Rotating and Modulated Rotating States of Cellular Flames

ABSTRACT

Ordered states of cellular flames on circular porous plug burners consist of concentric rings of cells. At certain values of the flow rate and equivalence ratio a transition is made to a state in which entire rings of ceils rotate. The direction of rotation depends only on the initial conditions. Our observations of rotating cellular flames include a single rotating ring, an outer ring rotating about a single inner cell, a rotating inner ring surrounded by a fixed outer ring, and two corotating or counterrotaling concentric rings. A rotating ring of cells can also make a transition to a modulated rotating state in which the shapes of the cells and the speed of rotation periodically change. In another rotating mode, a single central cell takes the shape of a spiral which rotates inside a fixed outer ring of cells. The physical characteristics of these modes are described and comparisons with relevant theoretical studies are made.