Flat Plate Diffusion Flames: Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation for Different Gravity Levels

摘要

A laminar diffusion flame is established over a horizontal flat plate burner when ethane is injected into a stream of air flowing parallel to the burner. A three dimensional stationary numerical solution is obtained for the temperature and velocity fields with the aim of better understanding the effect of buoyancy. The chemical reaction is described by the flame sheet approximation, therefore, fuel, oxidiser, inert gases and products are assumed to go through a single global reaction step with an infinitely fast reaction rate. The results obtained from the numerical simulation are compared with experiments conducted under different gravity levels. The parameters studied are velocity and temperature profiles as well as the flame geometry. The numerical simulation describes very well the geometry of the flame in the presence of gravity, in its absence, the stationary model is accurate only close to the leading edge. As the distance from the leading edge increases the numerical solution under predicts the stand-off distance.