IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v113y2016icp193-203.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Experimental investigation and numerical analysis on the blow-off limits of premixed CH4/air flames in a mesoscale bluff-body combustor

Author

Listed:
  • Wan, Jianlong
  • Fan, Aiwu
  • Yao, Hong
  • Liu, Wei

Abstract

It is challenging to maintain a stable flame in miniature combustors. In the present work, a mesoscale bluff-body combustor was developed. The flame blow-off limits of CH4/air mixtures were experimentally obtained, which showed that the bluff body can effectively expand the flame stabilization limit. The flame anchoring mechanisms of this mesoscale bluff-body combustor were studied through 3D numerical simulation. It is revealed that a flow recirculation zone is formed behind the bluff body and its area increases with the increase of inlet velocity. Moreover, the incoming fresh mixture can be preheated by both the upstream channel wall and the front and side walls of the bluff body, which leads to an earlier initiation of chemical reactions. Furthermore, the local equivalence ratio grows larger than that of the incoming pre-mixture due to preferential transport effect, which favors the flame stabilization, especially for relatively leaner mixtures. Besides, the dynamic process of flame blow-off was numerically reproduced, which demonstrates that the excessively large strain rate is responsible for flame extinguishment at high inlet velocity. In conclusion, the present work revealed the complex interactions between flow field, mass and heat transfer processes, and chemical reactions in the mesoscale bluff-body combustor.

Suggested Citation

  • Wan, Jianlong & Fan, Aiwu & Yao, Hong & Liu, Wei, 2016. "Experimental investigation and numerical analysis on the blow-off limits of premixed CH4/air flames in a mesoscale bluff-body combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 193-203.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:113:y:2016:i:c:p:193-203
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2016.07.047
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544216309719
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2016.07.047?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nair, Aswathy & Velamati, Ratna Kishore & Kumar, Sudarshan, 2016. "Effect OF CO2/N2 dilution on laminar burning velocity of liquid petroleum gas-air mixtures at elevated temperatures," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 145-153.
    2. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Lin, Shih-Cheng, 2015. "Reaction phenomena of catalytic partial oxidation of methane under the impact of carbon dioxide addition and heat recirculation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 206-217.
    3. Wang, Hongmin & Wei, Chunzhi & Zhao, Pinghui & Ye, Taohong, 2014. "Experimental study on temperature variation in a porous inert media burner for premixed methane air combustion," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 195-200.
    4. Baigmohammadi, Mohammadreza & Sarrafan Sadeghi, Soroush & Tabejamaat, Sadegh & Zarvandi, Jalal, 2013. "Numerical study of the effects of wire insertion on CH4(methane)/AIR pre-mixed flame in a micro combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 271-284.
    5. Baigmohammadi, Mohammadreza & Tabejamaat, Sadegh & Zarvandi, Jalal, 2015. "Numerical study of the behavior of methane-hydrogen/air pre-mixed flame in a micro reactor equipped with catalytic segmented bluff body," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 117-144.
    6. Wan, Jianlong & Fan, Aiwu & Yao, Hong & Liu, Wei, 2015. "Effect of pressure on the blow-off limits of premixed CH4/air flames in a mesoscale cavity-combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 102-109.
    7. Alipoor, Alireza & Mazaheri, Kiumars, 2016. "Combustion characteristics and flame bifurcation in repetitive extinction-ignition dynamics for premixed hydrogen-air combustion in a heated micro channel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 650-663.
    8. Rana, Uttam & Chakraborty, Suman & Som, S.K., 2014. "Thermodynamics of premixed combustion in a heat recirculating micro combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 510-518.
    9. Veeraragavan, Ananthanarayanan, 2015. "On flame propagation in narrow channels with enhanced wall thermal conduction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 631-640.
    10. Alipoor, Alireza & Mazaheri, Kiumars, 2014. "Studying the repetitive extinction-ignition dynamics for lean premixed hydrogen-air combustion in a heated microchannel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 367-379.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Baigmohammadi, Mohammadreza & Tabejamaat, Sadegh & Faghani-Lamraski, Morteza, 2017. "Experimental study on the effects of mixture flow rate, equivalence ratio, oxygen enhancement, and geometrical parameters on propane-air premixed flame dynamics in non-adiabatic meso-scale reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 657-675.
    2. Xu, Cangsu & Wang, Hanyu & Oppong, Francis & Li, Xiaolu & Zhou, Kangquan & Zhou, Wenhua & Wu, Siyuan & Wang, Chongming, 2020. "Determination of laminar burning characteristics of a surrogate for a pyrolysis fuel using constant volume method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    3. Tang, Aikun & Cai, Tao & Deng, Jiang & Zhao, Dan & Huang, Qiuhan & Zhou, Chen, 2019. "Experimental study on flame structure transitions of premixed propane/air in micro-scale planar combustors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 558-570.
    4. Zuo, Wei & Wang, Zijie & Li, Qingqing & Zhou, Kun & Huang, Yuhan, 2024. "Numerical investigations on the performance enhancement of a hydrogen-fueled micro planar combustor with finned bluff body for thermophotovoltaic applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    5. Yang, Xiao & Yang, Wenming & Dong, Shikui & Tan, Heping, 2020. "Flame stability analysis of premixed hydrogen/air mixtures in a swirl micro-combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    6. Rahbari, Alireza & Homayoonfar, Sajad & Valizadeh, Esmaeil & Aligoodarz, Mohammad Reza & Toghraie, Davood, 2021. "Effects of micro-combustor geometry and size on the heat transfer and combustion characteristics of premixed hydrogen/air flames," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PA).
    7. Wan, Jianlong & Xu, Zuwei & Zhao, Haibo, 2018. "Methane/air premixed flame topology structure in a mesoscale combustor with a plate flame holder and preheating channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PB), pages 802-811.
    8. Yan, Yunfei & Wu, Gange & Huang, Weipeng & Zhang, Li & Li, Lixian & Yang, Zhongqing, 2019. "Numerical comparison study of methane catalytic combustion characteristic between newly proposed opposed counter-flow micro-combustor and the conventional ones," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 403-410.
    9. Xiao Yang & Zhihong He & Lei Zhao & Shikui Dong & Heping Tan, 2019. "Effect of Channel Diameter on the Combustion and Thermal Behavior of a Hydrogen/Air Premixed Flame in a Swirl Micro-Combustor," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-16, October.
    10. Zuo, Wei & Li, Dexin & E, Jiaqiang & Xia, Yongfang & Li, Qingqing & Quan, Yifan & Zhang, Guangde, 2023. "Parametric study of cavity on the performance of a hydrogen-fueled micro planar combustor for thermophotovoltaic applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PD).
    11. Wan, Jianlong & Zhao, Haibo, 2017. "Dynamics of premixed CH4/air flames in a micro combustor with a plate flame holder and preheating channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 366-379.
    12. Zuo, Wei & E, Jiaqiang & Peng, Qingguo & Zhao, Xiaohuan & Zhang, Zhiqing, 2017. "Numerical investigations on a comparison between counterflow and coflow double-channel micro combustors for micro-thermophotovoltaic system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 408-419.
    13. Said, Syed A. & Aliyu, Mansur & Nemitallah, Medhat A. & Habib, Mohamed A. & Mansir, Ibrahim B., 2018. "Experimental investigation of the stability of a turbulent diffusion flame in a gas turbine combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 904-913.
    14. Zuo, Wei & E, Jiaqiang & Hu, Wenyu & Jin, Yu & Han, Dandan, 2017. "Numerical investigations on combustion characteristics of H2/air premixed combustion in a micro elliptical tube combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 1-12.
    15. Wan, Jianlong & Zhao, Haibo, 2020. "Effect of conjugate heat exchange of flame holder on laminar premixed flame stabilization in a meso-scale diverging combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    16. Wan, Jianlong & Zhao, Haibo, 2018. "Thermal performance of solid walls in a mesoscale combustor with a plate flame holder and preheating channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 448-459.
    17. Pan, Jianfeng & Zhang, Chenxin & Pan, Zhenhua & Wu, Di & Zhu, Yuejin & Lu, Qingbo & Zhang, Yi, 2020. "Investigation on the effect of bluff body ball on the combustion characteristics for methane/oxygen in micro combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wan, Jianlong & Zhao, Haibo, 2017. "Dynamics of premixed CH4/air flames in a micro combustor with a plate flame holder and preheating channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 366-379.
    2. Wan, Jianlong & Fan, Aiwu & Yao, Hong & Liu, Wei, 2015. "Effect of pressure on the blow-off limits of premixed CH4/air flames in a mesoscale cavity-combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 102-109.
    3. Wan, Jianlong & Zhao, Haibo, 2018. "Thermal performance of solid walls in a mesoscale combustor with a plate flame holder and preheating channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 448-459.
    4. Tang, Aikun & Cai, Tao & Deng, Jiang & Zhao, Dan & Huang, Qiuhan & Zhou, Chen, 2019. "Experimental study on flame structure transitions of premixed propane/air in micro-scale planar combustors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 558-570.
    5. Wang, Shixuan & Li, Linhong & Xia, Yongfang & Fan, Aiwu & Yao, Hong, 2018. "Effect of a catalytic segment on flame stability in a micro combustor with controlled wall temperature profile," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PA), pages 522-531.
    6. Fan, Aiwu & Zhang, He & Wan, Jianlong, 2017. "Numerical investigation on flame blow-off limit of a novel microscale Swiss-roll combustor with a bluff-body," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 252-259.
    7. Cai, Tao & Tang, Aikun & Zhao, Dan & Zhou, Chen & Huang, Qiuhan, 2020. "Flame dynamics and stability of premixed methane/air in micro-planar quartz combustors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    8. Zuo, Wei & E, Jiaqiang & Hu, Wenyu & Jin, Yu & Han, Dandan, 2017. "Numerical investigations on combustion characteristics of H2/air premixed combustion in a micro elliptical tube combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 1-12.
    9. Veeraragavan, Ananthanarayanan, 2015. "On flame propagation in narrow channels with enhanced wall thermal conduction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 631-640.
    10. He, Ziqiang & Yan, Yunfei & Zhao, Ting & Zhang, Zhien & Mikulčić, Hrvoje, 2022. "Parametric study of inserting internal spiral fins on the micro combustor performance for thermophotovoltaic systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    11. Rana, Uttam & Chakraborty, Suman & Som, S.K., 2017. "Prediction of flame speed and exergy analysis of premixed flame in a heat recirculating cylindrical micro combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 658-670.
    12. Wan, Jianlong & Zhao, Haibo, 2020. "Effect of conjugate heat exchange of flame holder on laminar premixed flame stabilization in a meso-scale diverging combustor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    13. Alipoor, Alireza & Mazaheri, Kiumars, 2016. "Combustion characteristics and flame bifurcation in repetitive extinction-ignition dynamics for premixed hydrogen-air combustion in a heated micro channel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 650-663.
    14. Ruirui Wang & Jingyu Ran & Xuesen Du & Juntian Niu & Wenjie Qi, 2016. "The Influence of Slight Protuberances in a Micro-Tube Reactor on Methane/Moist Air Catalytic Combustion," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-17, May.
    15. Peng, Qingguo & Wu, Yifeng & E, Jiaqiang & Yang, Wenming & Xu, Hongpeng & Li, Zhenwei, 2019. "Combustion characteristics and thermal performance of premixed hydrogen-air in a two-rearward-step micro tube," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 424-438.
    16. Wan, Jianlong & Xu, Zuwei & Zhao, Haibo, 2018. "Methane/air premixed flame topology structure in a mesoscale combustor with a plate flame holder and preheating channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PB), pages 802-811.
    17. Wang, Yuqing & Zeng, Hongyu & Shi, Yixiang & Cao, Tianyu & Cai, Ningsheng & Ye, Xiaofeng & Wang, Shaorong, 2016. "Power and heat co-generation by micro-tubular flame fuel cell on a porous media burner," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 117-123.
    18. Baigmohammadi, Mohammadreza & Tabejamaat, Sadegh & Faghani-Lamraski, Morteza, 2017. "Experimental study on the effects of mixture flow rate, equivalence ratio, oxygen enhancement, and geometrical parameters on propane-air premixed flame dynamics in non-adiabatic meso-scale reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 657-675.
    19. Varghese, Robin John & Kishore, V. Ratna & Akram, M. & Yoon, Y. & Kumar, Sudarshan, 2017. "Burning velocities of DME(dimethyl ether)-air premixed flames at elevated temperatures," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 34-41.
    20. Alipoor, Alireza & Saidi, Mohammad Hassan, 2017. "Numerical study of hydrogen-air combustion characteristics in a novel micro-thermophotovoltaic power generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 382-399.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:113:y:2016:i:c:p:193-203. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.