Micro-mixing in Turbulent Flames: Perspective and Model Development Using Direct Numerical Simulation

Completed

Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Coal, Coal combustion)
Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Oil and gas combustion)

Basic and strategic applied research

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Dr N Swaminathan
Engineering
University of Cambridge

Standard

EPSRC

01 April 2006

31 March 2009

36 months

£159,740

Mechanical engineering

East of England

Engineering science: flow -- Materials, Mechanical and Medical Eng

Dr N Swaminathan, Engineering, University of Cambridge

Project Contact, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

The quality of combustion determines the emission performance of energy producing devices. But the combustion process depends strongly on the mixing of fuel and air. The mixing at scales relevant for the combustion is commonly called as micro-mixing. The reactant mixing rate in turbulent flames is governed by the fluid dynamics, the molecular diffusion, and the heat release. Also, these processes are strongly coupled to one another. The current mathematical models describing the mixing phenomenon are based on our understanding of simple situations like zero heat release. Recent laser diagnostic studies of turbulent flames show the important influences of heat release and density fluctuation on the mixing process. Recent theoretical analysis by the principal investigator and his co--worker corroborates this experimental observation. In this project, we aim to develop a deep understanding on the micro-mixing process in turbulent flames by conducting direct numerical simulations.Theinformation on the micro--mixing processes obtained from the direct simulation will be compared to Sydney Flames. The deep knowledge gained thus will be translated into a mathematical model which can be easily incorporated into industrial CFD codes. The expected outcome of this project is validated model(s) which are rigorously based on the fundamental conservation equation for the micro-mixing in turbulent flames

01/01/07