Dynamic self-tuning, flickering and shedding in buoyant droplet diffusion flames under acoustic excitation

Abstract

We report the mechanism of acoustic-flame coupling for buoyant diffusion flame in droplets. The flame under acoustic excitation exhibits differential varicose and sinuous modes including partial extinction and pinch offs at certain shedding heights. Contrary to traditional buoyant flames, the diameter (d) regression of a droplet results in self-tuning of the instability modes with progression in burning times. In essence, we show that a droplet exhibits multi frequency response with advent of new oscillations modes at different points of the burning lifetime. The acoustic perturbations modulate the flame surface or heat release only at lower frequency bands by feeding energy into the natural vortical stability modes of a buoyant plume. Interestingly, we unearth that a flame is naturally unstable at all frequencies lower than g/d. Acoustic pumping at any such frequency (<g/d) corresponds to a unique convective length scale h such that fflame=g/h. We therefore establish that the flame exhibits multiple convective length scales throughout the burning cycle. We subsequently established that the shedding length scale of the droplet flame shortens by more than 25% with increase in acoustic pressure. We theoretically proved that using critical circulation argument, one can uniquely determine the shedding length scale at any acoustic loading. However, it is interesting to note that while the acoustic pressure amplitude is crucial for determining the convective length at which a flame rolls up, the frequency of excitation has no role to play. In other words, the velocity field introduced by the acoustic pressure is responsible for the shedding of the flame. The acoustic perturbations also lead to bulk oscillation of the flame surface near the forward stagnation zone. This is attributed to the acoustic induced velocity that leads to transient shifting of the stoichiometric surface.