Analysis of jet flames and unignited jets from unintended releases of hydrogen

A combined experimental and modeling program is being carried out at Sandia National Laboratories to characterize and predict the behavior of unintended hydrogen releases. In the case where the hydrogen leak remains unignited, knowledge of the concentration field and flammability envelope is an issue of importance in determining consequence distances for the safe use of hydrogen. In the case where a high-pressure leak of hydrogen is ignited, a classic turbulent jet flame forms. Knowledge of the flame length and thermal radiation heat flux distribution is important to safety. Depending on the effective diameter of the leak and the tank source pressure, free jet flames can be extensive in length and pose significant radiation and impingement hazard, resulting in consequence distances that are unacceptably large. One possible mitigation strategy to potentially reduce the exposure to jet flames is to incorporate barriers around hydrogen storage equipment. The reasoning is that walls will reduce the extent of unacceptable consequences due to jet releases resulting from accidents involving high-pressure equipment. While reducing the jet extent, the walls may introduce other hazards if not configured properly. The goal of this work is to provide guidance on configuration and placement of these walls to minimize overall hazards using a quantitative risk assessment approach. The program includes detailed CFD calculations of jet flames and unignited jets to predict how hydrogen leaks and jet flames interact with barriers, complemented by an experimental validation program that considers the interaction of jet flames and unignited jets with barriers.     

Hydrogen jet flames

A critical review and rethinking of hydrogen jet flame research is carried out. Froude number only based correlations are shown to be deficient for under-expanded jet fires. The novel dimensionless flame length correlation is developed accounting for effects of Froude, Reynolds, and Mach numbers. The correlation is validated for pressures 0.1–90.0 MPa, temperatures 80–300 K, and leak diameters 0.4–51.7 mm. Three distinct jet flame regimes are identified: traditional buoyancy-controlled, momentum-dominated “plateau” for expanded jets, and momentum-dominated “slope” for under-expanded jets. The statement “calculated flame length may be obtained by substitution the concentration corresponding to the stoichiometric mixture in equation of axial concentration decay for non-reacting jet” is shown to be incorrect. The correct average value for non-premixed turbulent flames is 11% by volume of hydrogen in air (range 8%–16%) not stoichiometric 29.5%. All three conservative separation distances for jet fire are shown to be longer than separation distance for non-reacting jet.     

Experimental investigation of the morphology and stability of diffusion and edge flames in an opposed jet burner

The stability of methane/air and hydrogen/air flames in an axisymmetric counterflow burner was investigated experimentally for different burner geometries, degrees of fuel dilution, and combinations of flow velocities. Both planar diffusion flames and edge flames were observed, and the transitions between these flame types were studied. The experimental results confirmed previously published numerical predictions on diluted hydrogen/air flames: the existence of two distinct stable flame types; the possibility of switching between the two flame types by perturbing the flames, e.g., by suitably changing a flow velocity; and the strong hysteresis for the transition from one flame type to the other. Flame stability diagrams were compiled which delineate the range of fuel and air flow velocities for which the planar diffusion flame and the toroidal edge flame are stable. The lower boundary curve for the edge flame stability exhibits a characteristic minimum at a well-defined value of the fuel velocity. For fuel velocities lower than this value, the transition between the edge and the diffusion structure is reversible, and the flames exhibit bistable behavior. For higher fuel velocities, the decrease of air velocity leads to the extinction of the edge flame. An investigation of both the cold and the reactive flow field identified bistable behavior for the flow field as well. Except for very low flow rates, the stagnation plane stabilizes in two positions, close to either of the two nozzles. Detailed numerical simulations of hydrogen flames capture the essentials of this behavior. The observed flame extinction results from the interaction of the flame dynamics with the dynamics of the flow field.     

A numerical study on the combustion limits of mesoscale methane jet flames with hydrogen addition

A meso-scale jet flame model was established for the flame ports of domestic gas stoves. The influences of hydrogen addition ratio (β = 0%–25%) on the combustion limits were explored. The results show that with the increase of hydrogen addition ratio, the blow-off limit increases obviously, while the extinction limit decreases slightly, namely, the combustible range expands significantly. Quantitative analysis was carried out in terms of chemical effect and thermal effect. It was found that hydrogen addition will reduce O₂ fraction in the pre-mixture for a constant equivalence ratio. Under near-extinction limit condition, since the flame is located at the nozzle exit, the external O₂ cannot be entrained into or diffuse into the upstream of the flame, which leads to the decrease of reaction rate. However, for the near-blow-off cases, the external O₂ can be entrained and diffuse into the flame, which compensates the difference of O₂ content in the pre-mixture. Therefore, the combustion reaction is enhanced by hydrogen addition because more H radicals can be produced. In addition, as the flame is located closer to the tube with the increase of hydrogen addition ratio, heat transfer between flame and tube wall is augmented and the preheating of fresh mixture is strengthened by the inner tube wall. This heat recirculation effect becomes especially notable in low velocity cases. In conclusion, the extension of extinction limit by hydrogen addition is attributed to the thermal effect, while the increase of blow-off limit is mainly due to the intensification of chemical effect.     

Effect of shock structure on stabilization and blow-off of hydrogen jet flames

Under-expanded hydrogen jet has characteristic shock structure immediately downstream of the nozzle exit. The shock structure depends on the ratio p_EX/p_A, i.e. the ratio of nozzle exit to ambient pressure, and the distributions of velocity and concentration in an under-expanded hydrogen jet depend on characteristics of the shock structure. Therefore, the shock structure should affect the blow-off behaviour of under-expanded hydrogen jet flame. Since this issue has not been investigated in detail, this study aims to close this knowledge gap. The effect of changes in shock structure on lift-off length and blow-off conditions for non-premixed turbulent hydrogen free jet flame has been experimentally investigated. The shock structure was varied by using three types of nozzles: convergent, straight and divergent nozzles. Inlet diameters of nozzles change from 0.31 to 1.04 mm and outlet diameters from 0.34 to 1.7 mm. The static pressure and the ratio of cross-section area at the nozzle inlet to that at the outlet were varying parameters in this study. Hydrogen was horizontally spouted through a nozzle to atmosphere. The maximum static pressure in a nozzle was 13.2 MPa. The experiments revealed that when the hydrogen jet had sequential shock cell structures, which occurred in the range of p_EX/p_A smaller than 2.45, a higher mass flow rate of hydrogen was needed for the stabilization of a jet flame than that for p_EX/p_A larger than 2.45 and that when closed to the ideal expansion (p_EX/p_A = 1), the mass flow rate for stable flame became maximum. In addition, it was observed that the lift-off length of stable flames followed with sequential shock cell structures were almost the same when the minimum cross-section area of used nozzles was constant. However, when hydrogen jet had a shock structure with single Mach disk, the lift-off lengths and the minimum mass flow rate required for the stable jet flame were decreasing with the decrease of the cross-sectional area ratio of the nozzle exit to inlet.     

The response of buoyant laminar diffusion flames to low-frequency forcing

Buoyant jet diffusion flames are frequently used to investigate phenomena associated with flares or fires, such as the formation and emission of soot, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and carbon monoxide (CO). To systematically investigate the influence of transient vortex-flame interactions on these processes, laminar jet flames may be periodically forced. Previous work has demonstrated that forcing the fuel stream at a (low) frequency close to the natural buoyant instability frequency will trigger the production of vortices on the air side of the high-temperature reaction zone, coupling the overall flame response to the forcing frequency. In the work reported here, measurements in methane/air and ethylene/air slot flames show that over a substantial range of forcing frequencies and amplitudes, the dominant, air-side vortex production is locked at precisely one-half the excitation frequency of the fuel stream. This phenomenon is examined in detail through the utilization of several laser diagnostic techniques, yielding measurements of both the frequency response of the flames and phase-locked images of the internal flame structure. Under some conditions the subharmonic response of the flame leads to transient separation of the PAH and soot layers from the surrounding high-temperature flame zone, potentially affecting the soot formation and radiation processes. This data should provide useful information for comparison with detailed modeling aimed to improve the understanding of the complex nature of the buoyant instability in jet flames.     

Stability characteristics of non-premixed turbulent jet flames of hydrogen and syngas blends with coaxial air

The stability characteristics of attached hydrogen (H₂) and syngas (H₂/CO) turbulent jet flames with coaxial air were studied experimentally. The flame stability was investigated by varying the fuel and air stream velocities. Effects of the coaxial nozzle diameter, fuel nozzle lip thickness and syngas fuel composition are addressed in detail. The detachment stability limit of the syngas single jet flame was found to decrease with increasing amount of carbon monoxide in the fuel. For jet flames with coaxial air, the critical coaxial air velocity leading to flame detachment first increases with increasing fuel jet velocity and subsequently decreases. This non-monotonic trend appears for all syngas composition herein investigated (50/50 → 100/0% H₂/CO). OH^∗ chemiluminescence imaging was performed to qualitatively identify the mechanisms responsible for the flame detachment. For all fuel compositions, local extinction close to the burner rim is observed at lower fuel velocities (ascending stability limit), while local flame extinction downstream of the burner rim is observed at higher fuel velocities (descending stability limit). Extrema of the non-monotonic trends appear to be identical when the nozzle fuel velocity is normalized by the critical fuel velocity obtained for the single jet cases.     

Structure and reaction zones of hydrogen – Carbon-monoxide laminar jet diffusion flames

In this study, experimental and numerical investigations of laminar jet diffusion flames using carbon-monoxide – hydrogen mixtures are carried out. Using a simple experimental setup, high definition direct flame photographs and shadowgraphs are captured, and radial temperature profiles at two axial locations are measured. Numerical simulations of carbon-monoxide – hydrogen jet diffusion flames have been carried out using a comprehensive computational model, along with simplified detailed chemical kinetics mechanism having 14 species and 38 reactions, and an optically thin approximation based radiation sub-model. Validation of the numerical model is carried out by comparing the measured and predicted temperature profiles, and experimental shadowgraph images with second derivative of the predicted density field. Results from the numerical simulations provide insights to the structures, species and thermal fields of flames for varying hydrogen content in the fuel mixture. It is observed that the axial extent of the maximum temperature zone tends to move towards the burner exit as the percentage of hydrogen in the fuel increases. It is also observed that the maximum mass fraction of carbon-dioxide decreases and those of OH and water vapour increase with increasing percentage of hydrogen in the fuel. Radial distributions of important species are presented for varying hydrogen content in the fuel mixture, which clearly illustrate the structure of the flame. Radial profiles of net reaction rates of major species and net rates of few important reactions are presented. As hydrogen is added, the reaction zone moves out in the radial direction, increasing the radius of the flame.     

The blowout mechanism of turbulent jet diffusion flames

The complicated flame stabilization mechanisms and flame/flow interactions in the blowout of turbulent nonpremixed jet flames are experimentally studied using phenomenological observation, 2D Rayleigh scattering, 2D laser-induced predissociative fluorescence (LIPF) images of OH, and particle image velocimetry (PIV) techniques. The blowout process may be categorized into four characteristic regions: pulsating, onset of receding, receding, and extinction. Based on experimental findings, a blowout mechanism is proposed. The maximum “waistline” point of the stoichiometric contour, defined as the point where the radial distance between the elliptic stoichiometric contour and the jet axis reaches a maximum value, can be regarded as the dividing point separating the unstable and stable regions for the lifted flame in the blowout process. If the flame base is pushed beyond the maximum “waistline” point, the flame will step into the pulsating region and become unstable, triggering the blowout process. The triple flame structure is identified and found to play an important role in flame stabilization within the stable liftoff and pulsating regions. In the pulsating region, the stabilization point of the triple flame moves along the stoichiometric contour, stabilizing the flame where the flame base is bounded by the contours of lean and rich limits. If the flame is pushed beyond the tip of the stoichiometric contour, the stabilization point and triple flame structure vanish and the flame becomes lean. The flame then recedes downstream continuously and finally extinguishes.     

Experimental study on the effect of fan-shaped water mist on horizontal under-expanded hydrogen jet flames

A series of experiments were performed on the fan-shaped water mist interaction with the horizontal under-expanded hydrogen jet flames. The effects of various water mist pressures and horizontal release positions were focused on flame length, temperature, and radiant heat flux. The results show that, water mist causes the flame to be tilted and the tilt angle of the flame increases with the water mist pressure, and the horizontal length of the flame is shortened. It is also found that water mist may lead to the radiation and temperature enhancement on the axis and downstream of the action position of water mist and flame, which is closely related to the configuration of water mist. However, this situation disappears and the temperature and radiation decrease with the increase of water mist pressure.     

Imaging and radiation of laminar jet diffusion flames with low coflow air velocity in microgravity

We present imaging results and radiation measurements from laminar jet diffusion flames burning in coflowing air conditions. Color and pseudocolor flames are obtained and used to analyze flame brightness and shape, which show that flames under normal gravity are brighter than in microgravity. The longer residence times for microgravity flames result in increased radiative loss, which leads to local extinction and low temperature at the flame tip. Flame radiation fractions for microgravity flames are larger than those in normal gravity for C₂H ₄ and CH ₄. The velocity of coflowing air has a much more pronounced effect on radiation from microgravity flames compared to those in normal gravity. The radiation fractions from ethylene‐fueled flames in microgravity are large, leading to local extinction at the flame tip. We also analyzed the flame radiation fraction.     

Numerical study on the extinction dynamics of partially premixed meso-scale methane-air jet flames with hydrogen addition

In this paper, a model of partially premixed jet flames that sustained above a meso-scale short tube was established for an individual flame port of domestic gas stoves. The effects of hydrogen addition (volume ratio β = 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%) on the extinction dynamics of CH₄-air jet flames were numerically investigated. It is found that flame oscillation occurs once (β = 10% and 20%) or twice (β = 30%) in the extinction process. Moreover, the larger of β, the longer the extinction process can sustain. Analysis was performed in terms of both chemical effect and thermal effect. As to the chemical effect, in the first place, the reaction rate decreases as the inlet velocity is reduced. As a result, the consumption rate of O₂ will be less than the supply rate from the incoming mixture, which makes the O₂ concentration in the flame center increase. On the other hand, the amount of H radicals increases with the increase of β, and when the O₂ content at the flame center reaches a “critical point”, the key elementary reaction “H + O₂ ? O + OH” will be enhanced and consequently the total reaction rate will also be intensified. After that, the consumption rate of O₂ will be larger than the supply rate due to the reduced flow rate of incoming mixture. The total heat release rate will decrease sharply and extinction occurs. As regards the thermal effect, it is revealed that heat recirculation effect (indirect preheating effect) lags behind the variation of the reaction zone (i.e., flame), thus, it has a negligible impact on flame oscillation. In contrast, the preheating temperature in the vicinity of flame front (named as “direct preheating effect”) exhibits a similar variation tendency with the total heat release rate of the flame. And the larger of β, the more remarkable of the direct preheating effect can be. In summary, due to the chemical effect and thermal effect caused by hydrogen addition, the flame can survive for a longer time with fluctuation during the extinction process.     

Laser raman measurements of temperature and species concentration in swirling lifted hydrogen jet diffusion flames

Simultaneous spatially and temporally resolved point measurements of temperature, mixture fraction, major species (H₂, H₂O, O₂, N₂), and minor species (OH) concentrations are performed in unswirled (S_g = 0), low swirl (S_g = 0.12), and high swirl (S_g = 0.5) lifted turbulent hydrogen jet diffusion flames into still air. Ultraviolet (UV) Raman scattering and laser-induced predissociative fluorescence (LIPF) techniques are combined to make the multi-parameter measurements using a single KrF excimer laser. Experimental results are compared to the fast chemistry (equilibrium) limit, to the mixing without reaction limit, and to simulations of steady stretched laminar opposed-flow flames. It is found that in the lifted region where the swirling effects are strong, the measured chemical compositions are inconsistent with those calculated from stretched laminar diffusion flames or stretched partially premixed flames. Sub-equilibrium values of temperature, sub-flamelet values of H₂O, and super-flamelet values of OH are found in an intermittent annular turbulent brush of the swirled flame but not in the unswirled flame. Farther downstream of the nozzle exit (x/D ≥ 50), swirl has little effect on the finite-rate chemistry.     

Effects of hydrogen addition on the propagation of spherical methane/air flames: A computational study

A computational study is performed to investigate the effects of hydrogen addition on the fundamental characteristics of propagating spherical methane/air flames at different conditions. The emphasis is placed on the laminar flame speed and Markstein length of methane/hydrogen dual fuel. It is found that the laminar flame speed increases monotonically with hydrogen addition, while the Markstein length changes non-monotonically with hydrogen blending: it first decreases and then increases. Consequently, blending of hydrogen to methane/air and blending methane to hydrogen/air both destabilize the flame. Furthermore, the computed results are compared with measured data available in the literature. Comparison of the computed and measured laminar flame speeds shows good agreement. However, the measured Markstein length is shown to strongly depend on the flame radii range utilized for data processing and have very large uncertainty. It is found that the experimental results cannot correctly show the trend of Markstein length changing with the hydrogen blending level and pressure and hence are not reliable. Therefore, the computed Markstein length, which is accurate, should be used in combustion modeling to include the flame stretch effect on flame speed.     

Flame-vortex interaction and mixing behaviors of turbulent non-premixed jet flames under acoustic forcing

This study examines the effect of acoustic excitation using forced coaxial air on the flame characteristics of turbulent hydrogen non-premixed flames. A resonance frequency was selected to acoustically excite the coaxial air jet due to its ability to effectively amplify the acoustic amplitude and reduce flame length and NO_x emissions. Acoustic excitation causes the flame length to decrease by 15% and consequently, a 25% reduction in EINO_x is achieved, compared to coaxial air flames without acoustic excitation at the same coaxial air to fuel velocity ratio. Moreover, acoustic excitation induces periodical fluctuation of the coaxial air velocity, thus resulting in slight fluctuation of the fuel velocity. From phase-lock PIV and OH PLIF measurement, the local flow properties at the flame surface were investigated under acoustic forcing. During flame-vortex interaction in the near field region, the entrainment velocity and the flame surface area increased locally near the vortex. This increase in flame surface area and entrainment velocity is believed to be a crucial factor in reducing flame length and NO_x emission in coaxial jet flames with acoustic excitation. Local flame extinction occurred frequently when subjected to an excessive strain rate, indicating that intense mass transfer of fuel and air occurs radially inward at the flame surface.     

Experimental study of ethylene counterflow diffusion flames perturbed by trace amounts of jet fuel and jet fuel surrogates under incipiently sooting conditions

The structure of an ethylene counterflow diffusion flame doped with 2000 ppm on a molar basis of either jet fuel or two jet fuel surrogates is studied under incipient sooting conditions. The doped flames have identical stoichiometric mixture fractions (z_f = 0.18) and strain rates (a = 92 s⁻¹), resulting in a well-defined and fixed temperature/time history for all of the flames. Gas samples are extracted from the flame with quartz microprobes for subsequent GC/MS analysis. Profiles of critical fuel decomposition products and soot precursors, such as benzene and toluene, are compared.The data for C7-C12 alkanes are consistent with typical decomposition of large alkanes with both surrogates showing good qualitative agreement with jet fuel in their pyrolysis trends. Olefins are formed as the fuel alkanes decompose, with agreement between the surrogates and jet fuel that improves for small alkenes, probably because of an increase in kinetic pathways which makes the specifics of the alkane structure less important.Good agreement between jet fuel and the surrogates is found with respect to critical soot precursors such as benzene and toluene. Although the six-component Utah/Yale surrogate performs better than the Aachen surrogate, the latter performs adequately and retains the advantage of simplicity, since it consists of only two components.The acetylene profiles present a unique multimodal behavior that can be attributed to acetylene’s participation in early stages of formation of soot precursors, such as benzene and other large pyrolysis products, as well as in the surface growth of soot particles.     

An experimental study of turbulent flow in attachment jet combustors by LDV

Flame stabilization in attachment jet combustors is based on the existence of the high temperature recirculation zone, provided by the Coanda effect of an attachment jet. The single attachment jet in a rectangular channel is a fundamental form of this type of flow. In this paper, the detailed characteristics of turbulent flow of a single attachment jet were experimentally studied by using a 2-D LDV. The flowfield consists of a forward flow and two reverse flows. The forward one is composed of a curved and a straight section. The curved section resembles a bent turbulent free jet, and the straight part is basically a section of turbulent wall jet. A turbulent counter-gradient transport region exists at the curved section. According to the results, this kind of combustor should have a large sudden enlargement ratio and not too narrow in width. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.