Ray tracing of chemiluminescence in an unconfined non-premixed turbulent jet flame using large-eddy simulation

Abstract

Optical diagnostic techniques, such as chemiluminescence imaging, are commonly used to study turbulent flames. Inherent to turbulent flames is the spatio-temporal variation of the volumetric distribution of temperature and chemical composition. In consequence, the index of refraction varies accordingly and causes distortion of any optical ray intersecting the turbulent flame. This distortion is well known as beam steering. Beam steering may degrade imaging quality by reducing the overall spatial resolution. Its impact of course depends on the actual specifications of the imaging system itself. In this study a methodology is proposed to tackle this issue numerically and is exemplified for chemiluminescence imaging in a well-known turbulent hydrogen-fueled jet flame. Large-eddy simulation (LES) of this unconfined non-premixed flame is used to simulate instantaneous volumetric distributions of the flow and scalar fields including the local index of refraction. This simulation additionally predicts local concentrations of electronically excited chemiluminescent active species. At locations with significantly high concentrations of luminescent species, optical rays are initiated in the direction of the array detector used for recording single chemiluminescence images. Assuming the validity of geometrical optics, these rays are tracked along their pathways. Their direction of propagation changes according to the local instantaneous distribution of the index of refraction. After leaving the computational domain of the ray tracing code which is fed by the LES, each ray is processed by the commercial code ZEMAX® and imaged onto an array detector. Measured and numerically simulated ensemble-averaged chemiluminescence images are compared to each other. Overall, a satisfying agreement is observed. The primary aim of this paper is the exposition of this method where numerical and experimental results are not any more compared in the flame but where this comparison is shifted to the imaging plane. Future extensions to higher pressures in enclosed combustors or internal combustion engines where beam-steering effects are much more pronounced than in atmospheric jet flames are addressed.