Simultaneous measurements of PIV, anisole-PLIF and OH-PLIF for investigating back-supported stratified flame propagation in lean and nonflammable mixtures
International audienceIn an effort to reduce pollutant emissions and increase energy efficiency, partially premixed combustion has been integrated into many new combustion technologies. The present study investigated lean back-supported flames in a stratified combustion regime. This strategy leads to hybrid combustion regimes, ranging between fully premixed and fully non-premixed reactants, with a large panel of flame structures and properties requiring to be characterized. Outwardly propagating flames were observed following ignition under laminar stratification conditions generated in a constant volume vessel. The quantitative analysis of the flame properties relied on simultaneous PIV measurements to obtain local flame burning velocities and stretch rates and used anisole-PLIF measurements to calculate the equivalence ratio. Simultaneous OH-PLIF measurements were used to differentiate between the burned gas boundaries and the active flame front. This differentiation was necessary to investigate the nonflammable mixture. The OH-gradient measurement proved to be suitable for distinguishing burned gas interfaces from active flame fronts. Simultaneous OH-and anisole-PLIF measurements were used to estimate the thermal flame thickness. Two flame families were investigated: in family A the flame was ignited in a lean mixture (φ=0.6) with a rich stratification; in family B the mixture in the chamber was nonflammable. In rich mixtures ignition compensated for the non-equidiffusive effects of the lean propane flame and reinforced the flame's stretch resistance. Both a flammable and a nonflammable mixture were investigated to determine the time scales of the back-supported propagation for the given stratification. The enhanced combustion regime allowed the flame to propagate with an active flame front, even in the nonflammable mixture. Combustion continued for a few milliseconds before the flame extinguished. The richer the stratification, the longer the combustion lasted in the nonflammable mixture
