Comparative Large Eddy Simulation study of a large-scale buoyant fire

A fully-coupled Large Eddy Simulation model which incorporates all essential combustion, radiation and soot chemistry considerations have been developed to simulate the temporal vortical structure of a large-scale buoyant fire. Numerical results are validated and compared against a full-scale fire measurements and predictions from other LES models. Quantitative comparisons against experimental data suggested that the present model successfully captured the vortical structures and the puffing behaviour of a buoyant fire.     

LES Modeling of the Impact of Heat Losses and Differential Diffusion on Turbulent Stratified Flame Propagation: Application to the TU Darmstadt Stratified Flame

Common combustion chambers often exhibit turbulent flames propagating in partially-premixed mixtures. This propagation is generally governed by aerodynamics, unsteady mixing and chemical processes and may also be affected by conductive heat losses when the reactive zone develops close to the burner lips. The Filtered TAbulated Chemistry for Large Eddy Simulation (F-TACLES) model has been recently developed to include tabulated chemistry in Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of adiabatic stratified flames in flamelet regimes. The present article proposes a modeling approach to account for both differential diffusion and non-adiabatic effects on flame consumption speed following the F-TACLES formalism. The adiabatic F-TACLES model is first detailed using a generalized formalism for diffusive fluxes allowing either to account for differential diffusion or not. The F-TACLES model is then extended to non-adiabatic situations. A correction factor based on the non-adiabatic consumption rate is introduced to recover a realistic filtered flame consumption speed. The objective is here to tackle flame stabilization mechanisms when heat losses affect the reaction zone. The proposed approach is validated through the simulation of the unconfined stratified turbulent jet flame TSF-A for which stabilization process is affected by heat losses. Five simulations are performed for both adiabatic and non-adiabatic flow conditions comparing unity Lewis number and complex diffusion assumptions. The adiabatic F-TACLES model predicts a flame anchored at the burner lip disagreeing with experimental data. The non-adiabatic simulation exhibits local extinction due to heat losses near the burner exit. The flame is then lifted improving the comparison with experiments. Results also show a significant impact of molecular diffusion model on both mean flame consumption rate and angle.     

Soot and radiation modeling in laminar ethylene flames with tabulated detailed chemistry

A strategy has been developed in order to compute unsteady convective and radiative heat transfers in an industrial combustion device. This strategy involves a tabulation method to describe gas-phase chemistry, coupled with a semi-empirical soot model. A Monte Carlo method is used to evaluate gas and soot radiative transfer. This paper presents the first validation step of this strategy, in which four laminar premixed ethylene flames have been simulated. The tabulation method well predicts gas-phase species concentrations, including acetylene, considered as the main soot precursor. The soot model gives results in the experimental uncertainty range of measurements, whereas radiative powers highlight the dominating role of soot particles.     

Large Eddy Simulation of Premixed Turbulent Flames Using the Probability Density Function Approach

In the present study a Large Eddy Simulation and Filtered Density Function model is applied to three premixed piloted turbulent methane flames at different Reynolds Numbers using the Eulerian stochastic fields approach. The model is able to reproduce the flame structure and flow characteristics with a low number of fields (between 4 and 16 fields). The results show a good agreement with experimental data with the same closures employed in non-premixed combustion without any adjustment for combustion regime. The effect of heat release on the flow field is captured correctly. A wide range of sensitivity studies is carried out, including the number of fields, the chemical mechanism, differential diffusion effects and micro-mixing closures. The present work shows that premixed combustion (at least in the conditions under study) can be modelled using LES-PDF methods.. Finally, the ability of the model to predict flame quenching is studied. The model can accurate capture the conditions at which combustion is not sustainable and large pockets of extinction appear.     

Differential Diffusion Modelling in LES with RCCE-Reduced Chemistry

The present work shows results obtained from the incorporation of a soot model into a combined Large Eddy Simulation and Conditional Moment Closure approach to modelling turbulent non-premixed flames. Soot formation is determined via the solution of two transport equations for soot mass fraction and particle number density, where acetylene is employed as the incipient species responsible for soot nucleation. The concentrations of the gaseous species are calculated using a Rate-Controlled Constrain Equilibrium approach to reduce the number of species to solve from a detailed gas-phase kinetic scheme involving 63 species. The study focuses on the influence of differential diffusion of soot particles on soot volume fraction predictions. The results of calculations are compared with experimental data for atmospheric methane flames, Overall, the study demonstrates that the model, when used in conjunction with a representation of differential diffusion effects, is capable of predicting soot formation at a fundamental level in the turbulent non- premixed flames considered.     

A 5-D Implementation of FGM for the Large Eddy Simulation of a Stratified Swirled Flame with Heat Loss in a Gas Turbine Combustor

Numerical simulations are foreseen to provide a tremendous increase in gas-turbine burners efficiency in the near future. Modern developments in numerical schemes, turbulence models and the consistent increase of computing power allow Large Eddy Simulation (LES) to be applied to real cold flow industrial applications. However, the detailed simulation of the gas-turbine combustion process remains still prohibited because of its enormous computational cost. Several numerical models have been developed in order to reduce the costs of flame simulations for engineering applications. In this paper, the Flamelet-Generated Manifold (FGM) chemistry reduction technique is implemented and progressively extended for the inclusion of all the combustion features that are typically observed in stationary gas-turbine combustion. These consist of stratification effects, heat loss and turbulence. Three control variables are included for the chemistry representation: the reaction evolution is described by the reaction progress variable, the heat loss is described by the enthalpy and the stratification effect is expressed by the mixture fraction. The interaction between chemistry and turbulence is considered through a presumed beta-shaped probability density function (PDF) approach, which is considered for progress variable and mixture fraction, finally attaining a 5-D manifold. The application of FGM in combination with heat loss, fuel stratification and turbulence has never been studied in literature. To this aim, a highly turbulent and swirling flame in a gas turbine combustor is computed by means of the present 5-D FGM implementation coupled to an LES turbulence model, and the results are compared with experimental data. In general, the model gives a rather good agreement with experimental data. It is shown that the inclusion of heat loss strongly enhances the temperature predictions in the whole burner and leads to greatly improved NO predictions. The use of FGM as a combustion model shows that combustion features at gas turbine conditions can be satisfactorily reproduced with a reasonable computational effort. The implemented combustion model retains most of the physical accuracy of a detailed simulation while drastically reducing its computational time, paving the way for new developments of alternative fuel usage in a cleaner and more efficient combustion.     

A Thickened Stochastic Fields Approach for Turbulent Combustion Simulation

The Stochastic Fields approach is an effective way to implement transported Probability Density Function modelling into Large Eddy Simulation of turbulent combustion. In premixed turbulent combustion however, thin flame-like structures arise in the solution of the Stochastic Fields equations that require grid spacing much finer than the filter scale used for the Large Eddy Simulation. The conventional approach of using grid spacing equal to the filter scale yields substantial numerical error, whereas using grid spacing much finer than the filter length scale is computationally-unaffordable for most industrially-relevant combustion systems. A Thickened Stochastic Fields approach is developed in this study in order to provide physically-accurate and numerically-converged solutions of the Stochastic Fields equations with reduced compute time. The Thickened Stochastic Fields formulation bridges between the conventional Stochastic Fields and conventional Thickened-Flame approaches depending on the numerical grid spacing utilised. One-dimensional Stochastic Fields simulations of freely-propagating turbulent premixed flames are used in order to obtain criteria for the thickening factor required, as a function of relevant physical and numerical parameters, and to obtain a model for an efficiency function that accounts for the loss of resolved flame surface area caused by applying the thickening transformation to the Stochastic Fields equations. The Thickened Stochastic Fields formulation is tested by performing LES of a laboratory premixed Bunsen flame. The results demonstrate that the Thickened Stochastic Fields method produces accurate predictions even when using a grid spacing equal to the filter scale. The present development therefore facilitates the accurate application of the Stochastic Fields approach to industrially-relevant combustion systems.     

Large Eddy Simulation of a Polydisperse Ethanol Spray Flame

Ethanol is identified as an interesting alternative fuel. In this regards, the predictive capability of combustion Large Eddy Simulation approach coupled to Lagrangian droplet dynamic model to retrieve the turbulent droplet dispersion, droplet size distribution, spray evolution and combustion properties is investigated in this paper for an ethanol spray flame. Following the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach with a fully two way coupling, the Favre-filtered low Mach number Navier-Stokes equations are solved on structured grids with dynamic sub-grid scale models to describe the turbulent carrier gas phase. Droplets are injected in polydisperse manner and generated in time dependent boundary conditions. They evaporate to form an air-fuel mixture that yields spray flame. Part of the ethanol droplets evaporates within the prevaporization area before reaching the combustion zone, making the flame to burn in a partially premixed regime. The chemistry is described by a tabulated detailed chemistry based on the flamelet generated manifold approach. The fuel, ethanol, is modeled by a detailed reaction mechanism consisting of 56 species and 351 reversible reactions. The simulation results including excess gas temperature, droplet velocities and corresponding fluctuations, droplet mean diameters and spray volume flux at different distances from the exit plane show good agreement with experimental data. Analysis of combustion spray features allows gaining a deep insight into the two-phase flow process ongoing.     

Radiative heat transfer calculations in real gases

A general formulation for radiative heat transfer calculations is presented, based on integrated quantities such as total emissivities and absorptivities. The procedure is intended particularly for combustion chamber applications of varying degree of complexity, the radiative active medium consisting of gases such as H₂O and CO₂ and of soot. First, some preliminary calculations are given for the often treated radiative equilibrium cases of plane parallel plates and infinite concentric cylinders. Then an example of a combustion chamber calculation is studied where the radiative heat transfer calculation is included in a system of partial differential equations describing momentum, heat and mass transfer with combustion.     

A DES method applied to a Backward Facing Step reactive flow

Hybrid Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes–Large Eddy Simulation is a trend which is becoming of common use in aerodynamics but has seldom been employed to simulate reactive flows. Such methods, like the Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (DDES) presented in this article, have been created to treat near wall flows with a RANS approach while switching to LES in the separated flow region. It is indeed an affordable solution to simulate complex and unsteady compressible flows and to have access to accurate skin friction and wall thermal fluxes. In order to validate this technique in combustion, we chose a simple and well documented Backward Facing Step combustor. To account for turbulent combustion a Dynamic Thickened Flame was used. The results obtained on this case show a good agreement with the experimental database and are of the same quality as LES in the separated region for both inert and reactive flows. To cite this article: B. Sainte-Rose et al., C. R. Mecanique 337 (2009).     

Large Eddy Simulation of Reactive Two-Phase Flow in an Aeronautical Multipoint Burner

Because of compressibility criteria, fuel used in aeronautical combustors is liquid. Their numerical simulation therefore requires the modeling of two-phase flames, involving key phenomena such as injection, atomization, polydispersion, drag, evaporation and turbulent combustion. In the present work, particular modeling efforts have been made on spray injection and evaporation, and their coupling to turbulent combustion models in the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach. The model developed for fuel injection is validated against measurements in a non-evaporating spray in a quiescent atmosphere, while the evaporation model accuracy is discussed from results obtained in the case of evaporating isolated droplets. These models are finally used in reacting LES of a multipoint burner in take-off conditions, showing the complex two-phase flame structure.     

Large Eddy Simulation of a Novel Gas-Assisted Coal Combustion Chamber

In this work a recently presented combustion chamber that is specifically designed for the investigation of gas-assisted coal combustion and the validation of models is simulated under reactive conditions for the first time. In the configuration coal combustion is assisted and stabilized by a methane flame. In the course of the investigation, the configuration’s complexity is increased successively. Results of the isothermal single-phase flow are discussed first. Subsequently, reproducibility of the single-phase methane flame by means of the applied modeling approach is evaluated. In a further step, coal particles having the same thermal power as the methane flame are injected into the configuration. Particle histories, the conversion of the coal particles as well as its retroactive effect on the gas phase are investigated. Experimental results based on laser diagnostics are provided for all operating points and used for comparison with numerical results. Gas phase velocity fields for all operating points are available. In order to identify the reaction in the reactive single-phase case planar laser induced fluorescence of the OH-radical (OH-PLIF) was applied. Overall good agreement between numerical and experimental results could be obtained. In the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) a Flamelet Generated Manifold (FGM) based model is utilized. The four-dimensional manifold is spanned by two mixture fractions, a reaction progress variable and the enthalpy on which the gas phase chemistry gets mapped onto. Thereby, the model accounts for both, volatiles reaction and char conversion. Furthermore, finite rate chemistry effects as well as non-adiabatic physics are considered.     

Heat Transfer Modeling in the Context of Large Eddy Simulation of Premixed Combustion with Tabulated Chemistry

Tabulated chemistry models like the Flamelet Generated Manifolds method are a good approach to include detailed information on the reaction kinetics in a turbulent flame at reasonable computational costs. However, so far, not all information on e.g. heat losses are contained in these models. As those often appear in typical technical applications with enclosed flames in combustion chambers, extensions to the standard FGM approach will be presented in this paper, allowing for the representation of non-adiabatic boundaries. The enthalpy as additional control variable for the table access is introduced, such that the chemistry database becomes three-dimensional with mixture fraction, reaction progress variable and enthalpy describing the thermo-chemical state. The model presented here is first validated with a two-dimensional enclosed Bunsen flame and then applied within the Large Eddy Simulations of a turbulent premixed swirl flame with a water-cooled bluff body and a turbulent stratified flame, where additional modeling for the flame structure using artificially thickened flames was included. The results are encouraging, as the temperature decrease towards the bluff body in the swirl flame and the cooling of the pilot flame exhaust gases in the stratified configuration can be observed in both experiments and simulation.     

The Numerical Simulation of Diesel Spray Combustion with LES-CMC

A Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach together with the Conditional Moment Closure (CMC) method have been used for the simulation of spray combustion in engine-like conditions. The strategy consists of coupling an academic CMC code with the commercial CFD software Star-CD?(CD-adapco). Two issues have been investigated: firstly, the applicability of conventional spray models to LES and secondly, LES-CMC for spray combustion. Conventional spray models that were originally developed for use in Reynolds-averaged equations have been assessed for their applicability within the LES framework by conducting non-reacting spray computations. Liquid core penetration, spray spreading angle and vapour phase penetration have been compared to the available experimental data and the agreement between LES and experiments is satisfactory. Several reacting spray calculations have been performed with a range of initial mixture and temperature conditions, which mimic Diesel engine configurations. The computed auto-ignition time and flame lift-off length are in good agreement with the experimental data. Despite the uncertainties associated with the spray models and the chemistry, the results illustrate that the LES-CMC methodology can reproduce well the experimental results.     

Chemical kinetics modeling and LES combustion model effects on a perfectly premixed burner

Chemical kinetics modeling and coupling with turbulent combustion models for compressible Large Eddy Simulations (LES) is a critical issue. Accurate flow predictions can only be guaranteed if the coupling is well mastered. In a first attempt to qualify the effect of each model, the case of a lean premixed swirled combustor with comprehensive measures is targeted (species mass fractions and temperature fields). For the investigation, two turbulent combustion models are considered. The first model relies on a presumed PDF approach coupled to a look-up chemistry table obtained with a reduced chemical scheme. The second model makes use of the thickened flame approach using the same reduced chemical scheme but with reaction rates computed explicitly as the computation advances. Then, to estimate kinetic schemes reduction effects, the first model is compared to a third one, with the same PDF approach, but coupled to a look-up chemistry table obtained with a complete chemical scheme. All LES are very close to each other. The main difference between the different predictions relies on CO mass fractions. Although they are all able to return good outlet mass fractions, CO values inside the flame are different depending on the model used. To cite this article: G. Albouze et al., C. R. Mecanique 337 (2009).     

LES of a Multi-burner Annular Gas Turbine Combustor

In this study, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) has been used to predict the flow, mixing and combustion in both a single burner laboratory gas turbine combustor and in an 18 burner annular combustor, having identical cross sections. The LES results for the single burner laboratory combustor are compared with experimental data for a laboratory model of this combustor, and with other LES predictions, with good agreement. An explicit finite volume based LES model, using the mixed subgrid model together with a partially stirred reactor model for the turbulence chemistry interactions, is used. For the annular combustor, with the swirlers parameterized by jet inflow boundary conditions, we have investigated the influence of the a-priori unknown combustor exit impedance, the influence of the swirler characteristics and the fuel type. The combustion chemistry of methane–air and n-decane–air combustion is modeled by a two-step reaction mechanism, whereas NOx is separately modeled with a one-step mechanism. No experimental data exists for the annular combustor, but these results are compared with the single burner LES and experimental results available. The combustor exit impedance, the swirler- and fuel characteristics all seem to influence the combusting flow through the acoustics of the annular combustor. To examine this in greater detail time-series and eigenmodes of the combustor flow fields are analyzed and comparisons are made also with results from conventional thermoacoustic eigenmode analysis, with reasonable agreement. The flow and pressure distributions in the annular combustor are described in some detail and the mechanisms by which the burners interact are outlined.     

考虑颗粒间碰撞的气固两相流拉格朗日模拟

在均匀,稳定的各向同性气固两相紊流场颗粒弥散的拉格朗日模拟计算方法基础上,进一步考虑了流场中颗粒之间的碰撞对于模拟计算结果的影响。与Lavieville用大涡模拟所做的计算结果进行了对比,以对本方法进行验证,并考察了颗粒间的碰撞分别对流体相和颗粒相的影响。