Laminar flame propagation in hydrogen+bromine mixtures

Abstract

A new procedure is presented for the solution of the parabolic differential equations of transient one dimensional flame propagation; it employs a coordinate system which moves with the flame, and so leads, for steady state flames, to invariant profiles of concentration and temperature. The method is based on the procedure developed by Patankar & Spalding for the prediction of two dimensional boundary layer flow, and benefits from many of the useful features of that program. Predictions are presented for laminar hydrogen+bromine flames, both for flame propagation into an unlimited expanse of premixed reactants, and for a flame stabilized on a cooled porous plug burner. The results of the calculations are in fairly satisfactory agreement with experimental data; this is a consequence of the use of accurate thermodynamic data, of transport property data that are more realistic than those employed by earlier workers, and of a chemical-kinetic scheme that takes full account of available knowledge. Comparisons are also provided with the theoretical predictions of earlier authors, which were based upon less realistic models of the physico-chemical processes.