Ultra-lean dynamics of holder-stabilized hydrogen-enriched flames in a preheated mesoscale combustor near the laminar critical limit

Abstract

This work experimentally investigates the ultra-lean dynamics of a 40% H2–60% CH4 flame near the laminar critical limit in a preheated mesoscale combustor with a flame holder. These experiments are conducted to verify a conjecture we proposed in a previous publication and reveal the ultra-lean flame dynamics under the synergistic effects of heat and flow recirculation. Notably, not only is our conjecture confirmed, but also some novel flame behaviors are found. As the equivalence ratio ϕ is decreased from 0.500 to 0.320, the conventional stable flame, stable residual flame, periodic residual flame with repetitive local extinction and re-ignition (periodic RFRER), and periodic oscillating residual flame are observed in sequence. For the stable residual flame (0.370 ≥ ϕ ≥ 0.355), the left and right flame roots reside directly behind the flame holder, and the flame tip stays near the combustor exit. For the periodic RFRER (0.350 ≥ ϕ ≥ 0.340), observed experimentally for the first time, the flame roots reside at almost the same location, but the flame tip oscillates up and down over time with pinch-off events. For the periodic oscillating residual flame (0.335 ≥ ϕ ≥ 0.320), found for the first time, the stable flame roots also reside at almost the same location, but the residual flame tip oscillates up and down over time without a pinch-off event. When ϕ decreases to 0.315, the oscillating residual flame extinguishes, and its blow-off dynamics are revealed in detail.