Abstract
PIV and photographic recording are used to measure the velocity of the fresh gas and the shape of the reaction layer in a region around the tip of a methane-air Bunsen flame attached to a cylindrical burner. The results compare well with numerical simulations carried out with an infinite activation energy reaction model. The experimental and numerical results confirm that the well-known linear relation between flame velocity and flame stretch derived from asymptotic theory for weakly curved and strained flames is valid for small and moderate values of the flame stretch if the modified definition of stretch introduced by Echekki and Mungal (Proc Combust Inst 23:455–461, 1990) and Poinsot et al. (Combust Sci Technol 81:45–73, 1992) is used. However, the relation between flame velocity and modified stretch ceases to be linear and approaches a square root law for large values of the stretch, when the curvature of the flame tip becomes large compared to the inverse of the thickness of a planar flame.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Clavin, P., Williams, F.A.: Effects of molecular difussion and of thermal expansion on the structure and dynamics of premixed flames in turbulent flows of large scale and low intensity. J. Fluid Mech. 116, 251–282 (1982)
Matalon, M., Matkowsky, B.J.: Flames as gasdynamic discontinuities. J. Fluid Mech. 124, 239–259 (1982)
Clavin, P., Joulin, G.: Premixed flames in large scale and high intensity turbulent flow. J. Phys. Lett. 44, L1–L12 (1983)
Davis, S.G., Quinard, J., Searby, G.: Determination of Markstein numbers in counterflow premixed flames. Combust. Flame 130, 112–122 (2002)
Davis, S.G., Quinard, J., Searby, G.: Markstein numbers in counterflow, methane- and propane-air flames: a computational study. Combust. Flame 130, 123–136 (2002)
Echekki, T., Mungal, M.G.: Flame speed measurements at the tip of a slot burner: Effects of flame curvature and hydrodynamic stretch. Proc. Combust. Inst. 23, 455–461 (1990)
Poinsot, T., Echekki, T., Mungal, M.G.: A study of the laminar flame tip and implications for premixed turbulent combustion. Combust. Sci. Technol. 81, 45–73 (1992)
Tseng, L.K., Ismail, M.A., Faeth, G.M.: Laminar burning velocities and Markstein numbers of hydrocarbon/air flames. Combust. Flame 95, 410–426 (1993)
Deshaies, B., Cambray, P.: The velocity of a premixed flame as a function of the flame stretch: An experimental study. Combust. Flame 82, 361–375 (1990)
Mungal, M.G., Lourenco, L.M., Krothapalli, A.: Instantaneous velocity measurements in laminar and turbulent premixed flames using on-line PIV. Combust. Sci. Technol. 106, 239–265 (1995)
Williams, F.A.: Combustion Theory, 2nd edn., Benjamin Cummings, Menlo Park, CA (1985)
Higuera, F.J.: Effects of the fresh gas velocity and thermal expansion on the structure of a Bunsen flame tip. Combust. Flame 157, 1586–1593 (2010)
Higuera, F.J.: Aerodynamics of a slender axisymmetric Bunsen flame with large gas expansion. Combust. Flame 156, 1063–1067 (2009)
Lewis, B., von Elbe, G.: Combustion, Flames and Explosions of Gases, chapter 5. Academic Press, New York (1961)
Clavin, P., Garcia-Ybarra, P.L.: The influence of the temperature dependence of difussivities on the dynamics of flame fronts. J. Méc. Théor. Appl. 2, 245–263 (1983)
Buckmaster, J.: A mathematical description of open and closed flame tips. Combust. Sci. Technol. 20, 33–40 (1979)
Buckmaster, J., Crowley, A.B.: The fluid mechanics of flame tips. J. Fluid Mech. 131, 341–361 (1983)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
García-Soriano, G., García-Ybarra, P.L. & Higuera, F.J. Curvature and Velocity of Methane-Air Bunsen Flame Tips. Flow Turbulence Combust 89, 173–182 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10494-010-9321-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10494-010-9321-0