Numerical study of buoyancy effects on the structure and propagation of triple flames

The structure and propagation properties of diffusion neutral triple flames subject to buoyancy effects are studied numerically using a high-accuracy scheme. A wide range of gravity conditions, heat release, and mixing widths for a scalar mixing layer are computed for downward-propagating (in the same direction as the gravity vector) and upward-propagating (in the opposite direction to the gravity vector) triple flames. These results are used to identify non-dimensional quantities, which parametrize the triple flame responses. Results show that buoyancy acts primarily to modify the overall span of the premixed branches in response to gas acceleration across the triple flame. The impact of buoyancy on the structure of triple flame is less pronounced than its impact on the topology of the branches. The trailing diffusion branch is affected by buoyancy primarily as a result of the changes in the overall flame size, which consequently modifies the rates of diffusion of excess fuel and oxidizer from the premixed branches to the diffusion branch. A simple analytical model for the triple flame speed, which accounts for both buoyancy and heat release is developed. Comparisons of the proposed model with the numerical results for a wide range of gravity, heat release and mixing width conditions, yield very good agreement. The analysis shows that under neutral diffusion, downward propagation reduces the triple flame speed, while upward propagation enhances it. For the former condition, a critical Froude number may be evaluated, which corresponds to a vanishing triple flame speed.     

Effects of subgrid scale and combustion modelling on flame structure of a turbulent premixed flame within LES and tabulated chemistry framework

The effects of combustion and SubGrid Scale (SGS) modelling on the overall flame characteristics of a turbulent premixed flame are investigated. This is achieved in terms of mean flow statistics, variances and flame surfaces. In particular, the chemical flame structure is analysed and compared. The Artificially Thickened Flame (ATF) approach coupled with the Flamelet Generated Manifolds (FGMs) and Filtered TAbulated Chemistry for LES (F-TACLES) approaches are used for this investigation. A Germano like procedure for dynamical calculation of SGS wrinkling is used which ensures the conservation of the total flame surface for both models. It turns out that using the dynamic SGS wrinkling model improves the results. Although the results of both combustion models in terms of statistics, mean and variances show very good agreement, the resolved flame surfaces hide different dynamic behaviour.     

Flame growth and wrinkling in a turbulent flow

High-speed planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) and 3-D large eddy simulations (LES) are used to study turbulent flame kernel growth, wrinkling and the formation of separated flame pockets in methane/air mixtures. Turbulence was effected by a set of rotary fans situated in a cylindrical enclosure. Flame wrinkling was followed on sequential 2-D OH images captured at kHz repetition rates. Under stoichiometric conditions and low turbulence levels the flame kernel remains singly connected and close to spherical in shape. By increasing turbulence or reducing the stoichiometry of the mixture the formation of separated pockets could be observed and studied. The mechanisms behind these phenomena are investigated qualitatively by LES of a level-set G-equation describing the flame surface propagation in turbulent flows. Received: 12 April 2000 / Revised version: 26 June 2000 / Published online: 5 October 2000     

Model flames in the Boussinesq limit: Rising bubbles

Using the Boussinesq buoyancy approximation, we study a bubble of reaction products rising in the reactant fluid under the influence of gravity. Reaction on the surface of the bubble (the flame) results in an increase of the volume of the bubble. We consider fluids with low Prandtl and high Froude numbers (heat diffusion dominates over viscous dissipation, and burning dominates over gravitational effects). We show that, under these conditions, all initially small bubbles follow the same growth pattern, regardless of the flame speed, the reaction type, the gravity, the viscosity, the initial size, and, to some extent, the initial shape of the bubble. In the initial stage of this similarity solution a bubble grows radially in an essentially motionless fluid until it reaches some critical size, which is determined by the laminar flame speed, the gravitational acceleration, and the Atwood number. Once the bubble reaches the critical size, convection becomes significant and the bubble evolves into a more complicated, mushroom-like shape. The similarity solution is expressed using the critical bubble size for the unit length and the critical size divided by the laminar flame speed as the unit time.     

湍流预混火焰中的浮力效应

本文利用数值模拟研究了浮力对湍流预混V形火焰平均速度场的影响,发现浮力效应主要体现在远场区域,而在火焰刷附近非常有限;利用落塔和 OH-PLIF 方法在正常重力和微重力下观测了火焰皱褶,发现浮力压制火焰皱褶的程度与湍流强度密切相关。分析表明斜压机理是浮力影响火焰皱褶的重要原因。     

A study on single fuel droplets combustion in vertical direct current electric fields

Both the electric force working on flames and the natural buoyancy are body forces, so there is a possibility to control the natural buoyancy by applying than electric field. It is important to discuss the body force in the flame because it induces the convective flow around flames. In this circumstance, combustion behavior of single droplets in vertical direct current electric fields was investigated. Ethanol, n-octane, and toluene were used as fuels, and the flame shape and the burning rate constants were measured. The distance between electrodes is 50 mm, and the applied voltage ranged between −4 and 6 kV as the bottom electrode is ground. When the direction of the electric field is opposite to the natural buoyancy direction, the applied voltage exists that make the flame symmetrical in the vertical direction, and the burning rate constants have local minima for ethanol and n-octane at the voltage. However, the minimum burning rate constants are larger than those under microgravity. This means that the electric force roughly balances with natural buoyancy, but it does not completely balance with the same. When the direction of the electric field is in the same direction as the natural buoyancy, there exist some experimental results, which cannot be explained by the assumption that electric field induces the body force only through the positive ions. This suggests that the additional body force is induced by the negative ions. The effects of negative charged soot particles on the combustion behavior are also discussed for the sooty flame of toluene.     

Visualisation of results from LES of combustion

We examine the role of visualisation in the context of LES simulations of premixed turbulent combustion. The physical processes involved in premixed turbulent combustion are extremely complex, and the modelling of both the turbulence (via LES) and the combustion (via flame-wrinkling models) is difficult. Appropriate visualisation is required to understand the behaviour of the models, and ultimately to understand better the flow processes which are important in many industrial applications. We examine visualisations of two specific cases; simple flame kernel growth in a box of turbulence, and combustion behind a backward-facing step. A number of visualisation techniques are used to produce results that are similar to experimentally determined Schlieren and Mie photography for the flame kernel. In addition, isosurfaces of the reaction regress variable coloured by the laminar flame speed and sub-grid wrinkling are also plotted in an attempt to gain deeper insight into the physics of turbulent combustion in the context of these particular cases. Finally we discuss the role of the WWW in the continuing development of scientific visualisation techniques.     

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

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 destruction in the model afterburner.     

重力对扩散射流火焰动态特性的影响

本文探讨重力对扩散射流火焰动态特性的影响规律。结果表明,火焰闪烁现象是一种浮力诱导不稳定性,在浮力消失或反向重力场中,不存在这种不稳定性现象,闪烁频率与燃料射流速度无直接关系,但涡的大小随燃料射流速度的增大而增大。存在触发火焰闪烁的临界高度,闪烁频率与重力成平方根关系式。反向重力情况下,也存在浮力稳定型平面火焰,它反映了浮力与火焰的耦合作用。     

A posteriori testing of the flame surface density transport equation for LES

Flame Surface Density (FSD) models for Large Eddy Simulation (LES) are implemented and tested for a canonical configuration and a practical bluff body stabilised burner, comparing common algebraic closures with a transport equation closure in the context of turbulent premixed combustion. The transported method is expected to yield advantages over algebraic closures, as the equilibrium of subgrid production and destruction of FSD is no longer enforced and resolved processes of strain, propagation and curvature are explicitly accounted for. These advantages might have the potential to improve the ability to capture large-scale unsteady flame propagation in situations with combustion instabilities or situations where the flame encounters progressive wrinkling with time. The initial study of a propagating turbulent flame in wind-tunnel turbulence shows that the Algebraic Flame Surface Density (FSDA) method can predict an excessively wrinkled flame under fine grid conditions, potentially increasing the consumption rate of reactants to artificially higher levels. In contrast, the Flame Surface Density Transport (FSDT) closure predicts a smooth flame front and avoids the formation of artificial flame cusps when the grid is refined. Five FSDA models and the FSDT approach are then applied to the LES of the Volvo Rig. The predicted mean velocities are found to be relatively insensitive to the use of the FSDT and FSDA approaches, whereas temperature predictions exhibit appreciable differences for different formulations. The FSDT approach yields very similar temperature predictions to two of the tested FSDA models, quantitatively capturing the mean temperature. Grid refinement is found to improve the FSDT predictions of the mean flame spread. Overall, the paper demonstrates that the apparently complicated FSD transport equation approach can be implemented and applied to realistic, strongly wrinkled flames with good success, and opens up the field for further work to improve the models and the overall FSDT approach.     

Stabilization mechanism of lifted flame edge in the near field of coflow jets for diluted methane

The stabilization mechanism of lifted flames in the near field of coflow jets has been investigated experimentally and numerically for methane fuel diluted with nitrogen. The lifted flames were observed only in the near field of coflow jets until blowout occurred in the normal gravity condition. To elucidate the stabilization mechanism for the stationary lifted flames of methane having the Schmidt number smaller than unity, the behavior of the flame in the buoyancy-free condition, and unsteady propagation characteristics after ignition were investigated numerically at various conditions of jet velocity. It has been found that buoyancy plays an important role for flame stabilization of lifted flames under normal gravity, such that the flame becomes attached to the nozzle in microgravity. The stabilization mechanism is found to be due to the variation of the propagation speed of the lifted flame edge with axial distance from the nozzle in the near field of the coflow as compared to the local flow velocity variation at the edge.     

Stability of flow between rotating cylinders with axial buoyancy effect

The linear stability of a fluid confined between two coaxial cylinders rotating independently with axial buoyancy induced flow is examined. Buoyancy is included through the Boussinesq approximation. The numerical investigation is restricted to radius ratio 0.5 at Prandtl number 0.709 with co-rotation situation. The outer rotating cylinder’s Couette flow Reynolds number is restricted to 200. Zeroth-order discontinuities are found in the critical surface, which are explained as the result of the competition between the centrifugal and axial buoyancy induced shear instability mechanisms. Due to the competition, the neutral stability curves develop islands of instability, which considerably lower the instability threshold. Specific and robust numerical methods to handle these geometrical complexities are developed.     

窄通道内热薄燃料表面火焰传播特性研究

利用实验和数值模拟对微重力和常重力条件下高度为14mm和10mm的窄通道内热薄纸张表面火焰传播特性进行了研究。不同重力条件下窄通道内火焰传播速度随气流速度变化的规律符合得较好,说明地面窄通道实验能够模拟微重力条件下材料表面火焰传播的主要特征。地面窄通道中浮力流动速度的最大值约为5cm／s,与常规实验通道（高度较大）相比...     

Large Eddy Simulations of a piloted lean premix jet flame using finite-rate chemistry

A Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model capable of accurately representing finite-rate chemistry effects in turbulent premixed combustion is presented. The LES computations use finite-rate chemistry and implicit LES combustion modelling to simulate an experimentally well-documented lean-premixed jet flame stabilized by a stoichiometric pilot. The validity of the implicit LES assumption is discussed and criteria are expressed in terms of subgrid scale Damköhler and Karlovitz numbers. Simulation results are compared to experimental data for velocity, temperature and species mass fractions of CH₄, CO and OH. The simulation results highlight the validity and capability of the present approach for the flame and in general the combustion regime examined. A sensitivity analysis to the choice of the finite-rate chemistry mechanism is reported, this analysis indicates that the one and two-step global reaction mechanisms evaluated fail to capture the reaction layer with sufficient accuracy, while a 20-species skeletal mechanism reproduces the experimental observations accurately including the key finite-rate chemistry indicators CO and OH. The LES results are shown to be grid insensitive and that the grid resolution within the bounds examined is far less important compared to the sensitivity of the finite-rate chemistry representation. The results are analyzed in terms of the flame dynamics and it is shown that intense small scale mixing (high Karlovitz number) between the pilot and the jet is an important mechanism for the stabilization of the flame.     

A comparison of computational and experimental lift-off heights of coflow laminar diffusion flames

As a sensitive marker of changes in flame structure, the number densities of excited-state CH (denoted CH^*), and excited-state OH (denoted OH^*) are imaged in coflow laminar diffusion flames. Measurements are made both in normal gravity and on the NASA KC-135 reduced-gravity aircraft. The spatial distribution of these radicals provides information about flame structure and lift-off heights that can be directly compared with computational predictions. Measurements and computations are compared over a range of buoyancy and fuel dilution levels. Results indicate that the lift-off heights and flame shapes predicted by the computations are in excellent agreement with measurement for both normal gravity (1g) and reduced gravity flames at low dilution levels. As the fuel mixture is increasingly diluted, however, the 1g lift-off heights become underpredicted. This trend continues until the computations predict stable flames at highly dilute fuel mixtures beyond the 1g experimental blow-off limit. To better understand this behavior, an analysis was performed, which indicates that the lift-off height is sensitive to the laminar flame speed of the corresponding premixed mixture at the flame edge. By varying the rates of two key “flame speed” controlling reactions, we were able to modify the predicted lift-off heights so as to be in closer agreement with the experiments. The results indicate that reaction sets that work well in low dilution systems may need to be modified to accommodate high dilution flames.     

Identification and analysis of instability in non-premixed swirling flames using LES

Large eddy simulations (LES) of turbulent non-premixed swirling flames based on the Sydney swirl burner experiments under different flame characteristics are used to uncover the underlying instability modes responsible for the centre jet precession and large scale recirculation zone. The selected flame series known as SMH flames have a fuel mixture of methane-hydrogen (50:50 by volume). The LES solves the governing equations on a structured Cartesian grid using a finite volume method, with turbulence and combustion modelling based on the localised dynamic Smagorinsky model and the steady laminar flamelet model respectively. The LES results are validated against experimental measurements and overall the LES yields good qualitative and quantitative agreement with the experimental observations. Analysis showed that the LES predicted two types of instability modes near fuel jet region and bluff body stabilised recirculation zone region. The mode I instability defined as cyclic precession of a centre jet is identified using the time periodicity of the centre jet in flames SMH1 and SMH2 and the mode II instability defined as cyclic expansion and collapse of the recirculation zone is identified using the time periodicity of the recirculation zone in flame SMH3. Finally frequency spectra obtained from the LES are found to be in good agreement with the experimentally observed precession frequencies.     

Density and velocity statistics in variable density turbulent mixing

We experimentally study variable–density mixing of miscible gases in an open-circuit wind tunnel using simultaneous particle image velocimetry and planar laser-induced fluorescence. Experiments of a high Atwood number (0.6) and low Atwood number (0.1) are performed to compare non-Boussinesq cases with the Boussinesq limit. The higher density gas is injected into the wind tunnel co-flow using a round jet configuration, and near-field and far-field measurements are performed to examine mixing in both momentum and buoyancy-dominated regimes. The effects of buoyancy are measurable and important in both large-scale mixing features and in turbulence quantities. The low Atwood number PDFs (probability density functions) show fast and uniform mixing. The high Atwood number PDFs of density have skewness towards the larger densities, indicating less mixing of the heavy fluid due to its inertia. The skewness in the density gradient PDFs at high Atwood number displays strong density local variations that can enhance mixing at molecular scales. Turbulent kinetic energy decreases with streamwise distance from the jet for low Atwood number but increases for high Atwood number due to larger buoyancy and density-driven shear. Over 3000 experimental realisations are used to calculate statistical characteristics of the mixing, including valuable and rarely given data such as Favre-averaged turbulent quantities: mass flux velocity, Reynolds stress, turbulent kinetic energy, and density-specific volume correlation. Buoyancy effects are observed in these quantities and the trends are compared qualitatively with direct numerical simulations.     

Thermal convection in fluidized granular systems

Thermal convection is observed in molecular dynamic simulations of a fluidized granular system of nearly elastic hard disks moving under gravity, inside a square box. Boundaries introduce no shearing or time dependence, but the energy injection comes from a slip (shear-free) thermalizing base. The top wall is perfectly elastic and lateral boundaries are either elastic or periodic. The spontaneous temperature gradient appearing in the system due to the inelastic collisions, combined with gravity, produces a buoyancy force that, when dissipation is large enough, triggers convection.     

Effects of body force on the statistical behaviour and modelling of scalar variance in turbulent premixed flames

The effects of body force/external pressure gradient on the statistical behaviours of the reaction progress variable variance and the terms of its transport equation have been investigated for different turbulence intensities using DNS data of statistically planar flames. Since the extent of flame wrinkling increases with the strengthening of body force promoting unstable stratification, the scalar variance has been found to decrease under strong body force promoting stability. This trend is particularly strong for low turbulence intensities where the probability density function of the reaction progress variable cannot be approximated by a bimodal distribution. Therefore, an algebraic relation for the reaction progress variable variance, derived based on a presumed bimodal probability density function of reaction progress variable, cannot be used for general flow conditions. The contributions of chemical reaction and scalar dissipation rates in the scalar variance transport equation remain leading order source and sink, respectively for all cases irrespective of the strength and direction of the body force. The counter-gradient type transport is found to weaken with increasing body force magnitude when the body force is directed from the heavier unburned gas to the lighter burned gas side of the flame brush, and vice versa. Although a scalar dissipation rate-based reaction rate closure can be utilised to model the reaction rate contribution to the scalar variance transport accurately, the dissipation rate contribution due to the gradient of the Favre-averaged reaction progress variable cannot be ignored and it plays a key role for large magnitudes of body force promoting stable stratification. An algebraic closure of the scalar dissipation rate, originally proposed for high Damköhler number combustion, has been modified for the thin reaction zones regime combustion by incorporating the effects of Froude number. This model has been shown to predict the scalar dissipation rate accurately for all cases considered here.     

Effect of swirl on combustion dynamics in a lean-premixed swirl-stabilized combustor

The effect of inlet swirl on the flow development and combustion dynamics in a lean-premixed swirl-stabilized combustor has been numerically investigated using a large-eddy-simulation (LES) technique along with a level-set flamelet library approach. Results indicate that when the inlet swirl number exceeds a critical value, a vortex-breakdown-induced central toroidal recirculation zone is established in the downstream region. As the swirl number increases further, the recirculation zone moves upstream and merges with the wake recirculation zone behind the centerbody. Excessive swirl may cause the central recirculating flow to penetrate into the inlet annulus and lead to the occurrence of flame flashback. A higher swirl number tends to increase the turbulence intensity, and consequently the flame speed. As a result, the flame surface area is reduced. The net heat release, however, remains almost unchanged because of the enhanced flame speed. Transverse acoustic oscillations often prevail under the effects of strong swirling flows, whereas longitudinal modes dominate the wave motions in cases with weak swirl. The ensuing effect on the flow/flame interactions in the chamber is substantial.