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.     

A Lagrangian-based flame index for the transported probability density function method

We propose a new flame index for the transported probability density function(PDF) method. The flame index uses mixing flux projections of Lagrangian particles on mixture fraction and progress variable directions as the metrics to identify the combustion mode, with the Burke-Schumann solution as a reference. A priori validation of the flame index is conducted with a series of constructed turbulent partially premixed reactors. It indicates that the proposed flame index is able to identify the combustion mode based on the subgrid mixing information. The flame index is then applied the large eddy simulation/PDF datasets of turbulent partially premixed jet flames. Results show that the flame index separate different combustion modes and extinction correctly. The proposed flame index provides a promising tool to analyze and model the partially premixed flames adaptively.     

Study of a Filtered Flamelet Formulation for Large Eddy Simulation of Premixed Turbulent Flames

Despite significant advances in the understanding and modelling of turbulent combustion, no general model has been proposed for simulating flames in industrial combustion devices. Recently, the increase in computational possibilities has raised the hope of directly solving the large turbulent scales using large eddy simulation (LES) and capturing the important time-dependant phenomena. However, the chemical reactions involved in combustion occur at very small scales and the modelling of turbulent combustion processes is still required within the LES framework. In the present paper, a recently presented model for the LES of turbulent premixed flames is presented, analysed and discussed. The flamelet hypothesis is used to derive a filtered source term for the filtered progress variable equation. The model ensures proper flame propagation. The effect of subgrid scale (SGS) turbulence on the flame is modelled through the flame-wrinkling factor. The present modelling of the source term is successfully tested against filtered direct numerical simulation (DNS) data of a V-shape flame. Further, a premixed turbulent flame, stabilised behind an expansion, is simulated. The predictions agree well with the available experimental data, showing the capabilities of the model for performing accurate simulations of unsteady premixed flames.     

A Two-Dimensional Tabulated Flamelet Combustion Model for Furnace Applications

A new tabulated chemistry approach for representing turbulent combustion in industrial furnaces is presented. This model is based on the tabulation of two dimensional diffusion flamelets to account for ternary mixtures between fuel, oxidant and burned gases which are integrated over probability density functions. To avoid excessive CPU time for the table generation, the calculation of the two dimensional flamelets is performed using the method proposed in the ADF-PCM (Approximated Diffusion Flame - Presumed Conditional Moment) approach: only the equation for the progress variable is solved, instead of the equations for all species. The progress variable reaction rate is given by a table of homogeneous reactors using the DHR model (Diluted Homogeneous Reactor) proposed by Locci et al. These approximated diffusion flames are first compared to exact diffusion flames computed using the flamelet equations and the chemistry for all species. The resulting model, called A2DF (Approximate 2 Dimensional Flamelet) is then applied to the RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) simulations of Sandia Flames D and F, showing a good agreement with experimental measurements. Finally, this model is applied to the flameless and conventional combustion cases of the burner of Verissimo et al., showing a correct agreement for temperature and species predictions.     

LES/PDF Modeling of Turbulent Premixed Flames with Locally Enhanced Mixing by Reaction

Large-eddy simulations (LES) combined with the transported probability density function (PDF) method are carried out for two turbulent piloted premixed methane-air jet flames (flame F1 and flame F3) to assess the capability of LES/PDF for turbulent premixed combustion. The conventionally used model for the sub-filter scale mixing time-scale (or the mixing frequency) fails to capture the premixed flames correctly. This failure is expected to be caused by the lack of the sub-filter scale premixed flame propagation property in the sub-filter scale mixing process when the local flame front is under-resolved. It leads to slower turbulent premixed flame propagation and wider flame front. A new model for specifying the sub-filter scale mixing frequency is developed to account for the effect of sub-filter scale chemical reaction on mixing, based on past development of models for the sub-filter scale scalar dissipation rate in premixed combustion. The new model is assessed in the two turbulent premixed jet flames F1 and F3. Parametric studies are performed to examine the new model and its sensitivity when combined with the different mixing models. Significantly improved performance of the new mixing frequency model is observed to capture the premixed flame propagation reasonably, when compared with the conventional model. The sensitivity of the flame predictions is found be relatively weak to the different mixing models in conjunction with the new mixing frequency model.     

Assessing the Predictive Capabilities of Combustion LES as Applied to the Sydney Flame Series

Large Eddy Simulation (LES) and flamelet-based combustion models were applied to four bluff-body stabilized nonpremixed and partially premixed flames selected from the Sydney flame series, based on Masri’s bluff-body test rig (University of Sydney). Three related non-reacting flow cases were also investigated to assess the performance of the LES solver. Both un-swirled and swirled cases were studied exhibiting different flow features, such as recirculation, jet precessing and vortex breakdown. Due to various fuel compositions, flow rates and swirl numbers, the combustion characteristics of the flames varied greatly. On six meshes with different blocking structure and mesh sizes, good prediction of flow and scalar fields using LES/flamelet approaches and known fuel and oxidizer mass fluxes was achieved. The accuracy of predictions was strongly influenced by the combustion model used. All flames were calculated using at least two modeling strategies. Starting with calculations of isothermal flow cases, simple single flamelet based calculations were carried out for the corresponding reacting cases. The combustion models were then adjusted to fit the requirements of each flame. For all flame calculations good agreement of the main flow features with the measured data was achieved. For purely nonpremixed flames burning attached to the bluff-body’s outer edge, flamelet modeling including strain rate effects provided good results for the flow field and for most scalars. The prediction of a partially premixed swirl flame could only be achieved by applying a flamelet-based progress variable approach.     

RANS Simulations of a Series of Turbulent V-Shaped Flames using Conditional Source-term Estimation

In the present study, Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) simulations are applied to a series of turbulent V-shaped flames. Two formulations of Conditional Source-term Estimation (CSE) are developed using singly and doubly conditioned averages for turbulent premixed and partially premixed flames, respectively. Detailed chemistry is included. Conditionally averaged chemical source terms are closed by conditional averaged scalars which are obtained by inverting an integral equation. The objectives are to study a turbulent premixed V-shaped flame using the premixed CSE approach and apply the Doubly Conditional CSE (DCSE) combustion model to a case of stratified combustion. The partially premixed implementation involves double conditioning on two variables, mixture fraction and progress variable. The present study represents the first application of DCSE for a series of turbulent stratified flames. First, CSE is analysed for fully premixed conditions. A sensitivity analysis on the number of CSE ensembles and different scalar dissipation model closures is performed. Good results are obtained in terms of velocity and progress variable profiles. Finally, the partially premixed formulation is applied to the stratified case at three different conditions, corresponding to two different turbulence grids and three different profiles of the equivalence ratio, providing promising results.     

Large Eddy Simulation of Air Entrainment and Mixing in Reacting and Non-Reacting Diesel Sprays

Large eddy simulation is performed to investigate air entrainment and mixing in diesel sprays with and without combustion. The Spray A case of the Engine Combustion Network (ECN) is considered in the study, in which liquid n-Dodecane is injected at 1500 bar through a nozzle of 90 μm into a constant volume vessel with an ambient density of 22.8 kg/m³ and an ambient temperature of 900 K. Primary and secondary breakup processes of the liquid fuel are taken into account. The gas and liquid phases are modeled using Eulerian/Lagrangian coupling approach. Detailed chemical kinetics for n-Dodecane is employed to simulate the ignition process and the lifted flames. A chemistry coordinate mapping approach is used for speeding up the calculations. The effect of low temperature ignition (cool flame) on the evaporation process and on the liquid penetration length is analyzed. The effect of combustion heat release from the lifted flames on the vapor spreading in the radial direction and on the vapor transport in the streamwise direction (vapor penetration) is investigated.     

Impact of Turbulent Flow and Mean Mixture Fraction Results on Mixing Model Behavior in Transported Scalar PDF Simulations of Turbulent Non-premixed Bluff Body Flames

Numerical simulation results are presented for three turbulent jet diffusion flames, stabilized behind a bluff body (Sydney Flames HM1-3). Interaction between turbulence and combustion is modeled with the transported joint-scalar PDF approach. The focus of the study is on the impact of the quality of simulation results in physical space on the behavior of two micro-mixing models in composition space: the Euclidean Minimum Spanning Tree (‘EMST’) model and the modified Curl coalescence dispersion (‘CD’) model. Profiles of conditional means and variances of thermo-chemical quantities, conditioned on the mixture fraction, are discussed in the recirculation region and in the neck zone behind. The impact of the flow and mixing fields in physical space on the mixing model behavior in composition space is strong for the CD model and increases as the turbulence – chemistry interaction becomes stronger. The EMST conditional profiles, on the contrary, are hardly affected.     

One-Dimensional Modeling of Turbulent Premixed Jet Flames - Comparison to DNS

The one-dimensional turbulence (ODT) model, formulated in an Eulerian reference frame, is applied to a temporally-evolving premixed turbulent hydrogen plane-jet flame and results are compared with direct numerical simulation (DNS) data. This is the first published study to perform direct comparisons of ODT to DNS for premixed flames. The ODT model solves the full set of conservation equations for mass, momentum, energy, and species on a one-dimensional domain corresponding to the transverse jet direction. The effects of turbulent mixing are modeled via a stochastic process, while the full range of diffusive-reactive length and time scales are resolved directly on the one-dimensional domain. A detailed chemical mechanism for hydrogen combustion consisting of 9 species and 21 reactions and a mixture-averaged transport model are used (consistent with the DNS). Cases with two different Damköhler numbers are considered and comparisons between the ODT and DNS data are shown with respect to flow dynamics and thermochemistry. The ODT compared favorably with the DNS in terms of the overall entrainment as judged by the streamwise velocity profile and in terms of local flamelet structure as judged by progress-variable conditional reaction and scalar dissipation rates. While the ODT agreed qualitatively with the overall flame evolution, the net fuel consumption rate was somewhat over-predicted for a brief early period and under-predicted later on, leading to an overly long flame burnout time. It was demonstrated that adjusting a parameter controlling the selection of large eddies improved the prediction of the peak fuel consumption rate and overall reaction progress but worsened the prediction of jet entrainment. An analysis of the 1D nature of ODT is presented that suggests the FSD in ODT needs to be much higher than the FSD in the DNS in order to achieve the same overall burning rate, suggesting that the FSD is under-predicted by a significant fraction. While the success of the ODT in reproducing many of the salient features of nonpremixed flames has been demonstrated, the current study suggests that improvements are needed when applied to premixed flames. It is also important to note that the DNS required approximately 40×10⁶ CPU hours while the ODT required approximately 10³ CPU hours.     

Flow and Mixing Fields for Transported Scalar PDF Simulations of a Piloted Jet Diffusion Flame (‘Delft Flame III’)

Numerical simulation results are presented for ‘Delft Flame III’, a piloted jet diffusion flame with strong turbulence–chemistry interaction. While pilot flames emerge from 12 separate holes in the experiments, the simulations are performed on a rectangular grid, under the assumption of axisymmetry. In the first part of the paper, flow and mixing field results are presented with a non-linear first order k–ε model, with the transport equation for ε based on a modeled enstrophy transport equation, for cold and reactive flows. For the latter, the turbulence model is applied in combination with pre-assumed β-PDF modeling for the turbulence–chemistry interaction. The mixture fraction serves as conserved scalar. Two chemistry models are considered: chemical equilibrium and a steady laminar flamelet model. The importance of the turbulence model is highlighted. The influence of the chemistry model is noticeable too. A procedure is described to construct appropriate inlet boundary conditions. Still, the generation of accurate inlet boundary conditions is shown to be far less important, their effect being local, close to the nozzle exit. In the second part of the paper, results are presented with the transported scalar PDF approach as turbulence–chemistry interaction model. A C₁ skeletal scheme serves as chemistry model, while the EMST method is applied as micro-mixing model. For the transported PDF simulations, the model for the pilot flames, as an energy source term in the mean enthalpy transport equation, is important with respect to the accuracy of the flow field predictions. It is explained that the strong influence on the flow and mixing field is through the turbulent shear stress force in the region, close to the nozzle exit.     

高马赫数下超声速燃烧的自点火查表方法

超燃冲压发动机燃烧室工作在高马赫数工况时, 入口来流空气的总焓非常高, 自点火在高焓条件下成为维持火焰稳定的重要物理化学过程. 本文借鉴火焰面/进度变量模型的降维思路, 发展了一种基于化学动力学的自点火建表方法. 通过定义混合分数和进度变量将复杂多维的化学反应降维, 并成功将数据库方法结合到现有的大涡模拟求解器中. 经过测试和验证, 该方法初步具备对超声速自点火燃烧进行仿真描述的能力. 针对自点火诱导的超声速燃烧问题开展数值模拟, 该方法通过查表的方式有效降低了化学反应求解过程中的计算量. 在采用详细化学反应机理时能够准确地再现自点火行为和火焰结构, 并且预测的温度和重要组分分布与实验吻合较好.      

Large-Eddy Simulations of Spray a Flames Using Explicit Coupling of the Energy Equation with the FGM Database

This paper provides a numerical study on n-dodecane flames using Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) along with the Flamelet Generated Manifold (FGM) method for combustion modeling. The computational setup follows the Engine Combustion Network Spray A operating condition, which consists of a single-hole spray injection into a constant volume vessel. Herein we propose a novel approach for the coupling of the energy equation with the FGM database for spray combustion simulations. Namely, the energy equation is solved in terms of the sensible enthalpy, while the heat of combustion is calculated from the FGM database. This approach decreases the computational cost of the simulation because it does not require a precise computation of the entire composition of the mixture. The flamelet database is generated by simulating a series of counterflow diffusion flames with two popular chemical kinetics mechanisms for n-dodecane. Further, the secondary breakup of the droplet is taken into account by a recently developed modified version of the Taylor Analogy Breakup model. The numerical results show that the proposed methodology captures accurately the main characteristics of the reacting spray, such as mixture formation, ignition delay time, and flame lift-off. Additionally, it captures the “cool flame" between the flame lift-off and the injection nozzle. Overall, the simulations show differences between the two kinetics mechanisms regarding the ignition characteristics, while similar flame structures are observed once the flame is stabilised at the lift-off distance.

     

A Fully Implicit, Compact Finite Difference Method for the Numerical Solution of Unsteady Laminar Flames

Forced laminar diffusion flames form an important class of problems that can help to bridge the significant gap between steady laminar flames in simple burner configurations and the turbulent flames found in many practical combustors. Such flames offer a much wider range of interactions between convection, diffusion, and chemical reaction than can be examined under steady-state conditions, and yet detailed simulations of them should be feasible without having to resort to “modeling” any of the relevant physics, above all without having prematurely to reduce the large kinetic mechanisms typical of hydrocarbon fuels. Nevertheless, the computation of time-dependent laminar diffusion flames with conventional numerical methods is hindered by technical challenges that, while not new, are more troublesome to surmount than in the calculation of otherwise similar, unforced flames. First, the intricate spatiotemporal coupling between fluid dynamics and combustion thermochemistry ensures that spurious numerical diffusion or spatial under-resolution of the mixing process at any stage of the computation can lead to inaccurate prediction of flame characteristics for the remainder thereof. Second, relatively long simulated flow times and extremely short chemical time scales make many standard time integration algorithms impractical on all but the largest parallel computer clusters. This paper introduces a new numerical approach for time-varying laminar flames that addresses these challenges through the use of high order compact finite difference schemes within a robust, fully implicit solver based on a Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov method. The capabilities of this implicit-compact solver are demonstrated on a periodically forced axisymmetric laminar jet diffusion flame with one-step Arrhenius chemistry, and the results are compared to those of a conventional low order finite difference solver.     

MESHLESS METHOD FOR NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF SHOCK-INDUCED COMBUSTION

发展了基于无网格方法的激波诱导燃烧流场数值模拟算法. 该算法采用二维多组分Euler方程,在点云离散的基础上采用曲面逼近计算空间导数,引入多组分HLLC （Harten-Lax-van Leer-contact） 格式计算无黏通量,运用四阶Runge-Kutta 法进行时间显式推进,化学动力学采用有限速率反应模型. 对不同预混气体中的激波诱导燃烧流场进行了数值模拟,结果同相关文献吻合较好,验证了算法的正确性.     

Emission and laser-induced fluorescence imaging methods in experimental combustion

Imaging methods provide new insights into many fundamental combustion processes. Many imaging techniques have been devised in recent years and applied to a range of experiments. One particularly useful method is to seed the flow with oil particles and illuminate the domain of interest with a planar sheet of laser light. The droplets evaporate and vanish when they pass through the flame. The light scattered by the particles may be imaged for example with a CCD camera or with high-speed cinematography to show the structure and dynamics of the flame front. This technique, sometimes called laser tomography, is based on Mie scattering. It provides essentially qualitative information on the geometry and motion of the flame front. Another valuable method relies on spontaneous emission imaging. In this method the light emitted by certain radicals produced by the chemical reaction is detected by a camera and delivered to a computer for further processing. In some circumstances it is possible to deduce from this measurement the spatial distribution of heat release in the reactive flow. More quantitative data may be gathered with planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) imaging. The reactive flow is illuminated with a planar laser sheet delivered by a tunable laser. The laser light excites the fluorescence of a species that is present in the flow, which is then detected with an intensified CCD camera. The data obtained in this way can be processed to obtain spatial measurements of the species concentration. The basic principles, equipment requirements, and experimental aspects of these three imaging techniques are reviewed. Practical applications to turbulent flames are emphasized. It is shown that emission imaging applied to turbulent ducted flames yields interesting information for modeling. A second example of application is the ignition sequence of a multiple-injector combustor, of importance to modern cryogenic rocket engines. Emission and PLIF imaging have been used to obtain data on the development of the initial flame kernel and on its propagation from the first injector to the next. The images gathered in this experiment yield a unique view on the flame patterns that lead to the final stabilization of the reactive fronts. While current imaging methods are essentially qualitative, it is possible to deduce quantitative results from the data, and some of the present limitations may be overcome with more refined measurement procedures. These issues are analyzed, and future developments in this area are evaluated.     

Large-Eddy Simulation of Lean Premixed Turbulent Flames of Three Different Combustion Configurations using a Novel Reaction Closure

This large eddy simulation (LES) study is applied to three different premixed turbulent flames under lean conditions at atmospheric pressure. The hierarchy of complexity of these flames in ascending order are a simple Bunsen-like burner, a sudden-expansion dump combustor, and a typical swirl-stabilized gas turbine burner–combustor. The purpose of this paper is to examine numerically whether the chosen combination of the Smagorinsky turbulence model for sgs fluxes and a novel turbulent premixed reaction closure is applicable over all the three combustion configurations with varied degree of flow and turbulence. A quality assessment method for the LES calculations is applied. The cold flow data obtained with the Smagorinsky closure on the dump combustor are in close proximity with the experiments. It moderately predicts the vortex breakdown and bubble shape, which control the flame position on the double-cone burner. Here, the jet break-up at the root of the burner is premature and differs with the experiments by as much as half the burner exit diameter, attributing the discrepancy to poor grid resolution. With the first two combustion configurations, the applied subgrid reaction model is in good correspondence with the experiments. For the third case, a complex swirl-stabilized burner–combustor configuration, although the flow field inside the burner is only modestly numerically explored, the level of flame stabilization at the junction of the burner–combustor has been rather well captured. Furthermore, the critical flame drift from the combustor into the burner was possible to capture in the LES context (which was not possible with the RANS plus k–ɛ model), however, requiring tuning of a prefactor in the reaction closure.     

Finite Rate Chemistry Effects in Turbulent Reacting Flows

The classical “fast chemistry” analysis by Damköhler remains a common basis for calculation methods aimed at turbulent reacting flows. Perturbation approaches can be used to introduce finite rate chemistry effects, particularly where a distinct chemical time-scale separation is present, though more comprehensive techniques, e.g. based on a transported joint probability density function (JPDF), are typically required. Potential difficulties with the JPDF technique include issues related to the intrinsic structure of turbulent flames, particularly at low Reynolds numbers, and models for molecular mixing. The ability to predict the formation of NO is particularly interesting in this context given the strong sensitivity to chemical kinetic and non-adiabatic effects. The current work initially provides an assessment of uncertainties in the formation chemistry of NO in the context of new quantitative measurements, obtained in non-premixed laminar methane/air counterflow flames using ps-LIF, and subsequently explores how these translate to turbulent flames. A consistent systematically reduced (16 independent, 4 dependent and 28 steady state scalars) reaction mechanism is applied to model the turbulent flames of Barlow and co-workers (8200 ≤Re≤ 44000). The highest Re number flame additionally permits an investigation into the ability of the transported JPDF technique to deal with emissions of nitric oxide in flames close to global extinction. The work shows that the technique has the potential to reproduce NO levels and conditional PDFs under conditions with significant local extinction/re-ignition to within the uncertainties associated with the principal elementary reaction steps.     

Analysis of Mixing Models for use in Simulations of Turbulent Spray Combustion

The present study concerns the investigation of different mixing models for use in the transported probability density function (PDF) modeling of turbulent (reacting) spray flows. The modeling of the turbulent mixing and other characteristic scalar variables such as gas enthalpy using transported (joint) PDFs has become an important method to describe turbulent (reacting) spray flows since the evaporation process causes the PDF of the mixture fraction to deviate from the widely used β function, which is typically used in models for turbulent gas flows. In the PDF transport equation, the molecular mixing does not appear in closed form so that modeling strategies are required. For gas combustion, the interaction-by-exchange-with-the-mean (IEM) model, the modified Curl (MC) model, and the Euclidean minimum spanning tree (EMST) models are used. More recently, a new mixing model, the PSP model, which is based on parameterized scalar profiles has been developed. The present study focuses on the use and analysis of the IEM, MC and PSP models for turbulent spray flames. For this purpose, the models are reconsidered with respect to the evaporation process that must be included and evaluated if spray combustion is considered. For model evaluation, turbulent ethanol/air spray flames are simulated, and the results are compared to experimental data by A. Masri, University of Sydney, Australia.