Descriptions of Nonpremixed Turbulent Combustion

Abstract

Nonpremixed turbulent combustion is a complicated topic because of the interplay between turbulent flow and nonpremixed combustion with associated large variations in the density of the fluid. Ways to classify different regimes of these combustion processes are addressed, and various approaches to describing combustion in the different regimes are reviewed, with special attention pai d to the contributions of Gerard M. Faeth, notably concerning turbulent spray combustion. The degree of success that has been obtained is remarkable for surpassing what might have been expected in advance. A brief discussion of new directions in the anal ysis of nonpremixed turbulent combustion also is given. I. Introduction t is a pleasure to prepare this material in honor of Jerry Faeth, whose unique viewpoint on nonpremixed turbulent combustion did a great deal to broaden perspectives and to enable reaso nable predictions to be made for complex flows. The subject is of wide practical interest since it pertains to combustion in furnaces, fires, flares, diesel engines and gas turbines, for example. Rather than addressing specific applications, however, the presentations will focus on identifying and categorizing different methods for calculating processes of nonpremixed turbulent combustion and on the different combustion regimes in which the various methods may best be employed. This may help to bring som e order to this large and complicated subject and to put Jerry’s contributions in context. Achieving this objective will necessitate delving into fundamentals.