Abstract
The unsteady effects of buoyancy-induced instabilities on jet diffusion flames are investigated experimentally under normal gravity conditions. Methane and propane are used as test fuels that are lighter and heavier than ambient air, respectively. A similar Froude (Fr) and Reynolds (Re) number relationship is realized in both hydrocarbon fuels with different tube diameters ranging from 6 to 24.2 mm. The Schlieren visualization technique and high-speed imaging synchronized with chemiluminescence signal measurement are used to identify changes in global flame shape and dominant frequency. Buoyancy-induced instabilities generate two forms of diffusion flames with varying frequencies in space. Both laminar and turbulent jet flames exhibit natural and subharmonic frequencies, as well as a shift between them. The methane-propane Re–Fr relationship confirms the instability mode transition. In addition, Strouhal (St) and Froude number relations are obtained as \(St \propto \ Fr^{-0.50}\), with a slope difference between natural and subharmonic modes in both fuels.
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Acknowledgements
The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) funds this research with grant number ECR/2015/000343. Mahesh Nayak is grateful to the Ministry of Education in India for providing a Ph.D. fellowship. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the central workshop staff at IIT Hyderabad for their assistance with fabrication work.
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Nayak, G.M., Kolhe, P. & Balusamy, S. Role of Buoyancy Induced Vortices in a Coupled-Mode of Oscillation in Laminar and Turbulent Jet Diffusion Flames. Flow Turbulence Combust 108, 1069–1087 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10494-021-00310-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10494-021-00310-w