Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Diffusion Flames of a Biogas Enriched with Hydrogen

Any biogas produced by the anaerobic fermentation of organic materials has the advantage of being an environmentally friendly biofuel.Nevertheless,the relatively low calorific value of such gases makes their effective utilization in practical applications relatively difficult.The present study considers the addition of hydrogen as a potential solution to mitigate this issue.In particular,the properties of turbulent diffusion jet flames and the related pollutant emissions are investigated numerically for different operating pressures.The related numerical simulations are conducted by solving the RANS equations in the frame of the Reynolds Stress Model in combination with the flamelet approach.Radiation effects are also taken into account and the combustion kinetics are described via the GRI-Mech 3.0 reaction model.The considered hydrogen fuel enrichment spans the range from 0%to 50%in terms of volume.Pressure varies between 1 and 10 atm.The results show that both hydrogen addition and pressure increase lead to an improvement in terms of mixing quality and have a significant effect on flame temperature and height.They also reduce CO_(2) emissions but increase NOx production.Prompt NO is shown to be the predominant NO formation mechanism.

Diffusion Flame of a CH4/H2 Jet in a Hot Coflow： Effects of Coflow Oxygen and Temperature

This paper investigates the effects of coflow O2 level and temperature on diffusion flame of a CH4/H2 jet in hot coflow （JHC） from a burner system similar to that of Dally et al. The coflow O2 mass fraction （ Yo2 ） is varied from 3% to 80% and the temperature （Tcof） from 1200 K to 1700 K. The Eddy Dissipation Concept （EDC） model with detailed reaction mechanisms GRI-Mech 3.0 is used for all simulations. To validate the modeling, several JHC flames are predicted under the experimental conditions of Dally et al. [Proc. Combust. Inst., 29 （1）, 1147-1154 （2002）] and the results obtained match well with the measurements. Results demonstrate that, when Yo2 decreased, the diffusion combustion is likely to transform from traditional combustion to MILD （Moderate or Intense Low-oxygen Dilution） combustion mode. When Tcof is higher, the temperature distribution over the whole domain trends to be more uniform. Reducing yo2 or Tcof leads to less production of intermediate species OH and CO. It is worth noting that if Yo2 is high enough （ Yo2 〉80%）, increasing Yo2 does not cause obvious temperature increase.

Computation and measurement for distributions of temperature and soot volume fraction in diffusion flames

A combined computational and experimental investigation to examine temperature and soot volume fraction in coflow ethylene-air diffusion flames was presented.A numerical simulation was conducted by using a relatively detailed gas-phase chemistry and complex thermal and transport properties coupled with a semi-empirical two-equation soot model.Thermal radiation was calculated using the discrete ordinates method.An image processing technique and a decoupled reconstruction method were used to simultaneously measure the distributions of temperature and soot volume fraction.The results show that the maximum error for temperature does not exceed 10% between the prediction and the measurement.And the maximum error is 6.9% for soot volume fraction between prediction and measurement.Additional simulations were performed to explore the effects of global equivalence ratio on diffusion flames and the soot formation.The results display that the soot formation increases with decreasing the coflow air velocity.And the soot formation in each case appears in the annular region,where the temperature ranges from about 1 000 K to 2 000 K and the profile becomes taller and wider when the coflow air is decreased.

Application of WSGSA Model in Predicting Temperature and Soot in C_(2)H_(4)/Air Turbulent Diffusion Flame

Soot,a product of insufficient combustion,is usually in the form of aggregate. The multi-scattering of soot fractal aggregates has been proved to play an important role in studying the soot radiative properties,which is rarely considered in predicting the radiative heat transfer in combustion flame. In the present study,based on the weighted sum of gray soot fractal aggregate(WSGSA) model,which is used to predict the temperature field and soot aggregates in turbulent diffusion flame,the flame temperature distribution and soot volume fraction distribution under the conditions of the model without considering radiation,the default radiation model in Fluent software and the WSGSA model are calculated respectively. The results show that the flame temperature will be seriously overestimated without considering radiation and the maximum relative discrepancy of flame centerline temperature is about 64.5%. The accuracy will be improved by the default radiation model in the Fluent software,but the flame temperature is still overestimated and the maximum relative discrepancy of flame centerline temperature is about 42.1%. However,more satisfactory results can be obtained by the WSGSA model,and the maximum relative discrepancy of flame centerline temperature is no more than 15.3%. Similar conclusions can also be obtained in studying the temperature distribution along different flame heights. Moreover,the soot volume fraction can be predicted more accurately with the application of the WSGSA model. Both without considering radiation and using the default radiation model in the Fluent software will result in the underestimating of soot volume fraction. All the results reveal that the WSGSA model can be used to predict the temperature and soot aggregates in the CH/air turbulent diffusion flame.

A numerical investigation in buoyancy effects on micro jet diffusion flame

The buoyancy effect on micro hydrogen jet flames in still air was numerially studied.The results show that when the jet velocity is relatively large(V≥0.2 m/s),the flame height,width and temperature decrease,whereas the peak OH mass fraction increases significantly under normal gravity(g=9.8 m/s^2).For a very low jet velocity(e.g.,V=0.1 m/s),both the peak OH mass fraction and flame temperature under g=9.8 m/s^2 are lower than the counterparts under g=0 m/s^2.Analysis reveals that when V≥0.2 m/s,fuel/air mixing will be promoted and combustion will be intensified due to radial flow caused by the buoyancy effect.However,the flame temperature will be slightly decreased owing to the large amount of entrainment of cold air into the reaction zone.For V=0.1 m/s,since the heat release rate is very low,the entrainment of cold air and fuel leakage from the rim of tube exit lead to a significant drop of flame temperature.Meanwhile,the heat loss rate from fuel to inner tube wall is larger under g=9.8 m/s^2 compared to that under g=0 m/s^2.Therefore,the buoyancy effect is overall negative at very low jet velocities.

A non-monotonic blow-off limit of micro-jet methane diffusion flame at different tube-wall thicknesses

In order to provide guideline for choosing a suitable tube-wall thickness(d)for the micro-jet methane diffusion flame,the effect of tube-wall thickness on the blow-off limit is investigated via numerical simulation in the present work.The results show that the blow-off limit of micro-jet methane diffusion flame firstly increases and then decreases with the increase of tube-wall thickness.Subsequently,the underlying mechanisms responsible for the above non-monotonic blow-off limit are discussed in terms of the flow filed,strain effect and conjugate heat exchange.The analysis indicates that the flow field is insignificant for the non-monotonic blow-off limit.A smaller strain effect can induce the increase of the blow-off limit fromd=0.1 to 0.2 mm,and a worse heat recirculation effect can induce the decrease of the blow-off limit fromd=0.2 to 0.4 mm.The non-monotonic blow-off limit is mainly determined by the heat loss of flame to the tube-wall and the performance of tube-wall on preheating unburned fuel.The smallest heat loss of flame to the tube-wall and the best performance of tube-wall on preheating unburned fuel result in the largest blow-off limit atd=0.2 mm.Therefore,a moderate tube-wall thickness is more suitable to manufacture the micro-jet burner.

Effect of Thermal Conductivity of Tube-Wall on Blow-Off Limit of a Micro-Jet Methane Diffusion Flame

The operating range of the flow rate or flow velocity for the micro-jet flame is quite wide,which can be used as the heat source.In order to optimize the micro-jet tube combustor in terms of the solid material,the present paper numerically investigates the impact of thermal conductivity(λs)on the operating limit of micro-jet flame.Unexpectedly,the non-monotonic blow-off limits with the increase ofλs is found,and the corresponding generation mechanisms are analyzed in terms of the thermal coupling effect,flow field,and strain effect.At first,the lower preheating temperature of the fuel and larger heat loss amount to the environment lead to a larger blow-off limit at a largerλs.After that,the smaller local flow velocity in the vicinity of flame root and smaller strain effect slightly increase the blow-off limit with the continuously increasingλs.Therefore,it is deduced that the applied performance of micro-jet combustor with a smaller thermal conductivity is better in terms of the blow-off limit.

Response of Stretched Cylindrical Diffusion Flame to Sinusoidal Oscillation of Air Flow Velocity

An experimental study investigated the characteristics of a stretched cylindrical diffusion flame, with a convex curvature with respect to the air stream, in response to periodic air flow velocity oscillation. The fuel was methane diluted with nitrogen, and the oxidizer air. The oscillation frequency was varied from 5 to 250 Hz. The results are summarized as follows. Though the fluctuation amplitude of the air stream velocity gradient was constant with respect to the frequency, the amplitude of the fuel stream increased. The fluctuation amplitude of the flame radius changed quasi-steadily from 5 to 25 Hz, and decreased with increasing frequency in the frequency range greater than 50 Hz. The flame luminosity did not respond quasi-steadily at 5 Hz, and the oscillation amplitude of flame luminosity was less than that of a steady flame, over the same velocity fluctuation range. The oscillation amplitude of luminosity peaked at 50 Hz, and was greater than that of a steady flame. It is considered that this complex change in flame luminosity with respect to frequency was closely related to the phase difference in the respective time variations in the ratio of flame thickness to radius, the velocity gradients of the air and fuel streams, and the magnitude of these values, with the ratio of flame thickness to radius related to the flame curvature effect, the velocity gradient of the air stream correlated to the flame stretch effect, and the velocity gradient of the fuel stream impacting the fuel transportation.

Experimental and Numerical Studies of Paraguayan Chaco Natural Gas in a Counterflow Diffusion Flame

Combustion is a chemical phenomenon in which a multitude of elementary chemical reactions take place, resulting in the overall process of fuel oxidation. Natural gas fuel has been explored for a few decades and extracted for a few years in the region of Paraguayan Chaco, near Bolivia border. Currently, natural gas is not very important in Paraguay＇s energy matrix, however it could be in the near future if higher volumes are extracted and transported to the most populated cities, specially to the capital. In order to improve Paraguayan natural gas combustion performance, an understanding of its fundamental properties and the combustion pathways is required. This study presents new data for Paraguayan Chaco natural gas combustion in a laminar counterflow diffusion flame configuration at atmospheric pressure. Visible chemiluminescence of excited radicals CH＊ and C2^＊ is employed experimentally. 1D numerical simulation was carried out using Paraguayan Chaco natural gas chemical composition and a standard kinetic mechanism, to which we added CH＊ and C] reactions. Typical flame structures resulting from simulation are presented and a validation of the model is realized comparing experimental and numerical CH＊ and C~ radicals profiles.

Laminar Diffusion Flames of Methane in a Co-annular Jet of Oxygen-Enriched Air

Oxygen rich combustion is a mean to increase the energy efficiency and to contribute to CO2 capture. Influence of oxygen enriched air on the stability of methane flames from non premixed laminar jets has been investigated experimentally. The burner consists of two coaxial jets： methane flowing out of the inner, oxidizer from the outer. The flame behavior is studied according to the proportion of oxygen in the oxidizer jet, the oxidizer and the methane jets velocities. The flame is either anchored to the burner, lifted, stationary or not or blown-out. The addition of oxygen produces a decrease of the lift height, a reduction of the length of the reaction zone and an increase in the soot emission. These results have been reported into diagrams of stability where the flame configurations are connected to the competition between the dynamic effect of the injection velocity and the chemical effect of oxygen addition.

Effects of dimethyl ether and ethanol additions on soot transition in ethylene counterflow diffusion flames

This paper investigates the effect of blending dimethyl ether(DME)and ethanol on the soot transition periods in ethylene counterflow diffusion flames by using a novel optical diagnostic method.The soot critical transition point in different conditions is identified experimentally and numerically.Two kinds of flames are carried out to gain the soot critical transition point in counterflow diffusion flames by changing oxygen fraction(Xo)and changing volume flow rates of fuel and oxidizer(Qv).The red-green-blue(RGB)ratio method is used to precisely identify the soot critical transition point,and chemical kinetic simulations are performed to analyze the detailed reaction paths.The results show that compared to the ethylene flame,the soot critical transition point occurs at a higher Xoand a lower Qvwhen DME or ethanol is blended.The addition of DME and ethanol can inhibit soot formation,due to the degree of soot formation reaction being lower than the degree of the oxidation reaction in the blending flames.

Sensitivity analysis of modeling parameters to soot and PAHs prediction in ethylene inverse diffusion flame

The soot formation model based on inverse ethylene diffusion flames was performed to study the sensitivity of the soot formation process to the prediction results.The effects of efficiency parameters such as soot inception,surface growth and coagulation on the simulation results were studied by using the adjustable efficiency model.In addition,the reversible soot model and conjugate heat transfer(CHT)model were also introduced to explore their advantages.Results indicated that,among adjustable efficiency parameters,the nucleation efficiency had the greatest influence on the predicted soot and PAHs distributions,while the Habstraction-C2H2-addition(HACA)process and PAH adsorption surface growth efficiencies impacted little.The adjustable efficiency parameters had a significant effect on the concentration of soot gaseous precursors and soot particles,but their effects on temperature,gas phase molecules,and intermediate species were not obvious.When the nucleation efficiency increased from 2×10^(-6)to 1×10^(-4),the predicted value of the integrated soot was increased by nearly 50%,and the maximum primary particle number density and the number of aggregates were increased by an order of magnitude.The maximum concentration of BAPYR was doubled.However,the peak temperature along the axial direction increased by only 3.5 K.Using the reversible soot model,the approximation results of the adjustable efficiency parameters could be modified,which showed the feasibility of the model.The use of the CHT model promoted pyrolysis of the fuel below the outlet of the fuel tube,with high-temperature zones,soot zones,and PAHs zones moving towards higher flame heights.Besides,when using the reversible model and the CHT model,the maximum soot volume fraction decreased by 39%compared with the basic efficiency parameters,while the concentration of BAPYR increased by 162%,and the concentrations of gas phase species were decreased.

Experimental study on effects of gas flow rate on soot characteristics in diffusion flames coupled with plasma

This study examined the evolution of morphology and nanostructure of soot particles from the plasma-flame interaction for various gas flow rates.The current study used both optical diagnostic and sampling methods to explore the soot production and combustion characteristics.Soot particles were characterized at the same positions downstream from the flame zone by thermophoretic sampling and transmission electron microscopy.Moreover,X-ray diffraction analysis,and thermogravimetric analysis were performed to study the nanostructure and oxidation reactivity of soot.A reduction in soot concentration was found with the plasma addition,which illustrated an inhibition effect of plasma on soot emission.The increased gas flow rate promoted soot concentration since a growing number of carbons participated in the combustion process.Depending on the gas flow rate(carbon content)variation and plasma activation,either liquid-like soot material with irregularly shaped protrusions or chain-like structure,or a mixture of both,were generated from the diffusion flames.The soot produced by plasma-flame interaction also demonstrated a high correlation between nanostructure and reactivity.The soot from lower carbon content with plasma activation had a shorter fringe length and larger fringe tortuosity related to higher oxidation reactivity.On the contrary,soot from the highest carbon content without plasma-flame interaction exhibited prevalent fullerene-like nanostructures with evident large or small shells and also had a higher carbonization degree resulting in lower oxidation reactivity.

Stability of Gas Diffusion Flame in Laterally Confined Space

Lateral-confined coaxial jet diffusion flame is common in micro thrusters,and the specific impulse is mainly obtained through thermodynamic calculations with an assumption of fuel combustion with an equivalence ratio,regardless of the stability of the combustion process.However,the flame behavior plays an important impact on the performance of a micro thruster through the varied combustion efficiency.The stability of confined coaxial jet diffusion flames with air coflow was studied by experiments and numerical simulation.Methane,hydrogen,and propane were used as fuels.Flame attachment,liftoff,blowout(extinction limits of lifted flame),and blowoff(extinction limits of attached flame) behaviors with the effect of confinement ratios and fuel properties were focused on.Among the range of the jet flow velocity in this research,the hydrogen flame is always attached to the jet exit,the flame tip goes from closed to open as the jet velocity increases,while the flame transitions from attachment to liftoff in the case of CH_(4) and C_(3)H_(8) .Further,in a narrow confined space,the attached flame for both CH4 and C_(3)H_(8) undergoes liftoff followed by blowout.However,in a space with a high confinement ratio,the CH4 flame transitions directly from attachment to blowoff.The critical modified Craya-Curtet number,which is used to predict the onset of the recirculation,is determined through simulation and experiment,and the number is about 1.77.This work provides valuable data on flame stability inside a confined space and gives insights into the design of a thruster.

Experimental Study on Soot Suppression of Acetylene Diffusion Flame by Acoustic-Excited Oscillation in Rijke-Type Burner

This work reports that the flame oscillation induced by acoustic excitation can effectively suppress soot generation in Rijke-type burners.When the acoustic frequency is close to the natural frequency of the burner system,it can produce resonance resulting in intense oscillation of the flame.The relationship between the soot suppression efficiency and the acoustic field of standing wave at different flame positions is discussed.Compared with that under self-excited oscillation,when there is external forced acoustic force introduced to the flame,oscillation combustion occurred in a lager zone in the glass tube.The fundamental cause of different soot suppression efficiency at different positions is that the standing wave acoustic field causes the particles to move at different speeds in different positions of the glass tube.The axial particle velocity difference results in the formation of acoustic vortexes and the change of the flame shape.The high particle velocity causes the air in the glass tube to turn into the turbulent condition and make the flame temperature rise.Simulation results show that the surface growth rate of soot is reduced,while the oxidation rate of soot is enhanced,which result in the soot suppression under acoustic oscillation.This study can provide some reference for the practical application of oscillate combustion in soot suppression.

Combining flamelet-generated manifold and machine learning models in simulation of a non-premixed diffusion flame

Flamelet Generated Manifold(FGM)is an example of a chemistry tabulation or a flamelet method that is under attention because of its accuracy and speed in predicting combustion characteristics.However,the main problem in applying the model is a large amount of memory required.One way to solve this problem is to apply machine learning(ML)to replace the stored tabulated data.Four different machine learning methods,including two Artificial Neural Networks(ANNs),a Random Forest(RF),and a Gradient Boosted Trees(GBT),are trained,validated,and compared in terms of various performance measures.The progress variable source term and transport properties are replaced with the ML models.Particular attention was paid to the progress variable source term due to its high gradient and wide range of its value in the control variables space.Data preprocessing is shown to play an essential role in improving the performance of the models.Two ensemble models,namely RF and GBT,exhibit high training efficiency and acceptable accuracy.On the other hand,the ANN models have lower training errors and take longer to train.The four models are then combined with a one-dimensional combustion code to simulate a counterflow non-premixed diffusion flame in engine-relevant conditions.The predictions of the ML-FGM models are compared with detailed chemical simulations and the original FGM model for key combustion properties and representative species profiles.

The effect of ammonia on soot formation in ethylene diffusion flames

This paper originally investigates the effect of NH_(3) dilution on soot formation when NH_(3) is gradually added into the fuel stream in an ethylene laminar diffusion flame stabilized on a Santoro burner.The variations of flame diameter and two flame heights,i.e.,mixture-strength flame height and visible flame height are carefully documented and analyzed.Moreover,local soot volume fraction(SVF)and soot temperature fields are simultaneously measured by compact-modulated absorption and emission technique,and the corresponding measurement random errors are also provided by the error propagation calculations for the first time.All the reported measurement random errors of SVF and soot temperature fields are estimated within the range of±0.07–±0.08 ppm and±40–±91 K,respectively.As an original database,the concomitantly measured SVF and soot temperature distributions are provided as high-fidelity datasets for refining soot formation model that is overrode by NH_(3).In addition,the flame cross-section average SVF F_(soot)(z)is calculated for every NH_(3) diluted flame,and the relative contributions of NH_(3) dilution and chemical effect are quantitatively assessed in terms of F_(max)-X_(NH_(3))plotting.It is found that when X_(NH_(3))<30%,the chemical effect of ammonia is about twice that of the dilution effect.While X_(NH_(3))>30%,the chemical effect and dilution effect of ammonia are gradually equal.Eventually,through modeling of the soot formation rate V in the flames,the relative contributions of chemical effect,dilution effect and thermal effect of NH_(3)are further novelty discriminated within the X_(NH_(3))from 0 to 46%and it is shown that NH_(3) chemical effect plays the dominate role in soot suppression,then the dilution effect and the thermal one at the least.

Three-dimensional temperature reconstruction of diffusion flame from the light-field convolution imaging by the focused plenoptic camera

The plenoptic imaging technique provides a promising approach to the non-invasive three-dimensional measurement, especially for the high-temperature combustion diagnosis. We establish a light-field convolution imaging model for diffusion flame in this work, considering the radiation transfer process inside the diffusion flame and the light transfer process inside the focused plenoptic camera together. The radiation transfer process is described by the radiation transfer equation and solved by the generalized source multi-flux method. Wave optics theory is adopted to describe the light transfer process, combining Fresnel diffraction and the phase conversion of the lens. The flame light-field image is obtained by the light-field convolution imaging model and adopted as the measurement signal to reconstruct three-dimensional temperature field. The inverse problem of temperature reconstruction is solved by the least square QR decomposition method. The simulative temperature reconstruction work is conducted, including the inverse analysis, the uncertainty analysis, and the measurement noise influence. All the results show that the proposed measurement method is available to reconstruct three-dimensional temperature with satisfactory accuracy and acceptable uncertainty. Both symmetric and asymmetric distributed temperature fields are investigated, and the reconstructed results prove the validity and universality of the measurement method.

The Influence of Fuel-Air Swirl Intensity on Flame Structures of Syngas Swirl-Stabilized Diffusion Flame

Flame structures of a syngas swirl-stabilized diffusion flame in a model combustor were measured using the OH-PLIF method under different fuel and air swirl intensity.The flame operated under atmospheric pressure with air and a typical low heating-value syngas with a composition of 28.5% CO,22.5% H2 and 49% N2 at a thermal power of 34 kW.Results indicate that increasing the air swirl intensity with the same fuel,swirl intensity flame structures showed little difference except a small reduction of flame length;but also,with the same air swirl intensity,fuel swirl intensity showed great influence on flame shape,length and reaction zone distribution.Therefore,compared with air swirl intensity,fuel swirl intensity appeared a key effect on the flame structure for the model combustor.Instantaneous OH-PLIF images showed that three distinct typical structures with an obvious difference of reaction zone distribution were found at low swirl intensity,while a much compacter flame structure with a single,stable and uniform reaction zone distribution was found at large fuel-air swirl intensity.It means that larger swirl intensity leads to efficient,stable combustion of the syngas diffusion flame.

Transient process of methane-oxygen diffusion flame-street establishment in a microchannel

“Flame-street”is an interesting diffusion flame behavior in which a series of flame-segments is separately distributed along the mixing layer in a narrow channel.This experimental phenomenon was experimentally and numerically investigated with the focus on the steady-state,thermo-chemical flame structures in previous literature.In the present paper,the dynamic formation process of a methane-oxygen diffusion flame-street structure was simulated with a reacting flow solver developed based on the open-source framework OpenFOAM.By imposing a certain amount of ignition-energy near the channel outlet,a reaction-kernel was formed and bifurcated.Subsequently,three separate flames were consecutively generated from this kernel and propagated within the channel.The whole process was completed within 15 ms and all the discrete flames were eventually in a steady-state.Interestingly,different propagation features were observed for the three flame segments:The leading flame experienced a flame shape/type change from a tribrachial structure in its fastpropagating phase to a long,trailing diffusion tail after being anchored to the inlet.The successive flame had a much lower propagation speed,keeping its two wing-like(fuel-lean premixed and fuel-rich premixed)structure while moving toward its stabilization location,which was approximately in the middle of the channel.The last flame,after the ignition source was turned-off,was immediately convected a bit downstream,and eventually featured a similar two-branch-like structure as the second one.Moreover,chemical insights for the premixed and diffusion branches of the leading flame were also provided with the change of significance of some key elementary reactions focused on,in order to attain a detailed profiling of the flame-type transition.This paper is a first-ever one discussing the transient formation of flame-streets in literature and is believed to be useful for obtaining a comprehensive understanding of this unique flame characteristics from a dynamic point of view.