Large eddy simulation of turbulent premixed and stratified combustion using flame surface density model coupled with tabulation method

Large eddy simulations(LESs) are performed to investigate the Cambridge premixed and stratified flames, SwB1 and SwB5, respectively. The flame surface density(FSD) model incorporated with two different wrinkling factor models, i.e., the Muppala and Charlette2 wrinkling factor models, is used to describe combustion/turbulence interaction, and the flamelet generated manifolds(FGM) method is employed to determine major scalars. This coupled sub-grid scale(SGS) combustion model is named as the FSD-FGM model. The FGM method can provide the detailed species in the flame which cannot be obtained from the origin FSD model. The LES results show that the FSD-FGM model has the ability of describing flame propagation, especially for stratified flames. The Charlette2 wrinkling factor model performs better than the Muppala wrinkling factor model in predicting the flame surface area change by the turbulence.The combustion characteristics are analyzed in detail by the flame index and probability distributions of the equivalence ratio and the orientation angle, which confirms that for the investigated stratified flame, the dominant combustion modes in the upstream and downstream regions are the premixed mode and the back-supported mode, respectively.

CO_(2)-diluted CH_(4)-air premixed spherical flames with microwave-assisted spark ignition

The performance of microwave-assisted spark ignition(MAI)under exhaust gas recirculation conditions was explored with CO_(2)-diluted CH-air premixed spherical flames in a constant volume combustion chamber.The flame kernel radius at 5 ms after spark started was selected to evaluate the property of MAI for CO_(2)dilution ratio of 0-20%and equivalence ratio of 0.6-1.4 with 1 kHz microwave pulse repetition frequency under 0.2 MPa ambient pressure.The results showed that the addition of microwave induced some wrinkles on the flame surface and strongly deformed the flame.MAI expanded the limit of CO_(2)dilution ratio to 16%with an equivalence ratio of 0.75,in which case the spark only(SI)failed to ignite the mixture.With the CO_(2)dilution ratio increasing,the wrinkles induced by microwave pulses decreased apparently,and the enhancement value of MAI peaked at 4%CO_(2)dilution ratio.The effect of microwave was considered in two aspects,namely,reaction kinetics and thermal effect,which shows a“trade-off”as CO_(2)dilution ratio rose.With 8%volume of CO_(2)added,the flammable interval(equivalence ratio 0.6-1.2)of mixture in SI mode shrunk,and MAI can maintain a flammable interval consistency with the case that no CO_(2)was added.

An approach for predicting the toxicity of smoke

The N-GAS model for predicting smoke toxicity has been proposed for many years by NIST.However,almost all the existing CFD software cannot accurately predict the toxicity of smoke using the model because of the absence of the toxic gas concentration of HCN,NO x,HCl and HBr.In this work,an approach for predicting fire smoke toxicity was developed and demonstrated.A detailed mechanism including these fire effluents was constructed firstly,and the subsequent generation of state relationship among fire effluents,mixture fraction and strain rate was conducted by using opposed-flow flame technique.A mixture fraction-based combustion model used in FDS code was modified,and meanwhile the scalar dissipation rate transport equation was numerically solved.Thus the concentration of fire effluents as the function of mixture fraction and scalar dissipation rate can be calculated through a look-up table,and the toxic potency based on the 7-gas model can be obtained.The method was applied into an underground commercial street in Chongqing.It showed that the results between the 7-gas model and 3-gas model(CO,CO 2,and O 2) were obviously different.It indicated that there needs some modifications in conclusions and results from 3-gas model for fire-risk assessments.

Inverse Problem of Flame Surface Properties of Wood using a Repulsive Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

The convective heat transfer coefficient and surface emissivity before and after flame occurrence on a wood specimen surface and the flame heat flux were estimated using the repulsive particle swarm optimization algorithm and cone heater test results. The cone heater specified in the ISO 5660 standards was used, and six cone heater heat fluxes were tested. Preservative-treated Douglas fir 21 mm in thickness was used as the wood specimen in the tests. This study confirmed that the surface temperature of the specimen, which was calculated using the convective heat transfer coefficient, surface emissivity and flame heat flux on the wood specimen by a repulsive particle swarm optimization algorithm, was consistent with the measured temperature. Considering the measurement errors in the surface temperature of the specimen, the applicability of the optimization method considered in this study was evaluated.

Numerical studies on swirling of internal fire whirls with experimental justifications

Numerical studies on internal fire whirls(IFW)generated in a vertical shaft model with a single corner gap were reported in this paper.The generation of IFW,burning rate of fuel and temperature were studied experimentally first.Numerical simulations on medium-scale IFW were carried out using a fully-coupled large eddy simulation incorporating subgrid scale turbulence and a fire source with heat release rates compiled from experimental results.Typical transient flame shape was studied and then simulated numerically by using temperature.The dynamic phenomena of generation and development of IFW were simulated and then compared with experimental results.The predicted results were validated by comparing with experimental data,which demonstrated that an IFW can be simulated by Computational Fluid Dynamics.Numerical results for flame surface,temperature,and flame length agreed well with the experimental results.The IFW flame region and intermittent region were longer than those for an ordinary pool fire.The modified empirical formula for centerline temperature was derived.Variations of vertical and tangential velocity in axial and radial directions were also shown.The vortex core radius was found to be determined by the fuel bed size.Velocity field was not measured extensively due to resources limitation.Comparing measured temperature distribution with predictions is acceptable because temperature is related to the heat release rate,air flow and pressure gradient.