Propagation of hydrogen–oxygen flames in Hele-Shaw cells

Flame propagation in Hele-Shaw cells with a micro-sized gap was experimentally investigated. The evolution of flame front morphology was recorded via Schlieren photographs as the hydrogen-oxygen (H₂–O₂) mixture was ignited at ambient temperature and pressure. By varying gap size, two different regimes of flame propagation are identified: 1) the non-accelerating flame in narrow gaps; 2) the self-accelerating flame in relatively wide gaps. For the former, the initial flame front is globally circular, and subsequently evolves into branches separated from the surface, exhibiting dendritic-growth and fingering shapes. In the latter regimes, the flame front exhibits a cellular structure and accelerates nearly sonic speed due to hydrodynamic instabilities. It is found that the flame acceleration depends non-monotonically on the gap size due to the competing mechanisms of viscosity friction and heat loss through the walls. The effect of equivalence ratio on the non-accelerating flame is studied to identify the mechanism controlling the local extinction flame.