Effects of boundary layer on flame propagation generated by forced ignition behind an incident shock wave

To study the effects of the boundary layer on the deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) process, the mixture behind an incident shock wave was ignited using laser breakdown. Ignition timing was controlled so that the interaction of the resulting flame with a laminar or turbulent boundary layer could be examined. In the case of the interaction with a laminar boundary layer, wrinkling of the flame was observed after the flame reached the corner of the channel. On the other hand, interaction with the turbulent boundary layer distorted the flame front and increased the spreading rate of the flame followed by prompt DDT. The inner structure of the turbulent boundary layer plays an important role in the DDT process. The region that distorted the flame within the turbulent boundary layer was found to be the intermediate region \(0.01< y/\delta < 0.4\), where y is the distance from the wall and \(\delta \) is the boundary layer thickness. The flame disturbance by the turbulent motions is followed by the flame interaction with the inner layer near the wall, which in turn generates a secondary-ignition kernel that produced a spherical accelerating flame, which ultimately led to the onset of detonation. After the flame reached the intermediate region, the time required for DDT was independent of the ignition position. The effect of the boundary layer on the propagating flame, thus, became relatively small after the accelerating flame was generated.     

奇异摄动在层流预混火焰理论研究中的应用

奇异摄动被广泛应用于求取力学问题的近似解.一个典型问题就是流体力学中的边界层.郭永怀先生曾发展了适用于平板黏性流动边界层问题的奇异摄动理论.类似于流体力学中的边界层,燃烧研究中的层流预混火焰也可以通过奇异摄动理论进行分析,在燃烧研究中通常称其为大活化能渐近分析.本文介绍了大活化能渐近分析在一维平面预混火焰和球形传播火焰中的应用及相关研究进展.首先介绍了预混火焰结构及其涉及的不同特征尺度,分析了大活化能条件下出现的特征尺度分离,并给出了关于平面预混火焰大活化能渐近分析的详细推导,讨论了热辐射对火焰传播的影响;然后介绍了大活化能渐近分析在点火与球形传播火焰方面的应用,指出了只有能够同时描述点火与球形火焰传播的理论才能准确地预测临界点火条件,并讨论了考虑链式反应的点火与火焰传播理论,分析了热辐射对球形火焰传播的影响,给了关于火焰稳定性理论研究的发展趋势.最后,基于当前研究进展对未来的研究方向进行了展望,其中涉及多步化学反应、低温冷火焰、复杂流动、辐射重吸收等.      

A fluorescence technique for measurement of slot injected fluid concentration profiles in a turbulent boundary layer

A technique for measuring near instantaneous concentration profiles of a fluid injected through a narrow inclined slot at the wall into a high unit Reynolds number flat plate turbulent boundary layer is discussed. The concentration profiles are determined by measuring the light intensity emitted from a fluorescent dye, premixed into the injectant flow, as the injectant convects through an excitation laser beam. The fluorescence intensity is quantified by an electronically shuttered single stage microchannel plate image intensifier coupled to a linear photodiode array. This instrumentation provided the high spatial and temporal resolution required for these boundary layer concentration profile measurements. The laser induced fluorescence technique is being used to study the diffusion of injected polymer solutions away from the near wall region of the boundary layer where these solutions are effective in reducing drag. The diffusion of slot injected water has also been examined and the present results are in excellent agreement with previous studies.     

Low Reynolds number axisymmetric turbulent boundary layer on a cylinder

In the present study, an axisymmetric turbulent boundary layer growing on a cylinder is investigated experimentally using hot wire anemometry. The combined effects of transverse curvature as well as low Reynolds number on the mean and turbulent flow quantities are studied. The measurements include the mean velocity, turbulence intensity, skewness and flatness factors in addition to wall shear stress. The results are presented separately for the near wall region and the outer region using dimensionless parameters suitable for each case. They are also compared with the results available in the open literature.The present investigation revealed that the mean velocity in near wall region is similar to other simple turbulent flows (flat plate boundary layer, pipe and channel flows); but it differs in the logarithmic and outer regions. Further, for dimensionless moments of higher orders, such as skewness and flatness factors, the main effects of the low Reynolds number and the transverse curvature are present in the near wall region as well as the outer region.     

Scale similarity based models and their application to subgrid scale scalar flux modelling in the context of turbulent premixed flames

The performance of a variety of scale similarity (SS) type models for closure of sub-grid scalar flux in the context of Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of premixed turbulent combustion has been assessed. In addition to the well-known SS models, a more recent development by Anderson and Domaradzki (2012) is included in the analysis and also further model extensions and improvements are discussed. The work is based on a priori analysis of two Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) databases of freely propagating turbulent premixed flames with a range of different Lewis and turbulent Reynolds numbers. Depending on the balance between the effects of flame normal acceleration due to heat release and the effects of turbulent velocity fluctuations, as well as the filter size, the subgrid-scalar flux exhibits both local gradient and counter-gradient transport which presents a considerable modelling challenge. The assessment is based on a correlation analysis and on the magnitude of the model expressions conditional on the Favre averaged reaction progress variable in comparison to the value obtained from DNS. Despite the fact that most of the models have been developed in the context of momentum transport in non-reactive flows they show either comparable or better performance in comparison to more conventional models used for reactive scalar flux closure. It is found that some models are sensitive to the test filter width and recommendations are provided in this regard. Further it is observed that the use of a Favre test filter substantially increases the correlation strength in direction of mean flame propagation where effects of heat release are most pronounced.     

Hybrid Unsteady RANS and PDF Method for Turbulent Non-Reactive and Reactive Flows

A hybrid unsteady Reynolds-averaged numerical simulation (U-RANS) and probability density function (PDF) method is developed for turbulent non-reactive and reactive flows. The resulting modeled equations are solved by a consistent hybrid finite volume and Lagrangian Monte-Carlo particle method. Both turbulent non-reactive and reactive flows in a rectangular channel containing a triangular-shaped bluff-body are simulated. One-step and two-step mechanisms for propane/air combustion are used for the reactive case. The time-averaged results are compared with both experimental data and numerical results from the literature using large eddy simulation (LES) and steady RANS. The results of the present method are in good agreement with the experimental data, and they improve the numerical results available in the literature.     

Leading-Edge Reaction Zones in Lifted-Jet Gas and Spray Flames

An investigation of the leading edge characteristics in lifted turbulent methane-air (gaseous) and ethanol-air (spray) diffusion flames is presented. Both combustion systems consist of a central nonpremixed fuel jet surrounded by low-speed air co-flow. Non-intrusive laser-based diagnostic techniques have been applied to each system to provide information regarding the behavior of the combustion structures and turbulent flow field in the regions of flame stabilization. Simultaneous sequential CH-PLIF/particle image velocimetry and CH-PLIF/Rayleigh scattering measurements are presented for the lifted gaseous flame. The CH-PLIF data for the lifted gas flame reveals the role that ``leading-edge' combustion plays as the stabilization mechanism in gaseous diffusion flames. This phenomenon, characterized by a fuel-lean premixed flame branch protruding radially outward at the flame base, permits partially premixed flame propagation against the incoming flow field. In contrast, the leading edge of the ethanol spray flame, examined using single-shot OH-PLIF imaging and smoke-based flow visualization, does not exhibit the same variety of leading-edge combustion structure, but instead develops a dual reaction zone structure as the liftoff height increases. This dual structure is a result of the partial evaporation (hence partial premixing) of the polydisperse spray and the enhanced rate of air entrainment with increased liftoff height (due to co-flow). The flame stabilizes in a region of the spray, near the edge, occupied by small fuel droplets and characterized by intense mixing due to the presence of turbulent structures. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effect of wall conditions on DDT in hydrogen–oxygen mixtures

Detonation in ducts is usually studied assuming adiabatic walls because of the high kinetic energy due to the incoming flow being supersonic. In the present work, numerical simulations of deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) using a detailed chemical reaction model are performed under adiabatic and isothermal boundary conditions in a tube with no-slip walls. The results show a local explosion driving DDT, which occurs near the tube wall in the case of an adiabatic wall, but close to the flame front in the case of an isothermal wall. Furthermore, to examine the effects of a turbulent boundary layer, a simulation using the Baldwin–Lomax turbulence model is carried out. In the case of the isothermal wall, there is again a local explosion near the tube wall, which leads to detonation. In summary, the present study confirms that the boundary conditions affect the transition to detonation and that the boundary layer is a key component of DDT.     

LES of Premixed Methane Flame Impinging on the Wall Using Non-adiabatic Flamelet Generated Manifold (FGM) Approach

In this paper LES of flame wall interaction using a non-adiabatic FGM approach is reported for a premixed methane fuel jet impinging on a spherical disk. Nitrogen is used as co-flow in order to avoid the interaction with the surrounding air and combustion. The flow field is described by means of the Smagorinsky model with Germano procedure for SGS stresses. The SGS scalar flux in scalar transport equations is modeled by the linear eddy diffusivity model. Two aspects are especially addressed in this paper. First focus is on the grid resolution required near the wall without including a special wall-adapted SGS modeling in reacting configurations. The second aspect is devoted to the integration of the near wall kinetic effects into the FGM framework. The results for the flow field, mixing and combustion properties are presented and analyzed in terms of grid resolution, Reynolds number (in reacting and non-reacting case) and adiabaticity. Comparisons with available experimental data show satisfactory agreement. An outline of the thermal and flow boundary layer analysis is subsequently provided.     

Compound Wall Treatment for RANS Computation of Complex Turbulent Flows and Heat Transfer

We present a generalised treatment of the wall boundary conditions for RANS computation of turbulent flows and heat transfer. The method blends the integration up to the wall (ItW) with the generalised wall functions (GWF) that include non-equilibrium effects. Wall boundary condition can thus be defined irrespective of whether the wall-nearest grid point lies within the viscous sublayer, in the buffer zone, or in the fully turbulent region. The computations with fine and coarse meshes of a steady and pulsating flow in a plane channel, in flow behind a backward-facing step and in a round impinging jet using the proposed compound wall treatment (CWT) are all in satisfactory agreement with the available experiments and DNS data. The method is recommended for computations of industrial flows in complex domains where it is difficult to generate a computational grid that will satisfy a priori either the ItW or WF prerequisites.     

Turbulent Channel Flow with an Artificial Two-Dimensional Wall Layer

Turbulent flow of an incompressible fluid in a plane channel with parallel walls is considered. The three-dimensional time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations are solved numerically using the spectral finite-difference method. An artificial force which completely suppresses lateral oscillations of the velocity is introduced in the near-wall zone (10 % of the channel half-width in the neighborhood of each wall). Thus, the three-dimensional flow zone, in which turbulent oscillations can develop, is separated from the wall by a fluid layer. It is found that the elimination of three-dimensionality in the neighborhood of the walls leads to a significant reduction in the drag. However, complete laminarization does not occur. The flow in the stream core remains turbulent and can be interpreted as a turbulent flow in a channel with walls located on the boundary of the two-dimensional layer and traveling at the local mean-flow velocity. The oscillations developing inside the two-dimensional layer, which have significant amplitude, distort the flow only in the adjacent zone. Beyond this zone the distributions of the mean characteristics and the structure of instantaneous fields completely correspond to ordinary turbulent flow in a channel with rigid walls. The results obtained confirm the hypothesis of the unimportance of the no-slip boundary conditions for the fluctuating velocity component in the mechanism of onset and self-maintenance of turbulence in wall flows.     

A hybrid numerical approach to predict the vibrational responses of panels excited by a turbulent boundary layer

In this work, a hybrid numerical approach to predict the vibrational responses of planar structures excited by a turbulent boundary layer is presented. The approach combines an uncorrelated wall plane wave technique with the finite element method. The wall pressure field induced by a turbulent boundary layer is obtained as a set of uncorrelated wall pressure plane waves. The amplitude of these plane waves are determined from the cross spectrum density function of the wall pressure field given either by empirical models from literature or from experimental data. The response of the planar structure subject to a turbulent boundary layer excitation is then obtained from an ensemble average of the different realizations. The numerical technique is computationally efficient as it rapidly converges using a small number of realizations. To demonstrate the method, the vibrational responses of two panels with simply supported or clamped boundary conditions and excited by a turbulent flow are considered. In the case study comprising a plate with simply supported boundary conditions, an analytical solution is employed for verification of the method. For both cases studies, numerical results from the hybrid approach are compared with experimental data measured in two different anechoic wind tunnels.     

A Study of Strain Rate Effects for Turbulent Premixed Flames with Application to LES of a Gas Turbine Combustor Model

Large-scale strain rate field, a resolved quantity which is easily computable in large-eddy simulations (LES), could have profound effects on the premixed flame properties by altering the turbulent flame speed and inducing local extinction. The role of the resolved strain rate has been investigated in a posterior LES study of GE lean premixed dry low-NOx emissions LM6000 gas turbine combustor model. A novel approach which is based on the coupling of the linear-eddy model with a one-dimensional counterflow solver has been applied to obtain the parameterizations of the resolved premixed flame properties in terms of the reactive progress variable, the local strain rate measure, and local Reynolds and Karlovitz numbers. The strain rate effects have been analyzed by comparing LES statistics for several models of the turbulent flame speed, i.e, with and without accounting for the local strain rate effects, with available experimental data. The sensitivity of the simulation results to the inflow velocity conditions as well as the grid resolution have been also studied. Overall, the results obtained demonstrate that the effects of the resolved strain rate are not dominant for the considered premixed flame configuration and the unstrained turbulent flame speed model is found to perform as well as the one that allows for the strain rate effects.     

Premixed flame flashback in wall boundary layers studied by long-distance micro-PIV

Premixed flame propagation against the main flow direction in wall boundary layers, a situation known as wall flashback, has been studied by long-distance particle image velocimetry with spatial micron resolution (μ-PIV) and simultaneous flame luminescence recordings. Numerical simulations of laminar wall flashback assist the interpretation of the experimental results. Inside a turbulent boundary layer, the flame propagates in discrete flame cusps pointing in upstream direction and showing a well-defined pattern of formation and break-up. In a laminar boundary layer, the leading flame region is smooth and exhibits low curvature. The instantaneous velocity fields reveal a backflow region upstream of the flame during flashback, which is constrained to the leading flame zone. The backflow is caused by an interaction between the pressure increase upstream of the flame and the boundary layer. The flashback limit is controlled by thermal quenching of the flame tip in the backflow region.     

Effects of Turbulence on Self-sustained Combustion in Premixed Flame Kernels: A Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) Study

The effects of mean flame radius and turbulence on self-sustained combustion of turbulent premixed spherical flames in decaying turbulence have been investigated using three-dimensional direct numerical simulations (DNS) with single step Arrhenius chemistry. Several flame kernels with different initial radius or initial turbulent field have been studied for identical conditions of thermo-chemistry. It has been found that for very small kernel radius the mean displacement speed may become negative leading ultimately to extinction of the flame kernel. A mean negative displacement speed is shown to signify a physical situation where heat transfer from the kernel overcomes the heat release due to combustion. This mechanism is further enhanced by turbulent transport and, based on simulations with different initial turbulent velocity fields, it has been found that self-sustained combustion is adversely affected by higher turbulent velocity fluctuation magnitude and integral length scale. A scaling analysis is performed to estimate the critical radius for self-sustained combustion in premixed flame kernels in a turbulent environment. The scaling analysis is found to be in good agreement with the results of the simulations.     

Application of the method of near-wall boundary conditions to an investigation of turbulent flows with longitudinal pressure gradients

The dynamic and thermal characteristics of steady near-wall boundary layers in flow deceleration regions are studied on the basis of differential turbulencemodels. The method of transferring the boundary conditions from the wall into the flow is tested for flows with variable longitudinal pressure gradients. Using differential turbulence models in the transition and low-Reynolds-number regions near surfaces the effect of the parameters of highly turbulent free stream on the development of dynamic processes in the developed turbulent boundary layer in the flow deceleration region is studied. The calculated profiles of the velocity, the kinetic energy of turbulence, the friction and thermal conductivity coefficients, and the temperature factor are compared with the experimental data in the cases in which the boundary conditions are preassigned both on the wall and in the flow. The effect of an intermediate boundary condition on the results of the calculations is analyzed.     

An immersed boundary/wall modeling method for RANS simulation of compressible turbulent flows

In this paper, an immersed boundary (IB) method is developed to simulate compressible turbulent flows governed by the Reynolds‐averaged Navier‐Stokes equations. The flow variables at the IB nodes (interior nodes in the immediate vicinity of the solid wall) are evaluated via linear interpolation in the normal direction to close the discrete form of the governing equations. An adaptive wall function and a 2‐layer wall model are introduced to reduce the near‐wall mesh density required by the high resolution of the turbulent boundary layers. The wall shear stress modified by the wall modeling technique and the no‐penetration condition are enforced to evaluate the velocity at an IB node. The pressure and temperature at an IB node are obtained via the local simplified momentum equation and the Crocco‐Busemann relation, respectively. The SST k ? ω and S‐A turbulence models are adopted in the framework of the present IB approach. For the Shear‐Stress Transport (SST) k ? ω model, analytical solutions in near‐wall region are utilized to enforce the boundary conditions of the turbulence equations and evaluate the turbulence variables at an IB node. For the S‐A model, the turbulence variable at an IB node is calculated by using the near‐wall profile of the eddy viscosity. In order to validate the present IB approach, numerical experiments for compressible turbulent flows over stationary and moving bodies have been performed. The predictions show good agreements with the referenced experimental data and numerical results.     

Optical Analysis and Qualitative Discrimination of Vortex-Flame Interaction in a Plane Premixed Shear Layer

To obtain practical schemes of vortex–flame interactions, a series of organized eddies formed in the plane premixed shear layer is investigated, instead of a single vortex ring or a single vortex tube. The plane premixed shear layer is first formed between two parallel uniform propane–air mixture streams. For getting clear qualitative pictures of vortex–flame interactions in the plane premixed shear layer, two extreme ignition points are assigned; one is assigned at the center of an organized eddy where the vortex motion plays an important role, the other at the midpoint between two adjacent organized eddies where the rolling-up motion prevails. A premixed flame is initiated by an electric discharge at one of the two assigned points and propagates either in the large scale organized eddy or along the interface between two uniform mixture streams. Propagation and deformation processes of the flame are observed using the simultaneously two-directional and high-speed Schlieren photography. The tangential velocity of organized eddy and the equivalence ratio of premixed shear flow are varied as two main parameters. The outline of propagating flame after the midpoint ignition is numerically analyzed by superposing the flame propagation having a constant burning velocity on the vortex flow field simulated with the discrete vortex method. The results obtained show that there exists another type of vortex–flame interaction in the plane shear layer in addition to the vortex bursting, and that it is caused by the rolling-up motion particular to the coherent structure in the plane shear layer and is simply named the vortex boosting. It is qualitatively concluded therefore that, in the ordinary turbulent premixed flames formed in the plane premixed shear layer, these two fundamental vortex-flame interactions get tangled with each other to augment the propagation velocity. An empirical expression which qualitatively takes into account of the effects of both vortex and chemical properties is finally proposed.     

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

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.     

DNS,LES and RANS of turbulent heat transfer in boundary layer with suddenly changing wall thermal conditions

The objectives of this study are to investigate a thermal field in a turbulent boundary layer with suddenly changing wall thermal conditions by means of direct numerical simulation (DNS), and to evaluate predictions of a turbulence model in such a thermal field, in which DNS of spatially developing boundary layers with heat transfer can be conducted using the generation of turbulent inflow data as a method. In this study, two types of wall thermal condition are investigated using DNS and predicted by large eddy simulation (LES) and Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equation simulation (RANS). In the first case, the velocity boundary layer only develops in the entrance of simulation, and the flat plate is heated from the halfway point, i.e., the adiabatic wall condition is adopted in the entrance, and the entrance region of thermal field in turbulence is simulated. Then, the thermal boundary layer develops along a constant temperature wall followed by adiabatic wall. In the second case, velocity and thermal boundary layers simultaneously develop, and the wall thermal condition is changed from a constant temperature to an adiabatic wall in the downstream region. DNS results clearly show the statistics and structure of turbulent heat transfer in a constant temperature wall followed by an adiabatic wall. In the first case, the entrance region of thermal field in turbulence can be also observed. Thus, both the development and the entrance regions in thermal fields can be explored, and the effects upstream of the thermal field on the adiabatic region are investigated. On the other hand, evaluations of predictions by LES and RANS are conducted using DNS results. The predictions of both LES and RANS almost agree with the DNS results in both cases, but the predicted temperature variances near the wall by RANS give different results as compared with DNS. This is because the dissipation rate of temperature variance is difficult to predict by the present RANS, which is found by the evaluation using DNS results.