Effect of Thermal Boundary Conditions on Propagation of Non-Equidiffusive Flames

Author(s):  
Vyacheslav (Slava) Akkerman

Abstract Boundary conditions constitute one of the key factors influencing combustion in chambers with large aspect ratios such as narrow channels or pipes. Specifically, the flame shape and propagation velocity are impacted by wall friction and wall heat transfer. Both factors continuously influence the shape of the flame front, thereby resulting in its larger surface area as compared to a planar flame front. Such a corrugated flame consumes more fuel per unit time and thereby propagates faster than the planar flame at the same thermal-chemical conditions. Consequently, a flame accelerates due to the boundary conditions. In the recent years, there have been many studies scrutinizing the role of boundary conditions in flame acceleration scenario by means of analytical formulations, numerical studies or experimental measurements. However, the majority of these works was limited to equidiffusive flames, where the thermal-to-mass diffusivity ratio (the Lewis number; Le) is unity. In this respect, the present work removes this limitation by analyzing non-equidiffusive (Le < 1 or Le > 1) flames propagating in pipes of various widths. Specifically, a parametric study has been conducted by means of simulations of the basic hydrodynamic and combustion equations. In this particular study, two-dimensional channels with smooth walls and different thermal conditions such as isothermal and adiabatic walls, have been employed for various Lewis numbers in the range 0.2 ≤ Le ≤ 2.0, and for various Reynolds number associated with the flame propagation in the range 5 ≤ Re ≤ 30. As a result, a strong coupling between the wall conditions and the variations of the Lewis and Reynolds numbers is demonstrated. Specifically, it is observed that the increase in the Lewis number results in moderation of flame tip acceleration. It is also found that there is a change in the burning rate and surface area of the flame front at the lower Lewis numbers, where flames appear unstable against the diffusional-thermal flame instability. Moreover, a substantial difference between the cases of isothermal and adiabatic wall conditions is demonstrated.

Author(s):  
Orlando Ugarte ◽  
Sinan Demir ◽  
Berk Demirgok ◽  
V’yacheslav Akkerman ◽  
Vitaly Bychkov ◽  
...  

Flame dynamics in micro-pipes have been observed to be strongly affected by the wall boundary conditions. In this respect, two mechanisms of flame acceleration are related to the momentum transferred in these regions: 1) that associated with flame stretching produced by wall friction forces; and 2) when obstacles are placed at the walls, as a result of the delayed burning occurring between them, a jet-flow is formed, intensively promoting the flame spreading. Wall thermal conditions have usually been neglected, thus restricting the cases to adiabatic wall conditions. In contrast, in the present work, the effect of the boundary conditions on the flame propagation dynamics is investigated, computationally, with the effect of wall heat losses included in the consideration. In addition, the powerful flame acceleration attained in obstructed pipes is studied in relation to the obstacle size, which determines how different this mechanism is from the wall friction. A parametric study of two-dimensional (2D) channels and cylindrical tubes, of various radiuses, with one end open is performed. The walls are subjected to slip and non-slip, adiabatic and constant temperature conditions, with different fuel mixtures described by varying the thermal expansion coefficients. Results demonstrate that higher wall temperatures promote slower propagation as they reduce the thermal expansion rate, as a result of the post-cooling of the burn matter. In turn, smaller obstacle sizes generate weaker flame acceleration, although the mechanism is noticed to be stronger than the wall friction-driven, even for the smaller sizes considered.


Author(s):  
A Doosti Abukheyli ◽  
H Hassanzadeh ◽  
SA Mirbozorgi

In this paper, the flow in the rectangular fuel cell channel with different aspect ratios has been numerically simulated. The bottom wall of the rectangular channel is porous and subjected to a uniform mass injection or suction, while the other three walls are nonporous or impermeable. Assuming the hydro-dynamically and thermally fully developed flow, the mass, momentum, and energy equations have been solved with a two-dimensional code. The present numerical results are in good agreement with the numerical results in the literature. The wall friction coefficients and Nusselt numbers were obtained for different aspect ratios, different wall Reynolds numbers (for suction and injection), and different thermal boundary conditions. The results show that for each aspect ratio, friction coefficient ( fRe) is larger for injection than for suction. Also at unit expect ratio, a/ b = 1, the fRe have minimum value for each wall Reynolds number ( Rem) and with increasing and decreasing aspect ratio, fRe increases. The changes of Nusselt ( Nu) number with Rem and aspect ratio is dependent on the thermal boundary conditions and definition of Nu number (for combined boundary condition).


Author(s):  
Sean D. Salusbury ◽  
Ehsan Abbasi-Atibeh ◽  
Jeffrey M. Bergthorson

Differential diffusion effects in premixed combustion are studied in a counter-flow flame experiment for fuel-lean flames of three fuels with different Lewis numbers: methane, propane, and hydrogen. Previous studies of stretched laminar flames show that a maximum reference flame speed is observed for mixtures with Le ≳ 1 at lower flame-stretch values than at extinction, while the reference flame speed for Le ≪ 1 increases until extinction occurs when the flame is constrained by the stagnation point. In this work, counter-flow flame experiments are performed for these same mixtures, building upon the laminar results by using variable high-blockage turbulence-generating plates to generate turbulence intensities from the near-laminar u′/SLo=1 to the maximum u′/SLo achievable for each mixture, on the order of u′/SLo=10. Local, instantaneous reference flamelet speeds within the turbulent flame are extracted from high-speed PIV measurements. Instantaneous flame front positions are measured by Rayleigh scattering. The probability-density functions (PDFs) of instantaneous reference flamelet speeds for the Le ≳ 1 mixtures illustrate that the flamelet speeds are increasing with increasing turbulence intensity. However, at the highest turbulence intensities measured in these experiments, the probability seems to drop off at a velocity that matches experimentally-measured maximum reference flame speeds in previous work. In contrast, in the Le ≪ 1 turbulent flames, the most-probable instantaneous reference flamelet speed increases with increasing turbulence intensity and can, significantly, exceed the maximum reference flame speed measured in counter-flow laminar flames at extinction, with the PDF remaining near symmetric for the highest turbulence intensities. These results are reinforced by instantaneous flame position measurements. Flame-front location PDFs show the most probable flame location is linked both to the bulk flow velocity and to the instantaneous velocity PDFs. Furthermore, hydrogen flame-location PDFs are recognizably skewed upstream as u′/SLo increases, indicating a tendency for the Le ≪ 1 flame brush to propagate farther into the unburned reactants against a steepening average velocity gradient.


1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Oravecz ◽  
Indrek S. Wichman ◽  
Sandra L. Olson

Abstract Results from the first part of an experimental study of flame spread instability are presented. The instabilities were investigated in the NASA drop facilities because the particular instabilities being examined were most pronounced in microgravity, when the influences of buoyancy were minimized. The flame front over thin cellulosic samples broke apart into separate flamelets which interacted with one another and oscillated (frequency ∼ 1 Hz). Different heat-sink backings, which were used to promote flame instability and flamelet productions are examined and described. Preliminary experiments in the NASA 5 second drop tower (Zero-G) drop facility are discussed.


Author(s):  
Amir Ali Montakhab ◽  
Benjamin Akih Kumgeh

Abstract This paper investigates the effects of the inlet turbulence intensity (ITI) on the dynamics of a bluff-body stabilized flame operating very close to its blow-off condition. This work is motivated by the understanding that more stringent regulations on combustion-generated emission have forced the industry to design combustion systems that operate at very fuel-lean conditions. Combustion at very lean conditions, however, induces flame instability that can ultimately lead to flame extinction. The dynamics of the flame at lean conditions can therefore be very sensitive to boundary conditions. Here, a numerical investigation is conducted using Large Eddy Simulation method to understand the flame sensitivity to inlet turbulence intensity. Combustion is accounted for through the transport of chemical species. The sensitivity to inlet turbulence is assessed by carrying out simulations in which the inlet turbulence is varied in increments of 5%. It is observed that while the inlet intensity of 5% causes blow-off, further increased to 10% preserves a healthy flame on account of greater heat release arising from greater and balanced entrainment of combustible mixtures into the flame zone just behind the bluff-body. This balanced stabilization is again lost as the inlet turbulence intensity is further increased to 15%. Since experimental data pertaining to the topic of this paper are rare, the reasonableness of the combination of models is first checked by validating Volvo propane bluff-body flame, whereby reasonable agreement is observed. This study will advance our understanding of the sensitivity of bluff-body flames to boundary conditions specifically to the inlet turbulent boundary condition at near critical blow-off flame conditions.


Author(s):  
P Soltani ◽  
P Bahar ◽  
A Farshidianfar

In this article, the free transverse vibrational behaviour of a multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT) surrounded by a Pasternak-type elastic medium has been determined using a very generalized model. The model has been made on the basis of Timoshenko elastic beam theory which allows the effects of shear deformation and rotary inertia and supports non-coaxial vibration of the adjacent layers of MWNT using interlayer van der Waals forces. The boundary conditions used in this simulation are such that not only standard and conventional kinds, but also all possible forms, of end conditions are applicable. A generalized differential quadrature method is utilized to solve the governing equations with assorted aspect ratios, various boundary conditions, and different foundation stiffnesses. This study shows that the resonant frequencies of MWNTs are strongly dependent on the stiffness of the elastic medium, aspect ratios, and number of walls in carbon nanotubes and, for short nanotubes, the boundary stiffness plays a significant role on the natural frequencies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 822 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Ostilla-Mónico

Natural convection is omnipresent on Earth. A basic and well-studied model for it is Rayleigh–Bénard convection, the fluid flow in a layer heated from below and cooled from above. Most explorations of Rayleigh–Bénard convection focus on spatially uniform, perfectly conducting thermal boundary conditions, but many important geophysical phenomena are characterized by boundary conditions which are a mixture of conducting and adiabatic materials. For example, the differences in thermal conductivity between continental and oceanic lithospheres are believed to play an important role in plate tectonics. To study this, Wang et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 817, 2017, R1), measure the effect of mixed adiabatic–conducting boundary conditions on turbulent Rayleigh–Bénard convection, finding experimental proof that even if the total heat transfer is primarily affected by the adiabatic fraction, the arrangement of adiabatic and conducting plates is crucial in determining the large-scale flow dynamics.


Author(s):  
Qing Guo ◽  
G. Z. Cao ◽  
I. Y. Shen

Lead Zirconate Titanate Oxide (PbZrxTi1−xO3 or PZT) is a piezoelectric material widely used as sensors and actuators. For microactuators, PZT often appears in the form of thin films to maintain proper aspect ratios. This paper is to present a simple and low-cost method to measure piezoelectric constant d33 of PZT thin films, which is a major challenge encountered in the actuator development. We use an impact hammer with a sharp tip to generate an impulsive force that acts on the PZT film. The impulsive force and the responding voltage are then measured to calculate the piezoelectric constant d33. The impulsive force has large enough amplitude so that a good signal-to-noise ratio can be maintained. Furthermore, the impulsive force has extremely short duration, so the discharge effect (i.e., the time constant effect) of the PZT circuit can be ignored. Preliminary testing on bulk PZT through this new method leads to two conclusions. Firstly, boundary conditions of the specimen are critical. In particular, the specimen must be securely fastened. Since the impulsive load only acts on a tiny area, loose boundary conditions can introduce spurious results from other piezoelectric constant d31. Secondly, size of the specimen is critical. Specimen of smaller size leads to more accurate measurements of the piezoelectric constant d33.


2012 ◽  
Vol 538-541 ◽  
pp. 2289-2292
Author(s):  
Xiao Xiao Meng ◽  
Feng Lin He ◽  
Jiang Ying Shen ◽  
Xiang Qian Shen

The nanocrystalline perovskite La-Mn-O hollow microfibers were prepared by the gel-precursor transformation process from reagents of metal salts and citric acid. The gel precursor and resultant products were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The specific surface area was measured by the Brunauere-Emmette-Teller method. The catalytic performance of soot combustion was evaluated by thermo-gravimetric analysis under model conditions. The nanocrystalline La-Mn-O hollow microfibers calcined at 650 °C for 6 h are characterized with diameters of 2-8 µm, aspect ratios (length/diameter) about 5-15, a micro-tunnel with an estimated ratio 1/3 of the hollow diameter to fiber diameter, and a high specific surface area of 36.7 m2/g that is 1.9 times higher than the counterpart nanosized powder. This nanocrystalline La-Mn-O hollow microfibers catalyst exhibit a high catalytic activity for the soot combustion, with a low T50 of 397°C, which is largely owing to the high surface area and the micro-tunnel structure.


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