Simultaneous planar velocity measurements and OH imaging in a transverse jet flame

We present simultaneous planar velocity and OH fluorescence measurements at the base of a lifted, nonpremixed, transverse methane jet flame of Reynolds number 6300 and jet-to-crossflow velocity ratio 11.5. Velocity measurements are obtained using particle image velocimetry (PIV), while nonresonant OH fluorescence is imaged via excitation of the A←X (1,0) band near 283 nm. It is shown that at the flame base, the regions in the PIV images where particle density drops due to heat release closely overlap the regions where OH appears. Other preliminary results show that the base of the flame sheet typically resides just above a region where velocity magnitude is locally low, about three times the laminar flame speed, and that the fluid accelerates suddenly through the flame base. Experimental issues such as PIV accuracy and OH imaging in the presence of PIV particles are discussed.     

Simultaneous measurement of absolute OH concentration,temperature and flow velocity in a flame by photothermal deflection spectroscopy

We demonstrate the use of photothermal deflection spectroscopy for a simultaneous measurement of absolute minority-species concentration, temperature and flow velocity in a flame from the analysis of a single data trace. The ability to make absolute concentration measurements, as well as the ability to measure three important combustion parameters simultaneously, may make this technique quite useful in many circumstances. Received: 27 August 2002 / Revised version: 26 September 2002 / Published online: 11 December 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-479/575-4580, E-mail: rgupta@uark.edu     

Cavity ring-down spectroscopy of OH radicals in low pressure flame

10 molecules/cm³) and large dynamic range (more than 20 000) are demonstrated. CRDS also provides accurate temperature measurements, with statistical errors less than 2%. Measured concentration profiles are in reasonable agreement with calculated values. It is observed that in the preflame zone (where the temperature is about 1000 K), the OH concentration at the first vibrational excited state is about seven times larger than the equilibrium OH(v”=1) concentration at this temperature. Received: 24 June 1997/Revised version: 12 September 1997     

On the quantification of OH*, CH*, and C2* chemiluminescence in flames

Absolute concentrations of all important chemiluminescent species, OH–A, CH–A, CH–B, and C₂-d have been measured for the first time in methane-oxygen flames at low pressure. The optical detection system for chemiluminescence measurements has been calibrated with Rayleigh and Raman scattering of a cw laser, with the latter approach yielding superior results. The measured ratio between the concentration of CH–B and CH–A suggests that the electronically excited CH* is formed close to thermal equilibrium. Introduction of different rate constants for reactions leading to CH–A and CH–B were not necessary to explain the experimental results. Results are compared with a recent numerical model. Deviations in profile shape and peak positions are relatively small for stoichiometric flames, but become more pronounced in richer mixtures. Larger discrepancies are observed for the absolute concentrations, depending on the chemiluminescent species and the stoichiometry. In an attempt to find an alternative method for the quantification of chemiluminescent species, MIR-CRDS has been performed around 3.9 μm. While H₂O and OH–X could be measured, the sensitivity was not high enough to detect the low sub-ppb concentration of OH–A—in part due to the limited reflectivity of mirrors in the MIR, in part due to a significant background of hot H₂O lines.     

Simultaneous single-shot imaging of OH and O2 using a two-wavelength excimer laser

A technique is described for simultaneous single-shot imaging of OH and O₂. Laser-induced fluorescence of both molecules is excited by a tunable KrF laser, which is operated simultaneously on two wavelengths. By using two CCD detectors with image intensifiers and suitable filters, separate images of OH and O₂ distributions in H₂/O₂ and hydrocarbon/air flames were obtained.     

Magnetic capture of superparamagnetic nanoparticles in a constant pressure microcapillary flow

Superparamagnetic nanoparticles were synthesised and their in-flow magnetic capture behaviour studied within transparent plastic microcapillary arrays (MicroCapillary Film or MCF). This system represents an in vitro analogue of capillary vasculature and facilitates easy optical observation of capture phenomenon. A dispersion of nanoparticles was delivered at a constant pressure to an array of capillaries sited adjacent to a 0.5 T permanent magnet. The spatial position of trapped nanoparticles relative to the position of the magnet was analysed. The position of nanoparticle capture appears to be dependent on both spatial location and fluid flow rate and suggests two zones in the magnetic field in which nanoparticles are acted upon differently; a ‘steering’ zone and a ‘capture’ zone.     

Simultaneous TR-SPIV and CH* chemiluminescence during precursor to LBO in a lean premixed swirl dump combustor

Blowout process in premixed swirl dump combustors is known to have temporary partial extinction followed by re-ignition events as precursors. This re-ignition process is investigated using high-speed CH* chemiluminescence and simultaneous TR-SPIV. It was found that during the extinction phase, the flame split into two zones, causing fresh mixture to enter the inner recirculation zone. The sudden loss of heat release causes the flow field to change such that the stagnation point moves further downstream, causing high negative velocity paths in the flow. The flame that was convected downstream, now uses these negative velocity paths to consume the fresh mixture that entered the IRZ. This is the re-ignition phase of the precursor event.     

Combination of schlieren and pulsed TV holography in the study of a high-speed flame jet

This paper presents studies of the propagation of a high-speed turbulent flame jet of an air/hydrogen gas mixture. The experimental results are recorded with the schlieren and the pulsed TV holography method. These methods are compared and combined to benefit from the advantages of each of them. Abel inversion has been used to achieve three-dimensional information i.e. refractive index distributions. Evaluation, calibration and Abel inversion algorithms are described together with experimental results. The results obtained from the different techniques show remarkable similarities concerning both qualitative and quantitative aspects.     

Numerical simulation and laser-based imaging of mixture formation, ignition, and soot formation in a diesel spray

Laser-based imaging of fuel vapor distribution, ignition, and soot formation in diesel sprays was carried out in a high-pressure, high-temperature spray chamber under conditions that correspond to temperature and pressure in a diesel engine. Rayleigh scattering and laser-induced incandescence are used to image fuel density and soot volume fraction. The experimental results provide data for comparison with numerical simulations. An interactive cross-sectionally averaged spray model based on Eulerian transport equations was used for the simulation of the spray, and the turbulence-chemistry interaction was modeled with the representative interactive flamelet (RIF) concept. The flamelet calculation is coupled to the Kiva3V computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code using the scalar dissipation rate and pressure as an input to the RIF-code. The flamelet code computes the instationary flamelet profiles for every time step. These profiles were integrated over mixture fraction space using a prescribed β-PDF to obtain mean values, which are passed back to the CFD-code. Thereby, the temperature and the relevant species in each CFD-cell were obtained. The fuel distribution, the average ignition delay as well as the location of ignition are well predicted by the simulation. Furthermore, simulations show that the experimentally observed injection-to-injection variations in ignition delay are due to temperature inhomogeneities. Experimental and simulated spatial soot and fuel vapor density distributions are compared during and after second stage ignition.     

The influence of droplet grouping on a Burke-Schumann spray diffusion flame in an oscillating flow field

A new mathematical analysis of a laminar Burke-Schumann type of spray diffusion flame in an oscillating flow field is presented within a framework in which mild slip is permitted between the droplets and their host surroundings. A perturbation analysis using a small Stokes number is used for solving the liquid phase governing equations. The effect of droplet grouping in the oscillatory flow field is accounted for by constructing an appropriate model for the vaporization Damkohler number. A formal analytical solution is developed for the Schwab-Zeldovitch parameter through which instantaneous flame front shapes are found. Computed results based on the solution expose the strong impact that the phenomenon of droplet grouping can have on flame characteristics such as flame height, shape and type (over- or under-ventilated). Despite the models simplicity its predictions offer an opening insight into the mechanisms prevalent in more complex spray-combustion situations in which droplet grouping may occur.     

Experimental and numerical characterization of a turbulent spray flame

A turbulent ethanol spray flame is characterized through quantitative experiments using laser-based imaging techniques. The data set is used to validate a numerical code for the simulation of spray combustion. The spray burner has been designed to generate a stable flame without the use of a bluff body or a pilot flame facilitating numerical simulations. The experiments include spatially-resolved measurements of droplet sizes (Mie/LIF-dropsizing and PDA), droplet velocity (PDA), liquid-phase temperature (2-color LIF temperature imaging with Rhodamine B) and gas-phase temperature (multi-line NO-LIF temperature imaging). The measurements close to the nozzle exit are used to determine the initial conditions for numerical simulations. An Eulerian–Lagrangian model including spray flamelet modeling is applied to calculate the development of the spray. Good agreement with the experimental data is found. The experimental data set and the numerical results will be published on a website to allow other groups to evaluate their experimental and/or numerical data.     

Detailed measurements of transient two-stage ignition and combustion processes in high-pressure spray flames using simultaneous high-speed formaldehyde PLIF and schlieren imaging

This study investigates the low- and high-temperature ignition and combustion processes in a high-pressure spray flame of n-dodecane using simultaneous 50-kHz formaldehyde (HCHO) planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) and 100-kHz schlieren imaging. The PLIF measurements were facilitated through the use of a pulse-burst-mode Nd:YAG laser, producing a 355-nm pulse-train with 300 pulses at 70 mJ/pulse, separated by 20-µs, in a 6-ms burst. The high-speed HCHO PLIF signal was imaged using a non-intensified CMOS camera with dynamic background emission correction. The acquisition rate of this HCHO PLIF diagnostic is unique to the research community, and when combined with high-speed schlieren imaging, provides unprecedented opportunity for analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution of fuel jet penetration and low- and high-temperature ignition processes relevant to internal combustion engine conditions. The present experiments are conducted in the Sandia constant-volume preburn vessel equipped with a new Spray A injector. The influences of ambient conditions are examined on the ignition delay times of the two-stage ignition events, HCHO structures, and lift-off length values. Consistent with past studies of traditional Spray A flames, the formation of HCHO is first observed in the jet peripheries where the equivalence ratio (Φ) is expected to be leaner and hotter and then grows in size and in intensity downstream into the jet core where Φ is expected to be richer and colder. The measurements demonstrate that the formation and propagation of HCHO from the leaner to richer region leads to high-temperature ignition events, supporting the identification of a phenomenon coined “cool-flame wave propagation” during the transient ignition process. Subsequent high-temperature ignition is found to consume the previously formed HCHO in the jet head, while the formation of HCHO persists in the fuel-rich zone near the flame base over the entire combustion period.     

Time-resolved LIF of OH in the flame front of premixed and diffusion flames at atmospheric pressure

Time-resolved fluorescence measurements are reported for the OH radical in the flame fronts of laminar atmospheric pressure flames. Effective (collision-limited) lifetimes were determined following excitation of theA ²⁺, = 0 state of OH using a picosecond dye-laser system based on the distributed-feedback principle. Measurements were made in a premixed knife-edge burner for rich CH₄/N₂O/N₂ and CH₄/air flames and in a counterflow diffusion burner for a CH₄/air flame. In the accessible range, results indicate a net dependence of lifetime on temperature intermediate betweenT andT ^0.5 for these flames.     

Analysis of a spray diffusion flame and its extinction in a shear layer

A new semi-analytical solution for a laminar spray diffusion flame in the shear layer between fuel and oxidant streams is developed. The Stokes number is identified as a small spray droplet-related parameter to be used in a perturbation analysis of the liquid phase governing equations. Appropriate specification of an additional parameter ensures that similarity is achieved so that the concentration field of the liquid in the spray can be readily found. The coupled gas-phase equations are treated using the usual inverse of the large Zeldovitch number for the asymptotic analysis. Numerical results demonstrate how the distribution of the liquid phase in the developing shear layer between two unidirectional gas streams flowing over one another with (the possibility of) dissimilar velocities in their respective free-streams influences the flame shape, location, fuel vapour and temperature fields. An extinction analysis enables a parametric mapping of conditions for extinguishment of the spray diffusion flames to be drawn.     

Simultaneous PIV/PTV/OH PLIF imaging: Conditional flow field statistics in partially premixed turbulent opposed jet flames

A combination of particle imaging velocimetry (PIV), particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) and planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) was employed to measure conditional flow field statistics in partially premixed turbulent opposed jet flames. These flames were observed to be very sensitive to excessive seeding of particles. Since flames close to extinction were studied, very low seeding densities were required to prevent impact on the extinction behavior of the flame, and conventional PIV algorithms would have resulted in poor spatial resolution. An improved PIV algorithm was developed, in connection with a PTV procedure used in high-temperature regions of low seed density, and revealed high in-plane resolution up to 300 μm. The PIV/PTV algorithm slightly under-resolved the Kolmogorov scales for the present cases, whereas Batchelor scales were fully resolved in-plane by the simultaneous OH PLIF. In the data processing, transient OH contours obtained from single-shots were used to define flame-fixed coordinates. Conditional velocities, out-of-plane vorticity, 2D dilatation, and both axial and radial strain were processed from the data. The conditional statistics show that vorticity is preferably generated close to the reaction zone, particularly at off-centerline positions. Hence, flow-chemistry interactions could be identified directly in the region of the reaction zone. This finding was also supported by qualitative high speed Mie scattering/chemiluminescence imaging that permitted temporally resolved visualization of the formation of eddies just upstream of the luminous flame areas.     

莫尔偏折法及其在燃气射流冲击场中的应用

用傅里叶光学方法从理论上分析了带有滤波器的相干性莫尔偏折法的测量原理,把这种方法用于真实火箭燃气射流冲击场的实验研究.获得了真实火箭燃气射流冲击流场莫尔偏折图.解决了长期以来无法拍摄到高温、高速、强振动冲击、强火焰光的火箭射流流场图像问题.