Numerical Study on Laminar Burning Velocity and Flame Stability of Premixed Methane/Ethylene/Air Flames

A numerical study on premixed methane/ethylene/air flames with various ethylene fractions and equivalence ratios was conducted at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The effects of ethylene addition on laminar burning velocity, flame structure and flame stability under the condition of lean burning were investigated. The results show that the laminar burning velocity increases with ethylene fraction, especially at a large equivalence ratio. More ethylene addition gives rise to higher concentrations of H, O and OH radicals in the flame, which significantly promotes chemical reactions, and a linear correlation exists between the laminar burning velocity and the maximum H + OH concentration in the reaction zone. With the increase of ethylene fraction, the adiabatic flame temperature is raised, while the inner layer temperature becomes lower, contributing to the enhancement of combustion. Markstein length and Markstein number, representative of the flame stability, increase as more ethylene is added, indicating the tendency of flame stability to improve with ethylene addition.