Control of a Lifted H2/N2 Flame by Axial and Flapping Forcing: A Numerical Study

The large eddy simulation (LES) method combined with the Eulerian stochastic field approach has been used to study excited lifted hydrogen flames in a stream of hot co-flow air in a configuration closely corresponding to the so-called Cabra flame. The excitation is obtained by adding to an inlet velocity profile three types of forcing ((i) axial; (ii) flapping; (iii) combination of both) with amplitude of 15% of the fuel jet velocity and frequency corresponding to the Strouhal numbers St=0.30, 0.45, 0.60 and 0.75. It is shown that such a type of forcing significantly changes the lift-off height Lh of the flame and its global shape, resulting in a flame occupying large volume or the flame, which downstream the nozzle transforms from the circular one into a quasi-planar flame. Both the Lh and their spreading angles of the flames were found to be a function of the type of the forcing and its frequency. The minimum value of Lh has been found for the case with the combination of axial and flapping forcing at the frequency close to the preferred one in the unexcited configuration. The impact of the flapping forcing manifested through a widening of the flame in the flapping direction. It was shown that the excitation can significantly increase the level of the velocity and temperature fluctuations intensifying the mixing process. The computational results are validated based on the solutions obtained for a non-excited flame for which experimental data are available.