Large Eddy Simulation of Turbulent Premixed Combustion at Moderate Damköhler Numbers Stabilized in a High-Speed Flow

Abstract

Premixed turbulent combustion modeling in situations where the thin flame hypothesis does not hold has been a continuous challenge over the past decades. The present work is devoted to the analysis of a turbulent premixed flame in such a combustion regime, where a strong interaction exists between turbulence and chemical reaction. The authors used a large-eddy simulation (LES) technique combined with a transported probability density function (PDF) description. A discussion of the computed structure of the reactive flow field is presented. Then, the obtained results are compared to available measurements in terms of averaged and fluctuating velocity fields, and temperature PDF. The obtained results evidence the capability of the computational model to predict the increase of turbulence levels by the flame as well as temperature PDF shapes that characterize the turbulent flame structure. Finally, some directions for further developments are delineated.

Keywords:

• Large eddy simulation
• Premixed flames
• Probability density function
• Turbulent combustion modeling

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The present research was supported by Petrobras and Région Poitou-Charentes. Fernando Oliveira de Andrade would like to thank CAPES and CNPq for the financial support during his doctorate activities at PUC-Rio (2005–2009) and at the Laboratoire de Combustion et de Détonique de l'Université de Poitiers (2007–2008).

This work was performed while Luís Fernando Figueira da Silva was a Visiting Professor, funded by the National Petroleum Agency (Brazil), on leave from Centre National de la Reserche Scientifique, France.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the reviewers for interesting comments and suggestions about their work and the manuscript.