On preheating and dilution effects in non-premixed jet flame stabilization

The impact of preheating and dilution on methane/air non-premixed flame stability are studied experimentally. Six preheating levels are considered for initial reactant temperature between 295 K and 850 K in a round jet configuration. Four diluent gases are added on the air-side, either CO2, N-2, Ar or a (CO2 + Ar) mixture having the same molar heat capacity as N-2. For undiluted flames, jet transition velocities between attached and lifted states are investigated depending on initial reactant temperature. The hysteresis zone defined by these stability limits is shifted towards higher jet velocities with preheating. Whereas jet and coflow temperatures were identical in similar previous experiments, the present work allows examination of the thermal effects from either fuel or oxidizer streams. Flame stability is described based on the propagative aspects of the flame leading-edge, by analogy with the temperature dependency of the laminar burning velocity of a stoichiometric mixture. Results show that the jet temperature has a major influence on the lifting of an attached flame, whereas the coflow temperature remains important for the reattachment of a lifted flame. In addition, flame stability experiments have been performed at high levels of both preheating and dilution. Stability maps of critical dilution ratios at lifting have been obtained with preheating. It appears that the ability of a diluent to break flame stability keeps the same relative order as at ambient temperature. It is even enhanced with preheating because higher temperature widens the gap between diluent molar heat capacities Cp. The Cp approach is however not sufficient to interpret the temperature dependency of the relative influence of the different dilution effects. Furthermore, the role played by the jet flow regime on attached flame stability in dilution-induced lifting experiments is highlighted when dilution is coupled with preheating. (C) 2013 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.