Effects of Lewis number on conditional fluid velocity statistics in low Damkohler number turbulent premixed combustion: A direct numerical simulation analysis

The effects of global Lewis number Le on the statistics of fluid velocity components conditional in unburned reactants and fully burned products in the context of Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes simulations have been analysed using a Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) database of statistically planar turbulent premixed flames with a low Damkohler number and Lewis number ranging from 0.34 to 1.2. The conditional velocity statistics extracted from DNS data have been analysed with respect to the well-known Bray-Moss-Libby (BML) expressions which were derived based on bi-modal probability density function of reaction progress variable for high Damkohler number flames. It has been shown that the Lewis number substantially affects the mean velocity and the velocity fluctuation correlation conditional in products, with the effect being particularly pronounced for low Le. As far as the mean velocity and the velocity fluctuation correlation conditional in reactants are concerned, the BML expressions agree reasonably well with the DNS data reported in the present work. Based on a priori analysis of present and previously reported DNS data, the BML expressions have been empirically modified here in order to account for Lewis number effects, and the non-bimodal distribution of reaction progress variable. Moreover, it has been demonstrated for the first time that surface averaged velocity components and Reynolds stresses conditional in unburned reactants can be modelled without invoking expressions involving the Lewis number, as these surface averaged conditional quantities remain approximately equal to their conditionally averaged counterparts in the unburned mixture. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4795548]