Numerical modeling of stationary but developing premixed turbulent flames

A typical stationary premixed turbulent flame is the developing flame, as indicated by the growth of mean flame thickness with distance from flame-stabilization point. The goal of this work is to assess the importance of modeling flame development for RANS simulations of confined stationary premixed turbulent flames. For this purpose, submodels for developing turbulent diffusivity and developing turbulent burning velocity, which were early suggested by our group (FSC model) and validated for expanding spherical flames [4], have been incorporated into the so-called Zimont model of premixed turbulent combustion and have been implemented into the CFD package Fluent 6.2. The code has been run to simulate a stationary premixed turbulent flame stabilized behind a triangular bluff body in a rectangular channel using both the original and extended models. Results of these simulations show that the mean temperature and velocity fields in the flame are markedly affected by the development of turbulent diffusivity and burning velocity.