Three dimensional measurements of surface areas and burning velocities of turbulent spherical flames

Measurements of 3D turbulent flame surface area and burnt gas were carried out for spherically expanding flames in different methane-air and hydrogen-air mixtures using a high frequency swinging laser sheet technique based on Mie scattering. The corresponding turbulent burning velocities were measured simultaneously using the rate of pressure rise, at turbulence rms velocities between 0.3 and 2.0 m/s. The ratio of turbulent burning velocity enhancement utm / ul to flame surface area enhancement A3D / a3D was measured as a function of turbulence rms velocity. For the methane-air flames, the turbulent burning velocity enhancement is close to that of the flame surface area enhancement. For the hydrogen-air flames, the former can exceed the latter by a factor of up to 6 at the largest values of turbulence rms velocity tested. The large discrepancy suggests that in the case of hydrogen-air flames, the measured rate of burning per unit flame area is significantly enhanced by the turbulence. For the reconstructed A3D / a3D, the corresponding A2D / a2D are also discussed.