scholarly journals Effects of thermal expansion, strain rate, and gravity force on the steady propagation of a premixed flame in semi-closed channels

AIP Advances ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 125112
Author(s):  
Yifan Han ◽  
Luhao Liu
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Strain Rate ◽  
Premixed Flame ◽  
Gravity Force ◽  
Steady Propagation

The Structure of Two-Stage Counterflow n-Heptane-Air Flames

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. K. Aggarwal ◽  
H. S. Xue
Keyword(s):  
Strain Rate ◽  
Reaction Zone ◽  
Equivalence Ratio ◽  
Flame Structure ◽  
Premixed Combustion ◽  
Premixed Flame ◽  
Partially Premixed Combustion ◽  
Reaction Zones ◽  
Partially Premixed ◽  
Partially Premixed Flame

Partially premixed flames are formed by mixing air (in less than stoichiometric amounts) into the fuel stream prior to the reaction zone, where additional air is available for complete combustion. Such flames can occur in both laboratory and practical combustion systems. In advanced gas turbine combustor designs, such as a lean direct injection (LDI) combustor, partially premixed combustion represents an impotent mode of burning. Spray combustion often involves partially premixed combustion due to the locally fuel vapor-rich regions. In the present study, the detailed structure of n-heptane/air partially premixed flame in a counterflow configuration is investigated. The flame is computed by employing the Oppdif code and a detailed reaction mechanism consisting of 275 elementary reactions and 41 species. The partially premixed flame structure is characterized by two-stage burning or two distinct but synergistically coupled reaction zones, a rich premixed zone on the fuel side and a ‘nonpremixed zone on the air side. The fuel is completely consumed in the premixed zone with ethylene and acetylene being the major intermediate species. The reactions involving the consumption of these species are found to be the key rate-limiting reactions that characterize interactions between the two reaction zones, and determine the overall fuel consumption rate. The flame response to the variations in equivalence ratio and strain rate is examined. Increasing equivalence ratio and/or strain rate to a critical value leads to merging of the two reaction zones. The equivalence ratio variation affects the rich premixed reaction zone, while the variation in strain rate predominantly affects the nonpremixed reaction zone. The flame structure is also characterized in terms of a modified mixture fraction (conserved scalar), and laminar flamelet profiles are provided.

EFFECT OF HIGH TEMPERATURE DEFORMATION ON THE LOW THERMAL EXPANSION BEHAVIOR OF FE-29%NI-17%CO ALLOY

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (31n32) ◽  
pp. 6016-6021 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. LEE ◽  
J. NAMKUNG ◽  
M. C. KIM
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Strain Rate ◽  
Strain Rate Range ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
High Temperature Deformation ◽  
Temperature Deformation ◽  
Thermal Expansion Behavior ◽  
Low Thermal Expansion ◽  
Expansion Behavior

The effect of high temperature deformation on the low thermal expansion property of Fe -29 Ni -17 Co alloy was investigated in the compressive temperature range of 900~1300°C at a strain rate range of 25 ~ 0.01 sec. -1. The thermal expansion coefficient (α30~400) generally increased with increasing compressive temperature. In particular, α30~400 increased remarkably as the strain rate decreased at temperatures above 1100°C. Note, however, that α30~400 at low compressive temperatures (900°C and 1000°C) increased abnormally at high strain rates. Based on the investigation of various possibilities of change in low thermal expansion behavior, the experimental results indicated that both the appearance of the α phase and evolution of grain size due to hot compression clearly influenced the low thermal expansion behavior of this invar-type alloy. The correlation between the microstructural cause and invar phenomena and theoretical explanation for the low thermal expansion behavior of Fe -29% Ni -17% Co were also suggested.

scholarly journals Comparison of the Reactive Scalar Gradient Evolution between Homogeneous MILD Combustion and Premixed Turbulent Flames

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 7677
Author(s):  
Hazem S.A.M. Awad ◽  
Khalil Abo-Amsha ◽  
Umair Ahmed ◽  
Nilanjan Chakraborty
Keyword(s):  
Strain Rate ◽  
Turbulence Intensity ◽  
Premixed Flames ◽  
Premixed Flame ◽  
Normal Strain ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Mild Combustion ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Displacement Speed ◽  
Reactive Scalar

Moderate or intense low-oxygen dilution (MILD) combustion is a novel combustion technique that can simultaneously improve thermal efficiency and reduce emissions. This paper focuses on the differences in statistical behaviours of the surface density function (SDF = magnitude of the reaction progress variable gradient) between conventional premixed flames and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) type homogeneous-mixture combustion under MILD conditions using direct numerical simulations (DNS) data. The mean values of the SDF in the MILD combustion cases were found to be significantly smaller than those in the corresponding premixed flame cases. Moreover, the mean behaviour of the SDF in response to the variations of turbulence intensity were compared between MILD and premixed flame cases, and the differences are explained in terms of the strain rates induced by fluid motion and the ones arising from flame displacement speed. It was found that the effects of dilatation rate were much weaker in the MILD combustion cases than in the premixed flame cases, and the reactive scalar gradient in MILD combustion cases preferentially aligns with the most compressive principal strain-rate eigendirection. By contrast, the reactive scalar gradient preferentially aligned with the most extensive principal strain-rate eigendirection within the flame in the premixed flame cases considered here, but the extent of this alignment weakened with increasing turbulence intensity. This gave rise to a predominantly positive mean value of normal strain rate in the premixed flames, whereas the mean normal strain rate remained negative, and its magnitude increased with increasing turbulence intensity in the MILD combustion cases. The mean value of the reaction component of displacement speed assumed non-negligible values in the MILD combustion cases for a broader range of reaction progress variable, compared with the conventional premixed flames. Moreover, the mean displacement speed increased from the unburned gas side to the burned gas side in the conventional premixed flames, whereas the mean displacement speed in MILD combustion cases decreased from the unburned gas side to the middle of the flame before increasing mildly towards the burned gas side. These differences in the mean displacement speed gave rise to significant differences in the mean behaviour of the normal strain rate induced by the flame propagation and effective strain rate, which explains the differences in the SDF evolution and its response to the variation of turbulence intensity between the conventional premixed flames and MILD combustion cases. The tangential fluid-dynamic strain rate assumed positive mean values, but it was overcome by negative mean values of curvature stretch rate to yield negative mean values of stretch rate for both the premixed flames and MILD combustion cases. This behaviour is explained in terms of the curvature dependence of displacement speed. These findings suggest that the curvature dependence of displacement speed and the scalar gradient alignment with local principal strain rate eigendirections need to be addressed for modelling EGR-type homogeneous-mixture MILD combustion.

Taylor dispersion and thermal expansion effects on flame propagation in a narrow channel

2014 ◽  
Vol 754 ◽  
pp. 161-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Pearce ◽  
J. Daou
Keyword(s):  
Activation Energy ◽  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Peclet Number ◽  
Propagation Speed ◽  
Narrow Channel ◽  
Variable Density ◽  
Taylor Dispersion ◽  
Premixed Flame ◽  
Asymptotic Results ◽  
Péclet Number

AbstractWe investigate the propagation of a premixed flame subject to thermal expansion through a narrow channel against a Poiseuille flow of large amplitude. This is the first study to consider the effect of a large-amplitude flow, characterised by a Péclet number of order one, $\def \xmlpi #1{}\def \mathsfbi #1{\boldsymbol {\mathsf {#1}}}\let \le =\leqslant \let \leq =\leqslant \let \ge =\geqslant \let \geq =\geqslant \def \Pr {\mathit {Pr}}\def \Fr {\mathit {Fr}}\def \Rey {\mathit {Re}}\mathit{Pe}=O(1)$, on a variable-density premixed flame in the asymptotic limit of a narrow channel. It is also the first study on Taylor dispersion in the context of combustion. The relationship between the propagation speed and Péclet number is investigated, with the effect of large flame-front thickness $\epsilon $ and activation energy $\beta $ studied asymptotically in an appropriate distinguished limit. The premixed flame for $\epsilon \to \infty $, with $\mathit{Pe}=O(1)$, is found to be governed by the equation for a planar premixed flame with an effective diffusion coefficient. In this case the premixed flame can be considered to be in the Taylor regime of enhanced dispersion due to a parallel flow. The infinite activation energy limit $\beta \to \infty $ is taken to provide an analytical description of the propagation speed. Corresponding results are obtained for a premixed flame in the constant-density approximation. The asymptotic results are compared to numerical results obtained for selected values of $\epsilon $ and $\beta $ and for moderately large values of the Péclet number. Physical reasons for the differences in propagation speed between constant- and variable-density flames are discussed. Finally, the asymptotic results are shown to agree with those of previous studies performed in the limit $\mathit{Pe}\to 0$.

scholarly journals Influence of Thermal Expansion on Fluid Dynamics of Turbulent Premixed Combustion and Its Modelling Implications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilanjan Chakraborty
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Strain Rate ◽  
Heat Release ◽  
Turbulent Kinetic Energy ◽  
Lewis Number ◽  
Premixed Combustion ◽  
Principal Strain ◽  
Dilatation Rate ◽  
Turbulent Premixed

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the effects of thermal expansion, as a result of heat release arising from exothermic chemical reactions, on the underlying turbulent fluid dynamics and its modelling in the case of turbulent premixed combustion. The thermal expansion due to heat release gives rise to predominantly positive values of dilatation rate within turbulent premixed flames, which has been shown to have significant implications on the flow topology distributions, and turbulent kinetic energy and enstrophy evolutions. It has been demonstrated that the magnitude of predominantly positive dilatation rate provides the measure of the strength of thermal expansion. The influence of thermal expansion on fluid turbulence has been shown to strengthen with decreasing values of Karlovitz number and characteristic Lewis number, and with increasing density ratio between unburned and burned gases. This is reflected in the weakening of the contributions of flow topologies, which are obtained only for positive values of dilatation rate, with increasing Karlovitz number. The thermal expansion within premixed turbulent flames not only induces mostly positive dilatation rate but also induces a flame-induced pressure gradient due to flame normal acceleration. The correlation between the pressure and dilatation fluctuations, and the vector product between density and pressure gradients significantly affect the evolutions of turbulent kinetic energy and enstrophy within turbulent premixed flames through pressure-dilatation and baroclinic torque terms, respectively. The relative contributions of pressure-dilatation and baroclinic torque in comparison to the magnitudes of the other terms in the turbulent kinetic energy and enstrophy transport equations, respectively strengthen with decreasing values of Karlovitz and characteristic Lewis numbers. This leads to significant augmentations of turbulent kinetic energy and enstrophy within the flame brush for small values of Karlovitz and characteristic Lewis numbers, but both turbulent kinetic energy and enstrophy decay from the unburned to the burned gas side of the flame brush for large values of Karlovitz and characteristic Lewis numbers. The heat release within premixed flames also induces significant anisotropy of sub-grid stresses and affects their alignments with resolved strain rates. This anisotropy plays a key role in the modelling of sub-grid stresses and the explicit closure of the isotropic part of the sub-grid stress has been demonstrated to improve the performance of sub-grid stress and turbulent kinetic energy closures. Moreover, the usual dynamic modelling techniques, which are used for non-reacting turbulent flows, have been shown to not be suitable for turbulent premixed flames. Furthermore, the velocity increase across the flame due to flame normal acceleration may induce counter-gradient transport for turbulent kinetic energy, reactive scalars, scalar gradients and scalar variances in premixed turbulent flames under some conditions. The propensity of counter-gradient transport increases with decreasing values of root-mean-square turbulent velocity and characteristic Lewis number. It has been found that vorticity aligns predominantly with the intermediate principal strain rate eigendirection but the relative extents of alignment of vorticity with the most extensive and the most compressive principal strain rate eigendirections change in response to the strength of thermal expansion. It has been found that dilatation rate almost equates to the most extensive strain rate for small sub-unity Lewis numbers and for the combination of large Damköhler and small Karlovitz numbers, and under these conditions vorticity shows no alignment with the most extensive principal strain rate eigendirection but an increased collinear alignment with the most compressive principal strain rate eigendirection is obtained. By contrast, for the combination of high Karlovitz number and low Damköhler number in the flames with Lewis number close to unity, vorticity shows an increased collinear alignment with the most extensive principal direction in the reaction zone where the effects of heat release are strong. The strengthening of flame normal acceleration in comparison to turbulent straining with increasing values of density ratio, Damköhler number and decreasing Lewis number makes the reactive scalar gradient align preferentially with the most extensive principal strain rate eigendirection, which is in contrast to preferential collinear alignment of the passive scalar gradient with the most compressive principal strain rate eigendirection. For high Karlovitz number, the reactive scalar gradient alignment starts to resemble the behaviour observed in the case of passive scalar mixing. The influence of thermal expansion on the alignment characteristics of vorticity and reactive scalar gradient with local principal strain rate eigendirections dictates the statistics of vortex-stretching term in the enstrophy transport equation and normal strain rate contributions in the scalar dissipation rate and flame surface density transport equations, respectively. Based on the aforementioned fundamental physical information regarding the thermal expansion effects on fluid turbulence in premixed combustion, it has been argued that turbulence and combustion modelling are closely interlinked in turbulent premixed combustion. Therefore, it might be necessary to alter and adapt both turbulence and combustion modelling strategies while moving from one combustion regime to the other.

scholarly journals Acceleration of Premixed Flames in Obstructed Pipes with Both Extremes Open

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 4094
Author(s):  
Abdulafeez Adebiyi ◽  
Olatunde Abidakun ◽  
V’yacheslav Akkerman
Keyword(s):  
Flame Propagation ◽  
Premixed Flame ◽  
Critical Parameters ◽  
Reacting Flow ◽  
Computational Simulations ◽  
Chemical Parameters ◽  
Flow Equations ◽  
Flame Acceleration ◽  
Logistic Regression Algorithm ◽  
Steady Propagation

Premixed flame propagation in obstructed channels with both extremes open is studied by means of computational simulations of the reacting flow equations with a fully-compressible hydrodynamics, transport properties (heat conduction, diffusion and viscosity) and an Arrhenius chemical kinetics. The aim of this paper is to distinguish and scrutinize various regimes of flame propagation in this configuration depending on the geometrical and thermal-chemical parameters. The parametric study includes various channel widths, blockage ratios, and thermal expansion ratios. It is found that the interplay of these three critical parameters determines a regime of flame propagation. Specifically, either a flame propagates quasi-steady, without acceleration, or it experiences three consecutive distinctive phases (quasi-steady propagation, acceleration and saturation). This study is mainly focused on the flame acceleration regime. The accelerating phase is exponential in nature, which correlates well with the theoretical prediction from the literature. The accelerating trend also qualitatively resembles that from semi-open channels, but acceleration is substantially weaker when both extremes are open. Likewise, the identified regime of quasi-steady propagation fits the regime of flame oscillations, found for the low Reynolds number flames. In addition, the machine learning logistic regression algorithm is employed to characterize and differentiate the parametric domains of accelerating and non-accelerating flames.

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