Direct numerical simulation of non-premixed flame-wall interactions

Abstract

The overall objective of this paper is to illustrate how detailed numerical modelling may be used to bring basic information on fundamental problems in combustion science. We consider in the following the interaction of non-premixed flames with cold solid wall surfaces. Flame-wall interactions are an important feature in many combustion systems, that result in significant changes in the flame and wall dynamics: the flame strength is reduced near cold wall surfaces, leading possibly to (partial or total) quenching, while the gassolid heat flux takes peak values at flame contact. The questions of turbulent fuel-air-temperature mixing, flame extinction and wall surface heat transfer are here studied using direct numerical simulation (DNS). The DNS configuration corresponds to an ethylene-air diffusion flame stabilized in the near-wall region of a chemically-inert solid surface. Simulations are performed with adiabatic or isothermal wall boundary conditions, and with different turbulence intensities. The simulations feature flame extinction events resulting from excessive wall cooling, and convective heat transfer up to 90 kW/m2. The structure of the simulated wall flames is studied in terms of a classical mass mixing variable, i.e. the fuel-airbased mixture fraction, and a less familiar heat loss variable, i.e. the excess enthalpy variable, introduced to provide a measure of non-adiabatic behavior due to wall cooling. © 2005 IOP Publishing Ltd.