Experimental investigation and numerical analysis on flame stabilization of CH4/air mixture in a mesoscale channel with wall cavities

Behaviors of premixed CH4/air flame in mesoscale channels with and without cavities were experimentally investigated. No stable symmetric flame was observed in the channel without cavities and flame is prone to inclining and pulsating. In contrast, flame can be effectively anchored in the presence of cavities. When the inlet velocity is increased sufficiently high, curved fluctuating flame front appears. Blow-off limits of the channel with cavities are several times larger than the corresponding burning velocity of incoming CH4/air mixture, while the flashback limits are almost the same as the straight channel counterparts. These indicate that the cavities have a strong ability to extend the operational range of inlet velocity. Numerical simulation demonstrates that combined effects, i.e., the formation of recirculation zone and low velocity zone in the cavities, preferential diffusion effect, as well as the preheating effect of upstream inner walls, are major mechanisms responsible for flame stabilization. Furthermore, numerical result reveals that large strain rate and heat loss rate exist at the transition point between the ramped cavity wall and the downstream inner wall, which results in flame splitting at high inlet velocity due to local extinction, and eventually leads to flame blow-off. In summary, the combustion behaviors in the mesoscale channel with cavities strongly depend on the interactions between the reaction zone, conjugate heat exchange and flow field. (C) 2014 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.