Large eddy simulations and rotational CARS/PIV/PLIF measurements of a lean premixed low swirl stabilized flame

This paper reports on numerical and experimental studies of a lean premixed low swirl stabilized methane/air flame. The burner is made up of a central perforated plate and an annular swirler. A premixed methane/air mixture at an equivalence ratio of 0.62 is injected to an ambient co-flow of air through the burner under atmospheric pressure and room temperature condition with a Reynolds number of 30,000. Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and simultaneous OH/acetone Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) are used to characterize the flame front and the turbulence field downstream of the burner. The flame is stabilized in the low speed central region and in the inner shear-layer vortices, where ambient air dilution to the flame is found to eventually quench the reactions downstream. Rotational Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy (RCARS) measurements are carried out to characterize the temperature field and the relative oxygen mole fraction field, which enables quantification of the air dilution to the flame. The experimental data provides a challenging test case for numerical simulation models owing to the stratification of the mixture and quenching of the flame. Large eddy simulations are carried out using a three-scalar level-set G-equation flamelet model, which is shown to capture the basic flame characteristics and quenching at the trailing edge of the flame.     

Effect of hydrogen addition on early flame growth of lean burn natural gas–air mixtures

Effect of hydrogen addition on early flame growth of lean burn natural gas–air mixtures was investigated experimentally and numerically. The flame propagating photos of premixed combustion and direct-injection combustion was obtained by using a constant volume vessel and schlieren photographic technique. The pressure derived initial combustion durations were also obtained at different hydrogen fractions (from 0% to 40% in volumetric fraction) at overall equivalence ratio of 0.6 and 0.8, respectively. The laminar premixed methane–hydrogen–air flames were calculated with PREMIX code of CHEMKIN II program with GRI 3.0 mechanism. The results showed that the initial combustion process of lean burn natural gas–air mixtures was enhanced as hydrogen is added to natural gas in the case of both premixed combustion and direct-injection combustion. This phenomenon is more obvious at leaner mixture condition near the lean limit of natural gas. The mole fractions of OH and O are increased with the increase of hydrogen fraction and the position of maximum OH and O mole fractions move closing to the unburned mixture side. A monotonic correlation between initial combustion duration with the reciprocal maximum OH mole fraction in the flames is observed. The enhancement of the spark ignition of natural gas with hydrogen addition can be ascribed to the increase of OH and O mole fractions in the flames.     

Hydrogen addition effects in a confined swirl-stabilized methane-air flame

The effect of hydrogen addition in methane-air premixed flames has been examined from a swirl-stabilized combustor under confined conditions. The effect of hydrogen addition in methane-air flame has been examined over a range of conditions using a laboratory-scale premixed combustor operated at 5.81 kW. Different swirlers have been investigated to identify the role of swirl strength to the incoming mixture. The flame stability was examined for the effect of amount of hydrogen addition, combustion air flow rates and swirl strengths. This was carried out by comparing adiabatic flame temperatures at the lean flame limit. The combustion characteristics of hydrogen-enriched methane flames at constant heat load but different swirl strengths have been examined using particle image velocimetry (PIV), micro-thermocouples and OH chemiluminescence diagnostics that provided information on velocity, thermal field, and combustion generated OH species concentration in the flame, respectively. Gas analyzer was used to obtain NO_x and CO concentration at the combustor exit. The results show that the lean stability limit is extended by hydrogen addition. The stability limit can reduce at higher swirl intensity to the fuel-air mixture operating at lower adiabatic flame temperatures. The addition of hydrogen increases the NO_x emission; however, this effect can be reduced by increasing either the excess air or swirl intensity. The emissions of NO_x and CO from the premixed flame were also compared with a diffusion flame type combustor. The NO_x emissions of hydrogen-enriched methane premixed flame were found to be lower than the corresponding diffusion flame under same operating conditions for the fuel-lean case.     

The role of in situ reforming in plasma enhanced ultra lean premixed methane/air flames

This paper describes a mechanism for the stabilization of ultra lean premixed methane/air flames by pulsed nonequilibrium plasma enhancement. It is shown that the pulsed discharge plasma produces a cool (～500–600 K) stream of relatively stable intermediate species including hydrogen (H₂) and carbon monoxide (CO), which play a central role in enhancing flame stability. This stream is readily visualized by ultraviolet emission from electronically excited hydroxyl (OH) radicals. The rotational and vibrational temperature of this “preflame” are determined from its emission spectrum. Qualitative imaging of the overall flame structure is obtained by planar laser-induced fluorescence measurements of OH. Preflame nitric oxide (NO) concentrations are determined by gas sampling chromatography. A simple numerical model of this plasma enhanced premixed flame is proposed that includes the generation of the preflame through plasma activation, and predicts the formation of a dual flame structure that arises when the preflame serves to pilot the combustion of the surrounding non-activated premixed flow. The calculation represents the plasma through its ability to produce an initial radical yield, which serves as a boundary condition for conventional flame simulations. The simulations also capture the presence of the preflame and the dual flame structure, and predict preflame levels of NO comparable to those measured. A subsequent pseudo-sensitivity analysis of the preflame shows that flame stability is most sensitive to the concentrations of H₂ and CO in the preflame. As a consequence of the role of H₂ and CO in enhancing the flame stability, the blowout limit extensions of methane/air and hydrogen/air mixtures in the absence/presence of a discharge are investigated experimentally. For methane/air mixtures, the blowout limit of the current burner is extended by ～10% in the presence of a discharge while comparable studies carried out in lean hydrogen/air flames fail to extend this limit.     

Interactions for flames in a coaxial flow with a stagnation point

The possible burning structures existing in two co-flowing combustible mixtures with different compositions, and their implications to the field of turbulent combustion are examined in this study. A coaxial burner with a quartz plate was used to experimentally investigate the flames of methane/air and propane/air mixtures propagating in a coaxial flow impinging onto a stagnation surface. The possible burning structures were observed to be: (1) a single-flame (a lean or rich premixed flame); (2) a double-flame (two lean or rich premixed flames, or a rich premixed flame and a diffusion flame); and (3) a triple-flame (a rich premixed flame, a diffusion flame and a lean premixed flame). An inner (or outer) mixture, far beyond the flammability limit, can still burn if a stronger outer (or inner) flame supports it. The extinction limit of the top part of the inner hat-shaped premixed flame is nearly independent of the burning intensity of the outer flame. It was found that the inner flame has a wider flammable region than the outer flame, and that the latter has a narrower flashback region than the former. Both propane and methane flames may exhibit flame-front instability, although the former displays much more clearly than the latter. Cellular and polyhedral instabilities can exist individually or appear simultaneously in the inner flame. However, only polyhedral (stripped-pattern) instability was observed in the outer flame. Finally, the experiments were analyzed theoretically using a simple geometrical model incorporated with the numerical simulations. The predicted shapes and locations of the flames are in good agreement with the experimental observations qualitatively.     

Effects of hydrogen and carbon dioxide on the laminar burning velocities of methane–air mixtures

The effects of different mole fractions of hydrogen and carbon dioxide on the combustion characteristics of a premixed methane–air mixture are experimentally and numerically investigated. The laminar burning velocity of hydrogen-methane-carbon dioxide-air mixture was measured using the spherically expanding flame method at the initial temperature and pressure of 283 K and 0.1 MPa, respectively. Additionally, numerical analysis is conducted under steady 1D laminar flow conditions to investigate the adiabatic flame temperature, dominant elementary reactions, and NO formation. The measured velocities correspond with those estimated numerically. The results show that increasing the carbon dioxide mole fraction decreases the laminar burning velocity, attributed to the carbon dioxide dilution, which decreases the thermal diffusivity and flame temperature. Conversely, the velocity increases with the thermal diffusivity as the hydrogen mole fraction increases. Moreover, the hydrogen addition leads to chain-branching reactions that produce active H, O, and OH radicals via the oxidation of hydrocarbons, which is the rate-determining reaction. Furthermore, an increase in the mole fractions of hydrogen and carbon dioxide decreases the NO production amount.     

Flame inertia into lean region in stratified hydrogen mixture

In hydrogen engines, the direct-injection stratified charge system has the ability to realize a more lean operation than homogeneous charge systems. Flame propagation into the lean region in the stratified hydrogen mixture was investigated in this study. Hydrogen was injected into a lean hydrogen–air premixed mixture charge of the equivalence ratio of 0.074–0.257. This stratified hydrogen mixture was ignited by an electric spark. The flame generated in the hydrogen jet propagated into the lean premixed mixture charge as if it had “inertia”, even though the stoichiometry of the premixed mixture charge was less than the lower flammability limit. The amount of burned hydrogen in the case of a stratified mixture was greater than that in the case of the homogeneous mixture. The flame seems to be supported from behind by the burned gas in the rich region until the decay of this support.     

Flame characteristics of hydrogen-enriched methane–air premixed swirling flames

The effect of hydrogen addition in methane–air premixed flames has been examined from a swirl-stabilized combustor under unconfined flame conditions. Different swirlers have been examined to investigate the effect of swirl intensity on enriching methane–air flame with hydrogen in a laboratory-scale premixed combustor operated at 5.81 kW. The hydrogen-enriched methane fuel and air were mixed in a pre-mixer and introduced into the burner having swirlers of different swirl vane angles that provided different swirl strengths. The combustion characteristics of hydrogen-enriched methane–air flames at fixed thermal load but different swirl strengths were examined using particle image velocimetry (PIV), OH chemiluminescence, gas analyzers, and micro-thermocouple diagnostics to provide information on flow field, combustion generated OH radical and gas species concentration, and temperature distribution, respectively. The results show that higher combustibility of hydrogen assists to promote faster chemical reaction, raises temperature in the reaction zone and reduces the recirculation flow in the reaction zone. The upstream of flame region is more dependent on the swirl strength than the effect of hydrogen addition to methane fuel. At lower swirl strength condition the NO concentration in the reaction zone reduces with increase in hydrogen content in the fuel mixture. Higher combustibility of hydrogen accelerates the flow to reduce the residence time of hot product gases in the high temperature reaction zone. At higher swirl strength the NO concentration increases with increase in hydrogen content in the fuel mixture. The effect of dynamic expansion of the gases with hydrogen addition appears to be more dominant to reduce the recirculation of relatively cooler gases into the reaction zone. NO concentration also increases with decrease in the swirl strength.     

Experimental investigation of stabilization and emission characteristics of ammonia/air premixed flames in a swirl combustor

Ammonia is a possible candidate for use as a hydrogen energy carrier as well as a carbon-free fuel. In this study, flame stability and emission characteristics of swirl stabilized ammonia/air premixed flames were experimentally investigated. Results showed that ammonia/air premixed flame could be stabilized for various equivalence ratios and inlet flow velocity conditions in a swirl burner without any additives to enhance the reaction of ammonia even though the laminar burning velocity of ammonia is very slow. The lean and rich blowoff limits were found to be close to the flammability limits of the ammonia flame. In addition, emission characteristics were investigated using an FTIR gas analyzer. The NO concentration decreased and ammonia concentration increased under rich conditions. Moreover, it was found that there is an equivalence ratio in rich condition in which NO and ammonia emission are in the same order.     

A numerical study of transient ignition and flame characteristics of diluted hydrogen versus heated air in counterflow

Combined experimental and numerical studies of the transient response of ignition to strained flows require a well-characterized ignition trigger. Laser deposition of a small radical pool provides a reliable method for initiating ignition of mixtures that are near the ignition limit. Two-dimensional direct numerical simulations are used to quantify the sensitivity of ignition kernel formation and subsequent edge-flame propagation to the oxidizer temperature and the initial width and amplitude of O-atom deposition used to trigger ignition in an axisymmetric counterflow of heated air versus ambient hydrogen/nitrogen. The ignition delay and super-equilibrium OH concentration in the nascent ignition kernel are highly sensitive to variations in these initial conditions. The ignition delay decreases as the amplitude of the initial O-atom deposition increases. The spatial distribution and the magnitude of the OH overshoot are governed by multi-dimensional effects. The degree of OH overshoot near the burner centerline increases as the diameter of the initial O-atom deposition region decreases. This result is attributed to preferential diffusion of hydrogen in the highly curved leading portion of the edge flame that is established following thermal runaway. The edge-flame speed and OH overshoot at the leading edge of the edge flame are relatively insensitive to variations in the initial conditions of the ignition. The steady edge-flame speed is approximately twice the corresponding laminar flame speed. The rate at which the edge flame approaches its steady state is insensitive to the initial conditions and depends solely on the diffusion time scale at the edge flame. The edge flame is curved toward the heated oxidizer stream as a result of differences in the chemical kinetics between the leading edge and the trailing diffusion flame. The structure of the highly diluted diffusion flame considered in this study corresponds to Liñán's ‘premixed flame regime’ in which only the oxidizer leaks through the reaction zone such that the flame is located at fuel lean rather than stoichiometric mixture fraction conditions.     

Effects of non-equidiffusion on unsteady propagation of hydrogen-enriched methane/air premixed flames

A Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model was developed to simulate the unsteady propagation of hydrogen-enriched methane/air premixed flames around toroidal vortices. Although the LES model does not take into account the non-equidiffusive effects associated with the hydrogen presence (preferential diffusion and non-unity Lewis number), it gives good predictions of experimental data previously obtained for lean mixtures with hydrogen mole fraction in the fuel (hydrogen plus methane) varying from 0 to 0.5. In particular, for each fuel composition, size and velocity of the toroidal vortex generated ahead of the propagating flame front are well reproduced along with the evolution of the flame shape and structure resulting from the interaction with the vortex. The negligible role played by the non-equidiffusive effects has been attributed to the fact that, at the conditions investigated, the characteristic time of hydrogen diffusion is one order of magnitude higher than the characteristic time of flame roll-up around the vortex.     

Influence of reactive species on the lean blowout limit of an industrial DLE gas turbine burner

In order to achieve ultra-low emissions of both NO_X and CO it is imperative to use a homogeneous premixed combustor. To lower the emissions further, the equivalence ratio can be lowered. By doing so, combustion is moved towards the lean blowout (LBO) limit. To improve the blowout characteristics of a burner, heat and radicals can be supplied to the flame zone. This can be achieved using a pre-chamber combustor. In this study, a central body burner, called the RPL (rich-pilot-lean) section, was used as a pre-chamber combustor to supply heat and radicals to a downscaled industrial burner. The flue gas from the RPL is mixed with the surrounding fresh mixture and form a second flame zone. This zone acts as a stabilizer for the investigated burner. The LBO limit was modeled using two perfectly stirred reactors (PSRs) in series, which allows the chemical influence on the LBO limit to be isolated. The resulting trends for the modeled LBO limit were in agreement with measured data. Increasing the equivalence ratio in the RPL section, thus increasing the energy supplied by the fuel, is a major contributor to combustion stability up to a limit where the temperature decrease is too large support combustion. For lean RPL combustion, the reactive species O, H and OH in combination affect the stability to a greater extent than the temperature alone. At rich equivalence ratios, the conversion of methane to hydrogen and carbon monoxide in the RPL section is a factor influencing the LBO limit. The results are compared with emission probe measurements that were used to investigate the LBO limit for methane and a generic syngas (10% CH₄, 67.5% H₂, and 22.5% CO). The syngas was also investigated after being diluted with nitrogen to a Wobbe index of 15 MJ/m³.     

Numerical computations and optical diagnostics of unsteady partially premixed methane/air flames

The structures and dynamics of unsteady laminar partially premixed methane/air Bunsen flames are studied by means of numerical simulations, OH and CH PLIF imaging, and high speed chemiluminescence imaging employing a high framing speed intensified charge coupled device camera. The Bunsen burner has a diameter of 22 mm. Rich methane/air mixtures with an equivalence ratio of 1.5 are injected from the burner into atmosphere at different flow speeds ranging from 0.77 to 1.7 m/s, with Reynolds numbers based on the nozzle flow ranging from 1100 to 2500. The numerical simulations are based on a two-scalar flamelet manifold tabulation approach. Detailed chemistry is used to generate the flamelet manifold tabulation which relates the species concentrations, reaction rates, temperature and density to a distance function G and mixture fraction Z. Two distinct reaction zones are identified using CH and OH PLIF imaging and numerical simulations; one inner reaction zone corresponds to premixed flames on the rich side of the mixture and one outer reaction zone corresponds to mixing controlled diffusion flames on the lean side of the mixture. Under normal gravity conditions both the inner premixed flames and the outer diffusion flames are unsteady. The outer diffusion flames oscillate with a flickering frequency of about 15 Hz, which slightly increases with the burner exit velocity. The inner premixed flames are more random with much more small-scale wrinkling structures. Under zero gravity conditions the outer diffusion flames are stable whereas the inner premixed flames are unstable and highly wrinkled. It appears that the outer diffusion flames are governed by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability whereas the inner premixed flames are dictated by Landau-Darrieus instability. The two-scalar flamelet approach is shown to capture the basic structures and dynamics of the investigated unsteady partially premixed flames.     

有序堆积床内预混气体燃烧特性实验研究

为研究预混气体在多孔介质燃烧器中的火焰燃烧特性,设计了一种新型多孔介质燃烧器,其中多孔介质区域由氧化铝圆柱体有序堆积而成.分别研究了当量比和入口速度对甲烷/空气预混气体在多孔介质燃烧器中的火焰温度分布、火焰最高温度以及火焰传播速度的影响.结果 表明:在当量比0.162～0.324、入口速度0.287～0.860 m/s...     

Lean flammability limits for stable performance with a porous burner

Applications of porous burners are of high interest due to many advantages such as extended lean flammability limit in comparison with free flame structures. In this work, laminar premixed flame propagation of methane/air mixture in a porous medium is numerically investigated. An unsteady one-dimensional physical model of a porous burner is considered, in which the flame location is not predetermined. The computational domain is extended beyond either side of the porous medium to accurately model reactions close to the edges of the solid matrix. After validation of the model and performing a baseline simulation, a parametric study is carried out to investigate the lean flammability limits of the burner and the unstable flash-back/blow-out phenomena. Stable performance diagrams are given for two controlling parameters of turn–down ratio and porous medium porosity. The simulation results indicate that the stable performance range of the burner is extended when the equivalence ratio increases; however, the blow-out region expands with an increase in the firing rate. For constant values of porosity and firing rate, increasing the equivalence ratio can change the operating regime of the burner from blow-out to a stable condition. It is observed that by the variation of porosity in the range of 0.6–0.9, and for the equivalence ratios of more than 0.6, the flame flash-back cannot occur. An equivalence ratio of 0.43 is found to be the lower limit at which the flame stabilizes in the matrix.     

Experimental and numerical study on laminar burning characteristics of premixed methane–hydrogen–air flames

An experimental and numerical study on laminar burning characteristics of the premixed methane–hydrogen–air flames was conducted at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The unstretched laminar burning velocity and the Markstein length were obtained over a wide range of equivalence ratios and hydrogen fractions. Moreover, for further understanding of the effect of hydrogen addition on the laminar burning velocity, the sensitivity analysis and flame structure were performed. The results show that the unstretched laminar burning velocity is increased, and the peak value of the unstretched laminar burning velocity shifts to the richer mixture side with the increase of hydrogen fraction. Three regimes are identified depending on the hydrogen fraction in the fuel blend. They are: the methane-dominated combustion regime where hydrogen fraction is less than 60%; the transition regime where hydrogen fraction is between 60% and 80%; and the methane-inhibited hydrogen combustion regime where hydrogen fraction is larger than 80%. In both the methane-dominated combustion regime and the methane-inhibited hydrogen combustion regime, the laminar burning velocity increases linearly with the increase of hydrogen fraction. However, in the transition regime, the laminar burning velocity increases exponentially with the increase of hydrogen fraction in the fuel blends. The Markstein length is increased with the increase of equivalence ratio and is decreased with the increase of hydrogen fraction. Enhancement of chemical reaction with hydrogen addition is regarded as the increase of H, O and OH radical mole fractions in the flame. Strong correlation is found between the burning velocity and the maximum radical concentrations of H and OH in the reaction zone of the premixed flames.     

Effects of hydrogen enhancement on mesoscale burner array flame stability under acoustic perturbations

Partial substitution of hydrocarbon fuel with hydrogen can effectively improve small-scale combustion system stability and performance, potentially opening the way for novel compact power generation and/or propulsion systems in the future. In this study, the effects of hydrogen enhancement between 0% and 40% hydrogen volumetric fractions in methane fuel were experimentally observed in a mesoscale burner array subjected to external acoustic perturbations. The mesoscale burner array utilizes an array of swirl-stabilized burner elements and their interactions with neighboring elements to improve the overall flame stability and simultaneously reduces the combustor length scale. OH1 chemiluminescence and OH planar laser-induced fluorescence (OH-PLIF) were used to image various hydrogen-enriched flames at an equivalence ratio of 0.7, subjected to transverse acoustic perturbations at 320 Hz. Two acoustic modes were imposed by controlling the phase difference between two speakers perturbing the flow. OH1 chemiluminescence images exhibited flame length scale reduction, leading to a denser flame array. Also, flame arrays with higher hydrogen enrichment were found to be more robust against transverse acoustic perturbations, demonstrated by reduced fluctuations in the global heat release rate. OH-PLIF images showed that flames with higher hydrogen enrichment initiated V- to M-shaped flame shape transition even under fuel lean conditions, thereby improving the combustion stability. OH-PLIF images were also used for flame stability analysis through spectral proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD). The SPOD analysis showed hydrogen enrichment diminished flame fluctuation structures under fuel lean operation.     

Experimental and modeling study of lean premixed atmospheric-pressure propane/O2/N2 flames

A better knowledge of the combustion chemistry in very lean flames is required to improve flame stability and control the presence of oxygenated species as final products. In this work, the chemical structure of lean premixed propane-oxygen-nitrogen flames stabilized on a flat flame burner at atmospheric pressure was determined experimentally. The species mole fraction profiles were also computed by the Premix code (Chemkin II version) and three recently proposed mechanisms. Globally, the agreement between measured and computed mole fractions profiles is similar, despite large differences in the number of reactions in each mechanism. Pathways analyses show that only weak variations are observed in the relative importance of the main oxidation routes when the equivalence ratio is decreased from 0.9 to 0.5.     

Hydrogen addition effect on NO formation in methane/air lean-premixed flames at elevated pressure

The present study investigates freely propagating methane/hydrogen lean-premixed laminar flames at elevated pressures to understand the hydrogen addition effect of natural gas on the NO formation under the conditions of industrial gas turbine combustors. The detailed chemical kinetic model which was used in the previous study on the NO formation in high pressure methane/air premixed flames was adopted for the present study to analyze NO formation of methane/hydrogen premixed flames. The present mechanism shows good agreement with experimental data for methane/hydrogen mixtures, including ignition delay times, laminar burning velocities, and NO concentration in premixed flames. Hydrogen addition to methane/air mixtures with maintaining methane content leads to the increase of NO concentration in laminar premixed flames due to the higher flame temperature. Methane/hydrogen/argon/air premixed flames are simulated to avoid the flame temperature effect on NO formation over a pressure range of 1–20atm and equivalence ratio of 0.55. Kinetic analyses shows that the N₂O mechanism is important on NO formation for lean flames between the reaction zone and postflame region, and thermal NO is dominant in the postflame zone. The hydrogen addition leads to the increase of NO formation from prompt NO and NNH mechanisms, while NO formation from thermal and N₂O mechanisms are decreased. Additionally, the NO formation in the postflame zone has positive pressure dependencies for thermal NO with an exponent of 0.5. Sensitivity analysis results identify that the initiation reaction step for the thermal NO and the N₂O mechanism related reactions are sensitive to NO formation near the reaction zone.