Numerical investigation of the local extinction and re-ignition mechanisms of premixed flame in a micro combustor with a flame holder and preheating channels

A novel combustor with a flame holder and preheating channels, which takes advantage of heat and flow recirculation, was developed to improve the stability of the micro flame in our previous work. The results demonstrated that the lean methane/air premixed flame could be stabilized within a wide operating range. Certainly, the flame blows off when the equivalence ratio of the fuel mixture becomes too small or too big or the Reynolds number is too large. The present work reports and analyzes the blow-off dynamics of a methane/air laminar premixed flame at a relatively large Reynolds number under the synergistic effect of heat and flow recirculation. Interestingly, a flame with local extinction and re-ignition appears, which is first found in the micro combustor. The underlying mechanisms of this interesting phenomenon are systematically discussed in terms of the flow recirculation effect, stretch effect, conjugate heat exchange, and preferential transport effect. We find that the counter flow in the recirculation zone and stretch effect induce the local extinction of the flame. The smaller heat loss from the residual flame to the flame holder and the better preferential transport effect contribute to the re-ignition of the fuel mixture. The preheating effect on the unburned fuel mixture is not expected to be insignificant for the local extinction and re-ignition phenomenon. These results mean that the generated mechanism of the flame with local extinction and re-ignition in the micro combustor is different from that in the conventional combustors.