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.