Boundary-Layer Analyses of Differential-Diffusion Effects In Laminar Jet Diffusion Flames


Book Description

Theoretical and numerical studies of laminar jet diffusion flames have been conducted in the limit of infinitely fast chemistry for unity oxygen Lewis number LO = 1, providing information on flame shapes and flame temperatures for different reactant-feed dilution, fuel Lewis number LF, and coflow-to-jet velocity ratios U0. Shvab-Zel'dovich coupling functions are used to write the conservation equations for planar and axisymmetric jet flames in the boundary-layer approximation. Specific consideration is given to the mixing-layer solution near the injector rim, where differential-diffusion effects are seen to result in the expected superadiabatic/subadiabatic temperature for LF smaller/larger than 1. These effects are more pronounced for U0 = 0 and at intermediate values of Zs. The evolution of the temperature along the flame is found to exhibit an unexpected behavior, in that irrespective of the dilution and coflow velocity the flame temperature always transitions from superadiabatic to subadiabatic when LF 1 and from subadiabatic to superadiabatic for LF 1. The variation with LF of the flame shape relative to the enthalpy eld is reasoned as the cause for the observed transition. Additional computations are performed for inverse diffusion flames with LO = 1 and LF ~= 1. These do not exhibit reversed differential-diffusion behaviors, indicating that the diffusivity of the abundant (co-flow) reactant is less critical than that of the deficient (central-jet) reactant.







An Analysis of Lift-Off in Laminar Diffusion Flames


Book Description

A jet diffusion flame attached to a burner rim may lift off and become stabilized further downstream when the jet velocity is sufficiently increased. In turbulent jet diffusion flames, such liftoff has been described alternately as the result of a stabilized premixed flame base, and as the result of extinguished diffusion flamelets at the flame base. Laminar flames exhibit liftoff behavior as well, and possess a relatively simpler flame structure which may be studied to provide insight into the basic mechanism responsible for flame lift. In the present study, an asymptotic solution and a numerical solution of a reduced set of equations are used to study the lifted structure of a laminar diffusion flame associated with a fuel jet. The numerical model solves a temperature equation with a finite chemical reaction rate. The asymptotic analysis is based on a flame-sheet model in the limit of large activation energy and large Damkoehler number. While it is likely that premixing at the flame base affects the structure of a lifted flame, the current analysis suggests that local extinction of the flame at its base is a contributing mechanism to flame lift.







A Critical Examination of the Fluid Dynamic Problem Posed by the Laminar Jet Diffusion Flame


Book Description

The paper discusses the laminar diffusion flame: a combustion process which occurs in a region which is located in the mixing zone between the undiluted fuel and the undiluted oxidizer and in which the mixing is carried out by molecular diffusion only. The boundary layer similar solutions are presented for the relevant distributions of the physical properties and species concentrations in a planar laminar jet diffusion flame.







On the Internal Structure of Laminar Diffusion Flames


Book Description

A study was carried out on the influence of chemical kinetics on laminar diffusion flames. In most of the flames of practical interest, the reaction zone is of negligible thickness, making it possible to obtain a solution of the boundary layer type. At each side of the reaction zone the temperature and concentration distributions may be determined by using the Burke-Schumann assumption of infinitely fast reaction rate. In the reaction zone, or chemical boundary layer, the convection effects may be neglected as compared with chemical reaction, conduction and diffusion effects. The equations governing this layer take then a simple for ; and from their solution a criterium for the validity of BurkeSchumann assumption and for flame extinction may be obtained. (Author).