Recent progress in electric-field assisted combustion: a brief review

The control of combustion is a hot and classical topic. Among the combustion technologies, electric-field assisted combustion is an advanced technology that enjoys major advantages such as fast response and low power consumption compared with thermal power. However, its fundamental principle and impacts on the flames are complicated due to the coupling between physics, chemistry, and electromagnetics. In the last two decades, tremendous efforts have been made to understand electric-field assisted combustion. New observations have been reported based on different combustion systems and improved diagnostics. The main impacts, including flame stabilization, emission reduction, and flame propagation, have been revealed by both simulative and experimental studies. These findings significantly facilitate the application of electric-field assisted combustion. This brief review is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the recent progress of this combustion technology and further point out research opportunities worth investigation.