Flame front temperature

To analy2e premixed turbulent flames theoretically, two processes should be considered (/) the effects of combustion on the turbulence, and (2) the effects of turbulence on the average chemical reaction rates. In a turbulent flame, the peak time-averaged reaction rate can be orders of magnitude smaller than the corresponding rates in a laminar flame. The reason for this is the existence of turbulence-induced fluctuations in composition, temperature, density, and heat release rate within the flame, which are caused by large eddy stmctures and wrinkled laminar flame fronts. 

Most theories of droplet combustion assume a spherical, symmetrical droplet surrounded by a spherical flame, for which the radii of the droplet and the flame are denoted by and respectively. The flame is supported by the fuel diffusing from the droplet surface and the oxidant from the outside. The heat produced in the combustion zone ensures evaporation of the droplet and consequently the fuel supply. Other assumptions that further restrict the model include (/) the rate of chemical reaction is much higher than the rate of diffusion and hence the reaction is completed in a flame front of infinitesimal thickness (2) the droplet is made up of pure Hquid fuel (J) the composition of the ambient atmosphere far away from the droplet is constant and does not depend on the combustion process (4) combustion occurs under steady-state conditions (5) the surface temperature of the droplet is close or equal to the boiling point of the Hquid and (6) the effects of radiation, thermodiffusion, and radial pressure changes are negligible. 

Flame Front That portion of the flame reaction zone moving into the nnbnrned gas where the bulk of the reaction occurs and the medium reaches its ignition temperature. 

For the analysis of the chemical structure of flames, laser methods will typically provide temperature measurement and concentration profiles of some readily detectable radicals. The following two examples compare selected LIF and CRDS results. Figure 2.1 presents the temperature profile in a fuel-rich (C/O = 0.6) propene-oxygen-argon flame at 50 mbar [42]. For the LIF measurements, 1% NO was added. OH-LIF thermometry would also be possible, but regarding the rather low OH concentrations in fuel-rich flames, especially at low temperatures, this approach does not capture the temperature rise in the flame front [43]. The sensitivity of the CRDS technique, however, is superior, and the OH mole fraction is sufficient to follow the entire temperature profile. Both measurements are in excellent agreement. For all flames studied here, the temperature profile has been measured by LIF and/or CRDS. 

Consider a planar premixed flame front, such as that sketched in Figure 5.1.1. For the moment, we will be interested only in long length scales and we will treat the flame as an infinitely thin interface that transforms cold reactive gas, at temperature and density T p, into hot burnt gas at temperature and density T, A.-The flame front propagates at speed Sl into the xmbumt gas. We place ourselves in the reference frame of the front, so cold gas enters the front at speed = Su and because of thermal expansion, the hot gases leave the front at velocity 14 = Sl(Po/a)- The density ratio, Po/Pb, is roughly equal to the... 

P. Clavin and P. Garcia. The influence of the temperature dependence of diffusivities on the dynamics of flame fronts. Journal de Mecanique Theorique et Appliquee, 2(2) 245-263, 1983. 

The cooling effect of the channel walls on flame parameters is effective for narrow channels. This influence is illustrated in Figure 6.1.3, in the form of the dead-space curve. When the walls are <4 mm apart, the dead space becomes rapidly wider. This is accompanied by falling laminar burning velocity and probably lowering of the local reaction temperature. For wider charmels, the propagation velocity w is proportional to the effective flame-front area, which can be readily calculated. On analysis of Figures 6.1.2b and 6.1.3, it is evident that the curvature of the flame is a function of... 

The development of models for HCSI combustion has been governed by the similarity of flame growth in HCSI engines and premixed turbulent flames. Thin laser-sheets of only 300 pm thickness were used to measure high-resolution cross sections of the temperature and OH radical distribution in flames of a propane-fueled engine. Figure 8.2.3 illustrates the structure where temperature and OH concentration are closely coupled with super equilibrium values for the OH radical close to the flame front [11]. 

Determination of the flame spread parameter, (fc. The following well known expression has been given (( ), (6), etc) for the velocity of the flame front for a slab initially at the temperature T = Tg... 

The stratified gaseous layer established over the liquid fuel surface varies from a fuel-rich mixture to within the lean flammability limits of the vaporized fuel and air mixture. At some point above the liquid surface, if the fuel temperature is high enough, a condition corresponds to a stoichiometric equivalence ratio. For most volatile fuels this stoichiometric condition develops. Experimental evidence indicates that the propagation rate of the curved flame front that develops is many times faster than the laminar flame speed discussed earlier. There are many less volatile fuels, however, that only progress at very low rates. 

It is interesting to note that stratified combustible gas mixtures can exist in tunnel-like conditions. The condition in a coal mine tunnel is an excellent example. The marsh gas (methane) is lighter than air and accumulates at the ceiling. Thus a stratified air-methane mixture exists. Experiments have shown that under the conditions described the flame propagation rate is very much faster than the stoichiometric laminar flame speed. In laboratory experiments simulating the mine-like conditions the actual rates were found to be affected by the laboratory simulated tunnel length and depth. In effect, the expansion of the reaction products of these type laboratory experiments drives the flame front developed. The overall effect is similar in context to the soap bubble type flame experiments discussed in Section C5c. In the soap bubble flame experiment measurements, the ambient condition is about 300 K and the stoichiometric flame temperature of the flame products for most hydrocarbon fuels... 

The inverse of the tunnel experiments discussed is the propagation of a flame across a layer of a liquid fuel that has a low flash point temperature. The stratified conditions discussed previously described the layered fuel vapor-air mixture ratios. Under these conditions the propagation rates were found to be 4-5 times the laminar flame speed. This somewhat increased rate compared to the other analytical results is apparently due to diffusion of air to the flame front behind the parabolic leading edge of the propagating flame [41],... 

Experiments [43] with very high flash point fuels (JP, kerosene, Diesel, etc.) revealed that the flame propagation occurred in an unusual manner and a much slower rate. In this situation, at ambient conditions, any possible amount of fuel vapor above the liquid surface creates a gaseous mixture well outside the fuel s flammability limits. What was discovered [44, 45] was that for these fuels the flame will propagate due to the fact that the liquid surface under the ignition source is raised to a local temperature that is higher than the cool ambient temperature ahead of the initiated flame. Experimental observations revealed [45] that this surface temperature variation from behind the flame front to the cool region ahead caused a variation in the surface tension... 

The figure shows U >. S L in this region and Da is predominantly small. At the highest Reynolds numbers the region is entered only for very intense turbulence, U > SL. The region has been considered a distributed reaction zone in which reactants and products are somewhat uniformly dispersed throughout the flame front. Reactions are still fast everywhere, so that unbumed mixture near the burned gas side of the flame is completely burned before it leaves what would be considered the flame front. An instantaneous temperature measurement in this flame would yield a normal probability density function—more importantly, one that is not bimodal. 

The flame front can be assumed to exist at the point of maximum temperature, and indeed this point corresponds to that at which the maximum concentrations of major products (C02 and H20) exist. The same type of profiles would exist for a simple fuel jet issuing into quiescent air. The maxima arise due to diffusion of reactants in a direction normal to the flowing streams. It is most important to realize that, for the concentric configuration, molecular... 

The last point is worth considering in more detail. Most hydrocarbon diffusion flames are luminous, and this luminosity is due to carbon particulates that radiate strongly at the high combustion gas temperatures. As discussed in Chapter 6, most flames appear yellow when there is particulate formation. The solid-phase particulate cloud has a very high emissivity compared to a pure gaseous system thus, soot-laden flames appreciably increase the radiant heat transfer. In fact, some systems can approach black-body conditions. Thus, when the rate of heat transfer from the combustion gases to some surface, such as a melt, is important—as is the case in certain industrial furnaces—it is beneficial to operate the system in a particular diffusion flame mode to ensure formation of carbon particles. Such particles can later be burned off with additional air to meet emission standards. But some flames are not as luminous as others. Under certain conditions the very small particles that form are oxidized in the flame front and do not create a particulate cloud. 

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