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At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2001

Soot Formation in Laminar Premixed Ethylene/Air Flames at Atmospheric Pressure

Soot formation was studied within laminar premixed ethylene/air flames (C/O ratios of 0.78-0.98) stabilized on a flat-flame burner operating at atmospheric pressure. Measurements included soot volume fractions by both laser extinction and gravimetric methods, temperatures by multiline emission, soot structure by thermophoretic sampling and transmission electron microscopy, major gas species concentrations by sampling and gas chromatography, concentrations of condensable hydrocarbons by gravimetric sampling. and velocities by laser velocimetry. These data were used to find soot surface growth rates and primary soot particle nucleation rates along the axes of the flames. Present measurements of soot surface growth rates were correlated successfully by predictions based on typical hydrogen-abstraction/carbon-addition (HACA) mechanisms of Frenklach and co-workers and Colket and Hall. These results suavest that reduced soot surface growth rates with increasing residence time seen in the present and other similar flames were mainly caused by reduced rates of surface activation due to reduced H atom concentrations as temperatures decrease as a result of radiative heat losses. Primary soot particle nucleation rates exhibited variations with temperature and acetylene concentrations that were similar to recent observations for diffusion flames; however, nucleation rates in the premixed flames were significantly lower than in, the diffusion flames for reasons that still must be explained. Finally, predictions of yields of major gas species based on mechanisms from both Frenklach and co-workers and Leung and Lindstedt were in good agreement with present measurements and suggest that H atom concentrations (relevant to HACA mechanisms) approximate estimates based on local thermodynamic equilibrium in the present flames.

Xu, F.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Direct simulations of premixed turbulent flames with nonunity Lewis numbers

A principal effect of turbulence on premixed flames in the flamelet regime is to wrinkle the flame fronts. For nonunity Lewis numbers, Le is not equal to 1, the local flame structure is altered in curved regions. This effect is examined using direct numerical simulations of 3D isotropic turbulence with constant density, single-step Arrhenius kinetics chemistry. Simulations of Lewis numbers 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2 are compared. At the local level, curvature effects dominated changes to the flame structure while strain effects were insignificant. A strong Lewis-number-dependent correlation was found between surface curvature and the local flame speed. The correlation was positive for Le less than 1 and negative for Le greater than 1. At the global level, strain-related effects were more significant than curvature effects. The turbulent flame speed changed significantly with Lewis number, increasing as Le decreased. This was found to be due to strain effects that have a nonzero mean over the flame surface, rather than to curvature effects that have a nearly zero mean. The mean product temperature was also found to vary with Lewis number, being higher for Le greater than 1 and lower for Le less than 1.

Rutland, C. J.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Examination of probability distribution of mixture fraction in LES/FDF modelling of a turbulent partially premixed jet flame

An accurate prediction of the probability density function (PDF) of the mixture fraction is crucial to the prediction of combustion since mixing plays an important role in turbulent non-premixed and partially premixed flames. This work provides an assessment of the large-eddy simulation (LES)/filtered density function (FDF) method for the prediction of the PDF of the mixture fraction. The advantage of the LES/FDF method is that it provides the full predictions of the statistical distribution of scalars including the mixture fraction. The predictive accuracy of the method for the PDF is yet to be fully validated. Assessing the prediction of the PDF of the mixture fraction, a conserved scalar, is an important starting point. The Sydney/Sandia inhomogeneous inlet jet flame is used as a test case. A quick comparison shows that the LES/FDF predicted PDF shapes of the mixture fraction deviate significantly from the commonly presumed Beta-PDF as well as from the experimental data in the flame. Here, to examine the source of the discrepancy, we clarify the different PDF definitions used in the comparison among the predictions, measurements, and the presumed shape PDFs. The discrepancy observed from the comparison is largely reconciled by clarifying the difference between the PDFs that are examined. The PDF of the resolved mixture fraction is shown to be close to the Beta-PDF in both the measurements and predictions, while the PDF directly deduced from the LES/FDF particles deviates significantly from the Beta-PDF. A multimodal PDF analysis and a pseudo convergence analysis are conducted to provide plausible evidence to support the predicted multimodal PDF shapes. The sub-filter scale FDF is shown to be close to the Beta-PDF too through the construction of a synthesized PDF, which supports the common presumed Beta-PDF assumption used in the presumed PDF methods when combined with LES.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Turbulent burning velocity of lean premixed hydrogen/air flames at engine conditions: Effects of turbulence intensity and length scale

For turbulent lean premixed hydrogen flames with strong thermodiffusively instabilities, most previous studies have focused on the influence of turbulence intensity, whereas the role of turbulence length scale is less well understood. Here, this study addresses this gap by conducting direct numerical simulations (DNS) of statistically planar turbulent premixed flames for a lean (ϕ=0.35) hydrogen/air mixture under independently varied turbulence intensity (u') and length scale (l T ) at engine-relevant thermodynamics conditions. Results show that as u' increases, the flame front becomes increasingly wrinkled, forming smaller cellular structures. In contrast, l T variations do not significantly alter the size of these structures. For the turbulent burning velocity (S T ), the normalized S T (i.e., S T /S L , where S L is the laminar flame speed) increases linearly with u', driven by both enhanced flame surface wrinkling (i.e., increased A T /A L ) and enhanced local burning rate (i.e., increased I 0 ). However, increasing l T reduces I 0 , despite a continued increase in A T /A L , resulting in only a marginal increase in S T /S L . To reveal the underlying mechanisms, especially the decreasing trend of I 0 with l T , local flame dynamics analyses are performed. It is found that as l T increases, the interaction between thermodiffusive effects and turbulence weakens due to the reduced tangential strain rate, while the flame curvature remains largely unchanged. This suppresses local reactivity enhancement and thus decreases I 0 , In contrast, an increase in u' enhances the interaction by amplifying both curvature fluctuation and tangential strain rate, leading to increased local reactivity (increased I 0 ). Finally, based on the DNS data, several new scaling models are proposed for the three global properties, S T /S L , A T /A L , and I 0 , and showed improvements compared to existing models. These findings provide new insights into the flame-turbulence interactions in thermodiffusively unstable hydrogen flames. The DNS dataset is also useful for the development of turbulent combustion models applicable to practical engine simulations.

Engine-relevant condition↗
DOE OSTI2024

Temperature effect on turbulent burning velocity of lean premixed hydrogen/air flames

Hydrogen has drawn great attention in recent years as a carbon-free fuel. The turbulent burning velocity (S T ) is an important parameter for the design and modeling of hydrogen-fueled engines given the high propagation speed of hydrogen flames. It has been well documented that S T of hydrogen flames can be dramatically increased by thermo-diffusive effects which are sensitive to thermodynamic conditions. Previous studies have mainly focused on the pressure effect on S T of lean hydrogen flames, while the temperature effect has been largely ignored. Here, in the present study, the turbulent burning velocity for a lean hydrogen/air mixture over a wide range of temperatures (300–641 K) and pressures (1–15 atm) is investigated through direct numerical simulations of statistically planar turbulent premixed flames. Results show that the variation of normalized turbulent burning velocity (S T /S L , where S L is the laminar flame speed) with temperature and pressure is mainly controlled by the variation of the stretching factor I 0 . While S T /S L is only marginally dependent on temperature at the atmospheric pressure, it exhibits a decreasing trend with temperature at an elevated pressure (10 atm). This is associated with different temperature dependencies of flame surface area enlargement at the two different pressures, despite the monotonically decreasing trends of I 0 with temperature at both pressures. In addition, under engine-relevant conditions where the temperature and pressure increase simultaneously, the promotion effect of pressure is found to be largely canceled out by the suppression effect of temperature, leading to only a slight increase in I 0 and S T /S L . The observed trends are further explained through detailed flame dynamic analysis. Furthermore, I 0 at different temperatures and pressures is found to correlate very well with the enhancement of fuel consumption rate in the critically strained laminar flames. The present study elucidates the strong impact of temperature on S T of lean premixed hydrogen/air flames at elevated pressures and provides new insights into the modeling of S T , especially for engine-relevant conditions.

Wang, Yiqing [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), A↗
NASA NTRS2003

Oscillatory Extinction Of Spherical Diffusion Flames

Since extinction has been observed in an oscillatory manner in Le greater than 1 premixed flames, it is not unreasonable to expect that extinction could occur in an unsteady manner for diffusion flames. Indeed, near-limit oscillations have been observed experimentally under microgravity conditions for both candle flames and droplet flames. Furthermore, the analysis of Cheatham and Matalon on the unsteady behavior of diffusion flames with heat loss, identified an oscillatory regime which could be triggered by either a sufficiently large Lewis number (even without heat loss) or an appreciable heat loss (even for Le=1). In light of these recent understanding, the present investigation aims to provide a well-controlled experiment that can unambiguously demonstrate the oscillation of diffusion flames near both the transport- and radiation-induced limits. That is, since candle and jet flames are stabilized through flame segments that are fundamentally premixed in nature, and since premixed flames are prone to oscillate, there is the possibility that the observed oscillation of these bulk diffusion flames could be triggered and sustained by the oscillation of the premixed flame segments. Concerning the observed oscillatory droplet extinction, it is well-known that gas-phase oscillation in heterogeneous burning can be induced by and is thereby coupled with condensed-phase unsteadiness. Consequently, a convincing experiment on diffusion flame oscillation must exclude any ingredients of premixed flames and other sources that may either oscillate themselves or promote the oscillation of the diffusion flame. The present experiment on burner-generated spherical flames with a constant reactant supply endeavored to accomplish this goal. The results are further compared with those from computational simulation for further understanding and quantification of the flame dynamics and extinction.

Law, C. K.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Conditional analysis of temperature and strain rate effects on dissipation structure in turbulent non-premixed jet flames

Here, this work presents results from simultaneous high-resolution temperature and velocity measurements in a series of turbulent non-premixed jet flames. The filtered Rayleigh scattering (FRS)-based temperature measurements demonstrate sufficient signal-to-noise (SNR) and spatial resolution to estimate the smallest scalar length scales and accurately determine dissipation rate fields. A comprehensive set of conditional statistics are used to characterize the small-scale structure, including the dependence of dissipation layer widths on Reynolds number, temperature, and dissipation magnitude. In general, the dissipation layer thickness decrease with increasing Reynolds number and increase with increasing temperature. However, dissipation layer widths show two distinct behaviors with respect to dissipation magnitude. For small dissipation values, increases in magnitude results in broadening of the dissipation layer, while for larger magnitude values of dissipation, the layer widths are thinned, highlighting the complexity of small-scale turbulent mixing. Additionally, measured ratios of the dissipation layer width to the Batchelor length scale are consistent across all Reynolds numbers and agree with previous studies in non-reacting flows. The unique aspect about the current set of measurements is the ability to examine the interaction of dissipation structure with turbulent flow parameters for the first time in turbulent non-premixed flames. Particularly, the strain rate/dissipation relationship is examined and compared to previous studies in non-reacting flows. It is found that the dissipation layers tend to align normal to the principal compressive strain axis and this tendency increases with increasing Reynolds number. For the lowest Reynolds number case, no dependence of the dissipation layer width nor dissipation rate magnitude on strain rate is found. However, for higher Reynolds numbers, a strong dependence of the dissipation layer width and dissipation rate magnitude on the principal compressive strain rate is observed. These results indicate the direct role of the compressive strain rate field on small-scale mixing structure in reacting flows.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1994

Self-organized spiral and circular waves in premixed gas flames

A diffusive-thermal high Lewis number (Le) gas-phase oscillator has been observed in premixed flames using a lean mixture of butane and oxygen diluted with helium (Le approximately equals 3.0). This reactive-diffusive system exhibits both propagating radial pulsations and rotating spiral waves perhaps analogous to those observed in other excitable media such as the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction.

Pearlman, Howard G.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Self-organized Spiral and Circular Waves in Premixed Gas Flames

A diffusive-thermal high Lewis number (Le) gas-phase oscillator has been observed in premixed flames using a lean mixture of butane and oxygen diluted with helium (Le approx. 3.0). This reactive-diffusive system exhibits both propagating radial pulsations and rotating spiral waves perhaps,analogous to those observed in other excitable media such as the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction.

Pealman, Howard G.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Laser-Induced Incandescence in Microgravity

Knowledge of soot concentration is important due to its presence and impact upon a wide range of combustion processes ranging from diffusion to premixed flames, laminar to turbulent processes and homogeneous to heterogeneous combustion. Measurement of soot volume fraction (f(sub v)) is essential to discerning its formation and growth. The presence of soot also affects other physical and chemical properties of combustion thereby affecting studies not directly concerned with either its formation or growth, such as radiative heat transfer, CO oxidation and fuel vaporization or pyrolysis rates. Microgravity offers unique opportunities for studying both soot growth and the effect of soot radiation upon flame structure and spread. Spatial scales and residence time scales are greatly extended in 0-g facilitating soot growth studies. With the varied geometries, short duration microgravity test times and time-varying processes there is a demand for measurement of f(sub v) with high spatial and temporal resolution. Laser-induced incandescence (LII) has advanced f(sub v) measurements in many 1-g combustion processes. To create laser-induced incandescence, a pulsed high intensity laser heats soot to incandescence temperatures. Using appropriate spectral and temporal detection conditions, the resulting incandescence can be selectively detected apart from the non-laser-heated soot and flame gases. Theoretical modelling and experiments have shown that the resulting incandescence is representative of f(sub v). Using an intensified array camera and a laser sheet for excitation, one- and two-dimensionally resolved LII images of f(sub v) have been obtained in 1-g. LII has been characterized and developed at NASA-Lewis for soot volume fraction determination in a wide range of 1-g combustion applications. Broadly grouped, the characterization work has included studies of excitation intensity, excitation wavelength and the optimum temporal and spectral detection conditions to enable an accurate representation of soot volume fraction by LII. Tests for special requirements imposed by different combustion processes have been performed in laminar and turbulent diffusion flames, rich sooting premixed flames, single droplet combustion, and other heterogeneous combustion. These studies demonstrated LII's high sensitivity, temporal and spatial capabilities and its geometric versatility. In contrast to the advantages offered to combustion studies by a microgravity environment, advanced diagnostics, specifically those requiring pulsed laser diagnostics have been limited due to the size, weight and power limitations in a low-gravity environment. Reported here are the first demonstrations of LII performed in a microgravity environment. Examples are shown for laminar and turbulent gas-jet diffusion flames in 0-g.

VanderWal, Randy L.↗
DOE OSTI2022

The effects of turbulence on the flame structure and NO formation of ammonia turbulent premixed combustion at various equivalence ratios

Ammonia is carbon-free and is regarded as a potential fuel to address global warming issues. Here, in this work, three-dimensional direct numerical simulations (DNS) of ammonia/air turbulent premixed flames were performed to explore the influence of turbulence and equivalence ratio on the flame structure and NO formation characteristics. Two equivalence ratios were considered, i.e. Φ=0.9 and Φ=1.1. The general flame structures were presented and species distributions were examined. The NO mass fraction was found to be the highest in the product for the lean case and in the reaction zone for the rich case. The conditional mean values of species mass fractions and reaction rates were compared with those of the unstrained and strained laminar premixed flames to explore how well the laminar flame structures can approach those of the turbulent flame. The budget analysis of the species transport equations showed that turbulent diffusion plays an important role in species transport. The turbulent diffusivity D T was estimated using the gradient hypothesis based on the DNS data. Various laminar flame simulations with different diffusivities were carried out. It was shown that the conditional means of the DNS agree well with those of the laminar flames including D T in the transport property calculation. The global and local NO formation characteristics were investigated. It was found that the mean NO production conditioned on the progress variable is lower compared with the corresponding laminar flame in the rich case. However, the relative contributions from various NO pathways are rarely affected by turbulence. The NO mass fraction is higher in negative curvature regions compared with positive curvature regions of the flame surface for the rich case, which is due to the preferential diffusion of H 2 and other radicals and the enhanced NO pathways in negatively curved regions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1999

Premixed-Gas Flame Propagation in Hele-Shaw Cells

It is well known that buoyancy and thermal expansion affect the propagation ra and shapes of premixed gas flames. The understanding of such effects is complicated by the large density ratio between the reactants and products, which induces a baroclinic production of vorticity due to misalignment of density and pressure gradients at the front, which in turn leads to a complicated multi-dimensional flame/flow interaction. The Hele-Shaw cell, i.e., the region between closely-spaced flat parallel plates, is probably the simplest system in which multi-dimensional convection is presents consequently, the behavior of fluids in this system has been studied extensively (Homsy, 1987). Probably the most important characteristic of Hele-Shaw flows is that when the Reynolds number based on gap width is sufficiently small, the Navier-Stokes equations averaged over the gap reduce to a linear relation, namely a Laplace equation for pressure (Darcy's law). In this work, flame propagation in Hele-Shaw cells is studied to obtain a better understanding of buoyancy and thermal expansion effects on premixed flames. This work is also relevant to the study of unburned hydrocarbon emissions produced by internal combustion engines since these emissions are largely a result of the partial burning or complete flame quenching in the narrow, annular gap called the "crevice volume" between the piston and cylinder walls (Heywood, 1988). A better understanding of how flames propagate in these volumes through experiments using Hele-Shaw cells could lead to identification of means to reduce these emissions.

Sharif, J.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Field Effects of Buoyancy on Lean Premixed Turbulent Flames

The study of field effects of buoyancy on premixed turbulent flames is directed towards the advancement of turbulent combustion theory and the development of cleaner combustion technologies. Turbulent combustion is considered the most important unsolved problem in combustion science and laboratory studies of turbulence flame processes are vital to theoretical development. Although buoyancy is dominant in laboratory flames, most combustion models are not yet capable to consider buoyancy effects. This inconsistency has impeded the validation of theories and numerical simulations with experiments. Conversely, the understanding of buoyancy effects is far too limited to help develop buoyant flame models. Our research is also relevant to combustion technology because lean premixed combustion is a proven method to reduce the formation of oxides of nitrogen (NOx). In industrial lean premixed combustion systems, their operating conditions make them susceptible to buoyancy thus affecting heat distribution, emissions, stability, flashback and blowoff. But little knowledge is available to guide combustion engineers as to how to avoid or overcome these problems. Our hypothesis is that through its influence on the mean pressure field, buoyancy has direct and indirect effects on local flame/turbulence interactions. Although buoyancy acts on the hot products in the farfield the effect is also felt in the nearfield region upstream of the flame. These changes also influence the generation and dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy inside the flame brush and throughout the flowfield. Moreover, the plume of an open flame is unstable and the periodic fluctuations make additional contributions to flame front dynamics in the farfield. Therefore, processes such as flame wrinkling, flow acceleration due to heat release and flame- generated vorticity are all affected. Other global flame properties (e.g. flame stabilization limits and flame speed) may all be coupled to buoyancy. This problem poses major challenges to combustion modeling due to its need for a computation domain extending into the farfield and full specifications of upstream, wall and downstream boundary conditions.

Cheng, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Soot Formation in Laminar Premixed Methane/Oxygen Flames at Atmospheric Pressure

Flame structure and soot formation were studied within soot-containing laminar premixed methanefoxygen flames at atmospheric pressure. The following measurements were made: soot volume fractions by laser extinction, soot temperatures by multiline emission, gas temperatures (where soot was absent) by corrected fine-wire thermocouples, soot structure by thermophoretic sampling and transmission electron microscope (TEM), major gas species concentrations by sampling and gas chromatography, and gas velocities by laser velocimetry. Present measurements of gas species concentrations were in reasonably good agreement with earlier measurements due to Ramer et al. as well as predictions based on the detailed mechanisms of Frenklach and co-workers and Leung and Lindstedt; the predictions also suggest that H atom concentrations are in local thermodynamic equilibrium throughout the soot formation region. Using this information, it was found that measured soot surface growth rates could be correlated successfully by predictions based on the hydrogenabstraction/carbon-addition (HACA) mechanisms of both Frenklach and co-workers and Colket and Hall, extending an earlier assessment of these mechanisms for premixed ethylene/air flames to conditions having larger H/C ratios and acetylene concentrations. Measured primary soot particle nucleation rates were somewhat lower than the earlier observations for laminar premixed ethylene/air flames and were significantly lower than corresponding rates in laminar diffusion flames, for reasons that still must be explained.

Xu, F.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Soot Formation in Laminar Premixed Methane/Oxygen Flames at Atmospheric Pressure

Flame structure and soot formation were studied within soot-containing laminar premixed mc1hane/oxygen flames at atmospheric pressure. The following measurements were made: soot volume fractions by laser extinction, soot temperatures by multiline emission, gas temperatures (where soot was absent) by corrected fine-wire thermocouples, soot structure by thermophoretic sampling and transmission electron microscope (TEM), major gas species concentrations by sampling and gas chromatography, and gas velocities by laser velocimetry. Present measurements of gas species concentrations were in reasonably good agreement with earlier measurements due to Ramer et al. as well as predictions based on the detailed mechanisms of Frenklach and co-workers and Leung and Lindstedt: the predictions also suggest that H atom concentrations are in local thermodynamic equilibrium throughout the soot formation region. Using this information, it was found that measured soot surface growth rates could be correlated successfully by predictions based on the hydrogen-abstraction/carbon-addition (HACA) mechanisms of both Frenklach and co-workers and Colket and Hall, extending an earlier assessment of these mechanisms for premixed ethylene/air flames to conditions having larger H/C ratios and acetylene concentrations. Measured primary soot particle nucleation rates were somewhat lower than the earlier observations for laminar premixed ethylene/air flames and were significantly lower than corresponding rates in laminar diffusion flames. for reasons that still must be explained.

Xu, F.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Aerodynamic features of flames in premixed gases

A variety of experimentally established flame phenomena in premixed gases are interpreted by relating them to basic aerodynamic properties of the flow field. On this basis the essential mechanism of some well known characteristic features of flames stabilized in the wake of a bluff-body or propagating in ducts are revealed. Elementary components of the flame propagation process are shown to be: rotary motion, self-advancement, and expansion. Their consequences are analyzed under a most strict set of idealizations that permit the flow field to be treated as potential in character, while the flame is modelled as a Stefan-like interface capable of exerting a feed-back effect upon the flow field. The results provide an insight into the fundamental fluid-mechanical reasons for the experimentally observed distortions of the flame front, rationalizing in particular its ability to sustain relatively high flow velocities at amazingly low normal burning speeds.

Oppenheim, A. K.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Premixed Flame-Vortex Interactions Imaged in Microgravity

A unique experiment makes it now possible to obtain detailed images in microgravity showing how an individual vortex causes the wrinkling, stretching, area increase, and eventual extinction of a premixed flame. The repeatable, controllable flame-vortex interaction represents the fundamental building block of turbulent combustion concepts. New information is provided that is central to turbulent flame models, including measurements of all components of flame stretch, strain, and vorticity. Simultaneous measurements of all components of these quantities are not possible in fully turbulent flames but are possible in the present axisymmetric, repeatable experiment. Advanced PIV diagnostics have been used at one-g and have been developed for microgravity. Numerical simulations of the interaction are being performed at NRL. It is found that microgravity conditions greatly augment the flame wrinkling process. Flame area and the amplitude of wrinkles at zero-g are typically twice that observed at one-g. It is inferred that turbulent flames in microgravity could have larger surface area and thus propagate significantly faster than those in one-g, which is a potential safety hazard. A new mechanism is identified by PIV images that shows how buoyancy retards flame wrinkling at one-g; buoyancy produces new vorticity (due to baroclinic torques) that oppose the wrinkling and the stretch imposed by the original vortex. Microgravity conditions remove this stabilizing mechanism and the amplitude of flame wrinkling typically is found to double. Microgravity also increases the flame speed by a factor of 1.8 to 2.2. Both methane and propane-air flames were studied at the NASA Lewis drop tower. Results indicate that it is important to add buoyancy to models of turbulent flames to simulate the correct flame wrinkling, stretch and burning velocity.

Driscoll, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Detailed Studies on Flame Extinction by Inert Particles in Normal- and Micro-gravity

The combustion of dusty flows has been studied to lesser extent than pure gas phase flows and sprays. Particles can have a strong effect by modifying the dynamic response and detailed structure of flames through the dynamic, thermal, and chemical couplings between the two phases. A rigorous understanding of the dynamics and structure of two-phase flows can be attained in stagnation flow configurations, which have been used by others to study spray combustion as well as reacting dusty flows. In earlier studies on reacting dusty flows, the thermal coupling between the two phases as well as the effect of gravity on the flame response were not considered. However, in Ref. 6, the thermal coupling between chemically inert particles and the gas was addressed in premixed flames. The effects of gravity was also studied showing that it can substantially affect the profiles of the particle velocity, number density, mass flux, and temperature. The results showed a strong dynamic and thermal dependence of reacting dusty flows to particle number density. However, the work was only numerical and limited to twin-flames, stagnation, premixed flames. In Ref. 7 the effects of chemically inert particle clouds on the extinction of strained premixed and non-premixed flames were studied both experimentally and numerically at 1-g. It was shown and explained that large particles can cause more effective flame cooling compared to smaller particles. The effects of flame configuration and particle injection orientation were also addressed. The complexity of the coupling between the various parameters in such flows was demonstrated and it was shown that it was impossible to obtain a simple and still meaningful scaling that captured all the pertinent physics.

Andac, M. G.↗