Formation and role of cool flames in plasma-assisted premixed combustion

The structure of a plasma-assisted laminar premixed flame is studied numerically. The initial radical yield generated by a nonequilibrium discharge serves as the boundary condition for a one-dimensional flame code predicting the formation of a cool flame which pilots the premixed methane/air combustion. The ignition of the surrounding unactivated methane-air mixture by this cool flame is modeled as an opposed diffusion flame. Our findings indicate that the nonequilibrium discharge is an in situ reformer of the fuel for the production of the cool flame, producing primarily H-2 and CO, thus, facilitating the burning of the lean methane-air mixture. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.