Deformation Study of Lean Methane-Air Premixed Spherically Expanding Flames under a Negative Direct Current Electric Field
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Experimental Set up
2.1. Experimental Apparatus
2.2. Experimental Process
3. Numerical Set up
3.1. Geometry
3.2. Numerical Assumption
3.3. Governing Equations
3.4. Reaction Mechanism
3.5. Boundary Conditions
4. Result and Discuss
4.1. Flame Shape and Propagation Speed
4.2. Explanation of Flame Deformation
4.3. Ionic Concentration Distribution
5. Conclusions
- (1)
- The simulation method of adding an extra electric body force to the positive ions could make a good prediction for the negative DC electric field acting on the spherically expanding flame, including the flame shape, flame propagation speed and some special flame structure.
- (2)
- When a negative DC electric field was applied on a spherically expanding flame, a small part of the ions and other neutral molecules on the flame surface would be driven to the premixed zone by the electric field, and then promote the flame propagation in the electric field direction. Besides, the majority of ions and neutral molecules will form an ionic flow moving along the flame surface. This kind of ionic flow was usually formed on the upper and lower sides of the flame surface by the superposition effect of the electric field force and the aerodynamic drag, and it will lead to a non-uniform ionic concentration distribution on the flame surface.
- (3)
- The ionic flow along the flame surface would induce two vortexes both inside and outside of the flame surface due to the viscosity. The outside vortex would obviously inhibit the flame propagation in the vertical direction by entraining the premixed gas into the flame surface and take away the heat from the flame surface, while, the inside vortex would induce a secondary inward flow and then change the flame shape, even forming a pit structure at the center position.
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
Nomenclature
E | electrical field intensity |
H | static enthalpy |
K | mobility |
ci | concentration of ions |
p | pressure |
Q | heat release |
S | source term |
t | time |
T | temperature |
q | element charge |
u | horizontal velocity |
v | vertical velocity |
Φ | viscous dissipative term |
λ | thermal conductivity |
ν | dynamic viscosity |
ρ | density |
rh, rv | flame radius in horizontal and vertical direction |
vh, vv | flame propagation speed in horizontal and vertical direction |
au | uniform coefficient of the electric field |
as | modified factor of effective section area of the Langmuir probe |
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Reaction Type | Elementary Reaction | (A, n, Ea) * |
---|---|---|
Chemi-Ionization | CH + O→HCO+ + e− | 2.51 × 1011, 0.0, 1700 |
Proton transfer | HCO+ + H2O→H3O+ + CO | 1.51 × 1015, 0.0, 0.0 |
Recombination | H3O+ + e−→H2O + H | 2.29 × 1018, 0.5, 0.0 |
H3O+ + e−→OH + H + H | 17.95 × 1021, 1.4, 0.0 | |
H3O+ + e−→H2 + OH | 1.25 × 1019, 0.5, 0.0 | |
H3O+ + e−→O + H2 + H | 6.00 × 1017, 0.3, 0.0 |
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Li, C.; Wu, X.; Li, Y.; Hou, J. Deformation Study of Lean Methane-Air Premixed Spherically Expanding Flames under a Negative Direct Current Electric Field. Energies 2016, 9, 738. https://doi.org/10.3390/en9090738
Li C, Wu X, Li Y, Hou J. Deformation Study of Lean Methane-Air Premixed Spherically Expanding Flames under a Negative Direct Current Electric Field. Energies. 2016; 9(9):738. https://doi.org/10.3390/en9090738
Chicago/Turabian StyleLi, Chao, Xiaomin Wu, Yiming Li, and Juncai Hou. 2016. "Deformation Study of Lean Methane-Air Premixed Spherically Expanding Flames under a Negative Direct Current Electric Field" Energies 9, no. 9: 738. https://doi.org/10.3390/en9090738