Infrared Absorption Measurements of the Velocity of a Premixed Hydrogen/Air Flame Propagating in an Obstacle-Laden Tube

ABSTRACT

Flame acceleration and explosion of hydrogen/air mixtures remain a key problem for severe accident management in nuclear power plants. Empirical criteria have been developed in the early 2000s by Dorofeev et al. (2001) providing effective tool to discern possible flame acceleration (FA) or deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) scenarios. A large experimental database, composed mainly by middle-scale experiments in smooth tubes and obstacle-laden ducts, has been used to validate these criteria. In these devices the position of the reaction front is usually detected by photo-diodes or photomultiplier tubes uniformly distributed along the tube axis. As a result, only a coarse representation of the velocity profile can be achieved. In this paper we develop a new technique to track the flame position along the tube at any time. This method consists in performing time-resolved IR absorption measurements by doping the fresh mixture with an alkane. The velocity profile is then derived by measuring the variation of the extension in depth of the unburnt gas along the tube axis. Correction factors are eventually drawn from the comparison between longitudinal (IR absorption measurements) and cross-sectional (photomultiplier tubes) flame velocity diagnosis techniques. Finally, experimental results are compared to numerical simulations and analytical models proposed by V. Bychkov group.

KEYWORDS:

• H2/Air Mixture
• Flame Acceleration
• Flame Speed
• Diagnostics for Reactive Systems
• IR Absorption
• HeNe Laser

Acknowledgments

The work was performed at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Authors thank Air Liquide and EDF for supporting current works.

Nomenclature

Greek Letters

$\chi$  Molar fraction

$\eta$  Dimensionless variable

$\nu$  Dynamic viscosity

$\mathrm{\Sigma }$  Expansion ratio

$\sigma$  Absorption cross-section

$\tau$  Transmittance

$\theta$  Dimensionless acceleration exponent

Latin Letters

$\mathcal{I}$ Modified Bessel function

$\mathrm{M}\mathrm{a}$ Flame Mach number

$Re$ Flame Reynolds number

$BR$ Blockage ratio

$c_s$ Sound speed

$D$ Diameter

$I$ Light intensity

$l$ Length

$P$ Pressure

$R$ Universal gas constant

$S_L$ Laminar flame speed

$T$ Temperature

t Time

$u$  Uncertainty

$V$ Voltage

$V_f$ Flame velocity in the laboratory frame

$x$  Axial length

Subscripts

$0$ Initial

$b$ Burnt

$ch$ Chopper

$CJ$ Chapman-Jouguet Detonation

$CJDF$ Chapman-Jouguet Deflagration

$det$ Detector [S]

$e$ Emission

$i$ Absorbing species

$L$ Laminar

$PM$ Photomultiplier tube

$ref$ Reference

$s$ Sound

$t$ Total

$tr$ Transmission

$u$ Unburnt