Progress Towards Simulations of Plasma-Assisted Combustion in a Swirled Flow Reactor

摘要

The capability of extending lean operational limits of methane-air flames has been demonstrated using the combination of annular swirled flow and plasma power deposition. The inclusion of plasma power deposition to the flame region initiates rapid decomposition of flow constituents driven by electron-impact processes as well as interactions with electronically-excited neutral species produced in the plasma. The objective of the current work is to leverage progressing experimental efforts to provide validation for simulations of plasma-assisted combustion (PAC). The multiphysics simulation capability brings together modules for various important aspects: fluid dynamics, turbulence modeling, electric field coupling, transport models for neutrals and charged species, as well as a detailed reaction mechanism for air-plasma and combustion chemistry. The corresponding experimental work provides various validation data from plasma-assisted combustion flames in air:CH4 mixtures including OH planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) measurements, Raleigh scattering thermometry (RST), particle image velocimetry (PIV) of the reactor flow field, and spectroscopy of nitrogen emissions in the flame. Recent work has identified swirl-stabilized and PAC cases to be used for validation of simulation work. The present paper describes the experimental approach, reviews key experimental results, discusses development of neutral combustion simulations based on the PAC experimental geometry, and overviews next steps in development in PAC simulations.