On the propagation limits and speeds of premixed cool flames at elevated pressures

The flame speeds and propagation limits of premixed cool flames at elevated pressures are numerically modeled using dimethyl ether mixtures. The primary focus is paid on the effects of pressure, mixture dilution, computation domain, and heat loss on cool flame propagation. The results showed that cool flames exist on both fuel lean and fuel rich sides and dramatically extend the lean and rich flammability limits of conventional hot flames. There exist three different flame regimes: the hot flames, lean and rich cool flames, and double flames. A new flame flammability diagram including both cool flames and hot flames at elevated pressures is obtained. The results show that pressure significantly changes cool flame propagation and burning limits. It is found that the increase of pressure affects the propagation speeds of lean and rich cool flames differently due to the negative temperature coefficient effect. On the lean side, the increase of pressure accelerates the cool flame chemistry and shifts the transition limit of cool flame to hot flame to a lower equivalence ratio. At lower pressure, there is an extinction transition from hot flame to cool flame. However, above a critical pressure, the hot flame directly transfers to a cool flame without hot flame extinction. Moreover, increases in dilution reduce the heat release of the hot flame and promote cool flame formation. Furthermore, the results show that a smaller downstream computation domain and higher heat loss also extend the cool flame transition limit and promote cool flame formation. (C) 2017 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.