Numerical and experimental study on turbulence statistics in a large fan-stirred combustion vessel

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) has become a popular non-intrusive tool for measuring various types of flows. However, when measuring three-dimensional flows with two-dimensional (2D) PIV, there are some uncertainties in the measured velocity field due to out-of-plane motion, which might alter turbulence statistics and distort the overall flow characteristics. In the present study, three different turbulence models are employed and compared. Mean and fluctuating fields obtained by three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics modeling are compared to experimental data. Turbulence statistics such as integral length scale, Taylor microscale, Kolmogorov scale, turbulence kinetic energy, dissipation rate, and velocity correlations are calculated at different experimental conditions (i.e., pressure, temperature, fan speed, etc.). A reasonably isotropic and homogeneous turbulence with large turbulence intensities is achieved in the central region extending to almost 45 mm radius. This radius decreases with increasing the initial pressure. The influence of the third dimension velocity component on the measured characteristics is negligible. This is a result of the axisymmetric features of the flow pattern in the current vessel. The results prove that the present vessel can be conveniently adopted for several turbulent combustion studies including mainly the determination of turbulent burning velocity for gaseous premixed flames in nearly homogeneous isotropic turbulence.

Automated summary

The study employs three different turbulence models, compares mean and fluctuating fields obtained by three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics modeling with experimental data, and calculates various turbulence statistics. A reasonably isotropic and homogeneous turbulence with large turbulence intensities is achieved under experimental conditions, with negligible influence of the third dimension velocity component on the measured characteristics.