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Many countries consider hydrogen as a promising energy source to resolve the energy challenges over the global climate change. However, the potential of hydrogen explosions remains a technical issue to embrace hydrogen as an alternate solution since the Hindenburg disaster occurred in 1937. To ascertain safe hydrogen energy systems including production, storage, and transportation, securing the knowledge concerning hydrogen flammability is essential. In this paper, we addressed a comprehensive review of the studies related to predicting hydrogen flammability by dividing them into three types: experimental, numerical, and analytical. While the earlier experimental studies had focused only on measuring limit concentration, recent studies clarified the extinction mechanism of a hydrogen flame. In numerical studies, the continued advances in computer performance enabled even multi-dimensional stretched flame analysis following one-dimensional planar flame analysis. The different extinction mechanisms depending on the Lewis number of each fuel type could be observed by these advanced simulations. Finally, historical attempts to predict the limit concentration by analytical modeling of flammability characteristics were discussed. Developing an accurate model to predict the flammability limit of various hydrogen mixtures is our remaining issue.

The manner in which an ultra-lean hydrogen flame stabilizes and blows off is crucial for the understanding and design of safe and efficient combustion devices. In this study, we use experiments and numerical simulations for pure H2-air flames stabilized behind a cylindrical bluff body to reveal the underlying physics that make such flames stable and eventually blow-off. Results from CFD simulations are used to investigate the role of stretch and preferential diffusion after a qualitative validation with experiments. It is found that the flame displacement speed of flames stabilized beyond the lean flammability limit of a flat stretchless flame (ϕ=0.3) can be scaled with a relevant tubular flame displacement speed. This result is crucial as no scaling reference is available for such flames. We also confirm our previous hypothesis regarding lean limit blow-off for flames with a neck formation that such flames are quenched due to excessive local stretching. After extinction at the flame neck, flames with closed flame fronts are found to be stabilized inside a recirculation zone.

The introduction of the pilot flame can stabilize the lean premixed flame and promote its industrial application. However, the interaction mechanism between the pilot and main flames is complicated. To reveal the effect of the pilot flame on the main flame, a laminar lean premixed flame adjacent to a rich premixed pilot flame on one side and a similar lean premixed flame on the other side was considered. A two-dimensional numerical model was adopted with detailed chemistry and species transport, also with no artificial flame anchoring boundary conditions. The results show that the pilot flame could promote the main flame stabilized in different locations with various shapes, by adjusting the stretch, heat transfer, and preferential diffusion in a complicated manner. The pilot flame improves the local equivalence ratio and transfer more heat to the main flame. The growth of the pilot flame equivalence ratio and inlet velocity enhances the combustion on the rich side of the main flame and helps it anchor closer to the flame wall. Both the curvature and strain rate show a significant effect on the flame root, which contributes to the main flame bending towards the pilot flame.

In the current work, we investigated hydrogen/air flame propagation under supergravity conditions. Results show that when gravity is in the same/opposite direction as flame propagation, it leads to acceleration/deceleration of the flame, and that such an effect could substantially modify the flame propagation and structure at high gravity levels. Furthermore, for the absolute and relative flame propagation speeds, the gravity-affected flame speed shows opposite trends as the absolute flame speed is more affected by the local induced flow field, while the relative flame speeds are controlled by the super-adiabatic or sub-adiabatic flame temperature. The gravity-affected thermal and chemical flame structures are also examined through the influence of the mixture equivalence ratio, pressure, and flame stretch.

This work proposes a modified dynamic flame thickened model for laminar premixed hydrogen/air flames and describes flame simulations conducted for validation. The model is implemented on the open-source OpenFOAM v9, and four flame configurations are simulated: 1D laminar premixed flames, axi-symmetric stagnation-point flames, axi-symmetric Bunsen flames, and 2D bluff body flames. The 1D flame simulation reconfirms the validity of the thickened flame models. The axi-symmetric stagnation-point flames are simulated to find the optimal modification factor, a modeling parameter. The axi-symmetric Bunsen flame simulations are conducted for validation, and the results showed that the flame speed and stretch rate are well maintained. The 2D bluff body flame simulations are then conducted, and the results confirmed that the proposed model can produce stretched laminar flame speeds that are similar to those of the non-thickened reference cases, especially at low equivalence ratio conditions. Finally, the 2D bluff body flame simulations showed that the proposed model has reasonable prediction accuracy compared with the reference data.

This work focuses on the effects of the laminar flame speed (LFS) and flame stretch on the phenomenological modeling of the combustion process in spark ignition engines. The study is carried out using a 1D model of a small-size naturally aspirated SI engine, equipped with an external EGR circuit. The model, developed in GT-Power™ environment, includes advanced sub-models of the in-cylinder processes. The combustion is modeled using a fractal approach, where the burning rate is directly related to the laminar flame speed. A novel LFS correlation based on 1D chemical kinetics computations is presented and assessed with the experimentally derived Metghalchi and Keck correlation. Moreover, the effects of the flame stretch, evaluated according to an asymptotic theory, are properly considered in the combustion model. In order to verify the consistency and accuracy of the present approach, the model predictions are compared with the results of experimental tests performed at full- and part-load engine operations, with and without the activation of the EGR device. The proposed LFS correlation provides more accurate results than the Metghalchi and Keck one, especially for low engine loads and high EGR rates. The introduction of the flame stretch model leads to a much better prediction of the early combustion stage at low engine loads.

To safely mine coal, engineers must prevent gas combustion and explosions, as well as seek feasible and reasonable techniques to control for these types of incidents. This paper analyzes the causes and characteristics of methane combustion and explosions. Water mist is proposed to prevent and control methane combustion in an underground confined space. We constructed an experiment platform to investigate the suppression of methane combustion using water mist for different conditions. The experimental results showed that water mist is highly effective for methane flame inhibition. The flame was extinguished with water mist endothermic cooling. However, the annular regions of water vapor around the fire played a vital role in flame extinction. Water from the evaporating mist replaces the oxygen available to the fuel. Additionally, the time required for fuel ignition is prolonged. For these reasons, the water particle action to flame surface is reinforced and the fuel’s reaction with air is delayed. As a result, flame stretching and disturbances occur, which serve to extinguish the flame. Engineering application tests were carried out in the goaf, drill hole and upper-corner to investigate the prevention and control of methane gas combustion, with the results showing a good application effect.

A variety of different flame configurations and heat release distributions exist in high swirl, annular flows, due to the existence of inner and outer shear layers as well a vortex breakdown bubble. Each of these different configurations, in turn, has different thermoacoustic sensitivities and influences on combustor emissions, nozzle durability, and liner heating. This paper presents findings on the sensitivities of the outer shear layer- stabilized flames to a range of parameters, including equivalence ratio, bulkhead temperature, flow velocity, and preheat temperature. There is significant hysteresis for flame attachment/detachment from the outer shear layer and this hysteresis is also described. Results are also correlated with extinction stretch rate calculations based on detailed kinetic simulations. In addition, we show that the bulkhead temperature near the flame attachment point has significant impact on outer shear layer detachment. This indicates that understanding the heat transfer between the edge flame stabilized in the shear layer and the nozzle hardware is needed in order to predict shear layer flame stabilization limits. Moreover, it shows that simulations cannot simply assume adiabatic boundary conditions if they are to capture these transitions. We also show that the reference temperature for correlating these transitions is quite different for attachment and local blow off. Finally, these results highlight the deficiencies in current understanding of the influence of fluid mechanic parameters (e.g. velocity, swirl number) on shear layer flame attachment. For example, they show that the seemingly simple matter of scaling flame transition points with changes in flow velocities is not understood.

and eventually to an abrupt extinction if the loss rate is sufficiently large. The UTU system is more complex, and offers the additional possibility of purely stretch-induced extinctions where the flames are forced together back-to-back so that radiative loss is restricted to upstream of the maximum temperature. Extinction in these cases occurs by straightforward truncation of the hot sides of the reaction zones. At sufficiently low stretch, near and at the standard flammability limit, radiative loss makes a major contribution to the overall extinction mechanism in both configurations.

This chapter provides an overview of some fundamental concepts relating to the combustion and aerodynamics in premix gas turbine burners. First, the laminar flame speed is defined and the one-dimensional flame structure following the thermal theory is outlined. The role of species diffusion is discussed and the notion of “preferential diffusion” is introduced. The effect of flame stretch and flame curvature on laminar flame speed is outlined. Then, the structure of turbulent premixed flames is briefly discussed, identifying combustion regimes with different characteristics. Finally, the aerodynamics of swirl premix burners, where vortex breakdown is utilized for flame stabilization, is described.