Combustion in Swirling Flows: A Review

Abstract

Swirling flows have been commonly used for a number of years for the stabilization of high intensity combustion processes. In general these swirling flows are poorly understood because of their complexity. This paper describes the recent progress in understanding and using these swirling flows. The main effects of swirl are to improve flame stability as a result of the formation of toroidal recirculation zones and to reduce combustion lengths by producing high rates of entrainment of the ambient fluid and fast mixing, particularly near to the boundaries of recirculation zones.