7.

Turbulent Premixed Flames 1 AER 1304LG

7. Turbulent Premixed Flames
Background:
- Structure of turbulent premixed flames;

7. Turbulent Premixed Flames 2 AER 1304LG

- Instantaneous flame fronts (left) and turbulent
flame brush envelope (right).
Definitions:
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- Laminar flame thickness:

L
/S
L
= D/S
L
= /S
L
(1)
- Above equality implies that we assumed, Schmidt
Number: Sc = /D = 1
Lewis Number: Le = /D = 1 Prandtl
Number: Pr = / = 1 - Turbulent
Reynolds number
7. Turbulent Premixed Flames 4 AER 1304LG
Re (2)
where is the integral length scale of turbulence.
- Turbulent Damkhler number: ratio of
characteristic flow time,
flow
, to the characteristic
chemical time,
c
.
Da = (3)
- Characteristic flow time:
flow
= /uI -
Characteristic chemical time:
c
=
L
/S
L
- Then
Damkhler number is:
7. Turbulent Premixed Flames 5 AER 1304LG
Da = (3a)
- Turbulence length scales: : Taylor microscale :
Kolmogorov length scale
- Karlovitz number:
Ka = (4)
- Turbulent Reynolds number based on :
Re

= uI/ (5)
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- Turbulent Reynolds number based on :
Re

= uI/ (6)
Re

Re (7)
Turbulent Burning Velocity:
- One of the most important unresolved problems in
premixed turbulent combustion is the determination
of the turbulent burning velocity.
- Above statement assumes that turbulent burning
velocity is a well-defined quantity that only
depends on local mean properties.
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- However, there is no consensus in literature
whether the turbulent burning velocity is a
characteristic quantity that can be defined
unambigously for different geometries.

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Turbulent Reynolds Number, Re

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- Turbulent premixed flame propagation was first
investigated by Damkhler (1940).
- He identified two limiting cases based on the
magnitude of the scale of turbulence as compared
to the thickness of the laminar premixed flame.
- For large scale turbulence, Damkhler assumed that
the interaction between a turbulent premixed flame
(wrinkled flame) front and the turbulent flame front
is purely kinematic.
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Laminar flame structure. -
Damkhler equated the mass
flux m through the
instantaneous turbulent flame
surface area A
T
with the mass
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flux through the cross-sectional
area
A
o
. He used S
L
for mass flux through A
T
, and S
T
for
mass flux through A.
m =
u
S
L
A
T
=
u
S
T
A
o
(8)
(9)
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- Using geometric approximations, Damkhler
proposed that (for large-scale, small-intensity
turbulence),
(10)
In view of Eq.2,
(11)
- uI, turbulent fluctuating velocity in the unburned
gas.
S
T
S
L
=1+
u
I
S
L
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- Using similar geometric arguments, Schelkin
showed that:
(12)
- Relationship proposed by Klimov:
(13)
- Clavin &Williams:
S
T
S
L
=
^
1+
w
2 u
I
S
L
W 2
1 / 2
7. Turbulent Premixed Flames 14 AER 1304LG

- Glder:

- For small-scale and high-intensity turbulence,
Damkhler argued that turbulence only modifies
the transport between the reaction zone and the
unburned gas.
S
T
/S
L
(D
T
/D)
1/2
(16)
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Since DT uI and D SLL
- Then we have,
(17)
- For small-scale high-intensity turbulence conditions
(usually called as distributed reaction regime), there
are not many formulations available. In this regime,
turbulent mixing is rapid as compared to the
chemistry.
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- For the distributed reaction regime the following
semi-empirical model has been proposed, Glder
(1990):
(18)
State-of-the-art:
- Definition of turbulent burning velocity is not
uniform/universal.
- Experimental data scatter is significant between
different experimental rigs.
S
T
S
L
=6 . 4
w
S
L
u
I
W 3 / 4
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- Numerical simulation:
- Flamelet model/assumption
- Turbulent burning closure
- Direct numerical simulation
Experimental Measurement Methods:
- Conical stationary flames on cylindrical nozzles.
- Swirling flames.
- Constant volume vessels.
- Stagnation point flames.
- Laser-based diagnostics to study flame structure.
7. Turbulent Premixed Flames 18 AER 1304LG
- Statistical approaches to estimate the flame front
surface area.