Relative effects of buoyancy and momentum on the characteristics of horizontally oriented circular (Circ) and elliptic (E) burner flames in a quiescent environment over a wide range of jet exit velocities are presented. The major axis of the elliptic burner was oriented horizontally and vertically (referred to as Emaj and Emin flames, respectively). Propane was used as fuel and a small amount of hydrogen was piloted to attach flames to the burner. Global flame characteristics such as flame dimensions, centerline trajectory, emission indices (EI) and radiative fraction, and in-flame transverse concentration and temperature profiles were measured. At a jet exit Reynolds number (Rej) of 2000, based on the area-equivalent diameter of the burner, the flame characteristics were affected by the burner geometry and its orientation. Also, the vertical dimension of the burner exit dictated buoyancy effects. At Rej=12,500, the influence of burner geometry or its orientation was negligible. Elliptic burner flames exhibited lower liftoff and blowout velocities than circular burner flames. Furthermore, the flame stability and nitric oxide emissions were not much affected by the orientation of elliptic burner. Although the elliptic burners produced higher EINO at lower jet exit velocities, the variation in EINO among three burners (Circ, Emaj, and Emin) was insignificant at higher velocities. Some effects of buoyancy on EICO were observed at lower jet exit velocities and the EICO was the lowest for the burners with largest buoyancy flux. Elliptic burner flames produced greater peak flame temperature than the corresponding circular burner flames under most conditions.
The natural thermostat of nitric oxide emission at 5.3 μm in the thermosphere observed during the solar storms of April 2002
