Laser-based investigations of flow fields and OH distributions in impinging flames of domestic cooker-top burners

A thermal performance of impinging flames of widely-used cooker-top burners depends on a complex interaction between flow field and combustion. The critical situation is placed on two typical cooker-top burners having almost the same configurations, but yielding about 10% point difference in thermal efficiency. Therefore, in situ flame measurements of averaged velocity using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and image of averaged OH radicals using planar laser-induced fluorescence (OH-PLIF) are required to obtain insight into the coupling mechanisms during the combustion and heat transfer, and to develop a comprehensive experimental data base to support a phenomenological understanding of the differences in flames of the two burners. A combined study of flow field and combustion forms the basis of a much better understanding of the casual links that couple fluid mechanics, combustion and heat transfer in the two burners. This can provide guidelines for efficient burner design to meet future regulatory requirements. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.