A Radiative Flamelet Combustion Model for Turbulent, Premixed Methane-Air Flames

The effect of radiation heat loss has been incorporated into a stretched laminar flamelet model of turbulent premixed flames using the enthalpy defect approach, and the method applied to the simulation of a number of stoichiometric methane-air jet flames. Comparison of predictions with available data on flames burning in the flamelet regime demonstrate that the model successfully captures the major features of these flames, in terms of flame position and velocity, temperature and major chemical species mass fraction fields, with satisfactory agreement with data for NO levels in one of the flames also being obtained. Overall, the model produces encouraging results for the flames examined, although further validation is required against measurements in idealised and practical burner configurations where the effects of thermal radiation heat loss are more evident.