A Modeling Approach for Hydrogen-Doped Lean Premixed Turbulent Combustion

Author(s):  
Siva P. R. Muppala ◽  
Miltiadis V. Papalexandris

In this study, we investigate some preliminary reaction model predictions analytically in comparison with experimental premixed turbulent combustion data from four different flame configurations, which include i) high-jet enveloped, ii) expanding spherical, iii) Bunsen-like, and iv) wide-angled diffuser flames. The special intent of the present work is to evaluate the workability range of the model to hydrogen and hydrogen-doped hydrocarbon mixtures, emphasizing on the significance of preferential diffusion, PD, and Le effects in premixed turbulent flames. This is carried out in two phases: first, involving pure hydrocarbon and pure hydrogen mixtures from two independent measured data, and second, with the blended mixtures from two other data sets. For this purpose, a novel reaction closure embedded with explicit high-pressure and exponential Lewis number terms developed in the context of hydrocarbon mixtures is used. These comparative studies based on the global quantity, turbulent flame speed, indicate that the model predictions are encouraging yielding proper quantification along with reasonable characterization of all the four different flames, over a broad range of turbulence, fuel-types and for varied equivalence ratios. However, with each flame involved the model demands tuning of the (empirical) constant to allow for either or both of these effects, or for the influence of the burner geometry. This provisional stand remains largely insufficient. Therefore, a submodel for chemical time scale from the leading point analysis based on the critically curved laminar flames employed in earlier studies for expanding spherical flames is introduced here. By combining the submodel and the reaction closure, the dependence of turbulent flame speed on physicochemical properties of the burning mixtures including the strong dependence of preferential diffusion and/or Le effects can be determined.

Author(s):  
Vladimir Zimont ◽  
Wolfgang Polifke ◽  
Marco Bettelini ◽  
Wolfgang Weisenstein

Theoretical background, details of implementation and validation results of a computational model for turbulent premixed gaseous combustion at high turbulent Reynolds numbers are presented. The model describes the combustion process in terms of a single transport equation for a progress variable; closure of the progress variable’s source term is based on a model for the turbulent flame speed. The latter is identified as a parameter of prime significance in premixed turbulent combustion and is determined from theoretical considerations and scaling arguments, taking into account physico-chemical properties of the combustible mixture and local turbulent parameters. Specifically, phenomena like thickening, wrinkling and straining of the flame front by the turbulent velocity field are considered, yielding a closed form expression for the turbulent flame speed that involves, e.g., speed, thickness and critical gradient of a laminar flame, local turbulent length scale and fluctuation intensity. This closure approach is very efficient and elegant, as it requires only one transport equation more than the non-reacting flow case, and there is no need for costly evaluation of chemical source terms or integration over probability density functions. The model was implemented in a finite-volume based computational fluid dynamics code and validated against detailed experimental data taken from a large scale atmospheric gas turbine burner test stand. The predictions of the model compare well with the available experimental results. It has been observed that the model is significantly more robust and computationally efficient than other combustion models. This attribute makes the model particularly interesting for applications to large 3D problems in complicated geometries.


1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 526-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Zimont ◽  
W. Polifke ◽  
M. Bettelini ◽  
W. Weisenstein

Theoretical background, details of implementation, and validation results for a computational model for turbulent premixed gaseous combustion at high turbulent Reynolds numbers are presented. The model describes the combustion process in terms of a single transport equation for a progress variable; turbulent closure of the progress variable’s source term is based on a model for the turbulent flame speed. The latter is identified as a parameter of prime significance in premixed turbulent combustion and determined from theoretical considerations and scaling arguments, taking into account physico-chemical properties and local turbulent parameters of the combustible mixture. Specifically, phenomena like thickening, wrinkling, and straining of the flame front by the turbulent velocity field are considered, yielding a closed form expression for the turbulent flame speed that involves, e.g., speed, thickness, and critical gradient of a laminar flame, local turbulent length scale, and fluctuation intensity. This closure approach is very efficient and elegant, as it requires only one transport equation more than the non reacting flow case, and there is no need for costly evaluation of chemical source terms or integration over probability density functions. The model was implemented in a finite-volume-based computational fluid dynamics code and validated against detailed experimental data taken from a large-scale atmospheric gas turbine burner test stand. The predictions of the model compare well with the available experimental results. It has been observed that the model is significantly more robust and computationally efficient than other combustion models. This attribute makes the model particularly interesting for applications to large three-dimensional problems in complicated geometries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
E P Hicks

ABSTRACT Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) unstable flames are a key component of Type Ia and Iax supernovae explosions, but their complex hydrodynamics is still not well understood. These flames are affected not only by the RT instability, but also by the turbulence it generates. Both processes can increase the flame speed by stretching and wrinkling the flame. This makes it hard to choose a subgrid model for the flame speed in full star Type Ia or Iax simulations. Commonly used subgrid models get around this difficulty by assuming that either the RT instability or turbulence is dominant and sets the flame speed. In previous work, we evaluated the physical assumptions and predictive abilities of these two types of models by analysing a large parameter study of 3D direct numerical simulations of RT unstable flames. Surprisingly, we found that the flame dynamics is dominated by the RT instability and that RT unstable flames are very different from turbulent flames. In particular, RT unstable flames are thinner rather than thicker when turbulence is strong. In addition, none of the turbulent flame speed models adequately predicted the flame speed. We also showed that the RT flame speed model failed when the RT instability was strong, suggesting that geometrical burning effects also influence the flame speed. However, these results depended on simulations with Re ≲ 720. In this paper, we extend the parameter study to higher Reynolds number and show that the basic conclusions of our previous study still hold when the RT-generated turbulence is stronger.


Author(s):  
Tadej Holler ◽  
Varun Jain ◽  
Ed M. J. Komen ◽  
Ivo Kljenak

The CFD combustion modeling approach based on two combustion models was applied to a hydrogen deflagration experiment conducted in a large-scale confined experimental vessel. The used combustion models were Zimont’s Turbulent Flames Speed Closure (TFC) model and Lipatnikov’s Flame Speed Closure (FSC) model. The conducted simulations are aimed to aid identifying and evaluating the potential hydrogen risks in Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) containment. The simulation results show good agreement with experiment for axial flame propagation using the Lipatnikov combustion model. However substantial overprediction in radial flame propagation is observed using both combustion models, which consequently results also in overprediction of the pressure increase rate and overall combustion energy output. As assumed for a large-scale experiment without any turbulence inducing structures, the combustion took place in low-turbulence regimes, where the Lipatnikov combustion model, due to its inclusion of quasi-laminar source term, has advantage over the Zimont model.


Author(s):  
Ehsan Abbasi-Atibeh ◽  
Sandeep Jella ◽  
Jeffrey M. Bergthorson

Sensitivity to stretch and differential diffusion of chemical species are known to influence premixed flame propagation, even in the turbulent environment where mass diffusion can be greatly enhanced. In this context, it is convenient to characterize flames by their Lewis number (Le), a ratio of thermal-to-mass diffusion. The work reported in this paper describes a study of flame stabilization characteristics when the Le is varied. The test data is comprised of Le ≪ 1 (Hydrogen), Le ≈ 1 (Methane), and Le > 1 (Propane) flames stabilized at various turbulence levels. The experiments were carried out in a Hot exhaust Opposed-flow Turbulent Flame Rig (HOTFR), which consists of two axially-opposed, symmetric turbulent round jets. The stagnation plane between the two jets allows the aerodynamic stabilization of a flame, and clearly identifies fuel influences on turbulent flames. Furthermore, high-speed Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), using oil droplet seeding, allowed simultaneous recordings of velocity (mean and rms) and flame surface position. These experiments, along with data processing tools developed through this study, illustrated that in the mixtures with Le ≪ 1, turbulent flame speed increases considerably compared to the laminar flame speed due to differential diffusion effects, where higher burning rates compensate for the steepening average velocity gradient, and keeps these flames almost stationary as bulk flow velocity increases. These experiments are suitable for validating the ability of turbulent combustion models to predict lifted, aerodynamically-stabilized flames. In the final part of this paper, we model the three fuels at two turbulence intensities using the FGM model in a RANS context. Computations reveal that the qualitative flame stabilization trends reproduce the effects of turbulence intensity, however, more accurate predictions are required to capture the influences of fuel variations and differential diffusion.


2017 ◽  
Vol 835 ◽  
pp. 102-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke J. Humphrey ◽  
Benjamin Emerson ◽  
Tim C. Lieuwen

This paper considers the manner in which turbulent premixed flames respond to a superposition of turbulent and narrowband disturbances. This is an important fundamental problem that arises in most combustion applications, as turbulent flames exist in hydrodynamically unstable flow fields and/or in confined systems with narrowband acoustic waves. This paper presents the first measurements of the sensitivity of the turbulent displacement speed to harmonically oscillating flame wrinkles. The flame is attached to a transversely oscillating, heated wire, resulting in the introduction of coherent, convecting wrinkles on the flame. The approach flow turbulence is varied systematically using a variable turbulence generator, enabling quantification of the effect of turbulent flow disturbances on the harmonic wrinkles. Mie scattering measurements are used to quantify the flame edge dynamics, while high speed particle image velocimetry is used to measure the flow field characteristics. By ensemble averaging the results, the ensemble-averaged flame edge and flow characteristics are recovered. For low turbulence intensities, sharp cusps are present in the negative curvature regions of the ensemble-averaged flame position, similar to laminar flames. These cusps are smoothed out at high turbulence intensities. The coherent, ensemble-averaged flame wrinkle amplitude decays with increasing turbulence intensity and with downstream distance. In addition, the ensemble-averaged turbulent flame speed is modulated in space and time. The most significant result of these measurements is the clear demonstration of the correlation between the ensemble-averaged turbulent flame speed and ensemble-averaged flame curvature, with the phase-dependent flame speed increasing in regions of negative curvature. These results have important implications on turbulent combustion physics and modelling, since quasi-coherent velocity disturbances are nearly ubiquitous in shear driven, high turbulent flows and/or confined systems with acoustic feedback. Specifically, these data clearly show that nonlinear interactions occur between the multi-scale turbulent disturbances and the more narrowband disturbances associated with coherent structures. In other words, conceptual models of the controlling physics in combustors with shear driven turbulence must account for the fundamentally different effects of spectrally distributed turbulent disturbances and more narrowband, quasi-coherent disturbances.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4210
Author(s):  
Alessandro d’Adamo ◽  
Clara Iacovano ◽  
Stefano Fontanesi

Turbulent combustion modelling in internal combustion engines (ICEs) is a challenging task. It is commonly synthetized by incorporating the interaction between chemical reactions and turbulent eddies into a unique term, namely turbulent flame speed sT. The task is very complex considering the variety of turbulent and chemical scales resulting from engine load/speed variations. In this scenario, advanced turbulent combustion models are asked to predict accurate burn rates under a wide range of turbulence–flame interaction regimes. The framework is further complicated by the difficulty in unambiguously evaluating in-cylinder turbulence and by the poor coherence of turbulent flame speed (sT) measurements in the literature. Finally, the simulated sT from combustion models is found to be rarely assessed in a rigorous manner. A methodology is presented to objectively measure the simulated sT by a generic combustion model over a range of engine-relevant combustion regimes, from Da = 0.5 to Da = 75 (i.e., from the thin reaction regime to wrinkled flamelets). A test case is proposed to assess steady-state burn rates under specified turbulence in a RANS modelling framework. The methodology is applied to a widely adopted combustion model (ECFM-3Z) and the comparison of the simulated sT with experimental datasets allows to identify modelling improvement areas. Dynamic functions are proposed based on turbulence intensity and Damköhler number. Finally, simulations using the improved flame speed are carried out and a satisfactory agreement of the simulation results with the experimental/theoretical correlations is found. This confirms the effectiveness and the general applicability of the methodology to any model. The use of grid/time resolution typical of ICE combustion simulations strengthens the relevance of the proposed dynamic functions. The presented analysis allows to improve the adherence of the simulated burn rate to that of literature turbulent flames, and it unfolds the innovative possibility to objectively test combustion models under any prescribed turbulence/flame interaction regime. The solid data-driven representation of turbulent combustion physics is expected to reduce the tuning effort in ICE combustion simulations, providing modelling robustness in a very critical area for virtual design of innovative combustion systems.


Author(s):  
S. Ravi ◽  
A. Morones ◽  
E. L. Petersen ◽  
F. Güthe

Natural gas is the primary fuel for stationary, powergeneration gas turbines, and it is necessary to understand its combustion characteristics under engine-relevant (turbulent) conditions. Since its composition varies depending on the fuel source, a natural gas surrogate (NG 18% C2+) and admixtures with H2 have been utilized recently by the authors to aid chemical kinetics modeling using ignition delay times and laminar flame speed experiments. The present study focused on measuring turbulent flame speeds (displacement speeds) of natural gas (NG2) and methane with H2 using a fan-stirred flame bomb. The apparatus is a closed, cylindrical chamber fitted with four radial impellers that generate a central spherical volume of homogeneous and isotropic turbulence with negligible mean flow. Schlieren imaging was used to visually track the growth of the spherically expanding turbulent kernels during the constant-pressure period. The turbulence levels were fixed at an average RMS intensity level of 1.5 m/s and at an integral length scale of 27 mm. Turbulent flame speeds (ST,0.1) of NG2 blends were measured over a wide range of equivalence ratios between 0.7 and 1.3. ST,0.1 for the natural gas surrogate closely matched with those of methane for near-stoichiometric mixtures. However, preferential-diffusion effects (fuel effects) were observed under turbulent conditions for off-stoichiometric cases. The effects of hydrogen addition on the turbulent flame speeds of NG2 (25/75 and 50/50 (by volume) blends of H2/NG2) were also investigated and were compared with the flame speeds reported in a recent paper by the authors (ASME GT2014-26742) on the effects of hydrogen addition to turbulent flame speeds of methane. The effect of the hydrogen addition was to increase the turbulent flame speed (by about a factor of two for 50% H2 addition), although this effect was much more pronounced for the lean and stoichiometric mixtures. Interestingly, the flame speeds (both laminar and turbulent) of the CH4 blends with H2 were slightly larger than those for the NG2 blend at equivalent conditions, or about 10–20% larger at 50% H2 addition. This behavior can be explained kinetically by the increased importance of the inhibiting reaction CH3 + H (+M) ↔ CH4 (+M), where ethane oxidation produces more CH3 radicals than methane at similar conditions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (6 Part A) ◽  
pp. 2425-2438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Alhumairi ◽  
Özgür Ertunç

Lean premixed combustion under the influence of active-grid turbulence was computationally investigated, and the results were compared with experimental data. The experiments were carried out to generate a premixed flame at a thermal load of 9 kW from a single jet flow combustor. Turbulent combustion models, such as the coherent flame model and turbulent flame speed closure model were implemented for the simulations performed under different turbulent flow conditions, which were specified by the Reynolds number based on Taylor?s microscale, the dissipation rate of turbulence, and turbulent kinetic energy. This study shows that the applied turbulent combustion models differently predict the flame topology and location. However, similar to the experiments, simulations with both models revealed that the flame moves toward the inlet when turbulence becomes strong at the inlet, that is, when Re? at the inlet increases. The results indicated that the flame topology and location in the coherent flame model were more sensitive to turbulence than those in the turbulent flame speed closure model. The flame location behavior on the jet flow combustor significantly changed with the increase of Re?.


Volume 4 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pratap Sathiah ◽  
Andrei N. Lipatnikov ◽  
Jerzy Chomiak

Non-stationary confined premixed turbulent flames stabilized behind a bluff body are studied. A simple kinematic model of such flames was developed by Dowling [9] who reduced the combustion process to the propagation of an infinitely thin flame at a constant speed. The goal of this work is to extend the model by taking into account the structure of premixed turbulent flames and the development of turbulent flame speed and thickness. For these purposes, the so-called Flame Speed Closure model for multi-dimensional simulations of premixed turbulent flames is adapted and combined with the aforementioned Dowling model. Simulations of the heat release rate dynamics for ducted flames due to oncoming flow oscillations have been performed. Typical results show that the oscillations of the integrated heat release rate follow the oncoming flow velocity oscillations with certain time delay. The delays computed using the Dowling and the above approach are different, thus indicating the importance of resolving flame structure when modeling ducted flame oscillations.


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