Stretch Rate Effects and Flame Surface Densities in Premixed Turbulent Combustion up to 1.25 MPa

Independent research at two centres using a burner and an explosion bomb has revealed important aspects of turbulent premixed flame structure. Measurements at pressures and temperatures up to 1.25 MPa and 673 K in the two rigs were aimed at quantifying the influences of flame stretch rate and strain rate Markstein number, Masr, on both turbulent burning velocity and flame surface density. That on burning velocity is expressed through the stretch rate factor, Io, or probability of burning, Pb0.5. These depend on Masr, but they grow in importance as the Karlovitz stretch factor, K, increases, and are evaluated from the associated burning velocity data. Planar laser tomography was employed to identify contours of reaction progress variable in both rigs. These enabled both an appropriate flame front for the measurement of the turbulent burning velocity to be identified, and flame surface densities, with the associated factors, to be evaluated. In the explosion measurements, these parameters were derived also from the flame surface area, the derived Pb0.5 factor and the measured turbulent burning velocities. In the burner measurement they were calculated directly from the flame surface density, which was derived from the flame contours. A new overall correlation is derived for the Pb0.5 factor, in terms of Masr at different K and this is discussed in the light of previous theoretical studies. The wrinkled flame surface area normalised by the area associated with the turbulent burning velocity measurement, and the ratio of turbulent to laminar burning velocity, ut/ul, are also evaluated. The higher the value of P_b^0.5, the more effective is an increased flame wrinkling in increasing ut/ul. A correlation of the product of k and the laminar flame thickness with Karlovitz stretch factor and Markstein number is explored using the present data and those of other workers. Some generality is revealed, enabling the wave length associated with the spatial change in mean reaction progress variable to be expressed by the number of laminar flame thicknesses, and the flame volume to be found.