Prediction of premixed laminar flame characteristics of commercial kerosene fuel

Abstract

Combustion of a commercial kerosene-air mixture in a duct of parallel plates is simulated by a global Arrhenius reaction rate expression with an overall order of 1.5. The resulting propagating laminar flame wave is modelled using two-dimensional partial differential equations governing the temperature and fuel concentration fields inside the flame wave. The numerical solution of the flame equations yields the propagating flame speed and the flame internal structure for a certain fixed unburned mixture condition. Solutions of the flame equations are obtained at different unburned mixture temperatures, pressure and equivalence ratios to elucidate the effect of these variables on the kerosene flame behaviour. The increase in unburned mixture temperature is found to increase the flame speed, the maximum flame temperature, but does not affect the flame thickness. The increase in the unburned mixture pressure, however, decreases the flame speed and thickness, increases the heat release rate, and does not affect the maximum flame temperature. Decreasing the equivalence ratio below the stoichiometric value reduces flame speed, heat release rate and maximum flame temperature but increases the flame thickness. In addition, the variation of the internal flame structure with unburned mixture temperature, pressure and equivalence ratio is presented and discussed.