Burning rates and temperatures of flames in excess-enthalpy burners: A numerical study of flame propagation in small heat-recirculating tubes

This study investigates flame propagation in small thermally-participating tubes where the wall acts as a heat-recirculating medium. This fundamental configuration allows heat in the combustion products to be recirculated into the reactants, resulting in excess enthalpy and enhanced burning rates. Preheating of the reactants by heat recirculation has traditionally been considered to be the dominant mechanism leading to large burning rates observed in such systems. This is mainly supported by results from physical models based on a one-dimensional (1-D) representation of the system, where the radial diffusion of heat from wall surface to channel centerline is not accurately captured. In this study, a 2-D formulation with conjugate heat transfer, which accurately resolves the transport of heat inside the gas-wall system, is used to model the excess-enthalpy phenomenon. Steadily-propagating stoichiometric methane–air flames are simulated inside an adiabatic tube of finite wall-thickness, over a wide range of inlet flow velocities and small tube diameters. Burning-rate enhancement is found to be caused not only by preheating, associated with heat recirculation, but also by an increase in flame-front area. Flame elongation is more pronounced with increasing tube diameter and inlet velocity, up to a point where the change in flame-front area becomes dominant in enhancing burning rate. In that case, heat recirculation is a necessary condition for flames to couple to the thermal wave in the wall and elongate, but does not provide a significant increase in enthalpy or temperature that would otherwise be needed for high burning rates to be observed. As the diameter is reduced, the effect of preheating becomes increasingly important for burning-rate enhancement compared to flame area increase. At very small diameters, smaller than the flame thickness, the increase in burning rate is seen to be predominantly attributable to preheating. However, preheating is seen to become limited as inflow velocity is increased, due to 2-D effects inside the fluid that interfere with heat recirculation. These findings demonstrate that 2-D effects inside the fluid can have a prohibitive influence on the burning-rate enhancement attributed to preheating, but that they also give rise to an additional mechanism, associated with the change in flame surface area, responsible for burning-rate enhancement in heat-recirculating burners.     

Numerical Simulation of 3—D Temperature Distribution of the Flame Tube of the Combustion Chamber with Air Film COoling

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Numerical studies of wall effects with laminar methane flames

Wall effects in the combustion of lean methane mixtures have been studied numerically using the CHEMKIN software. To gain a deeper understanding of the flame-wall interaction in lean burn combustion, and in particular the kinetic and thermal effects, we have simulated lean and steady methane/air flames in a boundary layer flow. The gas-phase chemistry is modeled with the GRI mechanism version 1.2. Boundary conditions include an inert wall, a recombination wall and catalytic combustion of methane. Different pressures, wall temperatures and fuel-air ratios are used to address questions such as which part of the wall effects is most important at a given set of conditions. As the results are analyzed it can be seen that the thermal wall effects are more significant at the lower wall temperature (600 K) and the wall can essentially be modeled as chemical inert for the lean mixtures used. At the higher wall temperature (1,200 K), the chemical wall effects become more significant and at the higher pressure (10 atm) the catalytic surface retards homogeneous combustion of methane more than the recombination wall because of product inhibition. This may explain the increased emissions of unburned fuel observed in engine studies, when using catalytic coatings on the cylinder walls. The overall wall effects were more pronounced for the leaner combustion case (φ = 0.2). When the position of the reaction zone obtained from the boundary layer calculations is compared with the results from a one-dimensional premixed flame model, there is a small but significant difference except at the richer combustion case (φ = 0.4) at atmospheric pressure, where the boundary layer model may not predict the flame position for the given initial conditions.     

Analysis of non-adiabatic excess enthalpy spray flames

A steady, one dimensional, low speed flame propagating in a dilute, monodisperse, sufficiently off stoichiometric and weakly heterogeneous spray with external heat recirculation is analyzed using activation energy asymptotics. A completely prevaporized mode and a partially prevaporized mode of flame propagation are identified. Heat recirculation is achieved by transferring heat through a tube wall within a given distance L. The external heat transfer results in either globally external heat loss or excess enthalpy burning (which is globally adiabatic) to the spray system with increasing wall temperature. The influences of external heat recirculation and liquid fuel spray on the combustion characteristics of the spray flames are examined with five parameters, namely the heat transfer length for excess enthalpy burning, the heat transfer coefficient, the amount of external heat transfer, the liquid fuel loading and the droplet size. It is found that the extent of flammability is enlarged with increasing heat transfer length and heat transfer coefficient or decreasing external heat loss. The range of flammability is also enlarged with increasing liquid loading or decreasing droplet size for lean sprays, while the opposite holds for rich sprays.     

The asymptotic structure of premixed tubular flames

The steady isobaric combustion of premixed tubular flames undergoing a direct one-step irreversible Arrhenius-type exothermic global reaction with a constant but general Lewis number is studied in the physically interesting limit of large activation energy. This analysis applies the combustion approximation and differs from previous asymptotic analyses of tubular flames by applying the Hirschfelder boundary condition at the burner exit for chemical species and the application of the delta-function closure scheme. The analysis yields a solution for flame sheet position, flame temperature, heat loss rate to the burner, temperature in the burned region, and stabilization limits as functions of the mass flow rate supplied to the burner and temperature of the burner surface in the near equidiffusional flame limit. Results predict the existence of dual flame behavior consistent with other investigations on the planar and cylindrical burner-stabilized flame. Two stabilization limits are identified, one for approaching flames, consistent with previous studies, and one for receding flames that has not been reported to date. Flame temperature profiles predict a nonmonotonic response, unique to the tubular flame. Consistent with the excess enthalpy of the tubular flame, the results demonstrate a strong dependence of a Lewis number differing from unity. Previous asymptotic analyses of tubular flames with a plug flow boundary condition for mass fraction are reanalyzed with the application of the delta-function closure scheme. Unlike previous results, the analysis predicts an interesting dual response for the temperature in the burned region.     

A numerical study on parametric sensitivity of the flow characteristics on pulverized coal gasification

In order to analyse the sensitivity on pulverized coal flames of variables such as initial turbulent intensity, steam addition, primary/secondary momentum ratio, and radiation heat transfer, a numerical study was conducted at the gasification process. Eulerian approach is used for the gas phase, whereas Lagrangian approach is used for the solid phase. Turbulence is modeled using the standard k–ϵ model. The turbulent combustion model incorporates the eddy dissipation model. The radiation heat transfer is solved using a Monte‐Carlo method. One‐step two‐reaction model is employed for the devolatilization of a Kideco coal. In pulverized flame of long liftoff height, the initial turbulent intensity is an important factor to predict the accurate flame front position. The radiation heat transfer and wall heat loss ratio distort the temperature distributions along the reactor wall, but do not affect the reactor performance such as coal burnout, residence time and flame front position. The primary/secondary momentum ratio only affects the position of flame front, but the coal burnout is slightly influenced. It is confirmed that the momentum ratio is a variable only associated with the flame stabilization. The addition of steam in the reactor has a detrimental effect on all the aspects, particularly in reactor temperature and coal burnout. The increase of liftoff height and dropped gas temperature mean the harm of flame stabilization in the reactor, and so the gasification reaction may be deactivated. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

电加热倾斜管温度场分布计算

考虑自然对流对倾斜上升管内流体传热的影响,将外壁温度与外壁热负荷作为边界条件,同时将内热源作为并联网格电阻放热来进行处理,为电加热倾斜管温度场分布建立二维数学模型。根据空间节点推进的控制容积差分法求解流体换热和管壁导热耦合决定的电加热倾斜管二维温度场导热反问题,编制计算程序,针对我国第一台超临界锅炉螺旋管圈水冷壁的管型进行了管壁温度场的计算。在亚临界及超临界压力工况下,计算结果都可以很好地反映倾斜管壁温的分布规律,同时计算收敛性良好。     

Thermochemical heat release of laminar stagnation flames of fuel and oxygen

Heat transfer is a complex phenomenon that can involve conduction, convection, radiation, condensation, and boiling. In the case of heat transfer by flames produced by pure oxygen or oxygen enriched air combustion, a mechanism called thermochemical heat release (TCHR) can be held responsible for up to 60% of the total heat transfer rate. In these very hot flames chemical equilibrium is reached before full conversion into products is achieved. TCHR is the result of recombination reactions in the thermal boundary layer. In this paper a method is described for the numerical calculation of the effect of TCHR which can be applied to model TCHR for fuels of an almost arbitrarily complex composition. In this method the flame chemistry is decoupled from the chemistry in the thermal boundary layer. An equilibrium calculation is used to determine the chemical composition after the flame. This mixture is then used as input for the stagnation layer calculations, for which a simple CH₄ mechanism suffices. It is shown under which conditions this method can be applied, the effect of strain rate is studied, and the method is demonstrated by calculating a TCHR multiplication factor for a number of different fuels. A polynomial fit for the TCHR-factor is presented as function of C/H-ratio, equivalence ratio, equivalent temperature of a reference mixture and stagnation plane temperature. The fit gives accurate results for the TCHR contribution to the total heat transfer for most fuels. Finally, the importance of hydrogen recombination chemistry on the TCHR is indicated.     

微细直管内甲烷燃烧的数值模拟研究

采用计算流体力学方法对二维微细直管内甲烷和空气的预混燃烧进行了数值模拟,研究了燃烧器尺寸、壁面导热系数、对流换热系数、壁面厚度以及粗糙度对于燃烧的影响。模拟结果显示,燃烧器内径的变化、壁面导热系数、对流换热系数和壁面厚度的变化影响了热量在壁面内的传递和流体内径向温度的传递,使得燃料点燃和燃烧稳定性受到影响,甚至导致燃烧停止。壁面粗糙度增加了燃烧器内流体的扰动,增强了流体与壁面和流体内的换热,导致燃烧稳定性受到影响。模拟结果为设计和开发高效稳定的燃烧器提供了参考。     

非均匀热流下水平管内混合对流大涡模拟研究

针对以槽式太阳能集热器为背景的高密度、高度非均匀热流下水平管内的混合对流换热问题,采用大涡模拟方法,研究了热流密度非均匀性对水平管内混合对流瞬态涡结构、脉动强度、湍流热通量及局部平均壁温的影响;揭示了非均匀热流下自然对流对管内湍流特性的影响规律;提出了适用于不同热边界条件下管内混合对流换热的强化措施。结果表明:均匀热流时,自然对流会抑制管顶部的湍流脉动,使流动层流化,造成传热能力局部恶化;非均匀热流时,随着自然对流的增强,近壁面速度脉动强度先减小后增大,二次流逐渐增强,换热能力逐渐提高,故管内换热能力受湍流脉动与二次流协同影响;在自然对流影响下,均匀加热时管顶部可采用针对层流的强化换热措施,非均匀加热时需着重提高管底部高热流区域的湍流脉动与涡强度。     

Numerical and Experimental Studies of Mixing Enhancement and Flame Stabilization in a Meso-Scale TPV Combustor With a Porous-Medium Injector and a Heat-Regeneration Reverse Tube

Understanding the flow dynamics, chemical kinetics, and heat transfer mechanism within a miniature thermophotovoltaic (TPV) combustor is essential for the development of devices for combustion-based power microelectromechanical systems, which may have a much higher energy density than that of conventional batteries. In this study, methods for enhancing the intensity and uniformity of the combustion chamber wall (emitter) illumination through the design of combustion and thermal management of the combustor in a miniature TPV system are proposed, discussed, and demonstrated. The proposed miniature TPV system consists of a swirling combustor with the combustion chamber wall acting as the emitter, a heat-regeneration reverse tube, and mixing-enhancing porous-medium fuel injection, which improves the low nonuniform illumination or incomplete combustion problems associated with conventional miniature TPV systems. Experiments and numerical simulations are performed to analyze the details of the flame structure and flame stabilization mechanism inside the meso-scale combustor with and without a reverse tube. Results indicate that the proposed swirling combustor with a heat-regeneration reverse tube and porous medium can improve the intensity and uniformity of the combustion chamber (emitter) illumination and can increase the surface temperature of the chamber wall. From the systematic numerical and experimental analysis, suitable operational parameters for the meso-scale TPV combustor are suggested, which may be used as a guideline for meso-scale TPV combustor design.     

Direct numerical simulation of nonpremixed flame-wall interactions

The objective of the present study is to use detailed numerical modeling to obtain basic information on the interaction of nonpremixed flames with cold wall surfaces. The questions of turbulent fuel-air-temperature mixing, flame extinction, and wall-surface heat transfer are studied using direct numerical simulation (DNS). The DNS configuration corresponds to an ethylene-air diffusion flame stabilized in the near-wall region of a chemically inert solid surface. Simulations are performed with adiabatic or isothermal wall boundary conditions and with different turbulence intensities. The simulations feature flame extinction events resulting from excessive wall cooling and convective heat transfer rates up to 90 kW/m². The structure of the simulated wall flames is studied in terms of a classical mass-mixing variable, the fuel-air based mixture fraction, and a less familiar heat loss variable, the excess enthalpy variable, introduced to provide a measure of nonadiabatic behavior due to wall cooling. In addition to the flame structure, extinction events are also studied in detail and a modified flame extinction criterion that combines the concepts of mixture fraction and excess enthalpy is proposed and then tested against the DNS data.     

基于燃烧与水动力耦合模型的锅炉蒸汽管超温特性研究

提出一种基于燃烧与水动力耦合模型的锅炉蒸汽管壁温度数值模拟方法,对某660 MW超临界切圆燃烧锅炉壁温进行了计算分析。以均匀外壁温为边界条件,利用Fluent软件模拟了煤粉气固流动、燃烧和辐射等过程,获得了炉内不同位置受热管的传热热流。再以热流分布为边界,采用MATLAB软件建立了工质流动及气-壁-汽换热方程组,Fluent软件重新计算的壁温边界。通过编写模型间的网格映射函数,实现壁温的耦合计算。研究表明:壁温计算值与实测值的最大相对误差在2%以内;炉膛出口残余旋转使水平烟道左侧和右上方热流较大,高温再热器和末级过热器的外壁温沿炉宽方向呈双峰分布;高温再热器整级受热管出口壁温的峰谷差值远高于末级过热器,实际运行中应特别注意高温再热器靠烟道左侧管屏外圈管子向火侧弯头处的超温。     

管内填充多孔介质强化换热的数值研究

管内填充多孔介质强化换热的基本原理是构造热边界层,增大壁面附近流体的温度梯度,并且流动阻力增幅不大。本文运用数值模拟的方法,模拟填充多孔介质管内的流场和温度场,探讨填充比例φ、渗透率Da以及空隙率ε对管内对流换热的影响规律。研究表明,提高填充比例φ和减小渗透率Da都能明显提高换热效果,但也增加了管内流动阻力。空隙率ε对强化换热作用不大,但高空隙率可以明显降低管内流动阻力,在实际中应选用空隙率较大的多孔介质。     

Effects of strain rate,turbulence, reactant stoichiometry and heat losses on the interaction of turbulent premixed flames with stoichiometric counterflowing combustion products

Intense strain, turbulence, heat transfer, and mixing with combustion products can affect premixed flames in practical combustion devices. These effects are systematically studied in turbulent premixed CH₄/N₂/O₂ flames using a reactant versus product counterflow system and independently varying bulk strain rate, turbulent Reynolds number, equivalence ratio of the reactant mixture, and temperature of the stoichiometric counterflowing combustion products. The flow field and the turbulent flames are investigated using particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) imaging of OH. The OH-LIF images are used to identify the interface between the counterflowing streams, referred to here as the gas mixing layer interface (GMLI). The flame response for different flow conditions is compared in terms of the probability of localized extinction along the GMLI, the turbulent flame brush thickness, and flame position relative to the GMLI, by using an OH-LIF-based progress variable. The probability of localized extinction at the GMLI increases as the separation between the turbulent flame brush and the GMLI decreases. Flame fronts in the vicinity of the GMLI are more likely to extinguish as a result of heat losses, dilution of the reaction zone by the product stream, and large local strain rates. A higher probability of localized extinction at the GMLI is induced by either a larger bulk strain rate or a slower flame speed. As the turbulent Reynolds number increases, the corresponding increase in turbulent flame brush thickness enhances the interactions of the flame fronts with the GMLI. Heat losses are substantially less significant for cases in which the turbulent flame brush is sufficiently separated from the GMLI. For flames in close proximity to the GMLI, the effects of the product stream on the flame front differ for lean and rich reactant mixtures. These disparities are attributed in part to differences in the ignitibility of the reactant mixtures by the hot product stream.     

Experimental study on the small‐scale diffusion flame of ethanol and the wall temperature field

An experimental investigation was carried out on the diffusion flames of liquid ethanol burning in air. Ceramic tubes with different inner diameters were used as burners. Three different flame structures at different flow rates were identified and different combustion regions were divided based on the experimental results. Some relevant factors which may affect the flame height and width were discussed. The outer surface wall temperature field of the tubes was measured in the combustion process. The results showed that both flame height and flame width all increased proportionally with an increasing flow rate in the steady flame region. Both flame height and flame width decreased with a decreasing tube inner diameter at the same flow rate. By decreasing the tube inner diameter, the quenching flow rate was decreased, the flow rate according to the produced periodic explosive flame decreased, and the flow rate range of the steady flames decreased. The outer wall temperature field presented an exponential distribution, and the wall temperature reached the greatest value at the outlet of the ceramic tube. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20282     

Development of a One-Dimensional Model to Predict the Flame Temperature in Cylindrical Micro Combustors

Measurement of the flame temperature in a micro combustor is essentially difficult due to the size constraint. A one-dimensional (1D) flame model coupled with the heat conduction in the solid wall is employed to analyze the heat transfer occurring in a cylindrical micro combustor. The flame temperature is given explicitly by taking into account the effects of the heat loss (from the flame to the wall) in the reaction zone and heat recirculation through the solid wall. With the data obtained from the simulation results of the 1D adiabatic freely propagating CH₄–air laminar flames, the flame temperature in a cylindrical micro combustor can be solved iteratively. In order to validate the 1D model, the two-dimensional (2D) numerical simulations of premixed combustion of the CH₄–air mixtures are carried out in a 0.5 mm radius cylindrical micro combustor. The comparisons of the flame temperature and heat recirculation between the 1D model and 2D numerical simulation indicate that despite the simplifications and assumptions made in the present study, the 1D theoretical model is able to predict the flame temperature to a reasonable accuracy.     

高温低氧燃烧锅炉传热特性研究

介绍一种新型工业锅炉－高温低氧燃烧锅炉，研究其传热特性，实验研究表明，炉内燃烧火焰边界趋于消失，体积明显增大，火焰颜色变浅，无局部高温区，辐射传热得到强化，提高空气预热温度可加大炉气和水冷壁间传热，为开发推广新型工业锅炉奠定基础。     

600MW锅炉机组膜式水冷壁壁温的试验研究及理论分析

在６００ＭＷ锅炉机组水冷壁热力试验的基础上,为找到使壁温发生波动的根本原因,利用有限元分析的方法对低倍率锅炉膜式水冷壁管壁温度分布随传热工况的动态变化进行了分析。分析表明：导致水冷壁管壁温度波动最根本的原因是管内传热恶化;单面受热水冷壁在管内发生传热恶化时其向火这内外壁温差随时间的波动较小,而水冷壁周向温差则随向炎侧外壁的壁温波动而剧烈波动。     

Convective heat transfer from a partially premixed impinging flame jet. Part II: Time-resolved results

This is the second of a two-part paper on heat transfer from an impinging flame jet reporting time-resolved results. Axial and radial profiles of time-resolved local heat fluxes of methane-air jet flames impinging normal to a cooled plate are reported, including the root mean square (RMS), probability distribution function (PDF), and the power spectral density (PSD) of the heat flux fluctuations as a function of equivalence ratio, Reynolds number, and nozzle-plate spacing. The RMS, PDF, and PSD of the heat flux signal from the stagnation point and along the plate revealed correlation of the local heat flux to the flame structure. Impingement heat flux from premixed nozzle-stabilized flames was characterized by small RMS fluctuations and frequency behavior indicating the formation of weak, buoyancy-driven vortex structures at the shear layer between the hot gases surrounding the flame and the ambient air. Conversely, diffusion flames were characterized by much larger RMS fluctuations and PSD’s indicating the development of much larger vortex structures. Time-resolved heat flux for lifted flames varied according to flame structure and combustion intensity. PSD magnitudes were related to the range of temperatures in the flow; greater temperature ranges produced larger heat flux variations. The contributing frequencies were related to the duration of the heat flux fluctuation; more rapid changes in heat flux produced higher frequency content.