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Soot formation in laminar diffusion flames

Journal Article · · Combustion and Flame
; ;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yale University, P.O. Box 208284, New Haven, CT 06520-8284 (United States)
  2. United Technologies Research Center, East Hartford, CT (United States)

Laminar, sooting, coflow diffusion flames at atmospheric pressure have been studied experimentally and theoretically as a function of fuel dilution by inert nitrogen. The flames have been investigated with laser diagnostics. Laser extinction has been used to calibrate the experimental soot volume fractions and an improved gating method has been implemented in the laser-induced incandescence (LII) measurements resulting in differences to the soot distributions reported previously. Numerical simulations have been based on a fully coupled solution of the flow conservation equations, gas-phase species conservation equations with complex chemistry, and the dynamical equations for soot spheroid growth. The model also includes the effects of radiation reabsorption through an iterative procedure. An investigation of the computed rates of particle inception, surface growth, and oxidation, along with a residence time analysis, helps to explain the shift in the peak soot volume fraction from the centerline to the wings of the flame as the fuel fraction increases. The shift arises from changes in the relative importance of inception and surface growth combined with a significant increase in the residence time within the annular soot formation field leading to higher soot volume fractions, as the fuel fraction increases.

OSTI ID:
20681473
Journal Information:
Combustion and Flame, Journal Name: Combustion and Flame Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 143; ISSN CBFMAO; ISSN 0010-2180
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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