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.     

Microgravity experiments and numerical studies on ethanol/air spray flames

Spray flames are known to exhibit amazing features in comparison with single-phase flames. The weightless situation offers the conditions in which the spray characteristics can be well controlled before and during combustion. The article reports on a joint experimental/numerical work that concerns ethanol/air spray flames observed in a spherical chamber using the condensation technique of expansion cooling (based on the Wilson cloud chamber principle), under microgravity.We describe the experimental set-up and give details on the creation of a homogeneous and nearly monosized aerosol. Different optical diagnostics are employed successfully to measure the relevant parameters of two-phase combustion. A classical shadowgraphy system is used to track the flame speed propagation and allow us to observe the flame front instability. The complete characterization of the aerosol is performed with a laser diffraction particle size analyser by measuring the droplet diameter and the droplet density number, just before ignition. A laser tomography device allows us to measure the temporal evolution of the droplet displacement during flame propagation, as well as to identify the presence of droplets in the burnt gases. The numerical modelling is briefly recalled. In particular, spray-flame propagation is schematized by the combustion spread in a 2-D lattice of fuel droplets surrounded by an initial gaseous mixture of fuel vapour and air.In its spherical expansion, the spray flame presents a corrugated front pattern, while the equivalent single-phase flame does not. From a numerical point of view, the same phenomena of wrinkles are also observed in the simulations. The front pattern pointed out by the numerical approach is identified as of Darrieus–Landau (DL) type. The droplets are found to trigger the instability. Then, we quantitatively compare experimental data with numerical predictions on spray-flame speed. The experimental results show that the spray-flame speed is of the same order of magnitude as that of the single-phase premixed flame. On the other hand, the numerical results exhibit the role played by the droplet radius in spray-flame propagation, and retrieve the experiments only when the droplets are small enough and when the Darrieus–Landau instability is triggered. A final discussion is developed to interpret the various patterns experimentally observed for the spray-flame front.     

Turbulence Intensity and Length Scale Effects on Premixed Turbulent Flame Propagation

The effects of varying turbulence intensity and turbulence length scale on premixed turbulent flame propagation are investigated using Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS). The DNS dataset contains the results of a set of turbulent flame simulations based on separate and systematic changes in either turbulence intensity or turbulence integral length scale while keeping all other parameters constant. All flames considered are in the thin reaction zones regime. Several aspects of flame behaviour are analysed and compared, either by varying the turbulence intensity at constant integral length scale, or by varying the integral length scale at constant turbulence intensity. The turbulent flame speed is found to increase with increasing turbulence intensity and also with increasing integral length scale. Changes in the turbulent flame speed are generally accounted for by changes in the flame surface area, but some deviation is observed at high values of turbulence intensity. The probability density functions (pdfs) of tangential strain rate and mean flame curvature are found to broaden with increasing turbulence intensity and also with decreasing integral length scale. The response of the correlation between tangential strain rate and mean flame curvature is also investigated. The statistics of displacement speed and its components are analysed, and the findings indicate that changes in response to decreasing integral length scale are broadly similar to those observed for increasing turbulence intensity, although there are some interesting differences. These findings serve to improve current understanding of the role of turbulence length scales in flame propagation.

     

Turbulent Flame Speeds of Premixed Supersonic Flame Kernels

It is unclear whether turbulent flame speed scalings established in low speed regimes are applicable to supersonic flames. To investigate this question, the canonical flame kernel is investigated in a scramjet-like channel having a one degree wall divergence. The growth, shape and internal kernel dynamics are investigated. Results are presented for three Mach numbers, four equivalence ratios, and three turbulence generators. Schlieren photography provides flame images for growth rate statistics and particle image velocimetry (PIV) provides turbulence statistics and investigation of internal kernel dynamics. Supersonic flame kernels are self-propagating and respond to the equivalence ratio in a fashion that is similar to low speed flames. However, supersonic flame kernels have features that are not present in subsonic flame kernels. Baroclinicity, resulting from pressure-density misalignment, creates a reacting vortex ring structure. Further, the mean kernel shape has a Mach number dependence and the vortex ring enhances the turbulent flame speed through entrainment of reactants and augmented flame surface growth. Hence, the previously established (low speed) flame speed scalings are inappropriate for supersonic flame kernels. Drawing motivation from vortex ring literature, the ring propagation velocity is used as the characteristic velocity and a new flame speed scaling is proposed.     

Flame Curvature Distribution in High Pressure Turbulent Bunsen Premixed Flames

The flame curvature statistics of turbulent premixed Bunsen flames have been analysed in this paper using a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) database of turbulent Bunsen flames at ambient and elevated pressures. In order to be able to perform a large parametric study in terms of pressure, heat release parameter, turbulence conditions and nozzle diameter, a single step Arrhenius type irreversible chemistry has been used for the purpose of computational economy, where thermo-chemical parameters are adjusted to match the behavior of stoichiometric methane-air flames. This analysis focuses on the characterization of the local flame geometry in response to turbulence and hydro-dynamic instability. The shape of the flame front is found to be consistent with existing experimental data. Although the Darrieus Landau instability promotes cusp formation, a qualitatively similar flame morphology can be observed for hydro-dynamically stable flames. A criterion has been suggested for the curvature PDF to become negatively skewed.     

Effect of an inhibitor on high-speed turbulent flames and the transition to detonation

The influence of an inhibitor (CF₃Br or Halon 1301) on the propagation of high-speed turbulent flames, quasi-detonations and the transition to detonation has been investigated for methane-air, propane-air and acetylene-air mixtures. The experiments are carried out in a 13 m tube (15 cm diameter) filled with regularly spaced orifice plates (blockage ratio of 0.39) to ensure rapid flame acceleration. In all cases, the addition of the inhibitor reduces the turbulent flame velocity and extinguishes the flame with sufficient inhibitor concentration (2.7% and 7.5% for methane-air and propane-air, respectively). For acetylene-air mixtures, the quasi-detonation speed is progressively reduced with increasing inhibitor concentration and eventually causes the failure of the quasi-detonation and transition back to a fast turbulent flame. The inhibitor also narrows the propagation limits in all cases. To elucidate the inhibition mechanism, detailed modelling of both the turbulent flame structure as well as the chemical kinetics are required.     

Coupling tabulated chemistry with Large Eddy Simulation of turbulent reactive flows

A new modeling strategy is developed to introduce tabulated chemistry methods in the LES of turbulent premixed combustion. The objective is to recover the correct laminar flame propagation speed of the filtered flame front when the subgrid scale turbulence vanishes. The filtered flame structure is mapped by 1D filtered laminar premixed flames. Closure of the filtered progress variable and the energy balance equations are carefully addressed. The methodology is applied to 1D and 2D filtered laminar flames. These computations show the capability of the model to recover the laminar flame speed and the correct chemical structure when the flame wrinkling is completely resolved. The model is then extended to turbulent combustion regimes by introducing subgrid scale wrinkling effects on the flame front propagation. Finally, the LES of a 3D turbulent premixed flame is performed. To cite this article: R. Vicquelin et al., C. R. Mecanique 337 (2009).     

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.     

Structures and stabilization of low calorific value gas turbulent partially premixed flames in a conical burner

Experiments are carried out on partially premixed turbulent flames stabilized in a conical burner. The investigated gaseous fuels are methane, methane diluted with nitrogen, and mixtures of CH₄, CO, CO₂, H₂ and N₂, simulating typical products from gasification of biomass, and co-firing of gasification gas with methane. The fuel and air are partially premixed in concentric tubes. Flame stabilization behavior is investigated and significantly different stabilization characteristics are observed in flames with and without the cone. Planar laser induced fluorescence (LIF) imaging of a fuel-tracer species, acetone, and OH radicals is carried out to characterize the flame structures. Large eddy simulations of the conical flames are carried out to gain further understanding of the flame/flow interaction in the cone. The data show that the flames with the cone are more stable than those without the cone. Without the cone (i.e. jet burner) the critical jet velocities for blowoff and liftoff of biomass derived gases are higher than that for methane/nitrogen mixture with the same heating values, indicating the enhanced flame stabilization by hydrogen in the mixture. With the cone the stability of flames is not sensitive to the compositions of the fuels, owing to the different flame stabilization mechanism in the conical flames than that in the jet flames. From the PLIF images it is shown that in the conical burner, the flame is stabilized by the cone at nearly the same position for different fuels. From large eddy simulations, the flames are shown to be controlled by the recirculation flows inside cone, which depends on the cone angle, but less sensitive to the fuel compositions and flow speed. The flames tend to be hold in the recirculation zones even at very high flow speed. Flame blowoff occurs when significant local extinction in the main body of the flame appears at high turbulence intensities.     

Self-Turbulent Flame Speeds

This paper reports an experimental investigation of premixed propane and methane-air flames propagating freely in tubes 1.5?m long and with diameters ranging from 26 to 141?mm. The thermo-acoustic instability was eliminated by means of a novel acoustic absorber placed at the closed end of the tube. We first remark that the flame can adopt different shapes either quasi-axisymmetric and normal to the mean direction of propagation, or inclined with a larger propagation speed because of the increase in flame surface area. The minima of the propagation speeds, corresponding to non-tilted flame propagation, are then analyzed using analytical models for the self-turbulent flame propagation. The concept of a cut-off wavelength appears to be relevant to explain the different behaviors observed on the rich side of methane-air and propane-air flames.     

Role of Buoyancy on Instabilities and Structure of Transitional Gas Jet Diffusion Flames

Transitional jet diffusion flames provide the link between dynamics of laminar and turbulent flames. In this study, instabilities and their interaction with the flow structure are explored in a transitional jet diffusion flame, with focus on isolating buoyancy effects. Experiments are conducted in hydrogen flames with fuel jet Reynolds number of up to 2,200 and average jet velocity of up to 54 m/s. Since the fuel jet is laminar at the injector exit, the transition from laminar to turbulent flame occurs by the hydrodynamic instabilities in the shear layer of fuel jet. The instabilities and the flow structures are visualized and quantified by the rainbow schlieren deflectometry technique coupled with a high-speed imaging system. The schlieren images acquired at 2,000 frames per second allowed exposure time of 23 μs with spatial resolution of 0.4 mm. Results identify a hitherto unknown secondary instability in the flame surface, provide explanation for the observed intermittency in the breakpoint length, show coherent vortical structures downstream of the flame breakpoint, and illustrate gradual breakdown of coherent structures into small-scale random structures in the far field turbulent region.     

Turbulent Combustion of Hydrogen–CO Mixtures

Laminar and turbulent burning velocities were measured in a closed-volume fan-stirred vessel for H₂–CO mixtures using two independent methods of flame definition. It has been shown that the unsteady flame development is an important factor and it needs to be taken into account for comparison of the burning rates obtained in different experiments. For the atmospheric pressure flames, the mixtures with faster laminar flame velocities burnt faster in turbulent flow despite the fact that the lean flames exhibit cellular structures. However, even a modest increase of the initial pressure promotes strongly cellularity and causes a significant acceleration of a lean laminar flame. The same lean flame burns faster in turbulent flow as well and this increase in the rate of combustion is greater that can be deduced from variation of the molecular heat diffusivity and laminar flame speed.     

Development of 3D Pocket Tracking Algorithm from Volumetric Measured Turbulent Flames

The flame pocket formation, including reactant pocket, product pocket, soot pocket, and fluid parcel, is a common phenomenon in turbulent combustion occurred as a response of the flame to flow straining and shearing. Understanding pocket behavior is vital to study the flames in such a regime. This work addresses the research need to experimentally measure and track multiple flame pockets in 3D. For this purpose, volumetric measurements were performed to measure the high-speed turbulent flame structure at 15 kHz based on emission tomography. With the 3D flame structures, a new tracking algorithm was developed to identify and track the multiple flame pockets simultaneously in 3D. The instantaneously tracked 3D flame pockets enabled the extraction of key properties of pocket dynamics, including the favorable formation location, 3D3C movement speed, and pocket expanding/shrinking speed. The developed methods were evidently able to resolve the detailed behavior of flame pockets in highly turbulent flames.

     

Near-Equidiffusion Disturbed Premixed Flames with Wider Reaction Zones

Most of the asymptotic considerations of the interaction of premixed flames with a general flow, i.e. curved and stretched flames subjected to time dependent flow, are dedicated to high activation energy asymptotes. Therefore, in these considerations the reaction zone is thin and the temperature within the reaction zone is constant to the leading order of approximation. Here we consider an order unity activation energy for near-equidiffusion flames and show that the flame speed relations obtained are distinct from those obtained by high activation energy asymptotes. The flame is assumed to be thin in comparison with the flow scales but the reaction zone is no longer thin in comparison with the flame width. Although obtaining analytical solutions is problematic even for undisturbed flames with wide reaction zones, we found that the propagation speed of disturbed premixed flames with wide reaction zones is determined by analytical integrals involving the temperature profile of the undisturbed flame. We also found independent effects of curvature and stretch for the flames with wider reaction zones. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Direct Numerical Simulation of a Gaussian acoustic wave interaction with a turbulent premixed flame

The interaction of a Gaussian negative pulse with a H₂/O₂/N₂ turbulent premixed flame is examined using Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS). Transport properties and chemical kinetics are described in a very detailed manner. An extended nonlinear local Rayleigh's criterion, for laminar as well as turbulent, premixed or nonpremixed flames, is proposed. Situations in which amplification or attenuation occur are listed. Calculations of a turbulent flame are then carried out with and without an acoustic wave and results are recorded at the same time. The influence of acoustic wave/turbulent flame interaction is obtained by a simple difference. It is shown that longitudinal and transverse velocity components are perturbed by the turbulent flame. Moreover, the vorticity induced by the acoustic wave is observed to be weak. Finally, Rayleigh's criterion shows that wave amplification occurs punctually. To cite this article: A. Laverdant, D. Thévenin, C. R. Mecanique 333 (2005).     

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.     

Flame-Flow Interaction in Premixed Turbulent Flames During Transient Head-On Quenching

This paper reports on experimental investigations of turbulent flame-wall interaction (FWI) during transient head-on quenching (HOQ) of premixed flames. The entire process, including flame-wall approach and flame quenching, was analyzed using high repetition rate particle image velocimetry (PIV) and simultaneous flame front tracking based on laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) of the OH molecule. The influence of convection upon flame structures and flow fields was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively for the fuels methane (CH₄) and ethylene (C₂H₄) at ? = 1. For this transient FWI, flames were initialized by laser spark ignition 5 mm above the burner nozzle. Subsequently, flames propagated against a steel wall, located 32 mm above the burner nozzle, where they were eventually quenched in the HOQ regime due to enthalpy losses. Twenty ignition events were recorded and analyzed for each fuel. Quenching distances were 179 μm for CH₄ and 159 μm for C₂H₄, which lead by nondimensionalization with flame thickness to Peclet numbers of 3.1 and 5.5, respectively. Flame wrinkling and fresh gas velocity fluctuations proved flame and flow laminarization during wall approach. Velocity fluctuations cause flame wrinkling, which is higher for CH₄ than C₂H₄ despite lower velocity fluctuations. Lewis number effects explained this phenomenon. Results from flame propagation showed that convection dominates propagation far from the wall and differences in flame propagation are related to the different laminar flame speeds of the fuels. Close to the wall flames of both fuels propagate similarly, but experimental results clearly indicate a decrease in intrinsic flame speed. In general, the experimental results are in good agreement with other experimental studies and several numerical studies, which are mainly based on direct numerical simulations.     

CH double-pulsed PLIF measurement in turbulent premixed flame

The flame displacement speeds in turbulent premixed flames have been measured directly by the CH double-pulsed planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF). The CH double-pulsed PLIF systems consist of two independent conventional CH PLIF measurement systems and laser beams from each laser system are led to same optical pass using the difference of polarization. The highly time-resolved measurements are conducted in relatively high Reynolds number turbulent premixed flames on a swirl-stabilized combustor. Since the time interval of the successive CH PLIF can be selected to any optimum value for the purpose intended, both of the large scale dynamics and local displacement of the flame front can be discussed. By selecting an appropriate time interval (100–200 μs), deformations of the flame front are captured clearly. Successive CH fluorescence images reveal the burning/generating process of the unburned mixtures or the handgrip structures in burnt gas, which have been predicted by three-dimensional direct numerical simulations of turbulent premixed flames. To evaluate the local flame displacement speed directly from the successive CH images, a flame front identification scheme and a displacement vector evaluation scheme are developed. Direct measurements of flame displacement speed are conducted by selecting a minute time interval (≈30 μs) for different Reynolds number (Re _λ = 63.1–115.0). Local flame displacement speeds coincide well for different Reynolds number cases. Furthermore, comparisons of the mean flame displacement speed and the mean fluid velocity show that the convection in the turbulent flames will affect the flame displacement speed for high Reynolds number flames.     

Numerical Study of Turbulent Jet Ignition in a Lean Premixed Configuration

Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of a hot combustion product jet interacting with a lean premixed hydrogen-air coflow are conducted to fundamentally investigate turbulent jet ignition (TJI) in a three-dimensional configuration. TJI is an efficient method for initiating and controlling combustion in ultra-lean combustion systems. Fully compressible gas dynamics and species equations are solved with high order finite difference methods. The hydrogen-air reaction is simulated with a reliable detailed chemical kinetics mechanism. The physical processes involved in the TJI-assisted combustion are investigated by considering the flame heat release, temperature, species concentrations, vorticity, and Baroclinc torque. The complex turbulent flame and flow structures are delineated in three main: i) hot product jet, ii) burned-mixed, and iii) flame zones. In the TJI-assisted combustion, the flow structures and the flame features such as flame speed, temperature, and species distribution are found to be quite different than those in “standard” turbulent premixed combustion due to the existence of a high energy turbulent hot product jet. The flow structures and statistics are also found to be different than those normally seen in non-isothermal non-reacting jets.     

LES Modeling of the Impact of Heat Losses and Differential Diffusion on Turbulent Stratified Flame Propagation: Application to the TU Darmstadt Stratified Flame

Common combustion chambers often exhibit turbulent flames propagating in partially-premixed mixtures. This propagation is generally governed by aerodynamics, unsteady mixing and chemical processes and may also be affected by conductive heat losses when the reactive zone develops close to the burner lips. The Filtered TAbulated Chemistry for Large Eddy Simulation (F-TACLES) model has been recently developed to include tabulated chemistry in Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of adiabatic stratified flames in flamelet regimes. The present article proposes a modeling approach to account for both differential diffusion and non-adiabatic effects on flame consumption speed following the F-TACLES formalism. The adiabatic F-TACLES model is first detailed using a generalized formalism for diffusive fluxes allowing either to account for differential diffusion or not. The F-TACLES model is then extended to non-adiabatic situations. A correction factor based on the non-adiabatic consumption rate is introduced to recover a realistic filtered flame consumption speed. The objective is here to tackle flame stabilization mechanisms when heat losses affect the reaction zone. The proposed approach is validated through the simulation of the unconfined stratified turbulent jet flame TSF-A for which stabilization process is affected by heat losses. Five simulations are performed for both adiabatic and non-adiabatic flow conditions comparing unity Lewis number and complex diffusion assumptions. The adiabatic F-TACLES model predicts a flame anchored at the burner lip disagreeing with experimental data. The non-adiabatic simulation exhibits local extinction due to heat losses near the burner exit. The flame is then lifted improving the comparison with experiments. Results also show a significant impact of molecular diffusion model on both mean flame consumption rate and angle.