A numerical study on NOx formation in laminar counterflow CH4/air triple flames

Formation of NO_x in counterflow methane/air triple flames at atmospheric pressure was investigated by numerical simulation. Detailed chemistry and complex thermal and transport properties were employed. Results indicate that in a triple flame, the appearance of the diffusion flame branch and the interaction between the diffusion flame branch and the premixed flame branches can significantly affect the formation of NO_x, compared to the corresponding premixed flames. A triple flame produces more NO and NO₂ than the corresponding premixed flames due to the appearance of the diffusion flame branch where NO is mainly produced by the thermal mechanism. The contribution of the N₂O intermediate route to the total NO production in a triple flame is much smaller than those of the thermal and prompt routes. The variation in the equivalence ratio of the lean or rich premixed mixture affects the amount of NO formation in a triple flame. The interaction between the diffusion and the premixed flame branches causes the NO and NO₂ formation in a triple flame to be higher than in the corresponding premixed flames, not only in the diffusion flame branch region but also in the premixed flame branch regions. However, this interaction reduces the N₂O formation in a triple flame to a certain extent. The interaction is caused by the heat transfer and the radical diffusion from the diffusion flame branch to the premixed flame branches. With the decrease in the distance between the diffusion flame branch and the premixed flame branches, the interaction is intensified.     

A numerical investigation on NOX formation in counterflow n-heptane triple flames

The formation of NO_X in counterflow n-heptane/air triple flames was investigated by numerical simulation. Detailed chemistry and complex thermal and transport properties were employed. The results indicate that a triple flame produces more NO and NO₂ than the corresponding premixed flames due to not only the appearance of the diffusion flame but also the interaction between different flame branches. The relative contributions of different routes to NO formation in the premixed flame branches change with the variation of the equivalence ratio, but the thermal mechanism always dominates in the diffusion flame branch. The interaction between flame branches is enhanced with the decrease of the distance between them. Both heat and radical exchange between flame branches contribute to the interaction. A new feature that does not exist in methane/air triple flame was observed in n-heptane/air triple flames, i.e. when the rich mixture equivalence ratio is higher, there are two peaks of CH concentration on the rich side of the diffusion flame branch, which leads to that some NO is formed beside the diffusion flame branch by the prompt route.     

On the fractal characteristics of low Damköhler number flames

Knowledge of the fractal properties of premixed flame surfaces can potentially be used to help develop turbulent combustion models. Here, direct numerical simulations of low Damköhler number flames are used to analyse the fractal nature of the flames. Two sets of data are considered: (i) thermochemical hydrogen–air turbulent premixed plane-jet flames with detailed chemistry and (ii) thermonuclear flames in type Ia supernovae. A three-dimensional box counting method is used to investigate fractal dimension of the flame surface, characterising the self similarity of flame fronts. In the premixed flames, the fractal dimension is found to vary in time between 2.1 and 2.7. The supernovae flames in distributed combustion regimes yield fractal dimension about 2.7. The results for the maximum fractal dimensions are higher than previously reported. They are explained theoretically by a Reynolds number similarity argument which posits that the high Reynolds number, low Damköhler number limiting value of the fractal dimension is 8/3. Also tested is Mandelbrot’s fractal additive law which relates the fractal dimension determined in two dimensions, which is typical of experimental measurements, to that in three dimensions. The comparison of the fractal dimension in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional spaces supports the additive law, even though the flames considered do not formally satisfy isotropy. Finally, the inner-cut off is extracted from the hydrogen flames and found to be consistent in order of magnitude with Kolmogorov scaling.     

Approximating the chemical structure of partially premixed and diffusion counterflow flames using FPI flamelet tabulation

Various strategies have been proposed to tabulate complex chemistry for subsequent introduction into fluid mechanics computations. Some of them are grounded on laminar flame calculations, which are useful to seek out key relations linking a few control parameters with relevant species responses. The objective of this paper is to estimate whether approaches based on premixed flamelets (FPI or FGM) can be extended to partially premixed and diffusion flames. Prototypes of nonpremixed laminar and strained counterflow flames are simulated using fully detailed chemistry. The configuration studied is a jet of methane/air mixture opposed to an air stream. A set of reference flames is then obtained, to which FPI results are compared. By varying the equivalence ratio of the free stream of methane/air mixture, from stoichiometry up to pure methane, premixed, partially premixed, and diffusion flames are analyzed. When the fresh fuel/oxidizer mixture equivalence ratio takes values within the flammability limits, excellent results are obtained with FPI. When this equivalence ratio is outside the flammability limits, diffusive fluxes across isomixture fraction surfaces lead to a departure between the FPI tabulation and the reference detailed chemistry flames. This is associated mainly with the appearance of a double-flame structure, progressively evolving into a single diffusion flame when the fuel side equivalence ratio is further increased. Using an improved flame index to distinguish between premixed and diffusion flame burning, hybrid partially premixed combustion is reproduced from a combination of FPI and diffusion flamelets.     

From diffusion to premixed flames in an H2/air opposed-jet burner: the role of edge flames

Edge flames obtained on a hydrogen/air non-premixed opposed-jet burner after the local extinction of the disk-shaped diffusion flame are investigated with 2-D direct numerical simulations using detailed chemical kinetics and transport. Over a large range of flowrates, edge flames were found to coexist with the well-known strongly burning diffusion flames corresponding to the upper branch of the S-shaped curve. The critical flowrates of the strong hysteresis associated with the transitions between the two solution branches were identified: re-establishment of the diffusion flame is controlled by the propagation of the edge flame and cannot be represented simply by the extinction scalar dissipation rate. It was also observed that in all the flow conditions simulated, the edge flame was able to consume all the supplied fuel by re-orienting itself, varying its flame surface area, or changing its structure. The latter was found to depend on the flow conditions (which strongly affects the degree of mixing ahead of the edge flame) and can take on different configurations ranging from a triple flame to an essentially premixed flame. Because of flame curvature and the preferential diffusion of hydrogen, the propagation speed of the edge flames was found to be higher than that of the corresponding planar premixed flames.     

Characterization of the effects of hydrogen addition in premixed methane/air flames

The use of hydrogenated fuels shows considerable promise for applications in gas turbines and internal combustion engines. In the present work, the effects of hydrogen addition in methane/air flames are investigated using both a laminar flame propagation facility and a high-pressure turbulent flame facility. The aim of this research is to contribute to the characterization of lean methane/hydrogen/air premixed turbulent flames at high pressures, by studying the flame front geometry, the flame surface density and the instantaneous flame front thermal thickness distributions. The experiments and analyses show that a small amount of hydrogen addition in turbulent premixed methane–air flames introduces changes in both instantaneous and average flame characteristics.     

Stability characteristics of lifted turbulent partially premixed jet flames

The stability characteristics of partially premixed turbulent lifted methane flames have been investigated and discussed in the present work. Mixture fraction and reaction zone behavior have been measured using a combined 2-D technique of simultaneous Rayleigh scattering, Laser Induced Predissociation Fluorescence (LIPF) of OH and Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) of C₂H_x. The stability characteristics and simultaneous mixture fraction-LIPF-LIF measurements in three lifted flames with originally partially premixed jets at different mean equivalence ratio and Reynolds number are presented and discussed in this paper. Higher stability of partially premixed flames as compared to non-premixed flames has been observed. Lifted, attached, blow-out and blow-off regimes have been addressed and discussed in this work. The data show that the mixture fraction field on approaching the stabilization region is uniquely characterized by a certain level of mean and rms fluctuations. This suggests that the stabilization mechanism is likely to be controlled by premixed flame propagation at the stabilization region. Triple flame structure has been detected in the present flames, which is likely to be the appropriate model at the stabilization point.     

The nonlinear heat release response of stratified lean-premixed flames to acoustic velocity oscillations

This paper analyzes the forced response of swirl-stabilized lean-premixed flames to high-amplitude acoustic forcing in a laboratory-scale stratified burner operated with CH₄ and air at atmospheric pressure. The double-swirler, double-channel annular burner was specially designed to generate high-amplitude acoustic velocity oscillations and a radial equivalence ratio gradient at the inlet of the combustion chamber. Temporal oscillations of equivalence ratio along the axial direction are dissipated over a long distance, and therefore the effects of time-varying fuel/air ratio on the response are not considered in the present investigation. Simultaneous measurements of inlet velocity and heat release rate oscillations were made using a constant temperature anemometer and photomultiplier tubes with narrow-band OH^∗/CH^∗ interference filters. Time-averaged and phase-synchronized CH^∗ chemiluminescence intensities were measured using an intensified CCD camera. The measurements show that flame stabilization mechanisms vary depending on equivalence ratio gradients for a constant global equivalence ratio (?_g = 0.60). Under uniformly premixed conditions, an enveloped M-shaped flame is observed. In contrast, under stratified conditions, a dihedral V-flame and a toroidal detached flame develop in the outer stream and inner stream fuel enrichment cases, respectively. The modification of the stabilization mechanism has a significant impact on the nonlinear response of stratified flames to high-amplitude acoustic forcing (u′/U ∼ 0.45 and f = 60, 160 Hz). Outer stream enrichment tends to improve the flame’s stiffness with respect to incident acoustic/vortical disturbances, whereas inner stream stratification tends to enhance the nonlinear flame dynamics, as manifested by the complex interaction between the swirl flame and large-scale coherent vortices with different length scales and shedding points. It was found that the behavior of the measured flame describing functions (FDF), which depend on radial fuel stratification, are well correlated with previous measurements of the intensity of self-excited combustion instabilities in the stratified swirl burner. The results presented in this paper provide insight into the impact of nonuniform reactant stoichiometry on combustion instabilities, its effect on flame location and the interaction with unsteady flow structures.     

Visible emission of hydrogen flames

The common misconception that hydrogen flames are not visible is examined. Examples are presented of clearly visible emissions from typical hydrogen flames. It is shown that while visible emissions from these flames are considerably weaker than those from comparable hydrocarbon flames, they are indeed visible, albeit at reduced light levels in most cases. Detailed flame spectra are presented to characterize flame emission bands in the ultraviolet, visible and infrared regions of the spectrum that result in a visible hydrogen flame. The visible blue emission is emphasized, and recorded spectra indicate that fine spectral structure is superimposed on a broadband continuum extending from the ultraviolet into the visible region. Tests were performed to show that this emission does not arise from carbon or nitrogen chemistry resulting from carbon-containing impurities (hydrocarbons) in the hydrogen fuel or from CO₂ or N₂ entrainment from the surrounding air. The spectral structure, however, is also observed in methane flames. The magnitude of the broadband emission increases with flame temperature in a highly nonlinear manner while the finer spectral structure is insensitive to temperature. A comparison of diffusion and premixed H₂ flames shows that the fine scale structure is comparable in both flames.     

Structure of n-heptane/air triple flames in partially-premixed mixing layers

Results of a detailed numerical analysis of an n-heptane/air edge flame are presented. The equations of a low-Mach number reacting flow are solved in a two-dimensional domain using detailed models for species transport and chemical reactions. The reaction mechanism involves 560 species and 2538 reversible reactions. We consider an edge flame that is established in a mixing layer with a uniform velocity field. The mixing layer spans the equivalence ratios between pure air and 3.5. The detailed model enables us to analyze the chemical structure of the n-heptane edge flame. We identify major species profiles, discuss reactions causing the heat-release, and exploit Computational Singular Perturbation (CSP) to discuss the main fuel-consumption pathways and the structure of explosive modes in the edge flame. This analysis is performed for several regions in the edge flame to discuss the different processes at work in the premixed branches and the trailing diffusion flame. We compare different cuts through the 2D edge flame to canonical 1D premixed and diffusion flames. We also analyze the accuracy of a skeletal mechanism which was previously developed using CSP from homogeneous ignition calculations of n-heptane and show that a significant reduction in size of the mechanism can be achieved without a significant decrease in accuracy of the edge flame computation. This skeletal mechanism is then used to study the effects of increasing the equivalence ratio in the partially-premixed fuel stream.     

A DNS study of hydrogen/air swirling premixed flames with different equivalence ratios

Hydrogen/air swirling premixed flames with different equivalence ratios are studied using direct numerical simulation. A fourth-order explicit Runge–Kutta method for time integration and an eighth-order central differencing scheme for spatial discretization are used to solve the full Navier–Stokes (N–S) equation system. A 9 species 19-step reduced mechanism for hydrogen/air combustion is adopted. The flames are stabilized with the help of a recirculation zone characterizing a high swirling flow. The vortex structures of the swirling premixed flames are presented. The flame structures are investigated in terms of the flame front curvature and tangential strain rate probability density functions (pdfs). The local flamelet temperature profiles are also extracted randomly along the flame front and compared with the corresponding laminar flame temperature profile. In order to study preferential diffusion effects, direct numerical simulation of two additional freely propagating planar flames in isotropic turbulence is conducted. Preferential diffusion effects observed in the planar flames are suppressed in the swirling flames. Further analysis confirms that the coherent small-scale eddies play important roles in the interactions between turbulence and the flame front. They are able to change the dynamic properties of the flame font and lead to enhanced burning intensity in the flame front with negative curvature for both stoichiometric and fuel-lean flames.     

On the similitude between lifted and burner-stabilized triple flames: a numerical and experimental investigation

We have investigated lifted triple flames and addressed issues related to flame stabilization. The stabilization of nonpremixed flames has been argued to result due to the existence of a premixing zone of sufficient reactivity, which causes propagating premixed reaction zones to anchor a nonpremixed zone. We first validate our simulations with detailed measurements in more tractable methane–air burner-stabilized flames. Thereafter, we simulate lifted flames without significantly modifying the boundary conditions used for investigating the burner-stabilized flames. The similarities and differences between the structures of lifted and burner-stabilized flames are elucidated, and the role of the laminar flame speed in the stabilization of lifted triple flames is characterized. The reaction zone topography in the flame is as follows. The flame consists of an outer lean premixed reaction zone, an inner rich premixed reaction zone, and a nonpremixed reaction zone where partially oxidized fuel and oxidizer (from the rich and lean premixed reaction zones, respectively) mix in stoichiometric proportion and thereafter burn. The region with the highest temperatures lies between the inner premixed and the central nonpremixed reaction zone. The heat released in the reaction zones is transported both upstream (by diffusion) and downstream to other portions of the flame. Measured and simulated species concentration profiles of reactant (O₂, CH₄) consumption, intermediate (CO, H₂) formation followed by intermediate consumption and product (CO₂, H₂O) formation are presented. A lifted flame is simulated by conceptualizing a splitter wall of infinitesimal thickness. The flame liftoff increases the height of the inner premixed reaction zone due to the modification of the upstream flow field. However, both the lifted and burner-stabilized flames exhibit remarkable similarity with respect to the shapes and separation distances regarding the three reaction zones. The heat-release distribution and the scalar profiles are also virtually identical for the lifted and burner-stabilized flames in mixture fraction space and attest to the similitude between the burner-stabilized and lifted flames. In the lifted flame, the velocity field diverges upstream of the flame, causing the velocity to reach a minimum value at the triple point. The streamwise velocity at the triple point is ≈0.45 m s⁻¹ (in accord with the propagation speed for stoichiometric methane–air flame), whereas the velocity upstream of the triple point equals 0.7 m s⁻¹, which is in excess of the unstretched flame propagation speed. This is in agreement with measurements reported by other investigators. In future work we will address the behavior of this velocity as the equivalence ratio, the inlet velocity profile, and inlet mixture fraction are changed.     

Effects of fuel type and equivalence ratios on the flickering of triple flames

An experimental study has been conducted in axisymmetric, co-flowing triple flames with different equivalence ratios of the inner and outer reactant streams (2<?in<3 and 0??out<0.7). Different fuel combinations, like propane/propane, propane/methane or methane/methane in the inner and outer streams respectively, have been used in the experiments. The structures of the triple flames have been compared for the different fuel combinations and equivalence ratios. The conditions under which triple flames exhibit oscillation have been identified. During the oscillation, the non-premixed flame and the outer lean premixed flame flicker strongly, while the inner rich premixed flame remains more or less stable. The flickering frequency has been evaluated through image processing and fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the average pixel intensity of the image frames. It is observed that, for all the fuel combinations, the frequency decreases with the increase in the outer equivalence ratio, while it is relatively invariant with the change in the inner equivalence ratio. However, an increase in the inner equivalence ratio affects the structure of the flame by increasing the heights of the inner premixed flame and non-premixed flame and also enlarges the yellow soot-laden zone at the tip of the inner flame. A scaling analysis of the oscillating flames has been performed based on the measured parameters, which show a variation of Strouhal number (St) with Richardson number (Ri) as St ∝ Ri^0.5. The fuel type is found to have no influence on this correlation.     

Effect of differential diffusion on turbulent lean premixed hydrogen enriched flames through structure analysis

This study presents the flame structure influenced by the differential diffusion effects and evaluates the structural modifications induced by the turbulence, thus to understand the coupling effects of the diffusively unstable flame fronts and the turbulence distortion. Lean premixed CH₄/H₂/air flames were conducted using a piloted Bunsen burner. Three hydrogen fractions of 0, 30% and 60% were adopted and the laminar flame speed was kept constant. The turbulence was generated with a single-layer perforated plate, which was combined with different bulk velocities to obtain varied turbulence intensities. Quasi-laminar flames without the plate were also performed. Explicit flame morphology was obtained using the OH-PLIF. The curvature, flame surface density and turbulent burning velocity were measured. Results show that the preferential transport of hydrogen produces negatively curved cusps flanked with positively curved bulges, which are featured by skewed curvature pdfs and consistent with the typical structure caused by the Darrieus-Landau instability. Prevalent bulge-cusp like wrinkles remain with relatively weak turbulence. However, stronger turbulence can break the bulges to be finer, and induce random positively curved cusps, therefore to destroy the bulge-cusp structures. Evident positive curvatures are generated in this process modifying the skewed curvature pdfs to be more symmetric, while the negative curvatures are not affected seriously. From low to high turbulence intensities, the hydrogen addition always strengthens the flame wrinkling. The augmentation of flame surface density and turbulent burning velocity with hydrogen is even more obvious at higher turbulence intensity. It is suggested that the differential diffusion can persist and even be strengthened with strong turbulence.     

Tri-brachial flames around two interactive droplets in flows with fuel vapor

The flame structures around two equal-sized and interactive fuel droplets immersed in high-temperature convective flows are examined. When the flame is sustained between the two droplets while the flow is pure air, an anchor-shape flame structure, namely the tri-brachial flame, is clearly observed. When far-field temperature or ambient equivalence ratio is increased, the flame propagates upstream and the fuel-lean premixed flame withers. However, if the ambient equivalence ratio is high to some extent such as 0.3, two wings of the flame, viz. the fuel-lean and the fuel-rich premixed flames, extend outward from the stoichiometric point. Once the flame encircles the leading droplet, it evolves into a double-flame structure consisting of a front premixed flame and an aft diffusion flame. Accordingly, the impact of the preceding two environmental factors on the droplets' flame structures is outlined.     

A combined computational and experimental characterization of lean premixed turbulent low swirl laboratory flames: I. Methane flames

This paper is the first in a series that presents a combined computational and experimental study to investigate and characterize the structure of premixed turbulent low swirl laboratory flames. The simulations discussed here are based on an adaptive solution of the low Mach number equations for turbulent reacting flow, and incorporate detailed models for transport and thermo-chemistry. Experimental diagnostics of the laboratory flame include PIV and OH-PLIF imaging, and are used to quantify the flow field, mean flame location, and local flame wrinkling characteristics. We present a framework for relating the simulation results to the flame measurements, and then use the simulation data to further probe the time-dependent, 3D structure of the flames as they interact with the turbulent flow. The present study is limited to lean methane–air flames over a range of flow conditions, and demonstrates that in the regime studied, local flame profiles are structurally very similar to the flat, unstrained steady (“laminar”) flame. The analysis here will serve as a framework for discussing a broader set of premixed flames in this same configuration. Papers II and III will discuss corresponding analysis for pure hydrogen–air and hydrogen–methane mixed fuels, respectively.     

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.     

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.     

Studies on properties of laminar premixed hydrogen-added ammonia/air flames for hydrogen production

In order to evaluate the potential of burning and reforming ammonia as a carbon-free fuel in production of hydrogen, fundamental unstretched laminar burning velocities, and flame response to stretch (represented by the Markstein number) for laminar premixed hydrogen-added ammonia/air flames were studied both experimentally and computationally. Freely (outwardly)-propagating spherical laminar premixed flames at normal temperature and pressure were considered for a wide range of global fuel-equivalence ratios, flame stretch rates (represented by the Karlovitz number) and the extent of hydrogen substitution. Results show the substantial increase of laminar burning velocities with hydrogen substitution, particularly under fuel-rich conditions. Also, predicted flame structures show that the hydrogen substitution enhances nitrogen oxide (NO_x) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) formation. At fuel-rich conditions, however, the amount of NO_x and N₂O emissions and the extent of the increase with the hydrogen substitution are much lower than those under fuel-lean conditions. These observations support the potential of hydrogen as an additive for improving the burning performance with low NO_x and N₂O emissions in fuel-rich ammonia/air flames and hence the potential of using ammonia as a clean fuel. Increasing the amount of added hydrogen tends to enhance flame sensitivity to stretch.