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.

Seismic protection of frame structures via semi-active control:modeling and implementation issues

Theoretical and practical issues concerning the multi-faceted task of mitigating the latero-torsional seismic response of a prototypal frame structure with asymmetric mass distribution are approached, Chevron braces with embedded magnetorheological dampers acting on the interstory drift are used to ensure additional energy dissipation. The semi-active control strategy employed to govern the modification of the damper characteristics via feedback is based on the selection of optimal forces according to a H2/LQG criterion, with respect to which the actual forces are regulated by a clipped-optimal logic. A dynamic observer is used to estimate the state through a non-collocated placement of the acceleration sensors. Several aspects to be addressed throughout the complex process including the design, modelization, and implementation phases of semi-active protection systems are discussed. Finally, experimental results obtained to mitigate the motion induced by ground excitation in a large-scale laboratory prototype, simulating the seismic response of a two-story building, are summarized.

Flame Structure of a Jet Flame with Penetration of Side Micro-jets

In this paper, an innovative jet lifted flame with side micro-jets has been proposed and its effects on the flame structure have also been investigated. Due to the changes of the initial combustion conditions, mixing and aerodynamics which resulted from the perturbation of the side micro-jets, such a lifted jet flame has different flame structure compared with the common premixed flame. Results demonstrate that use of the micro-jets can control, to a certain extent, the flame structure, including the flame length, lift-off distance and blow-off limit. With the same fuel and air flow rate, the flame length with the side micro-jets will decrease about 5%-40% as the air volume ratio a increases from 58%-76%. Compared with the common diffusion flame, the jet flame with the side micro-jets demonstrates to be easier to be a momentum-dominated flame. The flame length with 2 micro-jets is about 5% less than with 6 micro-jets under the same fuel and air flow rate. With the same a, the fewer number of the controlled jets lead to the flame with relatively shorter length, not easier to be blown off and higher NOx emission. With certain fuel flow rate, the critical air volume ratio is largest for the flame with 3 micro-jets, which is more difficult to be blown off than the cases with 2, 4 or 6 micro-jets.

Experimental investigation of combustion mechanisms of kerosene-fueled scramjet engines with double-cavity flameholders

A scramjet combustor with double cavitybased flameholders was experimentally studied in a directconnected test bed with the inflow conditions of M = 2.64,Pt = 1.84 MPa,Tt = 1 300 K.Successful ignition and selfsustained combustion with room temperature kerosene was achieved using pilot hydrogen,and kerosene was vertically injected into the combustor through 4×φ 0.5 mm holes mounted on the wall.For different equivalence ratios and different injection schemes with both tandem cavities and parallel cavities,flow fields were obtained and compared using a high speed camera and a Schlieren system.Results revealed that the combustor inside the flow field was greatly influenced by the cavity installation scheme,cavities in tandem easily to form a single side flame distribution,and cavities in parallel are more likely to form a joint flame,forming a choked combustion mode.The supersonic combustion flame was a kind of diffusion flame and there were two kinds of combustion modes.In the unchoked combustion mode,both subsonic and supersonic combustion regions existed.While in the choked mode,the combustion region was fully subsonic with strong shock propagating upstream.Results also showed that there was a balance point between the boundary separation and shock enhanced combustion,depending on the intensity of heat release.

Investigation of flame structure in plasma-assisted turbulent premixed methane-air flame

The mechanism of plasma-assisted combustion at increasing discharge voltage is investigated in detail at two distinctive system schemes（pretreatment of reactants and direct in situ discharge）.OH-planar laser-induced fluorescence（PLIF） technique is used to diagnose the turbulent structure methane-air flame,and the experimental apparatus consists of dump burner,plasma-generating system,gas supply system and OH-PLIF system.Results have shown that the effect of pretreatment of reactants on flame can be categorized into three regimes：regime I for voltage lower than 6.6 k V;regime II for voltage between 6.6 and 11.1 k V;and regime III for voltage between11.1 and 12.5 k V.In regime I,aerodynamic effect and slower oxidation of higher hydrocarbons generated around the inner electrode tip plays a dominate role,while in regime III,the temperature rising effect will probably superimpose on the chemical effect and amplify it.For wire-cylinder dielectric barrier discharge reactor with spatially uneven electric field,the amount of radicals and hydrocarbons are decreased monotonically in radial direction which affects the flame shape.With regard to in situ plasma discharge in flames,the discharge pattern changes from streamer type to glow type.Compared with the case of reactants pretreatment,the flame propagates further in the upstream direction.In the discharge region,the OH intensity is highest for in situ plasma assisted combustion,indicating that the plasma energy is coupled into flame reaction zone.

Experimental Investigation of Flame Structure and Combustion Limit During Premixed Methane/Air Jet Flame and Sidewall Interaction

The effects of inlet gas parameters and sloping sidewall angle on the flame structure and combustion limit with and without sidewall were experimentally investigated.Flame height and impact angle were obtained by chemiluminescence intensity analysis of CH*distribution.First,the combustion characteristics of flame with and without sidewall at different equivalence ratios were explored;then,the influence of Reynolds number and inlet gas temperature on flame structure and combustion limit of v-shaped flame with sidewall were analyzed,and the results with sidewall were compared with those without sidewall.Finally,the variation trend of flame parameters with different sloping sidewall angles was analyzed.The experimental results show that the existence of sidewall makes flame shape change from“M-shaped”to“inverted N-shaped”,and conical shape to trapezoidal shape.The inhibition effect of sidewall on flame stretching downstream is strengthened with the increase in Reynolds number;but as the temperature of the inlet gas increases,the inhibitory effect is obviously weakened.When sloping sidewall angle decreases from 90°to 55°at 5°intervals,flame height and impact angle of v-shaped flame reach the extreme value whenβ=80°.Compared with the case without sidewall,the range of v-shaped flame with sidewall has no obvious trend of broadening or shrinking when inlet gas temperature is increased;however,as sloping sidewall angle decreases,the range of the v-shaped flame shrinks obviously and flammability limit increases significantly.

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.

Structure and Combustion Characteristics of Methane/Air Premixed Flame under the Action of Wall

In order to obtain the combustion characteristics of the CH4/Air premixed flame under the action of the wall interaction,a study on the impact of the jet flame on the wall at different separation distances was carried out.The separation distance from the burner outlet to the lower surface of the wall is changed and the flame structure is obtained through experiments.The temperature,velocity and reaction rate are obtained through numerical simulation,and the law of flame characteristics change is obtained through analysis.The results show that as the separation distance increases,the premixing cone inside the flame gradually changes from a horn shape to a complete cone shape and the length of the premixing cone profile increases.Also,the peak temperature and velocity of the mixture in the axial direction gradually increase,and the temperature and velocity in the radial direction first increase and then decrease.The temperature gradient and velocity reach the maximum when the separation distance is 11 mm.The peaks of reactants(CH_(4))net reaction rate intermediate products(CO)and products(CO_(2),H_(2)O)on the axis and the axial distance corresponding to the peaks increase accordingly.The chemical reaction rate near the wall also gradually decreases with the increase of the separation distance.

Laminar Flame Structure-Dependent Exergy Destruction Behavior at Auto-Ignition Time Scale:A Case Study of Dimethyl Ether(DME)

Hybrid deflagration/auto-ignition flame structures coexist in the combustion of advanced engines.Decoupling exergy destruction caused by different irreversible processes under varied flame regimes is thus important for understanding engine thermodynamics.In this study,the flame propagation modes for the premixed DME/air mixtures are numerically investigated under engine-relevant conditions.Local entropy generation and exergy destruction characteristics are compared under different flame structures.Results reveal that as the typical premixed flame transition towards auto-ignition front,the exergy destruction from heat conduction and species mass diffusion gradually vanish and are dominated by chemical reaction.The distributions of temperature and species mole fraction in the flame domain are analyzed to clarify the exergy destruction behaviors caused by heat conduction and mass diffusion.Furthermore,by dividing the DME oxidation process into four stages,the main reaction channels that contribute to the increase in exergy destruction from chemical reaction have been identified.It is found that the production and consumption of CH_(2)O and HO_(2) radical dominate the exergy destruction behavior during DME oxidation.On this basis,the kinetic mechanism of low-temperature chemistry causing greater exergy destruction is elucidated.Specifically,low-temperature chemistry leads to significant exergy destruction due to(a)the large irreversibility of itself and(b)(mainly)the enhancement of H_(2)O_(2)loop reactions by low-temperature reaction intermediates.Thus the reduction of combustion irreversibility is promising to be achieved by reasonably regulating the fuel oxidation path.

Flame Structure of Methane and Kerosene Combustion with a Compact Concave Flame-Holder using the LES-pdf Method

Compact flame-holders for afterburners are an increasing requirement for modern aero engines.However,flame-holder design is non-trivial since high inlet temperatures,velocities,and elaborate structures induce complex turbulence,combustion,and spray coupling in modern afterburners.In this work,the LES-pdf and stochastic fields-Lagrangian particle spray methods are used to investigate methane and aviation kerosene combustion structures formed by new-type concave flame-holders.The flow pattern,combustion mode,and flame structure of gaseous and liquid fuel around a concave flame-holder are analyzed,discussed,and compared with experimental results.Results reveal that the flame stability of a concave flame-holder is better than that of the non-concave one.Furthermore,when using liquid fuel,the concave flame-holder forms a stable and compact flame.These results suggest concave flame-holders are a promising design for compact afterburners.

Combustion Properties of Metal Particles as Components of Modified Double-Base Propellants

Metal particles such as aluminum（ Al）,magnesium（ Mg）,boron（ B） and nickel（ Ni）,as well as Mg/Al alloy（ Mg/Al = 3/4） are currently the most widely used ingredients in modified doublebase propellants. In this contribution,the combustion properties of the metal species are studied by means of the high-speed photography technique and the non-contact wavelet-based measurement of flame temperature distribution. The combustion process of the Al,Mg and Mg/Al samples shows both gas phase reaction and surface oxidation,which yield volatile and nonvolatile products,corresponding to the oxide and suboxide respectively. However,the combustion of B and Ni shows only gas phase reaction,due to their high melting point as well as high enthalpy of vaporization. In addition to the experiments,a hypothetical combustion model has been proposed to clarify the combustion characteristics of metal species in modified double-base propellants.

The Influences of Electric Fields on Soot Formation and Flame Structure of Diffusion Flames

The influences of DC and AC electric fields,at frequencies up to 1.48 MHz and the maximum strength of about 6 kV/cm,on soot formation and flame structure were investigated using a counterflow type acetylene diffusion flame.The distributions of flame luminosity,soot volume fraction,flame temperature and OH concentration in flame were measured by non-invasive detection methods. Under the influence of electric fields,the changes in distribution of the soot volume fraction were confirmed. Electric fields of high frequency and high intensity reduced the soot volume fraction,whereas other electric fields increased it.The maximum values of flame temperature and OH concentration decreased. In the relationship between the maximum value of the soot volume fraction and the maximum temperature,the maximum soot volume fraction showed both increase and decrease with maximum temperatures depending on the frequencies and intensities of the electric fields,and both of them occurred at temperatures lower than 1900 K.The production of the incipient particles seemed to be the dominant process controlling the soot volume fraction due to the electric fields.The luminosity of a sooting diffusion flame was found to depend on the volume fraction and temperature of the soot particles in the flame.As for the behavior of the flame in the electric fields,the ionic wind effect was not found to be dominant in the present work,and the result of the previous simulation based on the ionic wind theory was not consistent with the present experimental results.

Nanomaterials synthesized by gas combustion flames:Morphology and structure

The flame technology has been employed broadly for large-scale manufacture of carbon blacks, fumed silica, pigmentary titania, and also ceramic commodities such as SiO2, Ti02, and A1203. A deeper understanding of the process also made it possible for production of novel nanomaterials with high functionality--various novel nanomaterials such as nanorods, nanowires, nanotubes, nanocoils, and nanocomposites with core/shell, hollow and ball-in-shell structures, have been synthesized recently via gas combustion technology, while the mechanisms of the material formation were investigated based on the nucleation-growth and chemical engineering principles. Studies of the fluid flow and mass mixing, supported by principles of chemical reaction engineering, could provide knowledge for better understanding of the process, and thus make rational manipulation of the products possible.

Modal interferometer based on tapering single-mode-multimode-single-mode fiber structure by hydrogen flame

A modal interferometer is experimentally demonstrated based on tapering a single-mode-multimode-single- mode （SMS） fiber structure heated by hydrogen flame. The interference fringe begins to form when tapering length is 19.8 mm, and becomes regular and clear when the tapering length is longer and the tapered waist diameter is smaller. Annealing process is undertaken to achieve a high extension ratio of approximately 17 dB with free spectral range of 1.5 nm when the tapering length is 33 mm and the tapered waist diameter is approximately 5 μm. The temperature and axial strain dependences of the tapered SMS structure are characterized, and the measured temperature and strain coefficients are ＋7 pm/℃ and -9.536 pm/με, respectively.

Crystalline phase of Y_2O_3 :Eu particles generated in a substrate-free flame process

In this study, factors affecting the crystal structure of flame-synthesized Y2O3 ：Eu particles were investigated, especially the particle size effect and its interaction with Eu doping concentration, Polydisperse Y2O3：Eu （size range 200 nm to 3μm） powder samples with Eu doping concentrations from 2,5 mol% to 25 mol% were generated in either H2/air or H2/O2 substrate-free flames. The crystal structure of the powder samples was determined by powder X-ray diffraction （XRD）, which was complemented by pho- toluminescence （PL） measurements. Single particle crystal structure was determined by single particle selected area electron diffraction （SAED）, and for the first time, by electron backscatter diffraction （EBSD）. H2/air flames resulted in cubic phase Y2O3：Eu particles with hollow morphology and irregular shapes, Particles from H2/O2 flames had dense and spherical morphology; samples with lower Eu doping concen- trations had mixed cubic/monoclinic phases; samples with the highest Eu doping concentrations were phase-pure monoclinic. For samples generated from H2/02 flames, a particle size effect and its interaction with Eu doping concentration were found： particles smaller than a critical diameter had the monoclinic phase, and this critical diameter increased with increasing Eu doping concentration, These findings suggest that the formation of monoclinic Y2O3：Eu is inevitable when extremely hot substrate-free flames are used, because typical flame-synthesized Y203 ：Eu particle sizes are well below the critical diameter, However, it may be possible to generate particles with dense, spherical morphology and the desired cubic structure by using a moderately high flame temperature that enables fast sintering without melting the particles.

H2/CO/air premixed and partially premixed flame structure at different pressures based on reaction limit analysis

Premixed and partially premixed flames (PPFs) of H2/CO/air syngas are studied numerically to investigate the effect of pressure on syngas PPF structure. Chemical characteristics of the syngas flame at different pressures are investigated based on reaction limit analysis using a one-dimensional configuration. The results show that CO affects the syngas reaction limits through both physical effects that consist mainly in dilution and chemical effects that are related to both R23 (CO+OH=CO2+H) and HCO pathway. In particular, the HCO pathway weakens the flame at low pressures due to the chain-terminating effect of R25 (HCO+O2=CO+HO2) and R26 (HCO+H=CO+H2), and enhances the flame at high pressures because of the contribution of R25 to the HO2chain-branching process. These CO chemical characteristics are also observed in the premixed zone of 50%H2+50%CO syngas PPFs whereas only R23 is important in the non-premixed zone.