Turbulent non-premixed hydrogen-air flame structure in the pressure range of 1-10 atm

A numerical study of hydrogen turbulent diffusion flame structure is carried out in the pressure range of 1-10 atm with a special emphasis on mixing. The investigation is conducted under constant volumetric fuel and air flows. Mixing is characterized by mixture fraction, its variance and the scalar dissipation rate. The flow field and the chemistry are coupled by the flamelet assumption. Mixture fraction and its variance are transported by computational fluid dynamic (CFD). Computational predictions are analysed at two radial stations (the first one represent the near-field region and the second one the far-field region). The computational results indicate a deterioration of mixing with pressure rise. As a result, flame reaction zone becomes thicker. In addition, mixing and flame structure sensitivity to pressure are found to be high in the first location. Further analysis revealed that the gas becomes increasingly heavy with pressure rise, which hampered its ability to mix. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.