Premixed Combustion Flame Instability Characteristics (PREFIC)

Completed

Hydrogen and Fuel Cells(Hydrogen, Hydrogen end uses (incl. combustion; excl. fuel cells))
Fossil Fuels: Oil Gas and Coal(Oil and Gas, Oil and gas combustion)
Renewable Energy Sources(Bio-Energy, Production of other biomass-derived fuels (incl. Production from wastes))

Basic and strategic applied research

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Chemistry)
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Applied Mathematics)
PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Computer Science and Informatics)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Dr HM Xu
School of Mechanical Engineering
University of Birmingham

Standard

EPSRC

05 July 2022

31 December 2025

42 months

£786,972

Mechanical engineering

West Midlands

NC : Engineering

Dr HM Xu, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Birmingham

Professor D Bradley, Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds
Dr M M Jangi, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Birmingham
Dr D Wu, Sch of Engineering, Newcastle University
Dr J J Yang, Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds

Project Contact, Sheffield Forgemasters Engineering Ltd (SFEL)

Cellular instability and self-acceleration of premixed flames are commonly observed in fuel combustion, due to the thermal-diffusive and hydrodynamic instability. Cellar instability significantly influences the flame structure and speed, and the resultant self-acceleration has been widely observed in spherical flame studies, with high influences on the turbulent burning velocity of various combustion systems and causing higher fire and explosion hazards. Mapping the regimes of cellular instability and self-acceleration could help improve combustion modelling which is widely used in design of combustion systems and investigation of fire and explosion hazards.The project is divided into two main work packages, in which the research is moving from basic dada acquirement to the cause of instability and in the end of the consequence of self-acceleration.The flame cellular structure will be mathematically characterised and quantified by the microscopic photography and image processing technique rather than traditionally by measuring burning velocity through calculation of flame size or pressure history.A newly defined Cellularity Factor is introduced to represent the flame cellular structure characteristics, and the variation regularity of flame front cells is firstly calculated and analysed by measuring the cellular structure parameters, which are the primary parameters to quantitatively determine the critical point of the fully developed cellular flame and to describe the self-acceleration. Present work will develop a new burning velocity model for flame acceleration.Improved correlations are proposed, incorporating transient and multidimensional effects, as finite rate chemistry, which are crucial for the predictive engineering model developments.

16/12/21