Influence of equivalence ratio on the statistics of the invariants of velocity gradient tensor and flow topologies in turbulent premixed lean H2-air flames

Three-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) of turbulent premixed lean H2-air flames are performed for different equivalence ratios and initial turbulence intensities to investigate the influence of differential diffusion on the invariants of the velocity gradient tensor and local flow topologies. It is found that the effects of differential diffusion strengthen with a decrease in equivalence ratio. This difference results in more frequent super-adiabatic temperatures and higher positive dilatation rates for smaller values of equivalence ratio, having a significant impact on the flow topology distributions and their contributions to the scalar-turbulence interaction and vortex-stretching terms. The topologies associated with positive dilatation rates tend to occur at the curvatures associated with super-adiabatic temperatures for highly lean H2-air premixed flames. However, this tendency weakens with increasing equivalence ratio. These findings suggest that the chemical timescale must be accounted for in the modelling of viscous and scalar dissipation rates in lean hydrogen-air premixed flames.