Assessment of the Dynamic SGS Wrinkling Combustion Modeling Using the Thickened Flame Approach Coupled with FGM Tabulated Detailed Chemistry

The dynamic power-law wrinkling model proposed by Charlette et al. is coupled with Flamelet Generated Manifolds (FGM) tabulated chemistry combined with an artificially thickened flame model (ATF) for large eddy simulation. The dynamic formulation is similar to the “Germano” procedure and uses Taylor series based Gaussian filter. Thereby, the power-law wrinkling model parameter is considered to have both temporal and spatial dependency. Series of simulations are conducted for a lean premixed turbulent flame, using both dynamic and non-dynamic versions of the wrinkling model under different grid levels. The simulation results applying the non-dynamic wrinkling model show different behavior for each particular flame resolution, where none of the simulations could deliver the correct flame statistics, such as flame height. The dynamic version of the power-law wrinkling model improves the results independently of the flame resolution, as a consequence of the conservation of the total flame surface.     

Flow Physics of a Bluff-Body Swirl Stabilized Flame and their Prediction by Means of a Joint Eulerian Stochastic Field and Tabulated Chemistry Approach

In the frame of this work a transported joint scalar probability density function (PDF) method is combined with the flamelet generated manifolds (FGM) tabulated chemistry approach for large eddy simulation (LES) modeling of a three-dimensional turbulent premixed swirl burner. This strategy accounts for the turbulence-chemistry interaction at reasonable computational costs. At the same time, it allows the usage of detailed chemistry mechanisms for the creation of the chemical database. The simulation results obtained are comparatively assessed along with complementary measurements. Furthermore, transient and time-averaged data are used to provide insight into the flow physics of the bluff-body swirl stabilized flame considered. The sensitivity of the results to different modeling approaches regarding the predicted flame shape and its dynamics is also investigated, where the implemented approach is compared with the well-established artificially thickened flame (ATF) combustion model. Consequently, the investigation conducted in this work aims to provide a complete picture on the ability of the proposed combustion model to reproduce the flow conditions within complex bluff-body swirl stabilized flames.     

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.     

The Effect of Partial Premixing and Heat Loss on the Reacting Flow Field Prediction of a Swirl Stabilized Gas Turbine Model Combustor

This work addresses the prediction of the reacting flow field in a swirl stabilized gas turbine model combustor using large-eddy simulation. The modeling of the combustion chemistry is based on laminar premixed flamelets and the effect of turbulence-chemistry interaction is considered by a presumed shape probability density function. The prediction capabilities of the presented combustion model for perfectly premixed and partially premixed conditions are demonstrated. The effect of partial premixing for the prediction of the reacting flow field is assessed by comparison of a perfectly premixed and partially premixed simulation. Even though significant mixture fraction fluctuations are observed, only small impact of the non-perfect premixing is found on the flow field and flame dynamics. Subsequently, the effect of heat loss to the walls is assessed assuming perfectly premixing. The adiabatic baseline case is compared to heat loss simulations with adiabatic and non-adiabatic chemistry tabulation. The results highlight the importance of considering the effect of heat loss on the chemical kinetics for an accurate prediction of the flow features. Both heat loss simulations significantly improve the temperature prediction, but the non-adiabatic chemistry tabulation is required to accurately capture the chemical composition in the reacting layers.     

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).     

A comparative study of flame-wall interaction and flame-cooling air interaction

This paper presents a three-dimensional (3D) direct numerical simulation (DNS) study of flame-wall interaction (FWI) and flame-cooling air interaction (FCAI). A preheated, methane/air mixture enters a channel with constant temperature walls, where the top wall is effusion cooled. An imposed vertical hot sheet near the inlet creates two flame branches interacting with the top and bottom walls. The flame is observed to be leaner in the region where it interacts with the effusion cooling jets. In this region, the flame is longer and features reduced CO mass fraction. The fluctuations in the heat release rate (HRR) and CO mass fraction are also relatively small near the top wall. Near the bottom wall, finger-like flame structures are formed due to the interaction of turbulent vortices with the flame surface. These flame structures initially move away from the wall as they propagate further downstream before eventually collapsing at the wall. This leads to the creation of regions of high wall heat flux and CO. While analysis of the CO thermochemical state shows a complex picture near the bottom wall, two-dimensional (2D) manifolds can be identified near the top wall. Therefore, a framework to estimate CO mass fraction due to FCAI based on 1D freely-propagating flame solutions is proposed showing a good agreement with the DNS results.     

Heat Transfer Modeling in the Context of Large Eddy Simulation of Premixed Combustion with Tabulated Chemistry

Tabulated chemistry models like the Flamelet Generated Manifolds method are a good approach to include detailed information on the reaction kinetics in a turbulent flame at reasonable computational costs. However, so far, not all information on e.g. heat losses are contained in these models. As those often appear in typical technical applications with enclosed flames in combustion chambers, extensions to the standard FGM approach will be presented in this paper, allowing for the representation of non-adiabatic boundaries. The enthalpy as additional control variable for the table access is introduced, such that the chemistry database becomes three-dimensional with mixture fraction, reaction progress variable and enthalpy describing the thermo-chemical state. The model presented here is first validated with a two-dimensional enclosed Bunsen flame and then applied within the Large Eddy Simulations of a turbulent premixed swirl flame with a water-cooled bluff body and a turbulent stratified flame, where additional modeling for the flame structure using artificially thickened flames was included. The results are encouraging, as the temperature decrease towards the bluff body in the swirl flame and the cooling of the pilot flame exhaust gases in the stratified configuration can be observed in both experiments and simulation.     

A 5-D Implementation of FGM for the Large Eddy Simulation of a Stratified Swirled Flame with Heat Loss in a Gas Turbine Combustor

Numerical simulations are foreseen to provide a tremendous increase in gas-turbine burners efficiency in the near future. Modern developments in numerical schemes, turbulence models and the consistent increase of computing power allow Large Eddy Simulation (LES) to be applied to real cold flow industrial applications. However, the detailed simulation of the gas-turbine combustion process remains still prohibited because of its enormous computational cost. Several numerical models have been developed in order to reduce the costs of flame simulations for engineering applications. In this paper, the Flamelet-Generated Manifold (FGM) chemistry reduction technique is implemented and progressively extended for the inclusion of all the combustion features that are typically observed in stationary gas-turbine combustion. These consist of stratification effects, heat loss and turbulence. Three control variables are included for the chemistry representation: the reaction evolution is described by the reaction progress variable, the heat loss is described by the enthalpy and the stratification effect is expressed by the mixture fraction. The interaction between chemistry and turbulence is considered through a presumed beta-shaped probability density function (PDF) approach, which is considered for progress variable and mixture fraction, finally attaining a 5-D manifold. The application of FGM in combination with heat loss, fuel stratification and turbulence has never been studied in literature. To this aim, a highly turbulent and swirling flame in a gas turbine combustor is computed by means of the present 5-D FGM implementation coupled to an LES turbulence model, and the results are compared with experimental data. In general, the model gives a rather good agreement with experimental data. It is shown that the inclusion of heat loss strongly enhances the temperature predictions in the whole burner and leads to greatly improved NO predictions. The use of FGM as a combustion model shows that combustion features at gas turbine conditions can be satisfactorily reproduced with a reasonable computational effort. The implemented combustion model retains most of the physical accuracy of a detailed simulation while drastically reducing its computational time, paving the way for new developments of alternative fuel usage in a cleaner and more efficient combustion.     

Joint RANS/LES Approach to Premixed Flame Modelling in the Context of the TFC Combustion Model

We present an original timesaving joint RANS/LES approach to simulate turbulent premixed combustion. It is intended mainly for industrial applications where LES may not be practical. It is based on successive RANS/LES numerical modelling, where turbulent characteristics determined from RANS simulations are used in LES equations for estimation of the subgrid chemical source and viscosity. This approach has been developed using our TFC premixed combustion model, which is based on a generalization of the Kolmogorov’s ideas. We assume existence of small-scale statistically equilibrium structures not only of turbulence but also of the reaction zones. At the same time, non-equilibrium large-scale structures of reaction sheets and turbulent eddies are described statistically by model combustion and turbulence equations in RANS simulations or follow directly without modelling in LES. Assumption of small-scale equilibrium gives an opportunity to express the mean combustion rate (controlled by small-scale coupling of turbulence and chemistry) in the RANS and LES sub-problems in terms of integral or subgrid parameters of turbulence and the chemical time, i.e. the definition of the reaction rate is similar to that of the mean dissipation rate in turbulence models where it is expressed in terms of integral or subgrid turbulent parameters. Our approach therefore renders compatible the combustion and turbulent parts of the RANS and LES sub-problems and yields reasonable agreement between the RANS and averaged LES results. Combining RANS simulations of averaged fields with LES method (and especially coupled and acoustic codes) for simulation of corresponding nonstationary process (and unsteady combustion regimes) is a promising strategy for industrial applications. In this work we present results of simulations carried out employing the joint RANS/LES approach for three examples: High velocity premixed combustion in a channel, combustion in the shear flow behind an obstacle and the impinging flame (a premixed flame attached to an obstacle).     

Combustion Modeling Including Heat Loss Using Flamelet Generated Manifolds: A Validation Study in OpenFOAM

In numerical combustion applications the Flamelet Generated Manifolds technique (FGM) is being used at an increasingly number of occasions. This technique is an approach to reduce the chemistry efficiently and accurately. In the present work FGM is coupled to an OpenFOAM-based CFD solver. The multidimensional flame is described by an ensemble of 1D laminar flames generated through a 1D detailed chemistry solver, by taking into account both convective and diffusive contributions as well as the required source terms. The flame structure is parameterized as function of a progress variable and few controlling variables such as the variance of the progress variable and the enthalpy. A manifold, which collects the 1D flame properties, is built from the 1D flame solutions. For the progress variable and each controlling variable, a transport equation is added to the standard flow conservation equations. During runtime, key quantities are retrieved from the manifold by interpolation. The resulting FGM-CFD coupled code has two significant features: the ability to treat heat loss effects and the adoption of turbulence level to describe the flame structure, providing high quality numerical results within practical industrial configurations. In the present work, a backward-facing step configuration with a methane/air mixture is investigated. Some key aspects of reactive phenomena in standard industrial burner configurations, such as the recirculation region development and the flame stabilization, are considered here. Numerical simulations are performed comparing results with experiments available in literature (Banhawy et al. Combust. Flame 50:153–165, 18). Both RANS and LES approaches are adopted: improvements with respect to prior available works are highlighted. Moreover, LES data, available for the first time within this configuration, are used to provide a deeper insight of turbulence/combustion interaction.     

Large Eddy Simulation of Turbulent Premixed Swirling Flames Using Dynamic Thickened Flame with Tabulated Detailed Chemistry

A sub-grid scale (SGS) combustion model by combining dynamic thickened flame (DTF) with flamelet generated manifolds (FGM) tabulation approach (i.e. DTF-FGM) is developed for investigating turbulent premixed combustion. In contrast to the thickened flame model, the dynamic thickening factor of the DTF model is determined from the flame sensor, which is obtained from the normalized gradient of the reaction progress variable from the one-dimensional freely propagating premixed flame simulations. Therewith the DTF model can ensure that the thickening of the flame is limited to the regions where it is numerically necessary. To describe the thermo-chemistry states, large eddy simulation (LES) transport equations for two characteristic scalars (the mixture fraction and the reaction progress variable) and relevant sub-grid variances in the DTF-FGM model are presented. As to the evaluation of different SGS combustion models, another model by utilizing the combination of presumed probability density function (PPDF) and FGM (i.e. PPDF-FGM) is also described. LES of two cases with or without swirl in premixed regime of the Cambridge swirl burner flames are performed to evaluate the developed SGS combustion model. The predicted results are compared with the experimental data in terms of the influence of different LES grids, model sensitivities to the thickening factor, the wrinkling factor, and the PPDF of characteristic scalars, the evaluation of different modelling approaches for the sub-grid variances of characteristic scalars, and the predictive capability of different SGS combustion models. It is shown that the LES results with the DTF-FGM model are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data, and better than the results with the PPDF-FGM approach due to its ability to predict better in regions where flame is not resolved.     

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.     

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.     

Effects of the Local Flow Topologies Upon the Structure of a Premixed Methane-air Turbulent Jet Flame

Local flow topologies have been identified and their interactions with the iso-scalar surfaces geometries have been investigated using the results of a three-dimensional direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a turbulent premixed methane-air flame in a piloted Bunsen burner configuration with tabulated chemistry. The universal teardrop shape of the joint probability density function (jpdf) of the second and third invariants of the velocity-gradient tensor disappears in the different flame regions under study. A ‘canonical’ vortex, which affects the fine-scale structure of the turbulent premixed flame, has been identified and analyzed at three times, differing by increments of the order of the Kolmogorov time micro-scale.     

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.     

Large eddy simulation of turbulent premixed piloted flame using artificial thickened flame model coupled with tabulated chemistry

A sub-grid scale (SGS) combustion model, which combines the artificial thickened flame (ATF) model with the flamelet generated manifold (FGM) tabulation method, is proposed. Based on the analysis of laminar flame structures, two self-contained flame sensors are used to track the diffusion and reaction processes with different spatial scales in the flame front, respectively. The dynamic formulation for the proposed SGS combustion model is also performed. Large eddy simulations (LESs) of Bunsen flame F3 are used to evaluate the different SGS combustion models. The results show that the proposed SGS model has the ability in predicting the distributions of temperature and velocity reasonably, while the predictions for the distributions of some species need further improvement. The snapshots of instantaneous normalized progress variables reveal that the flame is more remarkably and severely wrinkled at the flame tip for flame F3. More satisfactory results obtained by the dynamic model indicate that it can preserve the premixed flame propagation characteristics better.     

On the Flame-generated Vorticity Dynamics of Bluff-body-stabilized Premixed Flames

This investigation considers the dynamics of flame-generated vorticity for a premixed, submerged bluff-body stabilized flame. Experimentation characterizes the far-field region in particular with a level of detail not previously afforded to this type of flow. Simultaneous particle imaging velocimetry (PIV), Mie scattering and CH ^? chemiluminescence are used to obtain velocity fields and flame location. Mean static pressure measurements at the combustion chamber wall capture the pressure field. Analysis of the flame fronts in relation to the mean velocity and vorticity fields provides useful insight into the interaction of the flame and the flow. The unique nature of the velocity and vorticity fields and their effect on downstream flame structures are explained by the baroclinic torque generation of vorticity. The coupling that exists among pressure, heat release, and baroclinic generation is acknowledged and will influence strategies for control of the baroclinic mechanism.     

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.     

A novel method for chemistry tabulation of strained premixed/stratified flames based on principal component analysis

The principal component analysis (PCA) is used to analyze the high dimensional chemistry data of laminar premixed/stratified flames under strain effects. The first few principal components (PCs), which have larger contribution ratios, are chosen as the tabulated scalars to build the look-up chemistry table. Prior tests show that the strained premixed flame structure can be well reconstructed. To highlight the physical meanings of the tabulated scalars in the stratified flames, a modified PCA method is developed, where the mixture fraction is used to replace one of the PCs with the highest correlation coefficient with a mixture fraction. The other two tabulated scalars are then modified with the Schmidt orthogonalization. The modified tabulated scalars not only have clear physical meanings, but also contain passive scalars. The PCA method has good commonality, and can be extended for building the thermo-chemistry table including strain rate effects when different fuels are used.     

Resolution Requirements in Stochastic Field Simulation of Turbulent Premixed Flames

The spatial resolution requirements of the Stochastic Fields probability density function approach are investigated in the context of turbulent premixed combustion simulation. The Stochastic Fields approach is an attractive way to implement a transported Probability Density Function modelling framework into Large Eddy Simulations of turbulent combustion. In premixed combustion LES, the numerical grid should resolve flame-like structures that arise from solution of the Stochastic Fields equation. Through analysis of Stochastic Fields simulations of a freely-propagating planar turbulent premixed flame, it is shown that the flame-like structures in the Stochastic Fields simulations can be orders of magnitude narrower than the LES filter length scale. The under-resolution is worst for low Karlovitz number combustion, where the thickness of the Stochastic Fields flame structures is on the order of the laminar flame thickness. The effect of resolution on LES predictions is then assessed by performing LES of a laboratory Bunsen flame and comparing the effect of refining the grid spacing and filter length scale independently. The usual practice of setting the LES filter length scale equal to grid spacing leads to severe under-resolution and numerical thickening of the flame, and to substantial error in the turbulent flame speed. The numerical resolution required for accurate solution of the Stochastic Fields equations is prohibitive for many practical applications involving high-pressure premixed combustion. This motivates development of a Thickened Stochastic Fields approach (Picciani et al. Flow Turbul. Combust. X, YYY (2018) in order to ensure the numerical accuracy of Stochastic Fields simulations.