 (India); Channiwala, S.A. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Deemed University, Ichchhanath, Surat 395 007, Gujarat (India)

2009-03-15

This paper presents the emission characteristics and axial flame temperature distribution of producer gas fired premixed burner. The producer gas fired premixed burner of 150 kW capacity was tested on open core throat less down draft gasifier system in the present study. A stable and uniform flame was observed with this burner. An instrumented test set up was developed to evaluate the performance of the burner. The conventional bluff body having blockage ratio of 0.65 was used for flame stabilization. With respect to maximum flame temperature, minimum pressure drop and minimum emissions, a swirl angle of 60 seems to be optimal. The experimental results also showed that the NO{sub x} emissions are inversely proportional to swirl angle and CO emissions are independent of swirl angle. The minimum emission levels of CO and NO{sub x} are observed to be 0.167% and 384 ppm respectively at the swirl angle of 45-60 . The experimental results showed that the maximum axial flame temperature distribution was achieved at A/F ratio of 1.0. The adiabatic flame temperature of 1653 C was calculated theoretically at A/F ratio of 1.0. Experimental results are in tune with theoretical results. It was also concluded that the CO and UHC emissions decreases with increasing A/F ratio while NO{sub x} emissions decreases on either side of A/F ratio of 1.0. (author)

Large Eddy Simulation of High-Speed, Premixed Ethylene Combustion

Science.gov (United States)

Ramesh, Kiran; Edwards, Jack R.; Chelliah, Harsha; Goyne, Christopher; McDaniel, James; Rockwell, Robert; Kirik, Justin; Cutler, Andrew; Danehy, Paul

2015-01-01

A large-eddy simulation / Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (LES/RANS) methodology is used to simulate premixed ethylene-air combustion in a model scramjet designed for dual mode operation and equipped with a cavity for flameholding. A 22-species reduced mechanism for ethylene-air combustion is employed, and the calculations are performed on a mesh containing 93 million cells. Fuel plumes injected at the isolator entrance are processed by the isolator shock train, yielding a premixed fuel-air mixture at an equivalence ratio of 0.42 at the cavity entrance plane. A premixed flame is anchored within the cavity and propagates toward the opposite wall. Near complete combustion of ethylene is obtained. The combustor is highly dynamic, exhibiting a large-scale oscillation in global heat release and mass flow rate with a period of about 2.8 ms. Maximum heat release occurs when the flame front reaches its most downstream extent, as the flame surface area is larger. Minimum heat release is associated with flame propagation toward the cavity and occurs through a reduction in core flow velocity that is correlated with an upstream movement of the shock train. Reasonable agreement between simulation results and available wall pressure, particle image velocimetry, and OH-PLIF data is obtained, but it is not yet clear whether the system-level oscillations seen in the calculations are actually present in the experiment.

The evolution of the flame surface in turbulent premixed jet flames at high Reynolds number

Science.gov (United States)

Luca, Stefano; Attili, Antonio; Bisetti, Fabrizio

2017-11-01

A set of direct numerical simulations of turbulent premixed flames in a spatially developing turbulent slot burner at four Reynolds number is presented. This configuration is of interest since it displays turbulent production by mean shear as in real combustion devices. The gas phase hydrodynamics are modeled with the reactive, unsteady Navier-Stokes equations in the low Mach number limit, with finite-rate chemistry consisting of 16 species and 73 reactions. For the highest jet Reynolds number of 22 ×103, 22 Billion grid points are employed. The jet consists of a lean methane/air mixture at 4 atm and preheated to 800 K. The analysis of stretch statistics shows that the mean total stretch is close to zero. Mean stretch decreases moving downstream from positive to negative values, suggesting a formation of surface area in the near field and destruction at the tip of the flame; the mean contribution of the tangential strain term is positive, while the mean contribution of the propagative term is always negative. Positive values of stretch are due to the tangential strain rate term, while large negative values are associated with the propagative term. Increasing Reynolds number is found to decrease the correlation between stretch and the single contributions.

Combustion and radiation modeling of laminar premixed flames using OpenFOAM: A numerical investigation of radiative heat transfer in the RADIADE project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haider, Sajjad; Pang, Kar Mun; Ivarsson, Anders

2013-01-01

This paper presents the computational fluid dynamics modelling of a laminar premixed flame. A specific solver named ’rareLTSFoam’ is developed using OpenFOAM ® code. The solver is used to simulate experimental stoichiometric and rich laminar premixed flames. The modelling is carried out for thermal...

Effects of DME mixing on number density and size properties of soot particles in counterflow non-premixed ethylene flames

KAUST Repository

Choi, J. H.

2015-05-01

In order to investigate the effect of DME mixing on the number density and size of soot particles, DME was mixed in a counter flow non-premixed ethylene flame with mixture ratios of 5%, 14% and 30%. A laser extinction/scattering technique has been adopted to measure the volume fraction, number density, and mean size of soot particles. The experimental results showed that the highest soot concentrations were observed for flames with mixture ratios of 5% and 14%; however, for a mixture ratio of 30% the soot concentration decreased. Numerical results showed that the concentrations of propargyl radicals (C3H3) at the 5% and 14% ratios were higher than those measured in the ethylene-based flame, and the production of benzene (C6H6) in the 5% and 14% DME mixture flames was also increased. This indicates the crucial role of propargyl in benzene ring formation. These reactions generally become stronger with increased DME mixing, except for A1- + H2 → A1 + H (-R554) and n-C4H5 + C2H2 → A1 + H (R542). Therefore, it is indicated that adding DME to ethylene flames promotes benzene ring formation. Note that although the maximum C6H6 concentration is largest in the 30% DME mixing flame, the soot volume fraction is smaller than those for the 5% and 14% mixture ratios. This is because the local C6H6 concentration decreases in the relatively low temperature region in the fuel side where soot growth occurs. © 2015, The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Effects of DME mixing on number density and size properties of soot particles in counterflow non-premixed ethylene flames

KAUST Repository

Choi, J. H.; Choi, B. C.; Lee, S. M.; Chung, Suk-Ho; Jung, K. S.; Jeong, W. L.; Choi, S. K.; Park, S. K.

2015-01-01

In order to investigate the effect of DME mixing on the number density and size of soot particles, DME was mixed in a counter flow non-premixed ethylene flame with mixture ratios of 5%, 14% and 30%. A laser extinction/scattering technique has been adopted to measure the volume fraction, number density, and mean size of soot particles. The experimental results showed that the highest soot concentrations were observed for flames with mixture ratios of 5% and 14%; however, for a mixture ratio of 30% the soot concentration decreased. Numerical results showed that the concentrations of propargyl radicals (C3H3) at the 5% and 14% ratios were higher than those measured in the ethylene-based flame, and the production of benzene (C6H6) in the 5% and 14% DME mixture flames was also increased. This indicates the crucial role of propargyl in benzene ring formation. These reactions generally become stronger with increased DME mixing, except for A1- + H2 → A1 + H (-R554) and n-C4H5 + C2H2 → A1 + H (R542). Therefore, it is indicated that adding DME to ethylene flames promotes benzene ring formation. Note that although the maximum C6H6 concentration is largest in the 30% DME mixing flame, the soot volume fraction is smaller than those for the 5% and 14% mixture ratios. This is because the local C6H6 concentration decreases in the relatively low temperature region in the fuel side where soot growth occurs. © 2015, The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Correspondence Between “Stable” Flame Macrostructure and Thermo-acoustic Instability in Premixed Swirl-Stabilized Turbulent Combustion

KAUST Repository

Taamallah, Soufien; LaBry, Zachary A.; Shanbhogue, Santosh J.; Habib, Mohamed A. M.; Ghoniem, Ahmed F.

2014-01-01

Copyright © 2015 by ASME. In this paper, we conduct an experimental investigation to study the link between the flame macroscale structure - or flame brush spatial distribution - and thermo-acoustic instabilities, in a premixed swirl-stabilized dump combustor. We operate the combustor with premixed methane-air in the range of equivalence ratio (Φ) from the lean blowout limit to Φ = 0. 75. First, we observe the different dynamic modes in this lean range as Φ is raised. We also document the effect of Φ on the flame macrostructure. Next, we examine the correspondence between dynamic mode transitions and changes in flame macrostructure. To do so, we modify the combustor length - by downstream truncation - without changing the underlying flow upstream. Thus, the resonant frequencies of the geometry are altered allowing for decoupling the heat release rate fluctuations and the acoustic feedback. Mean flame configurations in the modified combustor and for the same range of equivalence ratio are examined, following the same experimental protocol. It is found that not only the same sequence of flame macrostructures is observed in both combustors but also that the transitions occur at a similar set of equivalence ratio. In particular, the appearance of the flame in the outside recirculation zone (ORZ) in the long combustor - which occurs simultaneously with the onset of instability at the fundamental frequency - happens at similar Φ when compared to the short combustor, but without being in latter case accompanied by a transition to thermo-acoustic instability. Then, we interrogate the flow field by analyzing the streamlines, mean, and rms velocities for the nonreacting flow and the different flame types. Finally, we focus on the transition of the flame to the ORZ in the acoustically decoupled case. Our analysis of this transition shows that it occurs gradually with an intermittent appearance of a flame in the ORZ and an increasing probability with Φ. The spectral

Correspondence Between “Stable” Flame Macrostructure and Thermo-acoustic Instability in Premixed Swirl-Stabilized Turbulent Combustion

KAUST Repository

Taamallah, Soufien

2014-12-23

Copyright © 2015 by ASME. In this paper, we conduct an experimental investigation to study the link between the flame macroscale structure - or flame brush spatial distribution - and thermo-acoustic instabilities, in a premixed swirl-stabilized dump combustor. We operate the combustor with premixed methane-air in the range of equivalence ratio (Φ) from the lean blowout limit to Φ = 0. 75. First, we observe the different dynamic modes in this lean range as Φ is raised. We also document the effect of Φ on the flame macrostructure. Next, we examine the correspondence between dynamic mode transitions and changes in flame macrostructure. To do so, we modify the combustor length - by downstream truncation - without changing the underlying flow upstream. Thus, the resonant frequencies of the geometry are altered allowing for decoupling the heat release rate fluctuations and the acoustic feedback. Mean flame configurations in the modified combustor and for the same range of equivalence ratio are examined, following the same experimental protocol. It is found that not only the same sequence of flame macrostructures is observed in both combustors but also that the transitions occur at a similar set of equivalence ratio. In particular, the appearance of the flame in the outside recirculation zone (ORZ) in the long combustor - which occurs simultaneously with the onset of instability at the fundamental frequency - happens at similar Φ when compared to the short combustor, but without being in latter case accompanied by a transition to thermo-acoustic instability. Then, we interrogate the flow field by analyzing the streamlines, mean, and rms velocities for the nonreacting flow and the different flame types. Finally, we focus on the transition of the flame to the ORZ in the acoustically decoupled case. Our analysis of this transition shows that it occurs gradually with an intermittent appearance of a flame in the ORZ and an increasing probability with Φ. The spectral

Mixing Characteristics of Strongly-Forced Jet Flames in Crossflow

Science.gov (United States)

Marr, Kevin; Clemens, Noel; Ezekoye, Ofodike

2008-11-01

The effects of high frequency, large-amplitude forcing on the characteristics of a non-premixed jet flame in crossflow (JFICF) at mean Reynolds numbers of 3,200 and 4,850 are studied experimentally. Harmonic forcing of the jet fuel results in a drastic decrease in flame length and complete suppression of soot luminosity. Visualization by planar laser Mie scattering shows that forced JFICF, similar to forced free or coflow jet flames, are characterized by ejection of high-momentum, deeply penetrating vortical structures. These structures rapidly breakdown and promote intense turbulent mixing in the near region of the jet. The rapid mixing resembles a ``one-step'' process going from a fuel rich state far in the nozzle to a well-mixed, but significantly diluted, state just a few diameters from the jet exit plane. Exhaust gas emissions measurements indicate a decrease in NOx, but increases in CO and unburned hydrocarbons with increasing forcing amplitude. Acetone PLIF measurements are used to investigate the effect of partial-premixing on these emissions findings.

Dynamics of bluff-body-stabilized premixed hydrogen/air flames in a narrow channel

KAUST Repository

Lee, Bok Jik

2015-06-01

Two-dimensional direct numerical simulations were conducted for bluff-body stabilized flames of a lean hydrogen/air mixture at near-blowoff conditions in a meso-scale channel. Parametric simulations were conducted by incrementally varying the inflow velocity in the vicinity of the blowoff limit, and the corresponding flame response was monitored. The present study is a showcase of combustion DNS with embedded boundary representation, and full demonstration of the detailed visualization of the near-blowoff flame characteristics. As the inflow velocity approaches blowoff limit, the flame dynamics exhibit a complex sequence of events, such as periodic local extinction and recovery, and regrowth of the bulk flame by the flame segments attached behind the bluff-body. The total extinction is observed as the attached flames shrink down and are no longer able to regrow the bulk flames. Despite the disparity in the physical scale under study, the observed sequence of the extinction pathway shows a strong similarity with experimental observations at larger scale combustion systems. © 2015 The Combustion Institute.

Extinction of counterflow premixed laminar flames

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smooke, M.D.; Giovangigli, V.

1987-01-01

Problems in combustion and heat and mass transfer often depend upon one or more physical/chemical parameters. In many cases the combustion scientist is interested in knowing how the solution will behave if one or more of these parameters is varied. For some parameter regimes the governing equations can produce multiple solutions and the branches of the solution curve are linked via singular points. It is at these singular points, however that the system exhibits special behavior. To be able to predict the solution structure in the neighborhood of these points, the authors employ a phase-space, pseudo arclength, continuation method that utilizes Newton-like iterations and adaptive gridding techniques. The authors apply the method in the solution of counterflow premixed laminar flames

Fast Hydrogen-Air Flames for Turbulence Driven Deflagration to Detonation Transition

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Jessica; Ahmed, Kareem

2016-11-01

Flame acceleration to Detonation produces several combustion modes as the Deflagration-to-Detonation Transition (DDT) is initiated, including fast deflagration, auto-ignition, and quasi-detonation. Shock flame interactions and turbulence levels in the reactant mixture drive rapid flame expansion, formation of a leading shockwave and post-shock conditions. An experimental study to characterize the developing shock and flame front behavior of propagating premixed hydrogen-air flames in a square channel is presented. To produce each flame regime, turbulence levels and flame propagation velocity are controlled using perforated plates in several configurations within the experimental facility. High speed optical diagnostics including Schlieren and Particle Image Velocimetry are used to capture the flow field. In-flow pressure measurements acquired post-shock, detail the dynamic changes that occur in the compressed gas directly ahead of the propagating flame. Emphasis on characterizing the turbulent post-shock environment of the various flame regimes helps identify the optimum conditions to initiate the DDT process. The study aims to further the understanding of complex physical mechanisms that drive transient flame conditions for detonation initiation. American Chemical Society.

Effect of the superposition of a dielectric barrier discharge onto a premixed gas burner flame

Science.gov (United States)

Zaima, Kazunori; Takada, Noriharu; Sasaki, Koichi

2011-10-01

We are investigating combustion control with the help of nonequilibrium plasma. In this work, we examined the effect of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) on a premixed burner flame with CH4/O2/Ar gas mixture. The premixed burner flame was covered with a quartz tube. A copper electrode was attached on the outside of the quartz tube, and it was connected to a high-voltage power supply. DBD inside the quartz tube was obtained between the copper electrode and the grounded nozzle of the burner which was placed at the bottom of the quartz tube. We clearly observed that the flame length was shortened by superposing DBD onto the bottom part of the flame. The shortened flame length indicates the enhancement of the burning velocity. We measured the optical emission spectra from the bottom region of the flame. As a result, we observed clear line emissions from Ar, which were never observed from the flame without DBD. We evaluated the rotational temperatures of OH and CH radicals by spectral fitting. As a result, the rotational temperature of CH was not changed, and the rotational temperature of OH was decreased by the superposition of DBD. According to these results, it is considered that the enhancement of the burning velocity is not caused by gas heating. New reaction pathways are suggested.

Tip opening of premixed bunsen flames: Extinction with negative stretch and local Karlovitz number

KAUST Repository

Vu, Tranmanh; Cha, Min; Lee, Byeongjun; Chung, Suk-Ho

2015-01-01

The characteristics of tip openings in premixed bunsen flames have been studied experimentally by measuring OH radicals from laser-induced fluorescence and tip curvatures from chemiluminescent images. Results showed that the tip opening occurred

Characteristics of sound radiation from turbulent premixed flames

Science.gov (United States)

Rajaram, Rajesh

Turbulent combustion processes are inherently unsteady and, thus, a source of acoustic radiation, which occurs due to the unsteady expansion of reacting gases. While prior studies have extensively characterized the total sound power radiated by turbulent flames, their spectral characteristics are not well understood. The objective of this research work is to measure the flow and acoustic properties of an open turbulent premixed jet flame and explain the spectral trends of combustion noise. The flame dynamics were characterized using high speed chemiluminescence images of the flame. A model based on the solution of the wave equation with unsteady heat release as the source was developed and was used to relate the measured chemiluminescence fluctuations to its acoustic emission. Acoustic measurements were performed in an anechoic environment for several burner diameters, flow velocities, turbulence intensities, fuels, and equivalence ratios. The acoustic emissions are shown to be characterized by four parameters: peak frequency (Fpeak), low frequency slope (beta), high frequency slope (alpha) and Overall Sound Pressure Level (OASPL). The peak frequency (Fpeak) is characterized by a Strouhal number based on the mean velocity and a flame length. The transfer function between the acoustic spectrum and the spectrum of heat release fluctuations has an f2 dependence at low frequencies, while it converged to a constant value at high frequencies. Furthermore, the OASPL was found to be characterized by (Fpeak mfH)2, which resembles the source term in the wave equation.

The i-V curve characteristics of burner-stabilized premixed flames: detailed and reduced models

KAUST Repository

Han, Jie

2016-07-17

The i-V curve describes the current drawn from a flame as a function of the voltage difference applied across the reaction zone. Since combustion diagnostics and flame control strategies based on electric fields depend on the amount of current drawn from flames, there is significant interest in modeling and understanding i-V curves. We implement and apply a detailed model for the simulation of the production and transport of ions and electrons in one-dimensional premixed flames. An analytical reduced model is developed based on the detailed one, and analytical expressions are used to gain insight into the characteristics of the i-Vcurve for various flame configurations. In order for the reduced model to capture the spatial distribution of the electric field accurately, the concept of a dead zone region, where voltage is constant, is introduced, and a suitable closure for the spatial extent of the dead zone is proposed and validated. The results from the reduced modeling framework are found to be in good agreement with those from the detailed simulations. The saturation voltage is found to depend significantly on the flame location relative to the electrodes, and on the sign of the voltage difference applied. Furthermore, at sub-saturation conditions, the current is shown to increase linearly or quadratically with the applied voltage, depending on the flame location. These limiting behaviors exhibited by the reduced model elucidate the features of i-V curves observed experimentally. The reduced model relies on the existence of a thin layer where charges are produced, corresponding to the reaction zone of a flame. Consequently, the analytical model we propose is not limited to the study of premixed flames, and may be applied easily to others configurations, e.g.~nonpremixed counterflow flames.

An experimental and numerical study of nitrogen oxide formation mechanisms in ammonia-hydrogen-air flames

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Praveen

The demand for sustainable alternative fuels is ever-increasing in the power generation, transportation, and energy sectors due to the inherent non-sustainable characteristics and political constraints of current energy resources. A number of alternative fuels derived from cellulosic biomass, algae, or waste are being considered, along with the conversion of electricity to non-carbon fuels such as hydrogen or ammonia (NH3). The latter is receiving attention recently because it is a non-carbon fuel that is readily produced in large quantities, stored and transported with current infrastructure, and is often a byproduct of biomass or waste conversion processes. However, pure or anhydrous ammonia combustion is severely challenging due to its high auto-ignition temperature (650 °C), low reactivity, and tendency to promote NOx formation. As such, the present study focuses on two major aspects of the ammonia combustion. The first is an applied investigation of the potential to achieve pure NH3 combustion with low levels of emissions in flames of practical interest. In this study, a swirl-stabilized flame typically used in fuel-oil home-heating systems is optimized for NH3 combustion, and measurements of NO and NH3 are collected for a wide range of operating conditions. The second major focus of this work is on fundamental investigation of NO x formation mechanisms in flames with high levels of NH3 in H2. For laminar premixed and diffusion jet flames, experimental measurements of flame speeds, exhaust-gas sampling, and in-situ NO measurements (NO PLIF) are compared with numerically predicted flames using complex chemical kinetics within CHEMKIN and reacting CFD codes i.e., UNICORN. From the preliminary testing of the NOx formation mechanisms, (1) Tian (2) Konnov and (3) GRI-Mech3.0 in laminar premixed H2/NH 3 flames, the Tian and Konnov mechanisms are found to capture the reduction in measured flame speeds with increasing NH3 in the fuel mixture, both qualitatively and

Modeling of confined and unconfined laminar premixed flames on slit and tube burners

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mallens, R.M.M.; Lange, de H.C.; Ven, van de C.J.H.; Goey, de L.P.H.

1995-01-01

A model is presented for laminar premixed Bunsen flames on slit and cylindrical burners burning in a surrounding atmosphere. A comparison between modeling and experimental results shows that the model can reproduce the experimental results within 10% accuracy. The influence of a surrounding

Flame Front Detection Using Formaldehyde Laser Induced Fluorescence In Turbulent Lean Premixed Flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schenker, S.; Tylli, N.; Bombach, R.

2005-03-01

The present work aims at suggesting the excitation-detection scheme best suited for laser-induced fluorescence measurements of formaldehyde in turbulent lean premixed flames. In the literature, three different excitation schemes within the A{sup 1} X{sup 1} electronic transition have been suggested, with excitation into the 2{sup 1}{sub 0} 4{sup 1}{sub 0} , 4{sup 1}{sub 0} , and 4{sup 0}{sub 1} vibratoric bands, respectively. These excitation schemes were tested systematically and both advantages and disadvantages for each scheme are discussed. (author)

Combustion and radiation modeling of laminar premixed flames using OpenFOAM: A numerical investigation of radiative heat transfer in the RADIADE project

OpenAIRE

Haider, Sajjad; Pang, Kar Mun; Ivarsson, Anders; Schramm, Jesper

2013-01-01

This paper presents the computational fluid dynamics modelling of a laminar premixed flame. A specific solver named ’rareLTSFoam’ is developed using OpenFOAM ® code. The solver is used to simulate experimental stoichiometric and rich laminar premixed flames. The modelling is carried out for thermal flow and combusting flow cases. The results show that without including radiation modelling, the predicted flame temperature is higher than the measured values. P1 radiation Model is used with sub-...

Experimental Studies of Hydrocarbon Flame Phenomena: Enabling Combustion Control

Science.gov (United States)

2016-07-30

flames," Physics of Fluids , vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 1447-54, 1995. [8] K. Lyons, " Toward an understanding of the stabilization mechanisms of lifted...Experimental Studies of Hydrocarbon Flame Phenomena: Enabling Combustion Control This report summarizes the research accomplished in the project...34Experimental Studies of Hydrocarbon Flame Phenomena: Enabling Combustion Control". The main areas of activity are: a) electrostatic flame and flow

Effects of porous insert on flame dynamics in a lean premixed swirl-stabilized combustor

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Marcus; Agrawal, Ajay; Allen, James; Kornegay, John

2016-11-01

In this study, we investigated different methods of determining the effect a porous insert has on flame dynamics during lean premixed combustion. A metallic porous insert is used to mitigate instabilities in a swirl-stabilized combustor. Thermoacoustic instabilities are seen as negative consequences of lean premixed combustion and eliminating them is the motivation for our research. Three different diagnostics techniques with high-speed Photron SA5 cameras were used to monitor flame characteristics. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to observe vortical structures and recirculation zones within the combustor. Using planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF), we were able to observe changes in the reaction zones during instabilities. Finally, utilizing a color high-speed camera, visual images depicting a flame's oscillations during the instability were captured. Using these monitoring techniques, we are able to support the claims made in previous studies stating that the porous insert in the combustor significantly reduces the thermoacoustic instability. Funding for this research was provided by the NSF REU site Grant EEC 1358991 and NASA Grant NNX13AN14A.

Influence of Turbulent Scalar Mixing Physics on Premixed Flame Propagation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Kolla

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The influence of reactive scalar mixing physics on turbulent premixed flame propagation is studied, within the framework of turbulent flame speed modelling, by comparing predictive ability of two algebraic flame speed models: one that includes all relevant physics and the other ignoring dilatation effects on reactive scalar mixing. This study is an extension of a previous work analysing and validating the former model. The latter is obtained by neglecting modelling terms that include dilatation effects: a direct effect because of density change across the flame front and an indirect effect due to dilatation on turbulence-scalar interaction. An analysis of the limiting behaviour shows that neglecting the indirect effect alters the flame speed scaling considerably when / is small and the scaling remains unaffected when / is large. This is evident from comparisons of the two models with experimental data which show that the quantitative difference between the two models is as high as 66% at /=0.3 but only 4% at /=52.4. Furthermore, neglecting the direct effect results in a poor prediction of turbulent flame speed for all values of /, and both effects are important for practically relevant values of this velocity ratio.

Transport of inertial particles in a turbulent premixed jet flame

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Battista, F; Picano, F; Casciola, C M; Troiani, G

2011-01-01

The heat release, occurring in reacting flows, induces a sudden fluid acceleration which particles follow with a certain lag, due to their finite inertia. Actually, the coupling between particle inertia and the flame front expansion strongly biases the spatial distribution of the particles, by inducing the formation of localized clouds with different dimensions downstream the thin flame front. A possible indicator of this preferential localization is the so-called Clustering Index, quantifying the departure of the actual particle distribution from the Poissonian, which would correspond to a purely random spatial arrangement. Most of the clustering is found in the flame brush region, which is spanned by the fluctuating instantaneous flame front. The effect is significant also for very light particles. In this case a simple model based on the Bray-Moss-Libby formalism is able to account for most of the deviation from the Poissonian. When the particle inertia increases, the effect is found to increases and persist well within the region of burned gases. The effect is maximum when the particle relaxation time is of the order of the flame front time scale. The evidence of this peculiar source of clustering is here provided by data from a direct numerical simulation of a turbulent premixed jet flame and confirmed by experimental data.

Highly stabilized partially premixed flames of propane in a concentric flow conical nozzle burner with coflow

KAUST Repository

Elbaz, Ayman M.

2018-01-11

Partially premixed turbulent flames with non-homogeneous jet of propane were generated in a concentric flow conical nozzle burner in order to investigate the effect of the coflow on the stability and flame structure. The flame stability is first mapped and then high-speed stereoscopic particle image velocimetry, SPIV, plus OH planar laser-induced fluorescence, OH-PLIF, measurements were conducted on a subset of four flames. The jet equivalence ratio Φ = 2, Jet exit Reynolds number Re = 10,000, and degree of premixing are kept constant for the selected flames, while the coflow velocity, Uc, is progressively changed from 0 to 15 m/s. The results showed that the flame is stable between two extinction limits of mixture inhomogeneity, and the optimum stability is obtained at certain degree of mixture inhomogeneity. Increasing Φ, increases the span between these two extinction limits, while these limits converge to a single point (corresponding to optimum mixture inhomogeneity) with increasing Re. Regardless the value of Φ, increasing the coflow velocity improves the flame stability. The correlation between recessed distance of the burner tubes and the fluctuation of the mixture fraction, Δξ, shows that at Δξ around 40% of the flammability limits leads to optimum flame stability. The time averaged SPIV results show that the coflow induces a big annular recirculation zone surrounds the jet flames. The size and the location of this zone is seen to be sensitive to Uc. However, the instantaneous images show the existence of a small vortical structure close to the shear layer, where the flame resides there in the case of no-coflow. These small vertical structures are seen playing a vital role in the flame structure, and increasing the flame corrugation close to the nozzle exit. Increasing the coflow velocity expands the central jet at the expense of the jet velocity, and drags the flame in the early flame regions towards the recirculation zone, where the flame tracks

Sub-grid scale combustion models for large eddy simulation of unsteady premixed flame propagation around obstacles.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Sarli, Valeria; Di Benedetto, Almerinda; Russo, Gennaro

2010-08-15

In this work, an assessment of different sub-grid scale (sgs) combustion models proposed for large eddy simulation (LES) of steady turbulent premixed combustion (Colin et al., Phys. Fluids 12 (2000) 1843-1863; Flohr and Pitsch, Proc. CTR Summer Program, 2000, pp. 61-82; Kim and Menon, Combust. Sci. Technol. 160 (2000) 119-150; Charlette et al., Combust. Flame 131 (2002) 159-180; Pitsch and Duchamp de Lageneste, Proc. Combust. Inst. 29 (2002) 2001-2008) was performed to identify the model that best predicts unsteady flame propagation in gas explosions. Numerical results were compared to the experimental data by Patel et al. (Proc. Combust. Inst. 29 (2002) 1849-1854) for premixed deflagrating flame in a vented chamber in the presence of three sequential obstacles. It is found that all sgs combustion models are able to reproduce qualitatively the experiment in terms of step of flame acceleration and deceleration around each obstacle, and shape of the propagating flame. Without adjusting any constants and parameters, the sgs model by Charlette et al. also provides satisfactory quantitative predictions for flame speed and pressure peak. Conversely, the sgs combustion models other than Charlette et al. give correct predictions only after an ad hoc tuning of constants and parameters. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study on the Enhancement Effect of Dielectric Barrier Discharge on the Premixed Methane/Oxygen/Helium Flame Velocity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mu Haibao; Yu Lin; Li Ping; Zhang Guanjun; Tang Chenglong; Wang Jinhua

2015-01-01

Recently, plasma-assisted combustion has become a potentially applicable technology in many combustion scenarios. In this paper, a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma generator is designed to explore the effect of plasma on the CH4 oxidation process, and several properties of combustion are considered. First, in the presence or absence of plasma discharge, physical appearance of the flame is examined and analyzed. Second, the flame propagation velocity is calculated by the flame front extracted from the imaging data with the Bunsen burner method. Finally, the main molecular components and their intensity variation in the flame and the plasma zones are identified with an emission spectrograph to analyze the effect of active species on the combustion process. We also discuss the possible kinetic regime of plasma-assisted combustion. Experimental results imply that plasma discharge applied to the premixed CH4/O2/He mixture significantly raises the flame speed with equivalence ratios ranging from 0.85 to 1.10, with the flame speed improved by 17% to 35%. It can be seen that plasma can improve methane oxidation efficiency in the premixed fuel/oxidizer, especially at a low equivalence ratio. (paper)

Flame kernel generation and propagation in turbulent partially premixed hydrocarbon jet

KAUST Repository

Mansour, Mohy S.; Elbaz, Ayman M.; Zayed, M. F.

2014-01-01

Flame development, propagation, stability, combustion efficiency, pollution formation, and overall system efficiency are affected by the early stage of flame generation defined as flame kernel. Studying the effects of turbulence and chemistry

Unsteady Flame Embedding (UFE) Subgrid Model for Turbulent Premixed Combustion Simulations

KAUST Repository

El-Asrag, Hossam

2010-01-04

We present a formulation for an unsteady subgrid model for premixed combustion in the flamelet regime. Since chemistry occurs at the unresolvable scales, it is necessary to introduce a subgrid model that accounts for the multi-scale nature of the problem using the information available on the resolved scales. Most of the current models are based on the laminar flamelet concept, and often neglect the unsteady effects. The proposed model\\'s primary objective is to encompass many of the flame/turbulence interactions unsteady features and history effects. In addition it provides a dynamic and accurate approach for computing the subgrid flame propagation velocity. The unsteady flame embedding approach (UFE) treats the flame as an ensemble of locally one-dimensional flames. A set of elemental one dimensional flames is used to describe the turbulent flame structure at the subgrid level. The stretched flame calculations are performed on the stagnation line of a strained flame using the unsteady filtered strain rate computed from the resolved- grid. The flame iso-surface is tracked using an accurate high-order level set formulation to propagate the flame interface at the coarse resolution with minimum numerical diffusion. In this paper the solver and the model components are introduced and used to investigate two unsteady flames with different Lewis numbers in the thin reaction zone regime. The results show that the UFE model captures the unsteady flame-turbulence interactions and the flame propagation speed reasonably well. Higher propagation speed is observed for the lower than unity Lewis number flame because of the impact of differential diffusion.

Influence of the Steam Addition on Premixed Methane Air Combustion at Atmospheric Pressure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mao Li

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Steam-diluted combustion in gas turbine systems is an effective approach to control pollutant emissions and improve the gas turbine efficiency. The primary purpose of the present research is to analyze the influence of steam dilution on the combustion stability, flame structures, and CO emissions of a swirl-stabilized gas turbine model combustor under atmospheric pressure conditions. The premixed methane/air/steam flame was investigated with three preheating temperatures (384 K/434 K/484 K and the equivalence ratio was varied from stoichiometric conditions to the flammability limits where the flame was physically blown out from the combustor. In order to represent the steam dilution intensity, the steam fraction Ω defined as the steam to air mass flow rate ratio was used in this work. Exhaust gases were sampled with a water-cooled emission probe which was mounted at the combustor exit. A 120 mm length quartz liner was used which enabled the flame visualization and optical measurement. Time-averaged CH chemiluminescence imaging was conducted to characterize the flame location and it was further analyzed with the inverse Abel transform method. Chemical kinetics calculation was conducted to support and analyze the experimental results. It was found that the LBO (lean blowout limits were increased with steam fraction. CH chemiluminescence imaging showed that with a high steam fraction, the flame length was elongated, but the flame structure was not altered. CO emissions were mapped as a function of the steam fraction, inlet air temperature, and equivalence ratios. Stable combustion with low CO emission can be achieved with an appropriate steam fraction operation range.

Acoustic radiation from weakly wrinkled premixed flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lieuwen, Tim; Mohan, Sripathi; Rajaram, Rajesh; Preetham, [School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0150 (United States)

2006-01-01

This paper describes a theoretical analysis of acoustic radiation from weakly wrinkled (i.e., u'/S{sub L}<1) premixed flames. Specifically, it determines the transfer function relating the spectrum of the acoustic pressure oscillations, P'({omega}), to that of the turbulent velocity fluctuations in the approach flow, U'({omega}). In the weakly wrinkled limit, this transfer function is local in frequency space; i.e., velocity fluctuations at a frequency {omega} distort the flame and generate sound at the same frequency. This transfer function primarily depends upon the flame Strouhal number St (based on mean flow velocity and flame length) and the correlation length, {lambda}, of the flow fluctuations. For cases where the ratio of the correlation length and duct radius {lambda}/a>>1, the acoustic pressure and turbulent velocity power spectra are related by P'({omega})-{omega}{sup 2}U'({omega}) and P'({omega})-U'({omega}) for St<<1 and St>>1, respectively. For cases where {lambda}/a<<1, the transfer functions take the form P'({omega})-{omega}{sup 2}({lambda}/a){sup 2}U'({omega}) and P'({omega})-{omega}{sup 2}({lambda}/a){sup 2}({psi}-{delta}ln({lambda}/a))U'({omega}) for St<<1 and St>>1, respectively, where (PS) and {delta} are constants. The latter result demonstrates that this transfer function does not exhibit a simple power law relationship in the high frequency region of the spectra. The simultaneous dependence of this pressure-velocity transfer function upon the Strouhal number and correlation length suggests a mechanism for the experimentally observed maximum in acoustic spectra and provides some insight into the controversy in the literature over how this peak should scale with the flame Strouhal number.

Linear response of stretch-affected premixed flames to flow oscillations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, H.Y.; Law, C.K. [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Lieuwen, T. [School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 (United States)

2009-04-15

The linear response of 2D wedge-shaped premixed flames to harmonic velocity disturbances was studied, allowing for the influence of flame stretch manifested as variations in the local flame speed along the wrinkled flame front. Results obtained from analyzing the G-equation show that the flame response is mainly characterized by a Markstein number {sigma}{sub C}, which measures the curvature effect of the wrinkles, and a Strouhal number, St{sub f}, defined as the angular frequency of the disturbance normalized by the time taken for the disturbance to propagate the flame length. Flame stretch is found to become important when the disturbance frequency satisfies {sigma}{sub C}St{sub f}{sup 2}{proportional_to} O(1), i.e. St{sub f}{proportional_to} O({sigma}{sub C}{sup -1/2}). Specifically, for disturbance frequencies below this order, stretch effects are small and the flame responds as an unstretched one. When the disturbance frequencies are of this order, the transfer function, defined as the ratio of the normalized fluctuation of the heat release rate to that of the velocity, is contributed mostly from fluctuations of the flame surface area, which is now affected by stretch. Finally, as the disturbance frequency increases to St{sub f}{proportional_to} O({sigma}{sub C}{sup -1}), i.e. {sigma}{sub C}St{sub f}{proportional_to} O(1), the direct contribution from the stretch-affected flame speed fluctuation to the transfer function becomes comparable to that of the flame surface area. The present study phenomenologically explains the experimentally observed filtering effect in which the flame wrinkles developed at the flame base decay along the flame surface for large frequency disturbances as well as for thermal-diffusively stable and weakly unstable mixtures. (author)

Dual-resolution Raman spectroscopy for measurements of temperature and twelve species in hydrocarbon–air flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Magnotti, Gaetano; Barlow, Robert S.

2016-07-12

This study introduces dual-resolution Raman spectroscopy as a novel diagnostics approach for measurements of temperature and species in flames where multiple hydrocarbons are present. Simultaneous measurement of multiple hydrocarbons is challenging because their vibrational Raman spectra in the C–H stretch region are closely overlapped and are not well known over the range of temperature encountered in flames. Overlap between the hydrocarbon spectra is mitigated by adding a second spectrometer, with a higher dispersion grating, to collect the Raman spectra in the C–H stretch region. A dual-resolution Raman spectroscopy instrument has been developed and optimized for measurements of major species (N₂, O₂, H₂O, CO₂, CO, H₂, DME) and major combustion intermediates (CH₄, CH₂O, C₂H₂, C₂H₄ and C₂H₆) in DME–air flames. The temperature dependences of the hydrocarbon Raman spectra over fixed spectral regions have been determined through a series of measurements in laminar Bunsen-burner flames, and have been used to extend a library of previously acquired Raman spectra up to flame temperature. The paper presents the first Raman measurements of up to twelve species in hydrocarbon flames, and the first quantitative Raman measurements of formaldehyde in flames. Lastly, the accuracy and precision of the instrument are determined from measurements in laminar flames and the applicability of the instrument to turbulent DME–air flames is discussed.

Dynamics of premixed flames in a narrow channel with a step-wise wall temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurdyumov, Vadim N. [Department of Energy, CIEMAT, Avda. Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Pizza, Gianmarco [Aerothermochemistry and Combustion Systems Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich CH-8092 (Switzerland); Combustion Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen CH-5232 (Switzerland); Frouzakis, Christos E. [Aerothermochemistry and Combustion Systems Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich CH-8092 (Switzerland); Mantzaras, John [Combustion Research, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen CH-5232 (Switzerland)

2009-11-15

The effect of channel height, inflow velocity and wall temperature on the dynamics and stability of unity Lewis number premixed flames in channels with specified wall temperature is investigated with steady and transient numerical simulations using a two-dimensional thermo-diffusive model. The simplified model is capable of capturing many of the transitions and the combustion modes observed experimentally and in direct numerical simulations in micro- and meso-scale channels, and indicates that the thermal flame/wall interaction is the mechanism leading to the observed flame instabilities. Finally, an ad-hoc one-dimensional model based on the flame-sheet approximation is tested in its capacity to reproduce some of the flame dynamics of the two-dimensional thermo-diffusive model. (author)

Premixed direct injection nozzle

Science.gov (United States)

Zuo, Baifang [Simpsonville, SC; Johnson, Thomas Edward [Greer, SC; Lacy, Benjamin Paul [Greer, SC; Ziminsky, Willy Steve [Simpsonville, SC

2011-02-15

An injection nozzle having a main body portion with an outer peripheral wall is disclosed. The nozzle includes a plurality of fuel/air mixing tubes disposed within the main body portion and a fuel flow passage fluidly connected to the plurality of fuel/air mixing tubes. Fuel and air are partially premixed inside the plurality of the tubes. A second body portion, having an outer peripheral wall extending between a first end and an opposite second end, is connected to the main body portion. The partially premixed fuel and air mixture from the first body portion gets further mixed inside the second body portion. The second body portion converges from the first end toward said second end. The second body portion also includes cooling passages that extend along all the walls around the second body to provide thermal damage resistance for occasional flame flash back into the second body.

Theoretical analysis of the conical premixed flame response to upstream velocity disturbances considering flame speed development effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghazaleh Esmaeelzade

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The effect of upstream velocity perturbations on the response of a premixed flame was investigated in terms of the flame transfer function dependency on excitation frequency. In this study, the assumption of constant flame speed was extended and the effect of flame speed development was considered; i.e., the flame speed would grow with the time after ignition or with the distance from a flame-holder. In the present study, the kinematics of a conical flame was investigated by linearization of the front tracking equation of flame to uniform and convected fluctuations of the flow velocity and the response was compared with that of a V-shaped flame and the experimental data in the previous studies. The results show that the effect of flame speed development could influence a decreasing gain and increase the phase of the flame response to the uniform velocity oscillations in low and moderate frequencies. Comparing the variations in the gain of flame response upon normalized frequency, show that a conical flame has lower values than the V-flame. In other words, these flames might be less susceptible to combustion instabilities than the V-flames. Furthermore, the variations in phase of the V-flames responses, which show a quasi-linear behavior with normalized frequency, have higher values than the saturated behavior in phase of the conical flame responses. Also, considering that the flame speed development induces an increase in the gain and phase of the conical flame response to the convected velocity oscillations in certain frequencies; because the developed flame front has longer length in comparison to the flame front in constant flame speed model. Therefore, the flame length may be longer than convective wavelength and the heat release would be generated in different points of the flame; consequently the flow oscillations might exert a stronger impact on the unsteady heat release fluctuations.

Measurements of Positively Charged Ions in Premixed Methane-Oxygen Atmospheric Flames

KAUST Repository

Alquaity, Awad

2016-08-22

Cations and anions are formed as a result of chemi-ionization processes in combustion systems. Electric fields can be applied to reduce emissions and improve combustion efficiency by active control of the combustion process. Detailed flame ion chemistry models are needed to understand and predict the effect of external electric fields on combustion plasmas. In this work, a molecular beam mass spectrometer (MBMS) is utilized to measure ion concentration profiles in premixed methane–oxygen argon burner-stabilized atmospheric flames. Lean and stoichiometric flames are considered to assess the dependence of ion chemistry on flame stoichiometry. Relative ion concentration profiles are compared with numerical simulations using various temperature profiles, and good qualitative agreement was observed for the stoichiometric flame. However, for the lean flame, numerical simulations misrepresent the spatial distribution of selected ions greatly. Three modifications are suggested to enhance the ion mechanism and improve the agreement between experiments and simulations. The first two modifications comprise the addition of anion detachment reactions to increase anion recombination at low temperatures. The third modification involves restoring a detachment reaction to its original irreversible form. To our knowledge, this work presents the first detailed measurements of cations and flame temperature in canonical methane–oxygen-argon atmospheric flat flames. The positive ion profiles reported here may be useful to validate and improve ion chemistry models for methane-oxygen flames.

Multidimensional flamelet-generated manifolds for partially premixed combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen, Phuc-Danh; Vervisch, Luc; Subramanian, Vallinayagam; Domingo, Pascale [CORIA - CNRS and INSA de Rouen, Technopole du Madrillet, BP 8, 76801 Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray (France)

2010-01-15

Flamelet-generated manifolds have been restricted so far to premixed or diffusion flame archetypes, even though the resulting tables have been applied to nonpremixed and partially premixed flame simulations. By using a projection of the full set of mass conservation species balance equations into a restricted subset of the composition space, unsteady multidimensional flamelet governing equations are derived from first principles, under given hypotheses. During the projection, as in usual one-dimensional flamelets, the tangential strain rate of scalar isosurfaces is expressed in the form of the scalar dissipation rates of the control parameters of the multidimensional flamelet-generated manifold (MFM), which is tested in its five-dimensional form for partially premixed combustion, with two composition space directions and three scalar dissipation rates. It is shown that strain-rate-induced effects can hardly be fully neglected in chemistry tabulation of partially premixed combustion, because of fluxes across iso-equivalence-ratio and iso-progress-of-reaction surfaces. This is illustrated by comparing the 5D flamelet-generated manifold with one-dimensional premixed flame and unsteady strained diffusion flame composition space trajectories. The formal links between the asymptotic behavior of MFM and stratified flame, weakly varying partially premixed front, triple-flame, premixed and nonpremixed edge flames are also evidenced. (author)

Effects of hydrogen addition and nitrogen dilution on the laminar flame characteristics of premixed methane-air flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tahtouh, T.; Halter, F.; Mounaim-Rousselle, C. [Institut PRISME, Universite d' Orleans, 8 rue Leonard de Vinci-45072, Orleans Cedex 2 (France); Samson, E. [PSA Peugeot Citroen (France)

2009-10-15

The effect of hydrogen addition and nitrogen dilution on laminar flame characteristics was investigated. The spherical expanding flame technique, in a constant volume bomb, was employed to extract laminar flame characteristics. The mole fraction of hydrogen in the methane-hydrogen mixture was varied from 0 to 1 and the mole fraction of nitrogen in the total mixture (methane-hydrogen-air-diluent) from 0 to 0.35. Measurements were performed at an initial pressure of 0.1 MPa and an initial temperature of 300 K. The mixtures investigated were under stoichiometric conditions. Based on experimental measurements, a new correlation for calculating the laminar burning velocity of methane-hydrogen-air-nitrogen mixtures is proposed. The laminar burning velocity was found to increase linearly with hydrogen mass fraction for all dilution ratios while the burned gas Markstein length decreases with the increase in hydrogen amount in the mixture except for high hydrogen mole fractions (>0.6). Nitrogen dilution has a nonlinear reducing effect on the laminar burning velocity and an increasing effect on the burned gas Markstein length. The experimental results and the proposed correlation obtained are in good agreement with literature values. (author)

PIV, 2D-LIF and 1D-Raman measurements of flow field, composition and temperature in premixed gas turbine flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stopper, U.; Aigner, M.; Ax, H.; Meier, W.; Sadanandan, R.; Stoehr, M. [German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Combustion Technology, Pfaffenwaldring 38-40, D-70569 Stuttgart (Germany); Bonaldo, A. [Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd., Combustion Group, P. O. Box 1, Waterside South, Lincoln LN5 7FD (United Kingdom)

2010-04-15

Several laser diagnostic measurement techniques have been applied to study the lean premixed natural gas/air flames of an industrial swirl burner. This was made possible by equipping the burner with an optical combustion chamber that was installed in the high-pressure test rig facility at the DLR Institute of Combustion Technology in Stuttgart. The burner was operated with preheated air at various operating conditions with pressures up to p = 6 bar and a maximum thermal power of P = 1 MW. The instantaneous planar flow field inside the combustor was studied with particle image velocimetry (PIV). Planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) of OH radicals on a single-shot basis was used to determine the shape and the location of the flame front as well as the spatial distribution of reaction products. 1D laser Raman spectroscopy was successfully applied for the measurement of the temperature and the concentration of major species under realistic gas turbine conditions. Results of the flow field analysis show the shape and the size of the main flow regimes: the inflow region, the inner and the outer recirculation zone. The highly turbulent flow field of the inner shear layer is found to be dominated by small and medium sized vortices. High RMS fluctuations of the flow velocity in the exhaust gas indicate the existence of a rotating exhaust gas swirl. From the PLIF images it is seen that the primary reactions happened in the shear layers between inflow and the recirculation zones and that the appearance of the reaction zones changed with flame parameters. The results of the multiscalar Raman measurements show a strong variation of the local mixture fraction allowing conclusions to be drawn about the premix quality. Furthermore, mixing effects of unburnt fuel and air with fully reacted combustion products are studied giving insights into the processes of the turbulence-chemistry interaction. (author)

Monte-Carlo computation of turbulent premixed methane/air ignition

Science.gov (United States)

Carmen, Christina Lieselotte

The present work describes the results obtained by a time dependent numerical technique that simulates the early flame development of a spark-ignited premixed, lean, gaseous methane/air mixture with the unsteady spherical flame propagating in homogeneous and isotropic turbulence. The algorithm described is based upon a sub-model developed by an international automobile research and manufacturing corporation in order to analyze turbulence conditions within internal combustion engines. Several developments and modifications to the original algorithm have been implemented including a revised chemical reaction scheme and the evaluation and calculation of various turbulent flame properties. Solution of the complete set of Navier-Stokes governing equations for a turbulent reactive flow is avoided by reducing the equations to a single transport equation. The transport equation is derived from the Navier-Stokes equations for a joint probability density function, thus requiring no closure assumptions for the Reynolds stresses. A Monte-Carlo method is also utilized to simulate phenomena represented by the probability density function transport equation by use of the method of fractional steps. Gaussian distributions of fluctuating velocity and fuel concentration are prescribed. Attention is focused on the evaluation of the three primary parameters that influence the initial flame kernel growth-the ignition system characteristics, the mixture composition, and the nature of the flow field. Efforts are concentrated on the effects of moderate to intense turbulence on flames within the distributed reaction zone. Results are presented for lean conditions with the fuel equivalence ratio varying from 0.6 to 0.9. The present computational results, including flame regime analysis and the calculation of various flame speeds, provide excellent agreement with results obtained by other experimental and numerical researchers.

Measurements of the absolute concentrations of HCO and (CH2)-C-1 in a premixed atmospheric flat flame by cavity ringdown spectroscopy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evertsen, R.; Oijen, van J.A.; Hermanns, R.T.E.; Goey, de L.P.H.; Meulen, ter J.J.

2003-01-01

Singlet methylene (1CH2) and the formyl radical (HCO) have been studied in a premixed flat flame of CH4 and air by cavity ring-down spectroscopy at 1 atm. The absorption lines lie in the same spectral region for both species. The 1CH2 radicals were probed via the 1B1 (0,13,0) ¿ã1A1 (0,0,0) band at

Effects of Large Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons on the Soot Formation in Ethylene-Air Nonpremixed Flames

KAUST Repository

Prabhu, S.; Arias, P.G.; Wang, Y.; Gao, Y.; Park, S.; Im, Hong G.; Sarathy, Mani; Chung, Suk-Ho; Lu, T.

2015-01-01

This study presents updated comprehensive gas-phase kinetic mechanism and aerosol models to predict soot formation characteristics in ethylene-air nonpremixed flames. A main objective is to investigate the sensitivity of the soot formation rate to various chemical pathways for large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In this study, the detailed chemical mechanism was reduced from 397 to 99 species using directed relation graph (DRG) and sensitivity analysis. The method of moments with interpolative closure (MOMIC) was employed for the soot aerosol model. Counterflow nonpremixed flames of pure ethylene at low strain rate sooting conditions are considered, for which the sensitivity of soot formation characteristics with respect to hetrogeneous nucleation is investigated. Results show that higher PAH concentrations result in higher soot nucleation rate, and that the average size of the particles are in good agreement with experimental results. It is found that the nucleation processes (i.e., soot inception) from higher PAH precursors, coronene in particular, is critical for accurate prediction of the overall soot formation.

Effects of Large Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons on the Soot Formation in Ethylene-Air Nonpremixed Flames

KAUST Repository

Prabhu, S.

2015-03-30

This study presents updated comprehensive gas-phase kinetic mechanism and aerosol models to predict soot formation characteristics in ethylene-air nonpremixed flames. A main objective is to investigate the sensitivity of the soot formation rate to various chemical pathways for large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In this study, the detailed chemical mechanism was reduced from 397 to 99 species using directed relation graph (DRG) and sensitivity analysis. The method of moments with interpolative closure (MOMIC) was employed for the soot aerosol model. Counterflow nonpremixed flames of pure ethylene at low strain rate sooting conditions are considered, for which the sensitivity of soot formation characteristics with respect to hetrogeneous nucleation is investigated. Results show that higher PAH concentrations result in higher soot nucleation rate, and that the average size of the particles are in good agreement with experimental results. It is found that the nucleation processes (i.e., soot inception) from higher PAH precursors, coronene in particular, is critical for accurate prediction of the overall soot formation.

Bifurcation and extinction limit of stretched premixed flames with chain-branching intermediate kinetics and radiative loss

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Huangwei; Chen, Zheng

2018-05-01

Premixed counterflow flames with thermally sensitive intermediate kinetics and radiation heat loss are analysed within the framework of large activation energy. Unlike previous studies considering one-step global reaction, two-step chemistry consisting of a chain branching reaction and a recombination reaction is considered here. The correlation between the flame front location and stretch rate is derived. Based on this correlation, the extinction limit and bifurcation characteristics of the strained premixed flame are studied, and the effects of fuel and radical Lewis numbers as well as radiation heat loss are examined. Different flame regimes and their extinction characteristics can be predicted by the present theory. It is found that fuel Lewis number affects the flame bifurcation qualitatively and quantitatively, whereas radical Lewis number only has a quantitative influence. Stretch rates at the stretch and radiation extinction limits respectively decrease and increase with fuel Lewis number before the flammability limit is reached, while the radical Lewis number shows the opposite tendency. In addition, the relation between the standard flammability limit and the limit derived from the strained near stagnation flame is affected by the fuel Lewis number, but not by the radical Lewis number. Meanwhile, the flammability limit increases with decreased fuel Lewis number, but with increased radical Lewis number. Radical behaviours at flame front corresponding to flame bifurcation and extinction are also analysed in this work. It is shown that radical concentration at the flame front, under extinction stretch rate condition, increases with radical Lewis number but decreases with fuel Lewis number. It decreases with increased radiation loss.

A parallel adaptive mesh refinement algorithm for predicting turbulent non-premixed combusting flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao, X.; Groth, C.P.T.

2005-01-01

A parallel adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) algorithm is proposed for predicting turbulent non-premixed combusting flows characteristic of gas turbine engine combustors. The Favre-averaged Navier-Stokes equations governing mixture and species transport for a reactive mixture of thermally perfect gases in two dimensions, the two transport equations of the κ-ψ turbulence model, and the time-averaged species transport equations, are all solved using a fully coupled finite-volume formulation. A flexible block-based hierarchical data structure is used to maintain the connectivity of the solution blocks in the multi-block mesh and facilitate automatic solution-directed mesh adaptation according to physics-based refinement criteria. This AMR approach allows for anisotropic mesh refinement and the block-based data structure readily permits efficient and scalable implementations of the algorithm on multi-processor architectures. Numerical results for turbulent non-premixed diffusion flames, including cold- and hot-flow predictions for a bluff body burner, are described and compared to available experimental data. The numerical results demonstrate the validity and potential of the parallel AMR approach for predicting complex non-premixed turbulent combusting flows. (author)

Experimental validation of large-eddy simulation for swirling methane-air non-premixed combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, L.Y.; Luo, Y.H.; Xu, C.S. [Shanghai Jiaotong Univ. (China). School of Mechanical Engineering; Zhou, L.X. [Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). Dept. of Engineering Mechanics

2013-07-01

Large-eddy simulation of swirling methane-air non-premixed combustion was carried out using a Smagorinsky-Lilly subgrid scale stress model and a presumed-PDF fast-chemistry combustion model. The LES statistical results are validated by PIV, temperature and species concentration measurements made by the present authors. The results indicate that in the present case the presumed-PDF fast-chemistry combustion model is a fairish one. The instantaneous vorticity and temperature maps show clearly the development and the interaction between coherent structures and combustion.

Modeling of pollutant formation in fully premixing surface burners using a verified practice-oriented experimental reaction-kinetic calculation method. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruy, C.; Kremer, H.

1996-01-01

The intent of the present study was to simulate quantitatively pollutant formation in premixing surface burners and to describe qualitatively the share of the premixing flame in pollut emissions from atmospheric burners. For this purpose reaction-kinetic programmes for one-dimensional premixing flames were extended by a terms describing heat discharge through gas radiation. Furthermore, the calculation range for the flame was extended far into the secondary reaction zone. Temperature, CO, and NO x profiles were measured in the secondary reaction zone of premixing burners at standard pressure. The air-fuel ratio was calculated within the practically relevant range between 0.5 and 1.5, as was load behaviour. (DG) [de

Analysis of the step responses of laminar premixed flames to forcing by non-thermal plasma

KAUST Repository

Lacoste, Deanna A.

2016-07-16

The step responses of lean methane-air flames to non-thermal plasma forcing is reported. The experimental setup consists of an axisymmetric burner, with a nozzle made of a quartz tube. The equivalence ratio is 0.95, allowing stabilization of the flame in a V-shape or an M-shape geometry, over a central stainless steel rod. The plasma is produced by short pulses of 10-ns duration, 8-kV maximum voltage amplitude, applied at 10 kHz. The central rod is used as a cathode, while the anode is a stainless steel ring, fixed on the outer surface of the quartz tube. Plasma forcing is produced by positive or negative steps of plasma. The step response of the flame is investigated through heat release rate (HRR) fluctuations, to facilitate comparisons with flame response to acoustic perturbations. The chemiluminescence of CH* between two consecutive pulses was recorded using an intensified camera equipped with an optical filter to estimate the HRR fluctuations. First, the results show that the flame does not respond to each single plasma pulse, but is affected only by the average plasma power, confirming the step nature of the forcing. The temporal evolutions of HRR are analyzed and the flame transfer functions are determined. A forcing mechanism, as a local increase in the reactivity of the fluid close to the rod, is proposed and compared with numerical simulations. Experiments and numerical simulations are in good qualitative agreement. © 2016.

Modelling of Turbulent Lifted Jet Flames using flamelets: a priori assessment and a posteriori validation

OpenAIRE

Ruan, S; Swaminathan, Nedunchezhian; Darbyshire, O

2014-01-01

This study focuses on the modelling of turbulent lifted jet flames using flamelets and presumed PDF approach with interests on both flame lift-off height and flame brush structure. First, flamelet models used to capture contributions from premixed and non-premixed modes to the partially premixed combustion in the lifted jet flame are assessed using a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) data for turbulent lifted hydrogen jet flame. The joint PDFs of mixture fraction, Z, and progress ...

Characteristics of premixed flames stabilized in an axisymmetric curved-wall jet burner with tip modification

KAUST Repository

Kim, Daejoong; Gil, Y. S.; Chung, TaeWon; Chung, Suk-Ho

2009-01-01

The stabilization characteristics of premixed flames in an axisymmetric curved-wall jet burner have been experimentally investigated. This burner utilized the Coanda effect on top of a burner tip. The initially spherical burner tip was modified to a

A parametric study of the microwave plasma-assisted combustion of premixed ethylene/air mixtures

Science.gov (United States)

Fuh, Che A.; Wu, Wei; Wang, Chuji

2017-11-01

A parametric study of microwave argon plasma assisted combustion (PAC) of premixed ethylene/air mixtures was carried out using visual imaging, optical emission spectroscopy and cavity ringdown spectroscopy as diagnostic tools. The parameters investigated included the plasma feed gas flow rate, the plasma power, the fuel equivalence ratio and the total flow rate of the fuel/air mixture. The combustion enhancement effects were characterized by the minimum ignition power, the flame length and the fuel efficiency of the combustor. It was found that: (1) increasing the plasma feed gas flow rate resulted in a decrease in the flame length, an increase in the minimum ignition power for near stoichiometric fuel equivalence ratios and a corresponding decrease in the minimum ignition power for ultra-lean and rich fuel equivalence ratios; (2) at a constant plasma power, increasing the total flow rate of the ethylene/air mixture from 1.0 slm to 1.5 slm resulted in an increase in the flame length and a reduction in the fuel efficiency; (3) increasing the plasma power resulted in a slight increase in flame length as well as improved fuel efficiency with fewer C2(d) and CH(A) radicals present downstream of the flame; (4) increasing the fuel equivalence ratio caused an increase in flame length but at a reduced fuel efficiency when plasma power was kept constant; and (5) the ground state OH(X) number density was on the order of 1015 molecules/cm3 and was observed to drop downstream along the propagation axis of the flame at all parameters investigated. Results suggest that each of the parameters independently influences the PAC processes.

Experimental and kinetic modeling investigation of rich premixed toluene flames doped with n-butanol.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yuyang; Yuan, Wenhao; Li, Tianyu; Li, Wei; Yang, Jiuzhong; Qi, Fei

2018-04-25

n-Butanol is a promising renewable biofuel and has a lot of advantages as a gasoline additive compared with ethanol. Though the combustion of pure n-butanol has been extensively investigated, the chemical structures of large hydrocarbons doped with n-butanol, especially for aromatic fuels, are still insufficiently understood. In this work, rich premixed toluene/n-butanol/oxygen/argon flames were investigated at 30 Torr with synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometry (SVUV-PIMS). The blending ratio of n-butanol was varied from 0 to 50%, while the equivalence ratio was maintained at a quite rich value (1.75) for the purpose of studying the influence of n-butanol on the aromatic growth process. Flame species including radicals, reactive molecules, isomers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were identified and their mole fraction profiles were measured. A kinetic model of toluene/n-butanol combustion was developed from our recently reported toluene and n-butanol models. It is observed that the production of most toluene decomposition products and larger aromatics was suppressed as the blending ratio of n-butanol increases. Meanwhile, the addition of n-butanol generally enhanced the formation of most observed C2-C4 hydrocarbons and C1-C4 oxygenated species. The rate of production (ROP) analysis and experimental observations both indicate that the interaction between toluene and n-butanol in their decomposition processes mainly occurs at the formation of small intermediates, e.g. acetylene and methyl. In particular, the interaction between toluene and n-butanol in methyl formation influences the formation of large monocyclic aromatics such as ethylbenzene, styrene and phenylacetylene, making their maximum mole fractions decay slowly upon increasing the blending ratio of n-butanol compared with toluene and benzyl. The increase of the blending ratio of n-butanol reduces the formation of key PAH precursors such as benzyl, fulvenallenyl

Investigating the effects of critical phenomena in premixed methane-oxygen flames at cryogenic conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Gopal, Abishek; Yellapantula, Shashank; Larsson, Johan

2017-11-01

Methane is increasingly becoming viable as a rocket fuel in the latest generation of launch vehicles. In liquid rocket engines, fuel and oxidizer are injected under cryogenic conditions into the combustion chamber. At high pressures, typical of rocket combustion chambers, the propellants exist in supercritical states where the ideal gas thermodynamics are no longer valid. We investigate the effects of real-gas thermodynamics on transcritical laminar premixed methane-oxygen flames. The effect of the real-gas cubic equations of state and high-pressure transport properties on flame dynamics is presented. We also study real-gas effects on the extinction limits of the methane-oxygen flame.

Phenomenology and numerical calculations of lean hydrogen-air premixed flame propagation in a turbulent flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faix-Gantier, A.

2001-12-01

This thesis concerns the study of flame propagation in a turbulent flow of lean hydrogen-air mixtures. The aim is to precise the characteristics of propagation as well as combustion and turbulence models able to take into account the peculiarities of these mixtures. This research work is related to the prevention of fire hazards associated with accidental release of hydrogen within the reactor of a nuclear power plant. In a first part, the scales (the flame velocity and thickness) associated with the laminar flame propagation in hydrogen-air mixtures are studied. A specific attention is devoted to the intrinsic instability properties of such flames. Then, the turbulence scales potentially present within a reactor are estimated in order to allow for the determination of the regimes of combustion that might be present within the reactor and among which the flamelet regime appears to be conceivable. In a second part, starting with the analysis of the propagation properties of a mean reaction zone calculated with a flamelet model, we show that, with an adequate tuning of the parameter appearing in the mean reaction rate expression, it is possible to predict numerically the turbulent flame speeds available with the literature. (author)

A comparative experimental and computational study of methanol, ethanol, and n-butanol flames

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veloo, Peter S.; Wang, Yang L.; Egolfopoulos, Fokion N. [Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-1453 (United States); Westbrook, Charles K. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550 (United States)

2010-10-15

Laminar flame speeds and extinction strain rates of premixed methanol, ethanol, and n-butanol flames were determined experimentally in the counterflow configuration at atmospheric pressure and elevated unburned mixture temperatures. Additional measurements were conducted also to determine the laminar flame speeds of their n-alkane/air counterparts, namely methane, ethane, and n-butane in order to compare the effect of alkane and alcohol molecular structures on high-temperature flame kinetics. For both propagation and extinction experiments the flow velocities were determined using the digital particle image velocimetry method. Laminar flame speeds were derived through a non-linear extrapolation approach based on direct numerical simulations of the experiments. Two recently developed detailed kinetics models of n-butanol oxidation were used to simulate the experiments. The experimental results revealed that laminar flame speeds of ethanol/air and n-butanol/air flames are similar to those of their n-alkane/air counterparts, and that methane/air flames have consistently lower laminar flame speeds than methanol/air flames. The laminar flame speeds of methanol/air flames are considerably higher compared to both ethanol/air and n-butanol/air flames under fuel-rich conditions. Numerical simulations of n-butanol/air freely propagating flames, revealed discrepancies between the two kinetic models regarding the consumption pathways of n-butanol and its intermediates. (author)

Effect of filling ratio on premixed methane/air explosion in an open-end pipe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang Guo

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The propagation characteristics of premixed methane/air explosion under different filling ratios (20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, and 100% were studied using an experimental system. The results indicate that the peak overpressure showed a decreasing trend at the initial stage but then showed an increasing trend until reaching its maximum value under different filling ratios. As the explosion propagated to the open end, the overpressure showed a downtrend. At this point, the flame speed initially increased along the pipe but then dropped dramatically. In addition, the explosion overpressure and flame speed increased with the increase of filling ratio. However, when the filling ratio reached 50%, the explosion overpressure and flame speed tended to be stable and the increase was not obvious. These results will be of great importance in evaluating the explosive damage to equipment and human personnel working in coal mines or other chemical industries.

Effect of pointed and diffused air injection on premixed flame confined in a Rijke tube

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nilaj N. Deshmukh

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The coupling between pressure fluctuations and unsteady heat release in a combustion systems results in acoustic oscillations inside the combustion system. These acoustic oscillations, when grow sufficiently, may cause serious structural damage thereby reducing the lifespan of jet engines, gas turbines, and industrial burners. The aim of the first part of study is to define acoustically stable and unstable regions. The second part is focused on studying the effect of change in pressure field near the flame on the amplitude and frequency of the oscillations of instability. This study is carried out for three-burner positions and equivalence ratio of 0.7 by varying heat supply and total flow rate. The results show two acoustically unstable regions for 0.1 and 0.2 burner positions and only one acoustically unstable region for 0.25 burner position. The effect of pointed injection and diffused injection over a premixed flame on the sound pressure level was studied. The results show for burner position of x/L = 0.2 there is 25 dB suppression is possible using pointed injection at higher total flow rate. The experiment of diffused injection shows sound amplification more than 12 dB was observed.

Autoignited and non-autoignited lifted flames of pre-vaporized n-heptane in coflow jets at elevated temperatures

KAUST Repository

Choi, Sangkyu

2013-09-01

The characteristics of laminar lifted flames of pre-vaporized n-heptane in coflow jets were investigated under both non-autoignited and autoignited conditions by varying the initial temperature. The fuel tested was n-heptane considering the importance as a primary reference fuel for gasoline and its low temperature ignition behavior at relatively low pressure. The results showed that the lifted flame edge in the non-autoignited regime had a tribrachial structure with lean and rich premixed flame wings together with a trailing diffusion flame. The liftoff heights correlated reasonably well with the fuel jet velocity scaled by the stoichiometric laminar burning velocity regardless of the initial temperature and the nitrogen dilution. The liftoff velocity multiplied by the buoyancy-induced velocity and the blowout velocity scaled by the mole fraction of the fuel correlated well with the stoichiometric laminar burning velocity. When the initial temperature was above 900. K, flames were autoignited without any external ignition source. Autoignited lifted flames with both tribrachial edges and mild combustion characteristics were observed. The correlation of the liftoff height with the calculated adiabatic ignition delay time was weak, unlike in cases with gaseous fuels of C1-C4 hydrocarbons in which the liftoff height of the autoignited flames correlated well with the square of the adiabatic ignition delay time. When the mole fraction of the fuel was small, mild combustion behaviors were exhibited with edge flames without distinct tribrachial structures. The liftoff height was correlated with the fuel jet velocity scaled by the initial fuel mass fraction, while the dependence on the ignition delay time was weak when compared with the gaseous fuels. © 2013 The Combustion Institute.

High-speed laser diagnostics for the study of flame dynamics in a lean premixed gas turbine model combustor

Science.gov (United States)

Boxx, Isaac; Arndt, Christoph M.; Carter, Campbell D.; Meier, Wolfgang

2012-03-01

A series of measurements was taken on two technically premixed, swirl-stabilized methane-air flames (at overall equivalence ratios of ϕ = 0.73 and 0.83) in an optically accessible gas turbine model combustor. The primary diagnostics used were combined planar laser-induced fluorescence of the OH radical and stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV) with simultaneous repetition rates of 10 kHz and a measurement duration of 0.8 s. Also measured were acoustic pulsations and OH chemiluminescence. Analysis revealed strong local periodicity in the thermoacoustically self-excited (or ` noisy') flame (ϕ = 0.73) in the regions of the flow corresponding to the inner shear layer and the jet-inflow. This periodicity appears to be the result of a helical precessing vortex core (PVC) present in that region of the combustor. The PVC has a precession frequency double (at 570 Hz) that of the thermo-acoustic pulsation (at 288 Hz). A comparison of the various data sets and analysis techniques applied to each flame suggests a strong coupling between the PVC and the thermo-acoustic pulsation in the noisy flame. Measurements of the stable (` quiet') flame (ϕ = 0.83) revealed a global fluctuation in both velocity and heat-release around 364 Hz, but no clear evidence of a PVC.

Direct numerical simulations of temporally developing hydrocarbon shear flames at elevated pressure: effects of the equation of state and the unity Lewis number assumption

Science.gov (United States)

Korucu, Ayse; Miller, Richard

2016-11-01

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of temporally developing shear flames are used to investigate both equation of state (EOS) and unity-Lewis (Le) number assumption effects in hydrocarbon flames at elevated pressure. A reduced Kerosene / Air mechanism including a semi-global soot formation/oxidation model is used to study soot formation/oxidation processes in a temporarlly developing hydrocarbon shear flame operating at both atmospheric and elevated pressures for the cubic Peng-Robinson real fluid EOS. Results are compared to simulations using the ideal gas law (IGL). The results show that while the unity-Le number assumption with the IGL EOS under-predicts the flame temperature for all pressures, with the real fluid EOS it under-predicts the flame temperature for 1 and 35 atm and over-predicts the rest. The soot mass fraction, Ys, is only under-predicted for the 1 atm flame for both IGL and real gas fluid EOS models. While Ys is over-predicted for elevated pressures with IGL EOS, for the real gas EOS Ys's predictions are similar to results using a non-unity Le model derived from non-equilibrium thermodynamics and real diffusivities. Adopting the unity Le assumption is shown to cause misprediction of Ys, the flame temperature, and the mass fractions of CO, H and OH.

Investigation of a flame holder geometry effect on flame structure in non-premixed combustion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashemi, S. A.; Hajialigol, N.; Fattahi, A.; Heydari, R.; Mazaheri, K.

2013-01-01

In this paper the effect of flame holder geometry on flame structure is studied. The obtained numerical results using realizable k-ε and β-PDF models show a good agreement with experimental data. The results show that increasing in flame holder length decreases flame length and increases flame temperature. Additionally, it is observed that flame lengths decrease by increasing in flame holder radius and increase for larger radii. Furthermore in various radii, the flame temperature is higher for smaller flame lengths. It was found that behavior of flame structure is mainly affected by the mass flow rate of hot gases that come near the reactant by the recirculation zone.

Investigation of a flame holder geometry effect on flame structure in non-premixed combustion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hashemi, S. A.; Hajialigol, N.; Fattahi, A.; Heydari, R. [University of Kashan, Kashan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Mazaheri, K. [University of Tarbiat Moddares, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2013-11-15

In this paper the effect of flame holder geometry on flame structure is studied. The obtained numerical results using realizable k-ε and β-PDF models show a good agreement with experimental data. The results show that increasing in flame holder length decreases flame length and increases flame temperature. Additionally, it is observed that flame lengths decrease by increasing in flame holder radius and increase for larger radii. Furthermore in various radii, the flame temperature is higher for smaller flame lengths. It was found that behavior of flame structure is mainly affected by the mass flow rate of hot gases that come near the reactant by the recirculation zone.

Flame stabilization and mixing characteristics in a Stagnation Point Reverse Flow combustor

Science.gov (United States)

Bobba, Mohan K.

A novel combustor design, referred to as the Stagnation Point Reverse-Flow (SPRF) combustor, was recently developed that is able to operate stably at very lean fuel-air mixtures and with low NOx emissions even when the fuel and air are not premixed before entering the combustor. The primary objective of this work is to elucidate the underlying physics behind the excellent stability and emissions performance of the SPRF combustor. The approach is to experimentally characterize velocities, species mixing, heat release and flame structure in an atmospheric pressure SPRF combustor with the help of various optical diagnostic techniques: OH PLIF, chemiluminescence imaging, PIV and Spontaneous Raman Scattering. Results indicate that the combustor is primarily stabilized in a region downstream of the injector that is characterized by low average velocities and high turbulence levels; this is also the region where most of the heat release occurs. High turbulence levels in the shear layer lead to increased product entrainment levels, elevating the reaction rates and thereby enhancing the combustor stability. The effect of product entrainment on chemical timescales and the flame structure is illustrated with simple reactor models. Although reactants are found to burn in a highly preheated (1300 K) and turbulent environment due to mixing with hot product gases, the residence times are sufficiently long compared to the ignition timescales such that the reactants do not autoignite. Turbulent flame structure analysis indicates that the flame is primarily in the thin reaction zones regime throughout the combustor, and it tends to become more flamelet like with increasing distance from the injector. Fuel-air mixing measurements in case of non-premixed operation indicate that the fuel is shielded from hot products until it is fully mixed with air, providing nearly premixed performance without the safety issues associated with premixing. The reduction in NOx emissions in the SPRF

High-temperature oxidation chemistry of n-butanol--experiments in low-pressure premixed flames and detailed kinetic modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, N; Harper, M R; Green, W H

2011-12-07

An automated reaction mechanism generator is used to develop a predictive, comprehensive reaction mechanism for the high-temperature oxidation chemistry of n-butanol. This new kinetic model is an advancement of an earlier model, which had been extensively tested against earlier experimental data (Harper et al., Combust. Flame, 2011, 158, 16-41). In this study, the model's predictive capabilities are improved by targeting isomer-resolved quantitative mole fraction profiles of flame species in low-pressure flames. To this end, a total of three burner-stabilized premixed flames are isomer-selectively analyzed by flame-sampling molecular-beam time-of-flight mass spectrometry using photoionization by tunable vacuum-ultraviolet synchrotron radiation. For most species, the newly developed chemical kinetic model is capable of accurately reproducing the experimental trends in these flames. The results clearly indicate that n-butanol is mainly consumed by H-atom abstraction with H, O, and OH, forming predominantly the α-C(4)H(9)O radical (CH(3)CH(2)CH(2)˙CHOH). Fission of C-C bonds in n-butanol is only predicted to be significant in a similar, but hotter flame studied by Oßwald et al. (Combust. Flame, 2011, 158, 2-15). The water-elimination reaction to 1-butene is found to be of no importance under the premixed conditions studied here. The initially formed isomeric C(4)H(9)O radicals are predicted to further oxidize by reacting with H and O(2) or to decompose to smaller fragments via β-scission. Enols are detected experimentally, with their importance being overpredicted by the model.

Lean premixed flames for low NO{sub x} combustors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sojka, P.; Tseng, L.; Bryjak, J. [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)] [and others

1995-10-01

Gas turbines are being used throughout the world to generate electricity. Due to increasing fuel costs and environmental concerns, gas turbines must meet stringent performance requirements, demonstrating high thermal efficiencies and low pollutant emissions. In order for U.S. manufactured gas turbines to stay competitive, their NO{sub x} levels must be below 10 ppm and their thermal efficiencies should approach 60%. Current technology is being stretched to achieve these goals. The twin goals of high efficiency and low NO{sub x} emissions require extending the operating range of current gas turbines. Higher efficiency requires operation at higher pressures and temperatures. Lower NO{sub x} emissions requires lower flame temperatures. Lower flame temperatures can be achieved through partially to fully pre-mixed combustion. However, increased performance and lower emissions result in a set of competing goals. In order to achieve a successful compromise between high efficiency and low NO{sub x} emissions, advanced design tools must be developed. One key design tool is a computationally efficient, high pressure, turbulent flow, combustion model capable of predicting pollutant formation in an actual gas turbine. Its development is the goal of this program. Achieving this goal requires completion of three tasks. The first task is to develop a reduced chemical kinetics model describing N{sub O}x formation in natural gas-air systems. The second task is to develop a computationally efficient model that describes turbulence-chemistry interactions. The third task is to incorporate the reduced chemical kinetics and turbulence-chemistry interaction models into a commercially available flow solver and compare its predictions with experimental data obtained under carefully controlled conditions so that the accuracy of model predictions can be evaluated.

Preparation of ZnO-Al2O3 Particles in a Premixed Flame

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Joakim Reimer; Johannessen, Tue; Wedel, Stig

2000-01-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and alumina (Al2O3) particles are synthesized by the combustion of their volatilized acetylacetonate precursors in a premixed air-methane flame reactor. The particles are characterized by XRD, transmission electron microscopy, scanning mobility particle sizing and by measurement...... temperature and a decreasing precursor vapour pressure. The combustion of precursor mixtures leads to composite particles consisting of zinc aluminate ZnAl2O4 intermixed with either ZnO or Al2O3 phases. The zinc aluminate particles are dendritic aggregates, resembling the alumina particles, and are evidently...... synthesized to the full extent allowed by the overall precursor composition. The addition of even small amounts of alumina to ZnO increases the specific surface area of the composites significantly, for e.g. zinc aluminate particles to approximately 150 m2/g. The gas-to-particle conversion is initiated...

Effect of flame-tube head structure on combustion chamber performance

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Minqqi

1986-01-01

The experimental combustion performance of a premixed, pilot-type flame tube with various head structures is discussed. The test study covers an extensive area: efficiency of the combustion chamber, quality of the outlet temperature field, limit of the fuel-lean blowout, ignition performance at ground starting, and carbon deposition. As a result of these tests, a nozzle was found which fits the premixed pilot flame tube well. The use of this nozzle optimized the performance of the combustion chamber. The tested models had premixed pilot chambers with two types of air-film-cooling structures, six types of venturi-tube structures, and secondary fuel nozzles with two small spray-cone angles.

Experimental analysis of an oblique turbulent flame front propagating in a stratified flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galizzi, C.; Escudie, D. [Universite de Lyon, CNRS, CETHIL, INSA-Lyon, UMR5008, F-69621 Cedex (France)

2010-12-15

This paper details the experimental study of a turbulent V-shaped flame expanding in a nonhomogeneous premixed flow. Its aim is to characterize the effects of stratification on turbulent flame characteristics. The setup consists of a stationary V-shaped flame stabilized on a rod and expanding freely in a lean premixed methane-air flow. One of the two oblique fronts interacts with a stratified slice, which has an equivalence ratio close to one and a thickness greater than that of the flame front. Several techniques such as PIV and CH{sup *} chemiluminescence are used to investigate the instantaneous fields, while laser Doppler anemometry and thermocouples are combined with a concentration probe to provide information on the mean fields. First, in order to provide a reference, the homogeneous turbulent case is studied. Next, the stratified turbulent premixed flame is investigated. Results show significant modifications of the whole flame and of the velocity field upstream of the flame front. The analysis of the geometric properties of the stratified flame indicates an increase in flame brush thickness, closely related to the local equivalence ratio. (author)

Direct numerical simulations of turbulent lean premixed combustion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sankaran, Ramanan; Hawkes, Evatt R; Chen, Jacqueline H; Lu Tianfeng; Law, Chung K

2006-01-01

In recent years, due to the advent of high-performance computers and advanced numerical algorithms, direct numerical simulation (DNS) of combustion has emerged as a valuable computational research tool, in concert with experimentation. The role of DNS in delivering new Scientific insight into turbulent combustion is illustrated using results from a recent 3D turbulent premixed flame simulation. To understand the influence of turbulence on the flame structure, a 3D fully-resolved DNS of a spatially-developing lean methane-air turbulent Bunsen flame was performed in the thin reaction zones regime. A reduced chemical model for methane-air chemistry consisting of 13 resolved species, 4 quasi-steady state species and 73 elementary reactions was developed specifically for the current simulation. The data is analyzed to study possible influences of turbulence on the flame thickness. The results show that the average flame thickness increases, in qualitative agreement with several experimental results

Effect of the mixing fields on the stability and structure of turbulent partially premixed flames in a concentric flow conical nozzle burner

KAUST Repository

Mansour, Mohy S.; Elbaz, Ayman M.; Roberts, William L.; Senosy, Mohamed S.; Zayed, Mohamed F.; Juddoo, Mrinal; Masri, Assaad R.

2016-01-01

of partially premixed methane flames. The mixing field in a concentric flow conical nozzle (CFCN) burner with well-controlled mechanism of the mixing is investigated using Rayleigh scattering technique. The flame stability, structure and flow field of some

NR4.00002: Response of a laminar M-shaped premixed flame to plasma forcing

KAUST Repository

Lacoste, Deanna A.; Moeck, Jonas P.; Cha, Min; Chung, Suk-Ho

2015-01-01

We report on the response of a lean methane-air flame to non-thermal plasma forcing. The set-up consists of an axisymmetric burner, with a nozzle made of a quartz tube of 7-mm inlet diameter. The equivalence ratio is 0.9 and the flame is stabilized

An experimental study of the structure of laminar premixed flames of ethanol/methane/oxygen/argon

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, L.S.; Glaude, P.A.; Battin-Leclerc, F.

2013-01-01

The structures of three laminar premixed stoichiometric flames at low pressure (6.7 kPa): a pure methane flame, a pure ethanol flame and a methane flame doped by 30% of ethanol, have been investigated and compared. The results consist of concentration profiles of methane, ethanol, O2, Ar, CO, CO2, H2O, H2, C2H6, C2H4, C2H2, C3H8, C3H6, p-C3H4, a-C3H4, CH2O, CH3HCO, measured as a function of the height above the burner by probe sampling followed by on-line gas chromatography analyses. Flame temperature profiles have been also obtained using a PtRh (6%)-PtRh (30%) type B thermocouple. The similarities and differences between the three flames were analyzed. The results show that, in these three flames, the concentration of the C2 intermediates is much larger than that of the C3 species. In general, mole fraction of all intermediate species in the pure ethanol flame is the largest, followed by the doped flame, and finally the pure methane flame. PMID:24092946

Analysis of the current–voltage curves and saturation currents in burner-stabilised premixed flames with detailed ion chemistry and transport models

KAUST Repository

Belhi, Memdouh

2018-05-22

Current-voltage, or i–V, curves are used in combustion to characterise the ionic structure of flames. The objective of this paper is to develop a detailed modelling framework for the quantitative prediction of the i–V curves in methane/air flames. Ion and electron transport coefficients were described using methods appropriate for charged species interactions. An ionic reaction mechanism involving cations, anions and free electrons was used, together with up-to-date rate coefficients and thermodynamic data. Because of the important role of neutral species in the ion production process, its prediction by the detailed AramcoMech 1.4 mechanism was optimised by using available experimental measurements. Model predictions were evaluated by comparing to i–V curves measured in atmospheric-pressure, premixed, burner-stabilised flames. A detailed evaluation of the reliability of ion kinetic and transport parameters adopted was performed. The model provides good quantitative agreement with experimental data for various conditions.

Premixed Combustion of Coconut Oil on Perforated Burner

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I.K.G. Wirawan

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Coconut oil premixed combustion behavior has been studied experimentally on perforated burner with equivalence ratio (φ varied from very lean until very rich. The results showed that burning of glycerol needs large number of air so that the laminar burning velocity (SL is the highest at very lean mixture and the flame is in the form of individual Bunsen flame on each of the perforated plate hole. As φ is increased the  SL decreases and the secondary Bunsen flame with open tip occurs from φ =0.54 at the downstream of perforated flame. The perforated flame disappears at φ = 0.66 while the secondary Bunsen flame still exist with SL increases following that of hexadecane flame trend and then extinct when the equivalence ratio reaches one or more. Surrounding ambient air intervention makes SL decreases, shifts lower flammability limit into richer mixture, and performs triple and cellular flames. The glycerol diffusion flame radiation burned fatty acids that perform cellular islands on perforated hole.  Without glycerol, laminar flame velocity becomes higher and more stable as perforated flame at higher φ. At rich mixture the Bunsen flame becomes unstable and performs petal cellular around the cone flame front. Keywords: cellular flame; glycerol; perforated flame;secondary Bunsen flame with open tip; triple flame

Synthesis of ZnO particles in a quench-cooled flame reactor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Jens Peter; Jensen, Joakim Reimer; Livbjerg, Hans

2001-01-01

The quench cooling of a flame by injection of cold air was studied in a flame reactor for the formation of ZnO particles in a premixed flame with a precursor jet. A rapid temperature drop downstream from the temperature peak is advantageous for the attainment of a large specific surface area...

Experiment and Simulation of Autoignition in Jet Flames and its Relevance to Flame Stabilization and Structure

KAUST Repository

Al-Noman, Saeed M.

2016-06-01

mainly between the fuel nozzle and the lifted flame edge. On the other hand, they were formed just prior to the flame edge for the non-autoignited lifted flames. The effect of fuel pyrolysis and partial oxidation were found to be important in explaining autoignited liftoff heights, especially in the Mild combustion regime. Flame structures of autoignited flames were investigated numerically for syngas (CO/H2) and methane fuels. The simulations of syngas fuel accounting for the differential diffusion have been performed by adopting several kinetic mechanisms to test the models ability in predicting the flame behaviors observed previously. The results agreed well with the observed nozzle-attached flame characteristics in case of non-autoignited flames. For autoignited lifted flames in high temperature regime, a unique autoignition behavior can be predicted having HO2 and H2O2 radicals in a broad region between the nozzle and stabilized lifted flame edge. Autoignition characteristics of laminar nonpremixed methane jet flames in high- temperature coflow air were studied numerically. Several flame configurations were investigated by varying the initial temperature and fuel mole fraction. Characteristics of chemical kinetics structures for autoignited lifted flames were discussed based on the kinetic structures of homogeneous autoignition and flame propagation of premixed mixtures. Results showed that for autoignited lifted flame with tribrachial structure, a transition from autoignition to flame propagation modes occurs for reasonably stoichiometric mixtures. Characteristics of Mild combustion can be treated as an autoignited lean premixed lifted flame. Transition behavior from Mild combustion to a nozzle-attached flame was also investigated by increasing the fuel mole fraction.

Effect of electric fields on the stabilization of premixed laminar bunsen flames at low AC frequency: Bi-ionic wind effect

KAUST Repository

Kim, Minkuk

2012-03-01

The stabilization characteristics of laminar premixed bunsen flames have been investigated experimentally by applying AC electric fields at low frequency below 60. Hz together with DC in the single electrode configuration. The blowoff velocity has been measured for varying AC voltage and frequency. A transition frequency between low and high frequency regimes has been identified near 40-50. Hz, where AC electric fields have minimal effect on flame stabilization. In the low frequency regime, the blowoff velocity decreased linearly with AC voltage such that the flames became less stable. This was consistent with the DC result, implying the influence of the ionic wind effect. The variation of blowoff velocity with AC frequency showed a non-monotonic behavior in that the velocity decreased and then increased, exhibiting minimum blowoff velocity near 6-8. Hz. Based on the molecular kinetic theory, the developing degree of ionic wind was derived. By considering the ionic wind effects arising from both positive and negative ions in a flame zone, the bi-ionic wind effect successfully explained the non-monotonic behavior of blowoff velocity with AC frequency in the low frequency regime. © 2011 The Combustion Institute.

Transient combustion modeling of an oscillating lean premixed methane/air flam

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Withag, J.A.M.; Kok, Jacobus B.W.; Syed, Khawar

2009-01-01

The main objective of the present study is to demonstrate accurate low frequency transient turbulent combustion modeling. For accurate flame dynamics some improvements were made to the standard TFC combustion model for lean premixed combustion. With use of a 1D laminar flamelet code, predictions

Pembakaran Premixed Minyak Nabati Pada Bunsen Burner Type Silinder

OpenAIRE

La Muhaya, Syamsul Bahri; Wardana, ING; Widhiyanuriyawan, Denny

2015-01-01

In the premixed combustion wave propagation combustion occurs is called the flame front. Premixed flame will propagate at the speed of moving towards the reactants unique. If the speed of the reactants is equal to the speed of propagation of fire, the fire (reaction zone) will be stationary. It is necessary to follow up on the influence of equivalence ratio (φ) varied with laminar flame speed (SL) in the premixed combustion of vegetable oil (virgin coconut oil, jatropha and cotton seeds). Res...

Buoyancy Effects in Turbulent Jet Flames in Crossflow

Science.gov (United States)

Boxx, Isaac; Idicheria, Cherian; Clemens, Noel

2003-11-01

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of buoyancy on the structure of turbulent, non-premixed hydrocarbon jet-flames in crossflow (JFICF). This was accomplished using a small jet-in-crossflow facility which can be oriented at a variety of angles with respect to the gravity vector. This facility enables us to alter the relative influence of buoyancy on the JFICF without altering the jet-exit Reynolds number, momentum flux ratio or the geometry of the system. Results are compared to similar, but non-buoyant, JFICF studied in microgravity. Departures of jet-centerline trajectory from the well-known power-law scaling of turbulent JFICF were used to explore the transition from a buoyancy-influenced regime to a momentum dominated one. The primary diagnostic was CCD imaging of soot-luminosity. We present results on ethylene jet flames with jet-exit Reynolds numbers of 1770 to 8000 and momentum flux ratios of 5 to 13.

Effect of an external electric field on the propagation velocity of premixed flames

KAUST Repository

Sánchez-Sanz, Mario

2015-01-01

© 2014 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. There have been many experimental investigations into the ability of electric fields to enhance combustion by acting upon ion species present in flames [1]. In this work, we examine this phenomenon using a one-dimensional model of a lean premixed flame under the influence of a longitudinal electric field. We expand upon prior two-step chain-branching reaction laminar models with reactions to model the creation and consumption of both a positively-charged radical species and free electrons. Also included are the electromotive force in the conservation equation for ion species and the electrostatic form of the Maxwell equations in order to resolve ion transport by externally applied and internally induced electric fields. The numerical solution of these equations allows us to compute changes in flame speed due to electric fields. Further, the variation of key kinetic and transport parameters modifies the electrical sensitivity of the flame. From changes in flame speed and reactant profiles we are able to gain novel, valuable insight into how and why combustion can be controlled by electric fields.

Flow structures in a lean-premixed swirl-stabilized combustor with microjet air injection

KAUST Repository

LaBry, Zachary A.; Shanbhogue, Santosh J.; Speth, Raymond L.; Ghoniem, Ahmed F.

2011-01-01

The major challenge facing the development of low-emission combustors is combustion instability. By lowering flame temperatures, lean-premixed combustion has the potential to nearly eliminate emissions of thermally generated nitric oxides

Partially premixed prevalorized kerosene spray combustion in turbulent flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chrigui, M.; Ahmadi, W.; Sadiki, A.; Janicka, J. [Institute for Energy and Powerplant Technology, TU Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 30, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany); Moesl, K. [Lehrstuhl fuer Thermodynamik, TU Muenchen, Boltzmannstr. 15, D-85747 Garching (Germany)

2010-04-15

A detailed numerical simulation of kerosene spray combustion was carried out on a partially premixed, prevaporized, three-dimensional configuration. The focus was on the flame temperature profile dependency on the length of the pre-vaporization zone. The results were analyzed and compared to experimental data. A fundamental study was performed to observe the temperature variation and flame flashback. Changes were made to the droplet diameter, kerosene flammability limits, a combustion model parameter and the location of the combustion initialization. Investigations were performed for atmospheric pressure, inlet air temperature of 90 C and a global equivalence ratio of 0.7. The simulations were carried out using the Eulerian Lagrangian procedure under a fully two-way coupling. The Bray-Moss-Libby model was adjusted to account for the partially premixed combustion. (author)

Transient change in the shape of premixed burner flame with the superposition of pulsed dielectric barrier discharge

OpenAIRE

Zaima, Kazunori; Sasaki, Koichi

2016-01-01

We investigated the transient phenomena in a premixed burner flame with the superposition of a pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). The length of the flame was shortened by the superposition of DBD, indicating the activation of combustion chemical reactions with the help of the plasma. In addition, we observed the modulation of the top position of the unburned gas region and the formations of local minimums in the axial distribution of the optical emission intensity of OH. These experim...

Spatially distributed flame transfer functions for predicting combustion dynamics in lean premixed gas turbine combustors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, K.T.; Lee, J.G.; Quay, B.D.; Santavicca, D.A. [Center for Advanced Power Generation, Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA (United States)

2010-09-15

The present paper describes a methodology to improve the accuracy of prediction of the eigenfrequencies and growth rates of self-induced instabilities and demonstrates its application to a laboratory-scale, swirl-stabilized, lean-premixed, gas turbine combustor. The influence of the spatial heat release distribution is accounted for using local flame transfer function (FTF) measurements. The two-microphone technique and CH{sup *} chemiluminescence intensity measurements are used to determine the input (inlet velocity perturbation) and the output functions (heat release oscillation), respectively, for the local flame transfer functions. The experimentally determined local flame transfer functions are superposed using the flame transfer function superposition principle, and the result is incorporated into an analytic thermoacoustic model, in order to predict the linear stability characteristics of a given system. Results show that when the flame length is not acoustically compact the model prediction calculated using the local flame transfer functions is better than the prediction made using the global flame transfer function. In the case of a flame in the compact flame regime, accurate predictions of eigenfrequencies and growth rates can be obtained using the global flame transfer function. It was also found that the general response characteristics of the local FTF (gain and phase) are qualitatively the same as those of the global FTF. (author)

Combustion chemistry of alcohols: Experimental and modeled structure of a premixed 2-methylbutanol flame

KAUST Repository

Lucassen, Arnas; Park, Sungwoo; Hansen, Nils; Sarathy, Mani

2014-01-01

This paper presents a detailed investigation of 2-methylbutanol combustion chemistry in low-pressure premixed flames. This chemistry is of particular interest to study because this compound is potentially a lignocellulosic-based, next-generation biofuel. The detailed chemical structure of a stoichiometric low-pressure (25 Torr) flame was determined using flame-sampling molecular-beam mass spectrometry. A total of 55 species were identified and subsequently quantitative mole fraction profiles as function of distance from the burner surface were determined. In an independent effort, a detailed flame chemistry model for 2-methylbutanol was assembled based on recent knowledge gained from combustion chemistry studies for butanol isomers ([Sarathy et al. Combust. Flame 159 (6) (2012) 2028-2055]) and iso-pentanol (3-methylbutanol) [Sarathy et al. Combust. Flame 160 (12) (2013) 2712-2728]. Experimentally determined and modeled mole fraction profiles were compared to demonstrate the model's capabilities. Examples of individual mole fraction profiles are discussed together with the most significant fuel consumption pathways to highlight the combustion chemistry of 2-methylbutanol. Discrepancies between experimental and modeling results are used to suggest areas where improvement of the kinetic model would be needed. © 2014.

Combustion chemistry of alcohols: Experimental and modeled structure of a premixed 2-methylbutanol flame

KAUST Repository

Lucassen, Arnas

2014-06-14

This paper presents a detailed investigation of 2-methylbutanol combustion chemistry in low-pressure premixed flames. This chemistry is of particular interest to study because this compound is potentially a lignocellulosic-based, next-generation biofuel. The detailed chemical structure of a stoichiometric low-pressure (25 Torr) flame was determined using flame-sampling molecular-beam mass spectrometry. A total of 55 species were identified and subsequently quantitative mole fraction profiles as function of distance from the burner surface were determined. In an independent effort, a detailed flame chemistry model for 2-methylbutanol was assembled based on recent knowledge gained from combustion chemistry studies for butanol isomers ([Sarathy et al. Combust. Flame 159 (6) (2012) 2028-2055]) and iso-pentanol (3-methylbutanol) [Sarathy et al. Combust. Flame 160 (12) (2013) 2712-2728]. Experimentally determined and modeled mole fraction profiles were compared to demonstrate the model\\'s capabilities. Examples of individual mole fraction profiles are discussed together with the most significant fuel consumption pathways to highlight the combustion chemistry of 2-methylbutanol. Discrepancies between experimental and modeling results are used to suggest areas where improvement of the kinetic model would be needed. © 2014.

Measurement of OH radical density in DBD-enhanced premixed burner flame by laser-induced fluorescence

Science.gov (United States)

Zaima, Kazunori; Sasaki, Koichi

2013-09-01

We examined OH density in DBD-enhanced premixed burner flame by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). We ignited a premixed flame with CH4 /O2 / Ar mixture using a burner which worked as the ground electrode. The upper part of the flame was covered with a quartz tube, and we attached an aluminum electrode on the outside of the quartz tube. DBD inside the quartz tube was obtained between the aluminum electrode and the burner nozzle. The planar beam from a pulsed tunable laser excited OH in X2 Π (v'' = 0) to A2Σ+ (v' = 0) , and we captured two-dimensional distribution of the LIF intensity using an ICCD camera. We employed three pump lines of Q1(J=4, 8 and 10), and the rotational temperature of OH(X) was deduced from the ratio of the LIF intensities. The total density of OH was obtained from the LIF intensities and the rotational temperature. A principal experimental result was that no remarkable increase was observed in the OH density by the superposition of DBD. The correlation between the pulsed discharge current and the temporal variation of the OH density was not clear, suggesting that the oscillation of the OH density with a small amplitude is related to the transittion time constant between equilibrium and nonequilibrium combustion chemistries.

Supplementary Material for: Measurements of Positively Charged Ions in Premixed Methane-Oxygen Atmospheric Flames

KAUST Repository

Alquaity, Awad B. S.

2017-01-01

Cations and anions are formed as a result of chemi-ionization processes in combustion systems. Electric fields can be applied to reduce emissions and improve combustion efficiency by active control of the combustion process. Detailed flame ion chemistry models are needed to understand and predict the effect of external electric fields on combustion plasmas. In this work, a molecular beam mass spectrometer (MBMS) is utilized to measure ion concentration profiles in premixed methane–oxygen argon burner-stabilized atmospheric flames. Lean and stoichiometric flames are considered to assess the dependence of ion chemistry on flame stoichiometry. Relative ion concentration profiles are compared with numerical simulations using various temperature profiles, and good qualitative agreement was observed for the stoichiometric flame. However, for the lean flame, numerical simulations misrepresent the spatial distribution of selected ions greatly. Three modifications are suggested to enhance the ion mechanism and improve the agreement between experiments and simulations. The first two modifications comprise the addition of anion detachment reactions to increase anion recombination at low temperatures. The third modification involves restoring a detachment reaction to its original irreversible form. To our knowledge, this work presents the first detailed measurements of cations and flame temperature in canonical methane–oxygen-argon atmospheric flat flames. The positive ion profiles reported here may be useful to validate and improve ion chemistry models for methane-oxygen flames.

Structure and temperature distribution of a stagnation-point Diesel spray premixed flame

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, J.-C.; Lin, Ta-Hui

2005-01-01

We experimentally examine the flow and flame characteristics of a stagnation point premixed flame influenced by Diesel sprays. In the experiment, distributions of drop size, drop axial velocity and its fluctuation as well as the gas phase temperature are measured by using the phase-doppler particle analyzer and a thin thermocouple. As might be expected, similar to the gasoline spray flame, the partially prevaporized Diesel spray flame is composed of a weak blue flame zone, indicating the burning of methane fuel, and a strongly luminous zone containing many bright yellow lines showing the passages of burning Diesel drops. It is found that the axial temperature profiles at various radial positions consist of an upstream preheat region, a maximum temperature downstream of the blue flame and a downstream region with a declined temperature curve because of the heat loss to the quartz plate. The SMD of the drops increases from the upstream preheat region to a maximum near the blue flame and then decreases in the downstream burning zone. Along the axial position, the drops are decelerated in front of the flame but accelerated when passing through the blue flame. It is also interesting to note that the radial distributions of SMD and number density of drops in the upstream region are mainly influenced by small drops flowing outward, since the upstream vaporization of Diesel drops is very limited; while those in the downstream region should be influenced by both small drops flowing outward and Diesel drops burning. From the experimental observations, there are impinging and bouncing of Diesel drops downstream of the spray flame near the quartz plate, resulting in a small amount of soot and carbon deposits on the wall. These interesting phenomena will be reported in the near future

Large eddy simulation of premixed and non-premixed combustion

OpenAIRE

Malalasekera, W; Ibrahim, SS; Masri, AR; Sadasivuni, SK; Gubba, SR

2010-01-01

This paper summarises the authors experience in using the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) technique for the modelling of premixed and non-premixed combustion. The paper describes the application of LES based combustion modelling technique to two well defined experimental configurations where high quality data is available for validation. The large eddy simulation technique for the modelling flow and turbulence is based on the solution of governing equations for continuity and momentum in a struct...

Characteristics of premixed flames stabilized in an axisymmetric curved-wall jet burner with tip modification

KAUST Repository

Kim, Daejoong

2009-11-10

The stabilization characteristics of premixed flames in an axisymmetric curved-wall jet burner have been experimentally investigated. This burner utilized the Coanda effect on top of a burner tip. The initially spherical burner tip was modified to a flat tip and a concave tip in order to improve flame stabilization by providing enough space for flow recirculation above the burner tip region. The flow characteristics have been visualized using a schlieren technique. Small-scale turbulence structure has been observed mainly in the interaction jet region (located downstream of the recirculation region) for large jet velocity (Reynolds number >11,500). An appreciable amount of air entrainment was exhibited from the half-angle of the jet spread, approximately 20. The averaged planar laser-induced fluorescence images of the flames for this large velocity demonstrated that the strong signal of OH radicals, representing reaction zones, existed in the recirculation zone, while it was weak in the interaction jet region due to intermittency and local extinction by the generation of small scale turbulence. The OH radical signals strengthened again in the merged jet region (downstream of the interaction jet region). In extreme cases of Reynolds number over 19,000, a unique flame exhibiting OH radicals only in the recirculation zone was observed for the concave tip. The flame stabilization has been mapped by varying jet velocity and equivalence ratio, and the result showed that the stabilization characteristics were improved appreciably from the initial spherical tip design, especially for rich mixtures. The flow fields measured by a laser Doppler velocimetry confirmed the existence of recirculation zone and the expansion of the recirculation zones for the modified tips. The temperature profile measured by a coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy exhibited an intermittent nature, especially near the recirculation zone.

Dynamics of bluff-body-stabilized lean premixed syngas flames in a meso-scale channel

KAUST Repository

Lee, Bok Jik

2016-07-15

Direct numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the dynamics of lean premixed syngas flames stabilized by a bluff-body in a meso-scale channel at near blow-off conditions, in order to provide fundamental insights into the physical mechanisms responsible for the critical phenomena. Flames in a two-dimensional meso-scale channel with a square flame holder are adopted as the model configuration, and a syngas mixture at an equivalence ratio of 0.5 with the CO:H ratio of 1 is considered. As the inlet velocity is increased, the initially stable steady flames undergo a transition to an unsteady mode of regular asymmetric fluctuation. When the inlet velocity is further increased, the flame is eventually blown off. Between the regular fluctuation mode and blow-off limit, there exists a narrow range of the inlet velocity where the flames exhibit periodic local extinction and recovery. Approaching further to the blow-off limit, the recovery mode fails to occur but the flame survives as a short kernel attached to the base of the bluff-body, until it is completely extinguished as the attached flames are gradually shrunk towards the bluff-body. The results are systematically compared with the hydrogen flame results reported in our earlier study. Examination of the characteristic time scales of relevant processes provided understanding of key mechanisms responsible for the observed differences, thereby allowing improved description of the local extinction and re-ignition dynamics that are critical to flame stabilization.

Chemical structures and theoretical models of lean premixed ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

To better understand the chemistry involved in the lean-fuel combustion, the chemical structure of lean premixed propene-oxygen-nitrogen flames stabilized on a flat-flame burner at atmospheric pressure was determined experimentally. The species mole fraction profiles were also computed by the Premix code and three ...

Jet flow and premixed jet flame control by plasma swirler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Gang, E-mail: ligang@iet.cn [Key laboratory of light duty gas turbine, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Jiang, Xi [School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS (United Kingdom); Zhao, Yujun [School of Mechanism, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China); Liu, Cunxi [Key laboratory of light duty gas turbine, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Chen, Qi [School of Mechanism, Electronic and Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China); Xu, Gang; Liu, Fuqiang [Key laboratory of light duty gas turbine, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China)

2017-04-04

A swirler based on dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuators is designed and its effectiveness in both jet flow and premixed jet flame control is demonstrated. In contrast to traditional spanwise-oriented actuators, plasma actuators are placed along the axial direction of the injector to induce a circumferential velocity to the main flow and create a swirl flow without any insertion or moving part. In the DBD plasma swirl injector, the discharge does not ignite the mixture nor does it induce flashback. Flame visualization is obtained by cameras while velocity profiles are obtained by Laser Doppler Anemometry measurements. The results obtained indicate the effectiveness of the new design. - Highlights: • The discharge does not ignite the mixture nor does it induce flashback. • The prominent advantage of this novel plasma swirler is its swirl number adjustable without any mechanical movement. • The frequency of the plasma swirler is adjustable. • The plasma swirler can be used as an oscillator to the reactants. • The plasma swirler can be used alone or combine with other traditional swirlers.

Premixer assembly for mixing air and fuel for combustion

Science.gov (United States)

York, William David; Johnson, Thomas Edward; Keener, Christopher Paul

2016-12-13

A premixer assembly for mixing air and fuel for combustion includes a plurality of tubes disposed at a head end of a combustor assembly. Also included is a tube of the plurality of tubes, the tube including an inlet end and an outlet end. Further included is at least one non-circular portion of the tube extending along a length of the tube, the at least one non-circular portion having a non-circular cross-section, and the tube having a substantially constant cross-sectional area along its length

DNS of non-premixed combustion in a compressible mixing layer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bastiaans, R.J.M.; Somers, L.M.T.; Lange, de H.C.; Geurts, B.J.

2001-01-01

The non-premixed reaction of fuel with air in a mixing layer is studied using DNS. The situation is a model for the mixing-controlled combustion in a Diesel engine. We show that the combustion region can be comparably passive with respect to relatively large scale aerodynamic instabilities. However

Response analysis of a laminar premixed M-flame to flow perturbations using a linearized compressible Navier-Stokes solver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanchard, M.; Schuller, T.; Sipp, D.; Schmid, P. J.

2015-01-01

The response of a laminar premixed methane-air flame subjected to flow perturbations around a steady state is examined experimentally and using a linearized compressible Navier-Stokes solver with a one-step chemistry mechanism to describe combustion. The unperturbed flame takes an M-shape stabilized both by a central bluff body and by the external rim of a cylindrical nozzle. This base flow is computed by a nonlinear direct simulation of the steady reacting flow, and the flame topology is shown to qualitatively correspond to experiments conducted under comparable conditions. The flame is then subjected to acoustic disturbances produced at different locations in the numerical domain, and its response is examined using the linearized solver. This linear numerical model then allows the componentwise investigation of the effects of flow disturbances on unsteady combustion and the feedback from the flame on the unsteady flow field. It is shown that a wrinkled reaction layer produces hydrodynamic disturbances in the fresh reactant flow field that superimpose on the acoustic field. This phenomenon, observed in several experiments, is fully interpreted here. The additional perturbations convected by the mean flow stem from the feedback of the perturbed flame sheet dynamics onto the flow field by a mechanism similar to that of a perturbed vortex sheet. The different regimes where this mechanism prevails are investigated by examining the phase and group velocities of flow disturbances along an axis oriented along the main direction of the flow in the fresh reactant flow field. It is shown that this mechanism dominates the low-frequency response of the wrinkled shape taken by the flame and, in particular, that it fully determines the dynamics of the flame tip from where the bulk of noise is radiated

Premixed Combustion of Kapok (ceiba pentandra seed oil on Perforated Burner

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I.K.G. Wirawan

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Availability of fossil fuels in the world decrease gradually due to excessive fuel exploitation. This situations push researcher to look for alternative fuels as a source of renewable energy, one of them is kapok (ceiba pentandra seed oil. The aim this study was to know the behavior of laminar burning velocity, secondary Bunsen flame with open tip, cellular and triple flame. Premixed combustion of kapok seed oil was studied experimentally on perforated burner with equivalence ratio (φ varied from 0.30 until 1.07. The results showed that combustion of glycerol requires a large amount of air so that laminar burning velocity (SL is the highest at very lean mixture (φ =0.36 in the form of individual Bunsen flame on each of the perforated plate hole.  Perforated and secondary Bunsen flame both reached maximum SL similar with that of ethanol and higher than that of hexadecane. Slight increase of φ decreases drastically SL of perforated and secondary Bunsen flame. When the mixture was enriched, secondary Bunsen and perforated flame disappears, and then the flame becomes Bunsen flame with open tip and triple flame (φ = 0.62 to 1.07. Flame was getting stable until the mixture above the stoichiometry. Being isolated from ambient air, the SL of perforated flame, as well as secondary Bunsen flame, becomes equal with non-isolated flame. This shows the decreasing trend of laminar burning velocity while φ is increasing. When the mixture was enriched island (φ = 0.44 to 0.48 and petal (φ = 0.53 to 0.62 cellular flame take place. Flame becomes more unstable when the mixture was changed toward stoichiometry.

Development of Criteria for Flashback Propensity in Jet Flames for High Hydrogen Content and Natural Gas Type Fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalantari, Alireza [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Sullivan-Lewis, Elliot [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); McDonell, Vincent [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)

2016-10-17

Due to increasingly stringent air quality requirements stationary power gas turbines have moved to lean-premixed operation, which reduces pollutant emissions but can result in flashback. Curtailing flashback can be difficult with hydrocarbon fuels and becomes even more challenging when hydrogen is used as the fuel. In fact, flashback is a key operability issue associated with low emission combustion of high hydrogen content fuels. Flashback can cause serious damage to the premixer hardware. Hence, design tools to predict flashback propensity are of interest. Such a design tool has been developed based on the data gathered by experimental study to predict boundary layer flashback using non-dimensional parameters. The flashback propensity of a premixed jet flame has been studied experimentally. Boundary layer flashback has been investigated under turbulent flow conditions at elevated pressures and temperatures (i.e. 3 atm to 8 atm and 300 K to 500 K). The data presented in this study are for hydrogen fuel at various Reynolds numbers, which are representative of practical gas turbine premixer conditions and are significantly higher than results currently available in the literature. Three burner heads constructed of different materials (stainless steel, copper, and zirconia ceramic) were used to evaluate the effect of tip temperature, a parameter found previously to be an important factor in triggering flashback. This study characterizes flashback systematically by developing a comprehensive non-dimensional model which takes into account all effective parameters in boundary layer flashback propensity. The model was optimized for new data and captures the behavior of the new results well. Further, comparison of the model with the single existing study of high pressure jet flame flashback also indicates good agreement. The model developed using the high pressure test rig is able to predict flashback tendencies for a commercial gas turbine engine and can thus serve as a

Straining and wrinkling processes during turbulence-premixed flame interaction measured using temporally-resolved diagnostics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steinberg, Adam M.; Driscoll, James F. [Department of Aerospace Engineering, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

2009-12-15

The dynamical processes of flame surface straining and wrinkling that occur as turbulence interacts with a premixed flame were measured using cinema-stereoscopic PIV (CS-PIV) and orthogonal-plane cinema-stereoscopic PIV (OPCS-PIV). These diagnostics provided temporally resolved measurements of turbulence-flame interaction at frame rates of up to 3 kHz and spatial resolutions as small as 280{mu} m. Previous descriptions of flame straining and wrinkling have typically been derived based on a canonical interaction between a pair of counter-rotating vortices and a planar flame surface. However, it was found that this configuration did not properly represent real turbulence-flame interaction. Interactions resembling the canonical configuration were observed in less than 10% of the recorded frames. Instead, straining and wrinkling were generally caused more geometrically complex turbulence, consisting of large groups of structures that could be multiply curved and intertwined. The effect of the interaction was highly dependent on the interaction geometry. Furthermore, even when the turbulence did exist in the canonical geometry, the straining and wrinkling of the flame surface were not well characterized by the vortical structures. A new mechanistic description of the turbulence-flame interaction was therefore identified and confirmed by the measurements. In this description, flame surface straining is caused by coherent structures of fluid-dynamic strain-rate (strain-rate structures). The role of vortical structures is to curve existing flame surface, creating wrinkles. By simultaneously considering both forms of turbulent structure, turbulence-flame interactions in both the canonical configuration and more complex geometries could be understood. (author)

Impact of fuel composition on the recirculation zone structure and its role in lean premixed flame anchoring

KAUST Repository

Hong, Seunghyuck

2015-01-01

© 2014 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. We investigate the dependence of the recirculation zone (RZ) size and structure on the fuel composition using high-speed particle image velocimetry (PIV) and chemiluminescence measurements for C3H8/H2/air lean premixed flames stabilized in a backward-facing step combustor. Results show an intricate coupling between the flame anchoring and the RZ structure and length. For a fixed fuel composition, at relatively low equivalence ratios, the time-averaged RZ is comprised of two counter rotating eddies: a primary eddy (PE) between the shear layer and the bottom wall; and a secondary eddy (SE) between the vertical step wall and the PE. The flame stabilizes downstream of the saddle point of the dividing streamline between the two eddies. As equivalence ratio is raised, the flame moves upstream, pushing the saddle point with it and reducing the size of the SE. Higher temperature of the products reduces the velocity gradient in the shear layer and thus the reattachment length. As equivalence ratio approaches a critical value, the saddle point reaches the step and the SE collapses while the flame starts to exhibit periodic flapping motions, suggesting a correlation between the RZ structure and flame anchoring. The overall trend in the flow field is the same as we add hydrogen to the fuel at a fixed equivalence ratio, demonstrating the impact of fuel composition on the flow field. We show that the reattachment lengths (LR), which are shown to encapsulate the mean RZ structure, measured over a range of fuel composition and equivalence ratio collapse if plotted against the strained consumption speed (Sc). Results indicate that for the flame to remain anchored, the RZ structure should satisfy lR,isothermal/L R,reacting · S c/U ∞ ∼ 0.1. If this criterion cannot be met, the flame blows off, flashes back or becomes thermoacoustically unstable, suggesting a Damköhler-like criterion for

Stratified turbulent Bunsen flames : flame surface analysis and flame surface density modelling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ramaekers, W.J.S.; Oijen, van J.A.; Goey, de L.P.H.

2012-01-01

In this paper it is investigated whether the Flame Surface Density (FSD) model, developed for turbulent premixed combustion, is also applicable to stratified flames. Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of turbulent stratified Bunsen flames have been carried out, using the Flamelet Generated Manifold