Pore-resolved simulations of porous media combustion with conjugate heat transfer

Porous media combustion (PMC) is an active field of research with a number of potential advantages over free-flame combustors. A key contributor to these phenomena is the interphase heat exchange and heat recirculation from the products upstream to the reactants. In this paper, we present a network model that captures the conjugate heat transfer in pore-resolved 2D simulations of PMC. A series of simulations are presented with varying solid conduction and inlet velocity to isolate the role of conjugate heat transfer on the salient features of the burner, including flame stability, axial temperature profiles, and flame structure. We show that both the flame stabilization and the propagation behavior are strongly related to the conjugate heat transfer, and the flame stability regime is shifted to higher velocities as the conductivity of the solid material is increased.