Numerical investigation of the flame stabilization in a divergent porous media burner

In the present work, a numerical study on the flame stabilization in a divergent porous media burner was carried out. The purpose of this study was to peruse the influence of different conditions on the flame status in a porous medium. Two-dimensional axisymmetric model was used to simulate the process of premixed methane-air combustion. Nonequilibrium condition between the solid and gas temperature was considered and heat recirculation in the porous medium was quantified. The present numerical method was validated by comparison of solid and gas temperature profiles against the experimental data. The results showed that the stable flame within the porous medium can be controlled by velocity and equivalence ratio of the incoming mixture. Also, it was proved that the alteration of divergence angle can change the flame stability limit so that the optimum divergence angle that results in the highest limit of flame stability range was 60 degrees. The heat transfer analysis indicated that the heat recirculation efficiency decreases with increase in the equivalence ratio and inlet velocity.