Flame Structure and Propagation in Turbulent Flame-Droplet Interaction: A Direct Numerical Simulation Analysis

Three-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) in canonical configuration have been employed to study the combustion of mono-disperse droplet-mist under turbulent flow conditions. A parametric study has been performed for a range of values of droplet equivalence ratio ?_d, droplet diameter a_d and root-mean-square value of turbulent velocity u^′. The fuel is supplied entirely in liquid phase such that the evaporation of the droplets gives rise to gaseous fuel which then facilitates flame propagation into the droplet-mist. The combustion process in gaseous phase takes place predominantly in fuel-lean mode even for ?_d>1. The probability of finding fuel-lean mixture increases with increasing initial droplet diameter because of slower evaporation of larger droplets. The chemical reaction is found to take place under both premixed and non-premixed modes of combustion: the premixed mode ocurring mainly under fuel-lean conditions and the non-premixed mode under stoichiometric or fuel-rich conditions. The prevalence of premixed combustion was seen to decrease with increasing droplet size. Furthermore, droplet-fuelled turbulent flames have been found to be thicker than the corresponding turbulent stoichiometric premixed flames and this thickening increases with increasing droplet diameter. The flame thickening in droplet cases has been explained in terms of normal strain rate induced by fluid motion and due to flame normal propagation arising from different components of displacement speed. The statistical behaviours of the effective normal strain rate and flame stretching have been analysed in detail and detailed physical explanations have been provided for the observed behaviour. It has been found that the droplet cases show higher probability of finding positive effective normal strain rate (i.e. combined contribution of fluid motion and flame propagation), and negative values of stretch rate than in the stoichiometric premixed flame under similar flow conditions, which are responsible for higher flame thickness and smaller flame area generation in droplet cases.     

Statistical Analysis of Scalar Dissipation Rate Transport in Turbulent Partially Premixed Flames: A Direct Numerical Simulation Study

Statistically planar turbulent premixed and partially premixed flames for different initial turbulence intensities are simulated for global equivalence ratios ??>?=?0.7 and ??>?=?1.0 using three-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) with simplified chemistry. For the simulations of partially premixed flames, a random distribution of equivalence ratio following a bimodal distribution of equivalence ratio is introduced in the unburned reactants ahead of the flame. The simulation parameters in all of the cases were chosen such that the combustion situation belongs to the thin reaction zones regime. The DNS data has been used to analyse the behaviour of the dissipation rate transports of both active and passive scalars (i.e. the fuel mass fraction Y _F and the mixture fraction ξ) in the context of Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations. The behaviours of the unclosed terms of the Favre averaged scalar dissipation rates of fuel mass fraction and mixture fraction (i.e. \(\widetilde {\varepsilon }_Y =\overline {\rho D\nabla Y_F^{\prime \prime } \cdot \nabla Y_F^{\prime \prime } } /\overline{\rho }\) and \(\widetilde {\varepsilon }_\xi =\overline {\rho D\nabla \xi ^{\prime \prime }\cdot \nabla \xi ^{\prime \prime }} /\overline {\rho })\) transport equations have been analysed in detail. In the case of the \(\widetilde {\varepsilon }_Y \) transport, it has been observed that the turbulent transport term of scalar dissipation rate remains small throughout the flame brush whereas the terms due to density variation, scalar–turbulence interaction, reaction rate and molecular dissipation remain the leading order contributors. The term arising due to density variation remains positive throughout the flame brush and the combined contribution of the reaction and molecular dissipation to the \(\widetilde {\varepsilon }_Y \) transport remains negative throughout the flame brush in all cases. However, the behaviour of scalar–turbulence interaction term of the \(\widetilde {\varepsilon }_Y \) transport equation is significantly affected by the relative strengths of turbulent straining and the straining due to chemical heat release. In the case of the \(\widetilde {\varepsilon }_\xi \) transport, the turbulent transport term remains small throughout the flame brush and the density variation term is found to be negligible in all cases, whilst the reaction rate term is exactly zero. The scalar–turbulence interaction term and molecular dissipation term remain the leading order contributors to the \(\widetilde {\varepsilon }_\xi \) transport throughout the flame brush in all cases that have been analysed in the present study. Performances of existing models for the unclosed terms of the transport equations of \(\widetilde {\varepsilon }_Y \) and \(\widetilde {\varepsilon }_\xi \) are assessed with respect to the corresponding quantities obtained from DNS data. Based on this exercise either suitable models have been identified or new models have been proposed for the accurate closure of the unclosed terms of both \(\widetilde {\varepsilon }_Y \) and \(\widetilde {\varepsilon }_\xi \) transport equations in the context of Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations.     

Statistical Analysis of Cross Scalar Dissipation Rate Transport in Turbulent Partially Premixed Flames: A Direct Numerical Simulation Study

Statistically planar turbulent partially premixed flames for different initial intensities of decaying turbulence have been simulated for global equivalence ratios <????> = 0.7 and <????> = 1.0 using three-dimensional simplified chemistry based Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS). The simulation parameters are chosen such that the combustion situation belongs to the thin reaction zones regime and a random bi-modal distribution of equivalence ratio ?? is introduced in the unburned gas ahead of the flame to account for mixture inhomogeneity. The DNS data has been used to analyse the statistical behaviour of the transport of the cross-scalar dissipation rate based on the fuel mass fraction Y _F and the mixture fraction ?? fluctuations $\,\tilde{\varepsilon}_{Y\xi}={\overline{\rho D\nabla Y_{F}^{\prime\prime}.\nabla \xi^{\prime\prime}} } \big/ {\bar {\rho }}$ (where $\bar{q}$ , $\tilde{q}={\overline{\rho q} } \big/ {\bar {\rho }}$ and $q^{\prime\prime} =q-\tilde {q}$ are Reynolds average, Favre mean and Favre fluctuation of a general quantity q) in the context of Reynolds Averaged Navier?CStokes simulations where ?? is the gas density and D is the gas diffusivity. The statistical behaviours of the unclosed terms in the $\tilde{\varepsilon }_{Y\xi } $ transport equation originating from turbulent transport T ₁, density variation T ₂, scalar?Cturbulence interaction T ₃, chemical reaction rate T ₄ and the molecular dissipation rate D ₂ have been analysed in detail. It has been observed that the contributions of T ₂, T ₃, T ₄ and D ₂ play important roles in the $\tilde{\varepsilon }_{Y\xi } $ transport for the globally stoichiometric cases, but in the globally fuel-lean cases the contributions of T ₂ and T ₄ become relatively weaker in comparison to the contributions of T ₃ and D ₂. The term T ₁ remains small in comparison to the leading order contributions of T ₃ and D ₂ for all cases, but the contribution of T ₁ plays a more important role in the low Damköhler combustion cases. The term T ₂ behaves as a sink term towards the unburned gas side but becomes a source term towards the burned gas side. The scalar?Cturbulence interaction term T ₃ has been found to be generally positive throughout the flame brush, but in globally stoichiometric cases the contribution of T ₃ becomes negative in regions of intense heat release. The combined contribution of (T ₄ ?C D ₂) remains mostly as a sink in all cases studied here. Models are proposed for the unclosed terms of the $\tilde{\varepsilon }_{Y\xi } $ transport equation in the context of Reynolds Averaged Navier?CStokes simulations, which are shown to satisfactorily predict the corresponding quantities extracted from the DNS data for all cases.     

Statistical Analysis and a-priori Modelling of Flame Surface Density Transport in Turbulent Stratified Flames: A Direct Numerical Simulation Study

Statistically planar turbulent premixed and stratified flames for different initial intensities of decaying turbulence have been simulated for global equivalence ratios <???> = 0.7 and <???> = 1.0 using three-dimensional simplified chemistry based Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS). The simulation parameters are chosen such that the thin reaction zones regime combustion is realised in all cases and a random bi-modal distribution of equivalence ratio ? is introduced in the unburned gas ahead of the flame to account for the mixture inhomogeneity for stratified flames. The modelling of the unclosed terms (i.e. the turbulent transport term T ₁, the tangential strain rate term T ₂, the propagation term T ₃, and the curvature term T ₄) of the generalised FSD transport equation has been addressed in the context of RANS simulations. It has been found that the turbulent transport term T ₁ remains small in comparison to the leading order contributions of the tangential strain rate and curvature terms (i.e. T ₂ and T ₄, respectively) in the globally stoichiometric cases, but T ₁ begins to play a more important role in the globally fuel-lean cases. The strain rate term T ₂ remains positive throughout the flame brush and acts as a leading order source term for all the flames considered in this analysis. It is has been found that the magnitude of T ₂ decreases with decreasing root-mean-square velocity fluctuations u ^′ (<???>) for a given value of <???> (u ^′). The contribution of the propagation term T ₃ remains generally positive towards the unburned gas side of the flame brush but assumes generally negative values towards the burned gas side of the flame brush. Moreover, whilst the order of magnitude of the propagation term T ₃ is comparable in all cases, T ₃ remains small in comparison to the leading order contributors (i.e. T ₂ and T ₄) in the globally stoichiometric cases however it plays a more important role in the globally fuel-lean cases. The curvature term T ₄ acts as a leading order sink term in all cases except towards the unburned gas side of the flame brush in low u ^′ globally stoichiometric (i.e. <???> = 1.0) flames. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the magnitude of T ₄ decreases with decreasing u ^′ (<???>) for a given value of <???> (u ^′). Appropriate model expressions have been identified for T ₁, T ₂, T ₃ and T ₄ based on an a-priori analysis of the DNS data.     

Direct Numerical Simulation of Statistically Stationary One- and Two-Phase Turbulent Combustion: A Turbulent Injection Procedure

A new turbulent injection procedure dedicated to fully compressible direct numerical simulation (DNS) or large eddy simulation (LES) solvers is proposed. To avoid the appearance of spurious acoustic waves, this method is based on an accurate tracking of the turbulent structures crossing the boundary at the inlet of the domain. A finite difference DNS solver has been coupled with a spectral simulation in which a statistically stationary homogeneous turbulence evolves to provide fluctuating boundary conditions.A new turbulence forcing method, dedicated to spectral solvers, has been developed as well to control the major properties of the injected flow (turbulent kinetic energy, dissipation rate and integral length scale). One-dimensional Navier–Stokes characteristic boundary conditions extended to non-stationary flows are coupled with the injection procedure to evaluate is potential in four various configurations: spatially decaying turbulence, dispersion of vaporizing sprays, propagation of one- and two-phase V-shape turbulent flames.     

Direct Numerical Simulation of Subsonic Round Turbulent Jet

Direct numerical simulation(DNS) of spatially developing round turbulent jet flow with Reynolds number 4,700 was carried out. Over 20 million grid points were used in this simulation. Fully compressible three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations were solved. High order explicit spatial difference schemes and Runge–Kutta time integration scheme were used to calculate derivatives and time marching, respectively. Non-reflecting boundary conditions and exit zone techniques were adopted. Some refined computational grids were used in order to capture the smallest turbulent structures near the centerline of the jet. Low level disturbance were imposed on the jet inflow velocity to trigger the developing of turbulence. Turbulent statistics such as mean velocity, Reynolds stresses, third order velocity moments were obtained and compared with experimental data. One-dimensional velocity autospectra was also calculated. The inertial region where the spectra decays according to the k^− 5/3 was observed. The quantitative profiles of mean velocity and all of the third order velocity moments which were difficult to measure via experimental techniques were presented here in detail. The jet flow was proven to be close to fully self-similar around 19 jet diameters downstream of jet exit. The statistic data and revealed flow feature obtained in this paper can provide valuable reference for round turbulent jet research.     

Direct Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Compression Ramp Flow

A numerical procedure for the direct numerical simulation of compressible turbulent flow and shock–turbulence interaction is detailed and analyzed. An upwind-biased finite-difference scheme with a compact centered stencil is used to discretize the convective part of the Navier–Stokes equations. The scheme has a uniformly high approximation order and allows for a spectral-like wave resolution while dissipating nonresolved wave numbers. When hybridized with an essentially nonoscillatory scheme near discontinuities, the scheme becomes shock–capturing and its resolution properties are preserved. Diffusive parts are discretized with symmetric compact finite differences and an explicit Runge–Kutta scheme is used for time-advancement. The peculiarities of efficient upwinding and coupling procedures are described and validation results are given. Using direct numerical simulation data, some aspects of turbulent supersonic compression ramp flow are studied to demonstrate the effectiveness of the simulation procedure. Received 13 November 1997 and accepted 14 May 1998     

A Comparison of Strategies for Direct Numerical Simulation of Turbulence Chemistry Interaction in Generic Planar Turbulent Premixed Flames

Three different methods to introduce turbulence in the computational domain of Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of statistically planar turbulent premixed flame configurations have been reviewed and their advantages and disadvantages in terms of run time, natural flame development, control of turbulence parameters and convergence of statistics extracted from the simulations have been discussed in detail. It has been found that there is no method, which is clearly superior to the other two alternative methods. An analysis has been performed to explain why Lundgren’s physical space linear forcing results in an integral length scale which is, independent of the Reynolds number, a constant fraction of the domain size. Furthermore, an evolution equation for the integral length scale has been derived, and a scaling analysis of its terms has been performed to explain the evolution of the integral length scale in the context of Lundgren’s physical space linear forcing. Finally, a modification to Lundgren’s forcing approach has been suggested which ensures that the integral length scale settles to a predetermined value so that DNS of statistically planar turbulent premixed flames with physical space forcing can be conducted for prescribed values of Damköhler and Karlovitz numbers.     

Effects of Lewis Number on Head on Quenching of Turbulent Premixed Flames: A Direct Numerical Simulation Analysis

The head on quenching of statistically planar turbulent premixed flames by an isothermal inert wall has been analysed using three-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) data for different values of global Lewis number Le(0.8, 1.0 and 1.2) and turbulent Reynolds number Re_t. The statistics of head on quenching have been analysed in terms of the wall Peclet number Pe (i.e. distance of the flame from the wall normalised by the Zel’dovich flame thickness) and the normalised wall heat flux Φ. It has been found that the maximum (minimum) value of Φ(Pe) for the turbulent Le=0.8 cases are greater (smaller) than the corresponding laminar value, whereas both Pe and Φ in turbulent cases remain comparable to the corresponding laminar values for Le=1.0 and 1.2. Detailed physical explanations are provided for the observed Le dependences of Pe and Φ. The existing closure of mean reaction rate \(\overline {\dot {\omega }}\) using the scalar dissipation rate (SDR) in the near wall region has been assessed based on a-priori analysis of DNS data and modifications to the existing closures of mean reaction rate and SDR have been suggested to account for the wall effects in such a manner that the modified closures perform well both near to and away from the wall.     

各向同性湍流内颗粒碰撞率的直接模拟研究

对 Re_{\lambda } 约为51均匀各向同性湍流内 St_{k}(=\tau_{p}/\tau_{k}) 为 0 ~10.0 的 有限惯性颗粒的碰撞行为进行了直接数值模拟，以研究湍流对有限惯性 颗粒碰撞的影响. 结果表明，具有一定惯性颗粒的湍流碰撞率完全不同于零惯性的轻颗粒 (St_{k}=0) 和可忽略湍流作用的重颗粒 (St{k} \to \infty) , 其变化趋势极其复杂： 在Stk为 0~1.0 之间，颗粒的碰撞率随 St 的增加而近乎线性地剧烈增长，在 Stk≈1.0 3.0(对应的StE=τp/Te≈0.5)附近，颗粒碰撞率出现两个峰值，在Stk>3.0以后，颗粒的碰撞率随惯性增 大而逐渐趋向于重颗粒极限；在峰值处，有限惯性颗粒的平均碰撞率的峰值较轻颗粒增强了 30倍左右. 为进一步分析湍流作用下颗粒碰撞率的影响因素，分别使用可能发生碰撞 的颗粒对的径向分布函数和径向相对速度来量化颗粒的局部富集效应和湍流掺混效应，表明 St_{k} \approx 1.0 时局部富集效应最为强烈，使得颗粒的碰撞率出现第1个峰值； 湍流掺混效应则随着颗粒Stk的增大而渐近增大；局部富集和湍流掺混联合作用的结果， 使得颗粒碰撞率在 St_{k} \approx 3.0 附近出现另一个峰值.     

Direct Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Flow over a Rectangular Trailing Edge

This paper describes a direct numerical simulation (DNS) study of turbulent flow over a rectangular trailing edge at a Reynolds number of 1000, based on the freestream quantities and the trailing edge thickness h; the incoming boundary layer displacement thickness δ^* is approximately equal to h. The time-dependent inflow boundary condition is provided by a separate turbulent boundary layer simulation which is in good agreement with existing computational and experimental data. The turbulent trailing edge flow simulation is carried out using a parallel multi-block code based on finite difference methods and using a multi-grid Poisson solver. The turbulent flow in the near-wake region of the trailing edge has been studied first for the effects of domain size and grid resolution. Then two simulations with a total of 256 × 512 × 64 (∼ 8.4×10⁶) and 512 × 1024 × 128 (∼ 6.7×10⁷) grid points in the computational domain are carried out to investigate the key flow features. Visualization of the instantaneous flow field is used to investigate the complex fluid dynamics taking place in the near-wake region; of particular importance is the interaction between the large-scale spanwise, or Kármán, vortices and the small-scale quasi-streamwise vortices contained within the inflow boundary layer. Comparisons of turbulence statistics including the mean flow quantities are presented, as well as the pressure distributions over the trailing edge. A spectral analysis applied to the force coefficient in the wall normal direction shows that the main shedding frequency is characterized by a Strouhal number based on h of approximately 0.118. Finally, the turbulence kinetic energy budget is analysed. Received 4 March 1999 and accepted 27 October 2000     

Direct Numerical Simulation of Self-Similar Turbulent Boundary Layers in Adverse Pressure Gradients

Direct numerical simulations of the Navier–Stokes equations have been carried out with the objective of studying turbulent boundary layers in adverse pressure gradients. The boundary layer flows concerned are of the equilibrium type which makes the analysis simpler and the results can be compared with earlier experiments and simulations. This type of turbulent boundary layers also permits an analysis of the equation of motion to predict separation. The linear analysis based on the assumption of asymptotically high Reynolds number gives results that are not applicable to finite Reynolds number flows. A different non-linear approach is presented to obtain a useful relation between the freestream variation and other mean flow parameters. Comparison of turbulent statistics from the zero pressure gradient case and two adverse pressure gradient cases shows the development of an outer peak in the turbulent energy in agreement with experiment. The turbulent flows have also been investigated using a differential Reynolds stress model. Profiles for velocity and turbulence quantities obtained from the direct numerical simulations were used as initial data. The initial transients in the model predictions vanished rapidly. The model predictions are compared with the direct simulations and low Reynolds number effects are investigated.     

A-Priori Direct Numerical Simulation Modelling of Co-variance Transport in Turbulent Stratified Flames

Three-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulations of statistically planar turbulent stratified flames at global equivalence ratios <???>?=?0.7 and <???>?=?1.0 have been carried out to analyse the statistical behaviour of the transport of co-variance of the fuel mass fraction Y _F and mixture fraction ξ (i.e. $\widetilde{Y_F^{\prime\prime} \xi ^{\prime\prime}}={\overline {\rho Y_F^{\prime\prime} \xi^{\prime\prime}} } \Big/ {\overline \rho })$ for Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes simulations where $\overline q $ , $\tilde{q} ={\overline {\rho q} } \big/ {\overline \rho }$ and $q^{\prime\prime}= q-\tilde{q}$ are Reynolds averaged, Favre mean and Favre fluctuation of a general quantity q with ρ being the gas density and the overbar suggesting a Reynolds averaging operation. It has been found that existing algebraic expressions may not capture the statistical behaviour of $\widetilde{Y_F^{\prime\prime} \xi^{\prime\prime}}$ with sufficient accuracy in low Damköhler number combustion and therefore, a transport equation for $\widetilde{Y_F^{\prime\prime} \xi^{\prime\prime}}$ may need to be solved. The statistical behaviours of $\widetilde{Y_F^{\prime\prime} \xi^{\prime\prime}}$ and the unclosed terms of its transport equation (i.e. the terms originating from turbulent transport T ₁ , reaction rate T ₄ and molecular dissipation $\left( {-D_2 } \right))$ have been analysed in detail. The contribution of T ₁ remains important for all cases considered here. The term T ₄ acts as a major contributor in <???>?=?1.0 cases, but plays a relatively less important role in <???>?=?0.7 cases, whereas the term $\left( {-D_2 } \right)$ acts mostly as a leading order sink. Through an a-priori DNS analysis, the performances of the models for T ₁ , T ₄ and $\left( {-D_2 } \right)$ have been addressed in detail. A model has been identified for the turbulent transport term T ₁ which satisfactorily predicts the corresponding term obtained from DNS data. The models for T ₄ , which were originally proposed for high Damköhler number flames, have been modified for low Damköhler combustion. Predictions of the modified models are found to be in good agreement with T ₄ obtained from DNS data. It has been found that existing algebraic models for $D_2 =2\overline {\rho D\nabla Y_F^{\prime\prime} \nabla \xi^{\prime\prime}} $ (where D is the mass diffusivity) are not sufficient for low Damköhler number combustion and therefore, a transport equation may need to be solved for the cross-scalar dissipation rate $\widetilde{\varepsilon }_{Y\xi } ={\overline {\rho D\nabla Y_F^{\prime\prime} \nabla \xi^{\prime\prime}} } \big/ {\overline \rho }$ for the closure of the $\widetilde{Y_F^{\prime\prime} \xi^{\prime\prime}}$ transport equation.     

Direct Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Pipe Flow at Moderately High Reynolds Numbers

Fully resolved direct numerical simulations (DNSs) have been performed with a high-order spectral element method to study the flow of an incompressible viscous fluid in a smooth circular pipe of radius R and axial length 25R in the turbulent flow regime at four different friction Reynolds numbers Re _τ ?=?180, 360, 550 and $1\text{,}000$ . The new set of data is put into perspective with other simulation data sets, obtained in pipe, channel and boundary layer geometry. In particular, differences between different pipe DNS are highlighted. It turns out that the pressure is the variable which differs the most between pipes, channels and boundary layers, leading to significantly different mean and pressure fluctuations, potentially linked to a stronger wake region. In the buffer layer, the variation with Reynolds number of the inner peak of axial velocity fluctuation intensity is similar between channel and boundary layer flows, but lower for the pipe, while the inner peak of the pressure fluctuations show negligible differences between pipe and channel flows but is clearly lower than that for the boundary layer, which is the same behaviour as for the fluctuating wall shear stress. Finally, turbulent kinetic energy budgets are almost indistinguishable between the canonical flows close to the wall (up to y ^?+??≈?100), while substantial differences are observed in production and dissipation in the outer layer. A clear Reynolds number dependency is documented for the three flow configurations.     

Direct Numerical Simulation of Transitional Turbulent Flow in a Closed Rotor-Stator Cavity

The transitional turbulent regime in confined flow between a rotating and a stationary disc is studied using direct numerical simulation. Besides its fundamental importance as a three-dimensional prototype flow, such flows frequently arise in many industrial devices, especially in turbomachinary applications. The present contribution extends the DNS simulation into the turbulent flow regime, to a rotational Reynolds number Re =3 × 10⁵. An annular rotor-stator cavity of radial extension ΔR and height H, is considered with L = 4.72(L = ΔR/H) and Rm = 2.33 (Rm = (R ₁+ R ₀)/ΔR). The direct numerical simulation is performed by integrating the time-dependent Navier–Stokes equations until a statistically steady state is reached. A three-dimensional spectral method is used with the aim of providing both very accurate instantaneous fields and reliable statistical data. The instantaneous quantities are analysed in order to enhance our knowledge of the physics of turbulent rotating flows. Also, the results have been averaged so as to provide target turbulence data for any subsequent modelling attempts at reproducing the flow. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Direct Numerical Simulation of a Fully Developed Turbulent Flow over a Wavy Wall

Turbulent flow over a sinusoidal solid wavy surface was investigated by a direct numerical simulation using a spectral element technique. The train of waves has an amplitude to wavelength ratio of 0.05. For the flow conditions (Re=hU _b/2ν= 3460) considered, adverse pressure gradients were large enough to cause flow separation. Numerical results compare favorably with those of Hudson's (1993) measurements. Instantaneous flow fields show a large variation of the flow pattern in the spanwise direction in the separated bubble at a given time. A surprising result is the discovery of occasional velocity bursts which originate in the separated region and extend over large distances away from the wavy wall. Turbulence in this region is very different from that near a flat wall in that it is associated with a shear layer which is formed by flow separation. Received 17 April 1996 and accepted 19 November 1997     

Numerical Simulation of a Turbulent Thermal

Ascent of a large-scale thermal in a standard atmosphere is calculated with the use of the Reynolds equations and the k model of turbulence, which takes into account temperature inhomogeneity and vorticity of the flow, and the Euler equations. Results of numerical calculations of a flow examined experimentally are presented. Gas-dynamic and turbulent flow parameters obtained in calculations and experiments are compared.     

Direct Numerical Simulations of Premixed Turbulent Flames with Reduced Chemistry: Validation and Flamelet Analysis

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 performed. The flamelet-generated manifold method is used in order to deal with detailed reaction kinetics. The computational results are analyzed by using an extended flame stretch theory. It is investigated whether this theory is able to describe the influence of flame stretch and curvature on the local burning velocity of the flame. It is found that if the full profiles of flame stretch and curvature through the flame front are included in the theory, the local mass burning rate is well predicted. The influence of several approximations, which are used in other existing theories, is studied. When flame stretch is assumed constant through the flame front or when curvature of the flame front is neglected, the theory fails to predict the local mass burning rate. The influence of using a reduced chemistry model is investigated by comparing flamelet simulations with reduced and detailed chemistry.     

Statistically Significant Results for the Propagation of a Turbulent Flame Kernel Using Direct Numerical Simulation

Two major issues are always associated with DNS of turbulent combustion. First, the Reynolds number is limited to small values, considerably below those of practical applications. Second, it is difficult to obtain statistically significant results, since this condition would lead to even higher requirements in computing time. Both issues are considered in the present work for the propagation of an initially spherical, premixed methane flame kernel in a turbulent environment, using three-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulations. Chemical processes are described in a realistic manner using tabulation (FPI method), relying on two coordinates to enter a look-up table constructed with 29 species and 141 reactions. Compared to previous results, a considerably higher Reynolds number has been considered by accessing parallel supercomputers. Furthermore, statistically significant results are obtained by repeating several times the DNS simulations, allowing for ensemble averaging. More particularly, the evolution of flame surface area, flame thickness, flame front curvature and flame shape factor are considered in a quantitative manner.     

Effect of Particle Clusters on Carrier Flow Turbulence: A Direct Numerical Simulation Study

Experiments indicate that particle clusters that form in fluidized–bed risers can enhance gas-phase velocity fluctuations. Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulent flow past uniform and clustered configurations of fixed particle assemblies at the same solid volume fraction are performed to gain insight into particle clustering effects on gas-phase turbulence, and to guide model development. The DNS approach is based on a discrete-time, direct-forcing immersed boundary method (IBM) that imposes no-slip and no-penetration boundary conditions on each particle’s surface. Results are reported for mean flow Reynolds number Re _p ?=?50 and the ratio of the particle diameter d _p to Kolmogorov scale is 5.5. The DNS confirm experimental observations that the clustered configurations enhance the level of fluid-phase turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) more than the uniform configurations, and this increase is found to arise from a lower dissipation rate in the clustered particle configuration. The simulations also reveal that the particle-fluid interaction results in significantly anisotropic fluid-phase turbulence, the source of which is traced to the anisotropic nature of the interphase TKE transfer and dissipation tensors. This study indicates that when particles are larger than the Kolmogorov scale (d _p ?>?η), modeling the fluid-phase TKE alone may not be adequate to capture the underlying physics in multiphase turbulence because the Reynolds stress is anisotropic. It also shows that multiphase turbulence models should consider the effect of particle clustering in the dissipation model.