Thickened Flame Research Articles

Large Eddy Simulation of the Effect of Hydrogen Ratio on the Flame Stabilization and Blow-Off Dynamics of a Lean CH4/H2/Air Bluff-Body Flame

This study investigated the flame structure and dynamics of a bluff-body flame when numerically close to blow-off conditions. This includes the impact of the hydrogen ratio on lean CH4/H2/air flame stabilization and blow-off characteristics. In this study, we assessed the impacts of four different hydrogen ratios: 0%, 30%, 60%, and 90%. Large eddy simulation (LES) was coupled with a thickened flame (TF) model to determine the turbulent combustion using a 30-species skeletal mechanism. The numerical results were progressively validated using OH-PLIF and PIV techniques. The results obtained from the numerical simulations showed minor differences with the experimental data on the velocity field and flame structure for all conditions. The presented results reveal that the flame is stabilized in higher-strain-rate spots more easily in the presence of high hydrogen ratios. Moreover, the flame location moves away from the concentrated vortex area with an increasing hydrogen ratio. The results of our blow-off investigation indicate that the blow-off sequence of a premixed bluff-body flame can be separated into two stages. The entire blow-off process becomes shorter with an increase in the hydrogen ratio. The primary reason for global extinction is a reduction in the heat release rate, and enstrophy analysis implies that blending hydrogen can reduce the enstrophy values of flames at the downstream locations. The dilatation and baroclinic torque terms decrease close to blow-off, but their decline is not significant in high-hydrogen-ratio conditions.

A generalization of the Thickened Flame model for stretched flames

The Thickened Flame (TF) model is a widely used approach for Large Eddy Simulation of premixed flames. It is based on a “mapping” transformation where all diffusivities are multiplied by a thickening factor F while reaction terms are divided by F. Theory shows and 1D flame simulations confirm that this mapping preserves the unstretched laminar flame speed sL0 while increasing its thickness δL0 by F, allowing to resolve the flame on a coarse grid. However this property is not satisfied anymore when the TF model is applied to stretched flames: the burning velocity sc(k) of a thickened flame submitted to a stretch k is not conserved compared to the non-thickened solution. A new diffusion-reaction transformation, named Stretched-Thickened Flame (S-TF) model, is developed here to conserve the burning velocity of stretched flames, proposing a generalization of the classical diffusion-reaction transformation which the TF model is based on. Thermal and mass diffusion zones are thickened differently and the laminar unstretched properties are preserved by modifying the chemical source terms. The S-TF model is applied on canonical 1D strained flames and validated for a cylindrical expanding flame configuration to prove its applicability to recover both strain and curvature effects. Results show that the Stretched-Thickened Flame model is an effective solution to correct the deficiency of the classical approach for stretched flames and can be easily implemented in CFD codes relying on the TF model.

Large Eddy Simulations of a Low-Swirl Gaseous Partially Premixed Lifted Flame in Presence of Wall Heat Losses

The use of lifted flames presents some very promising advantages in terms of pollutant emissions and flame stability. The focus here is on a specific low-swirl injection system operated with methane and derived from an air-blast atomizer for aero-engine applications, which is responsible for flame lift-off. The key feature of this concept is the interaction between the swirling jet and the confinement walls, leading to a strong outer recirculation zone and thus to an upstream transport of combustion products from the main reaction region to the flame base. Here, the representation of the physics involved is challenging, since finite-rate effects govern the lift-off occurrence, and only a few numerical studies have been carried out on this test case so far. The aim of the present work is therefore to understand the limits of some state-of-the-art combustion models within the context of LES. Considering this context, two different strategies are adopted: the Flamelet-Generated Manifold (FGM) approach and the Thickened Flame (TF) model. A modified version of the FGM model including stretch and heat loss effects is also applied as an improvement of the standard model. Numerical results are compared with the available experimental data in terms of temperature and chemical species concentration maps, showing that the TF model can better reproduce the lift-off than the FGM approach.

Effect of hydrogen enrichment on swirl/bluff-body lean premixed flame stabilization

This paper reports the mechanism of hydrogen enrichment in stabilizing swirl/bluff-body CH4/air lean premixed flame. Large Eddy Simulation (LES) coupled with Thickened Flame (TF) model was performed to resolve the turbulent reacting flow. A detailed chemistry was used to describe the oxidization of CH4/H2/air mixtures. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence of OH (OH-PLIF) simultaneous measurements were conducted to obtain the velocity fields and flame structures respectively. The numerical methods were validated by experimental data and showing good agreements. Both the experimental and numerical results show that, the flame brush attachment tends to leave the inner shear layer with increasing hydrogen addition, which will reduce the risk of flame lift-off. The chemical analyses prove that the attachment of CH4/air flame is inherently weak. On the one hand, the CH4/air flame is stabilized by the hot products inside the recirculation. On the other hand, the burnt gas suppresses the oxidation of H2 and CO through H2 + OH = H + H2O and CO + OH = CO2 + H, respectively. Although the proportion of CH4 decomposition through CH4 + OH = CH3 + H2O will be reduced by hydrogen addition, the path of CH4 + H = CH3 + H2 will be enhanced significantly. Hydrogen addition will not only increase the overall reaction rate, but also change the combustion intensity at the nozzle exit from relatively weak to strong, which is also important for flame stabilization. The robust flame attachment obtained by hydrogen addition can attributed to the enhanced reactions of H2 + OH = H + H2O and CH4 + H = CH3 + H2.

Investigation on bluff-body and swirl stabilized flames near lean blowoff with PIV/PLIF measurements and LES modelling

Lean premixed combustion (LPC) is a promising technology for low-NOx emission, while it increases the risk of blowoff at the same time. Experiments and Large Eddy Simulations (LES) on swirl stratified lean-premixed CH4/air flames were performed to study the differences between the stable and near blowoff flame. The flow fields and instantaneous flame structures were measured by simultaneous Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (OH-PLIF). The Thickened Flame (TF) model coupled with a two-step reduced chemical mechanism was used in LES modelling. The non-dynamic formulation of sub-grid flame wrinkling model is performed well for stable condition while it cannot predict the near lean blowoff flame reasonable. Compared with the stable flame, several significant differences can be observed in the near lean blowoff flame. The height of high-temperature-zone is relatively low and the heat loss of flame attachment can be easily enhanced by the low temperature spot induced by flame-vortex interaction. The flame attachment is subject to higher excess strain rate and turbulence fluctuation. Meanwhile, a Processing Vortex Core (PVC) appears downstream of the centerline. It is concluded that lean blowoff is the result of interactions between the fuel/air mixture ignition, PVC instability and flame attachment lift-off.

Numerical simulation of premixed combustion using the modified dynamic thickened flame model coupled with multi-step reaction mechanism

Thickened flame (TF) model is one of the effective methods to resolve the flame front in turbulent premixed combustion modeling. The multi-step reaction mechanism is becoming increasingly important for combustion simulations such as pollutant formation, ignition and extinction. The effect of TF model on flame structures when coupling with multi-step reaction mechanism was investigated. The simulation results show that, no matter in laminar or turbulent condition, the global TF model coupling with multi-step reaction mechanism results in an incomplete combustion, which is mainly due to the enhanced species diffusion. Although Durand and Polifke’s dynamic thickened flame (DTF) sensor performs well for predicting laminar flame structure when coupling with multi-step reaction mechanism, it underestimates the effective thickening factor. In turbulent premixed flame simulation, the underestimated thickening factor leads to a faster local fuel consumption speed because of the over-predicted sub-grid flame wrinkling factor. A modified DTF sensor suitable for multi-step reaction mechanism is proposed. This sensor using the hyperbolic tangent function of progress variable to calculate thickening factor dynamically. It ensures that both the preheated and reaction zones are thickened effectively. The sub-grid wrinkling factor is hence estimated corresponding to the calculated flame thickness. Results of 1D laminar and 3D turbulent flame show that this method performs well for predicting both burned gas temperature and species concentration in burnt gas, which is important for predicting emissions.

A study on the dynamic behavior of premixed propane-air flames propagating in a curved combustion chamber

Experiments and numerical simulations were performed to study the flame dynamics and pressure build-up in a curved combustion chamber filled with propane-air mixture. The configuration of the system allows a direct comparison of flame propagation in a bend to that in a straight duct. The comparison helps reveal the role of the bend in the flame dynamics. In the experiments, a high-speed schlieren system and a pressure transducer were used to record the flame evolution and pressure dynamics, respectively. In the simulations, a dynamically thickened flame (TF) model with a single-step chemistry was adopted to represent the premixed combustion. One important finding is that the bend of the chamber has a significant influence on the flame dynamics by promoting the growth of instabilities. The flame behavior in the bend is different than that in the straight section of the chamber. A salient tulip flame is formed in the bend while a much less pronounced tulip shape in the horizontal straight section. The lower part of flame dominates the burning process in the bend while the opposite is true in the horizontal straight section. Furthermore, the influence of heat transfer and gravity were examined using numerical simulations. It was found that heat transfer has an important effect on the combustion dynamics when the flame interacts with the sidewalls of the chamber. The flame propagation speed and pressure rise are overestimated in the absence of heat losses at the chamber walls. Although the gravity plays a role in the flame evolution in the straight configuration, its effect on flame dynamics is damped by the bend. The gravity effect on pressure build-up in the entire process is minor. In addition, the good agreement between the numerical simulations and the experiments supports the validity and reliability of the TF model with the one-step chemical kinetics for calculating propane-air flame propagation.

Numerical Methods and Turbulence Modeling for LES of Piston Engines: Impact on Flow Motion and Combustion

In this article, Large Eddy Simulations (LES) of Spark Ignition (SI) engines are performed to evaluate the impact of the numerical set-upon the predictedflow motion and combustion process. Due to the high complexity and computational cost of such simulations, the classical set-up commonly includes “low” order numerical schemes (typically first or second-order accurate in time and space) as well as simple turbulence models (such as the well known constant coefficient Smagorinsky model (Smagorinsky J. (1963) Mon. Weather Rev. <b>91<b/>, 99-164). The scope of this paper is to evaluate the feasibility and the potential benefits of using high precision methods for engine simulations, relying on higher order numerical methods and state-of-the-art Sub-Grid-Scale (SGS) models. For this purpose, two high order convection schemes from the Two-step Taylor Galerkin (TTG) family (Colin and Rudgyard (2000) J. Comput. Phys. <b>162<b/>, 338-371) and several SGS turbulence models, namely Dynamic Smagorinsky (Germano et al. (1991) Phys. Fluids <b>3<b/>, 1760-1765) and sigma (Baya Toda et al. (2010) Proc. Summer Program 2010, Stanford, Center for Turbulence Research, NASA Ames/Stanford Univ., pp. 193-202) are considered to improve the accuracy of the classically used Lax-Wendroff (LW) (Lax and Wendroff (1964) Commun. Pure Appl. Math. <b>17<b/>, 381-398) - Smagorinsky set-up. This evaluation is performed considering two different engine configurations from IFP Energies nouvelles. The first one is the naturally aspirated four-valve spark-ignited F7P engine which benefits from an exhaustive experimental and numerical characterization. The second one, called Ecosural, is a highly supercharged spark-ignited engine. Unique realizations of engine cycles have been simulated for each set-up starting from the same initial conditions and the comparison is made with experimental and previous numerical results for the F7P configuration. For the Ecosural engine, experimental results are not available yet and only qualitative comparisons are performed to enforce the analysis and conclusions made on the F7P configuration. Regarding SGS models, only slight differences are found at the aerodynamic level even if sigma allows a better resolution of small structures of the velocity field. However, all results are in cycle-to-cycle variability envelopes from Granet (Granet et al. (2012) Combust. Flame <b>159<b/>, 1562-1575) and these single cycle computations don’t permit to distinguish clear improvements on macroscopic parameters such as resolved kinetic energy, heat release or mean in-cylinder pressure. Concerning numerical schemes, TTG schemes also allow a slighlty better resolution of small scale vortices but global quantities such as resolved kinetic energy and SGS viscosity are comparable. Nevertheless, clear differences appear between the different schemes in the combustion stroke. This is attributed to a better resolution of the flame-turbulence interaction process during the free flame propagation period, leading to an increase of the resolved part of heat release. It is also shown in this paper that an adjustment of the efficiency constant in the Thickened Flame (TF) model is compulsory to account for the over dissipation of the smallest resolved structures if LW is used. In the light of these conclusions an hybrid setup, called ES O<sub>2<sub/> (Engine Stroke Optimal Order), which consists in using TTGC during combustion and LW elsewhere is proposed and applied to the two engines configurations. Results are in good agreement with the ones obtained in the case of a full TTGC simulation, while the CPU (Central Processing Unit) cost increase is only about 10% compared to LW. The accuracy of LW seems therefore to be sufficient for pure aerodynamic phases, while the use of TTGC only during combustion permits an improvement in the LES quality. The hybrid ES O<sub>2<sub/> method thus appears as an attractive approach to improve further calculations accuracy without being greatly penalized by additional CPU costs in multi-cycle simulations.

Numerical Simulation of Premixed Propane/Air Flame Propagation Using a Dynamically Thickened Flame Approach

A numerical study of premixed propane/air flame propagation in a closed duct is presented. A dynamically thickened flame (TF) method is applied to model the premixed combustion. The reaction of propane in air is taken into account using a single-step global Arrhenius kinetics. It is shown that the premixed flame undergoes four stages of dynamics in the propagation. The formation of tulip flame phenomenon is observed. The pressure during the combustion process grows exponentially at the finger-shape flame stage and then slows down until the formation of tulip shape. After tulip formation the pressure increases quickly again with the increase of the flame surface area. The vortex motion behind the flame front advects the flame into tulip shape. The study indicates that the TF model is quite reliable for the investigation of premixed propane/air flame propagation.

Numerical Simulation of Premixed Propane/Air Flame Propagation Using a Dynamically Thickened Flame Approach

A numerical study of premixed propane/air flame propagation in a closed duct is presented. A dynamically thickened flame (TF) method is applied to model the premixed combustion. The reaction of propane in air is taken into account using a single-step global Arrhenius kinetics. It is shown that the premixed flame undergoes four stages of dynamics in the propagation. The formation of tulip flame phenomenon is observed. The pressure during the combustion process grows exponentially at the finger-shape flame stage and then slows down until the formation of tulip shape. After tulip formation the pressure increases quickly again with the increase of the flame surface area. The vortex motion behind the flame front advects the flame into tulip shape. The study indicates that the TF model is quite reliable for the investigation of premixed propane/air flame propagation.

Dynamics of upstream flame propagation in a hydrogen-enriched premixed flame

An unconfined strongly swirled flow is investigated to study the effect of hydrogen addition on upstream flame propagation in a methane-air premixed flame using Large Eddy Simulation (LES) with a Thickened Flame (TF) model. A laboratory-scale swirled premixed combustor operated under atmospheric conditions for which experimental data for validation is available has been chosen for the numerical study. In the LES-TF approach, the flame front is resolved on the computational grid through artificial thickening and the individual species transport equations are directly solved with the reaction rates specified using Arrhenius chemistry. Good agreement is found when comparing predictions with the published experimental data including the predicted RMS fluctuations. Also, the results show that the initiation of upstream flame propagation is associated with balanced maintained between hydrodynamics and reaction. This process is associated with the upstream propagation of the center recirculation bubble, which pushes the flame front in the upstream mixing tube. Once the upstream movement of the flame front is initiated, the hydrogen-enriched mixture exhibits more unstable behavior; while in contrast, the CH4 flame shows stable behavior.

Parametric study of upstream flame propagation in hydrogen-enriched premixed combustion: Effects of swirl, geometry and premixedness

The effect of swirl, premixedness and geometry has been investigated for hydrogen enriched premixed flame using Large Eddy Simulation (LES) with a Thickened Flame (TF) model. Swirl strength has been varied to study the effects of swirl on flame behavior in a laboratory-scale premixed combustor operated under atmospheric conditions. In addition, the levels of premixedness and geometry have also been changed to study the role of these quantities on flame behavior. The turbulent flow field and the chemistry are coupled through TF model. In the LES-TF approach, the flame front is resolved on the computational grid through artificial thickening and the individual species transport equations are directly solved with the reaction rates specified using Arrhenius chemistry. Good agreement is found when comparing predictions with the published experimental data including the predicted RMS fluctuations. Also, the results show that higher swirl strength and increase in level of premixedness make the system more susceptible to upstream flame movement due to higher combustibility of hydrogen, which increases the reaction along the flame front, thereby raises temperature in the reaction zone and leads to combustion induced vortex breakdown (CIVB). Moreover, upstream flame movement is always observed at higher swirl strength irrespective of level of premixedness and burner geometry, whereas the premixed systems exhibit stable behavior while operating at low swirl.

An Experimental and Computational Study of a Swirl-Stabilized Premixed Flame

An unconfined strongly swirled flow is investigated for different Reynolds numbers using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and large eddy simulation (LES) with a thickened-flame (TF) model. Both reacting and nonreacting flow results are presented. In the LES-TF approach, the flame front is resolved on the computational grid through artificial thickening and the individual species transport equations are directly solved with the reaction rates specified using Arrhenius chemistry. Good agreement is found when comparing predictions with the experimental data. Also the predicted root mean square (rms) fluctuations exhibit a double-peak profile with one peak in the burnt and the other in the unburnt region. The measured and predicted heat release distributions are in qualitative agreement with each other and exhibit the highest values along the inner edge of the shear layer. The precessing vortex core (PVC) is clearly observed in both the nonreacting and reacting cases. However, it appears more axially elongated for the reacting cases and the oscillations in the PVC are damped with reactions.

Development and Validation of a Thickened Flame Modeling Approach for Large Eddy Simulation of Premixed Combustion

The development of a dynamic thickened flame (TF) turbulence-chemistry interaction model is presented based on a novel approach to determine the subfilter flame wrinkling efficiency. The basic premise of the TF model is to artificially decrease the reaction rates and increase the species and thermal diffusivities by the same amount, which thickens the flame to a scale that can be resolved on the large eddy simulation (LES) grid while still recovering the laminar flame speed. The TF modeling approach adopted here uses local reaction rates and gradients of product species to thicken the flame to a scale large enough to be resolved by the LES grid. The thickening factor, which is a function of the local grid size and laminar flame thickness, is only applied in the flame region and is commonly referred to as dynamic thickening. Spatial filtering of the velocity field is used to determine the efficiency function by accounting for turbulent kinetic energy between the grid-scale and the thickened flame scale. The TF model was implemented into the commercial computational fluid dynamics code FLUENT. Validation in the approach is conducted by comparing model results to experimental data collected in a laboratory-scale burner. The burner is based on an enclosed scaled-down version of the low swirl injector developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A perfectly premixed lean methane-air flame was studied, as well as the cold-flow characteristics of the combustor. Planar laser induced fluorescence of the hydroxyl molecule was collected for the combusting condition, as well as the velocity field data using particle image velocimetry. Thermal imaging of the quartz liner surface temperature was also conducted to validate the thermal wall boundary conditions applied in the LES calculations.

Large Eddy Simulation of a Premixed Bunsen Flame Using a Modified Thickened-Flame Model at Two Reynolds Number

A modified thickened flame (TF) model based on large eddy simulation (LES) methodology is used to investigate premixed combustion, and the model predictions are evaluated by comparing with the piloted premixed stoichiometric methane-air flame data for Reynolds numbers Re = 24,000 (flame F3) and Re = 52,000 (flame F1). The basic idea of the TF approach is that the flame front is artificially thickened to resolve on the computational LES grid while keeping the laminar flame speed () constant. The artificially thickening of the flame front is obtained by enhancing the molecular diffusion and decreasing the pre-exponential factor of the Arrhenius law. Because the flame front is artificially thickened, the response of the thickened flame to turbulence is affected and taken care of by incorporating an efficiency function (E) in the governing equations. The efficiency function (E) in the modified TF model is proposed based on the direct numerical simulations (DNS) data set of flame-vortex interactions. The predicted simulation results are compared with the experimental data and with computations reported using a Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)-based probability distribution function (PDF) modeling approach and RANS-based G-equation approach. It is shown that the results with the modified TF model are generally in good agreement with the data, with the TF predictions consistently comparable to the PDF model predictions and superior to the results with the G-equation approach.

Large Eddy Simulation of Premixed Combustion With a Thickened-Flame Approach

A thickened-flame (TF) modeling approach is combined with a large eddy simulation (LES) methodology to model premixed combustion, and the accuracy of these model predictions is evaluated by comparing with the piloted premixed stoichiometric methane-air flame data of Chen et al. (1996, “The Detailed Flame Structure of Highly Stretched Turbulent Premixed Methane-Air Flames,” Combust. Flame, 107, pp. 233–244) at a Reynolds number Re=24,000. In the TF model, the flame front is artificially thickened to resolve it on the computational LES grid and the reaction rates are specified using reduced chemistry. The response of the thickened-flame to turbulence is taken care of by incorporating an efficiency function in the governing equations. The efficiency function depends on the characteristics of the local turbulence and on the characteristics of the premixed flame such as laminar flame speed and thickness. Three variants of the TF model are examined: the original thickened-flame model, the power-law flame-wrinkling model, and the dynamically modified TF model. Reasonable agreement is found when comparing predictions with the experimental data and with computations reported using a probability distribution function modeling approach. The results of the TF model are in better agreement with data when compared with the predictions of the G-equation approach.

Laser Diagnostics for the Model Development in Turbulent Premixed Flames

Abstract The interaction of turbulent flow and chemical processes is complex. Due to the strong turbulent fluctuations on very small scales, a direct insight into the processes has not been possible for long time. New laser diagnostics with sufficient spatial and temporal resolution allow now the answer to long discussed questions, for instance concerning the contradictory ideas of thin or thickened flame fronts in turbulent premixed combustion. More and more also numerical models allow the combined calculation of the local processes describing turbulent flow and combustion reaction. However, often unknown terms coming from the averaging procedure of the turbulence models need to have closures. Advanced application of the planar PIV measurement technique allowed the velocity field evaluation conditioned to the either unburnt or burnt gas state in turbulent premixed flames. Herewith, the direct evaluation of unclosed model terms has been possible for both RANS models as well as for models for the large-eddy simulation method. The mutual interaction of advanced laser diagnostics and numerical models is seen as one of the milestones for the development of advanced technical combustion.