Premixed Flames

A nonpremixed flame is supported by the stoichiometric, counterdiffusion of

fuel and oxidizer. Thus, once ignited, a nonpremixed flame will situate itself
somewhere between the fuel and oxidizer sources in order to satisfy this
stoichiometry requirement. However, once ignition is achieved in a combustible
fuel–oxidizer mixture, the resulting premixed flame tends to propagate into and
consume the unburned mixture, if unrestrained through some aerodynamic means.
Thus a premixed flame is a wave phenomenon.
In this chapter we shall study the simplest, idealized mode of wave propagation,
namely the steady propagation of a one-dimensional, planar, adiabatic, wave relative
to a stationary, combustible mixture in the doubly infinite domain. We shall call
such a wave a standard wave or standard flame. In Section 7.1 we shall identify all
such possible waves by constraining, through the conservation of mass, momentum,
and energy, the states far upstream and downstream of the wave where the
nonequilibrium processes of diffusion and reaction both vanish. Such an analysis
yields the Rankine–Hugoniot relations, which show that two classes of waves can
propagate in a combustible mixture, namely subsonic deflagration waves and
supersonic, detonation waves. These waves have distinctively different properties.
Since the wave structure is not described at the level of the Rankine–Hugoniot
analysis, the problem is not closed in that the crucial parameter of the wave
response, namely the wave propagation speed, needs to be given. It can be
determined only by analyzing the wave structure. In this and several subsequent
chapters, we shall first analyze the structure and propagation of deflagration waves,
commonly called laminar premixed flames. This parameter is usually called the
laminar flame speed or the laminar burning velocity. It is a unique property of a
mixture, indicating its reactivity and exothermicity in a given diffusive medium.
Furthermore, since it contains the physicochemical information of the mixture, many
premixed flame phenomena, such as extinction, flash back, blowoff, and turbulent
flame propagation.
We note in passing that while we shall use “laminar flame speed” and “laminar
burning velocity” interchangeably throughout the text, whenever possible we shall
use the former when referring to flame motion and the latter to flame property.

Content：
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 (1)Combustion Waves in Premixtures
(2)Equations of combustion waves
(3) Dependence of laminar burning velocity
(4) Chemical structure of flames

1 Combustion Waves in Premixtures

Combustion wave: combustion flames liking a wave can be propagated in
premixed gas. There are two kinds of combustion waves:
Deflagration Waves, Detonation Waves.
1.1 Deflagration Waves: 爆燃
Example：premixed gas is ignited in an opened tube, and the combustion wave will
propagate from one end to another end.
Definition ： The temperature of gas will rise because of the heat conducted from
combustion gas. and the combustion flames can propagate because of the
premixed gas reaction. The velocity of wave is less than 100m/s (less than
velocity of sound). The propagation of wave is stable.
Propagate mechanism:（two kinds of mechanism）
（1）Heat conduct mechanism：heat can conducted from high temperature gas
(combusted gas) to low temperature premixed gas. the temperature of
non-combusted premixed gas will rise, the react velocity of gas also will
rise.
（2）Diffuse mechanism: the active molecule with high temperature diffuse to
premixed gas, so the react velocity of premixed gas will rise.

1.2 Detonation Waves: 爆轰

Example ： premixed gas is ignited in a tube. If the end of tube is closed. the
combustion flames can propagate with very high velocity.
Definition ： The temperature, react velocity of gas will rise because of the
compression of shock wave. The velocity of wave is great than 1000m/s
(great than velocity of sound). The propagation of wave is stable.
Propagate mechanism:：depend the compression of shock wave
（1） The expansion of combustion production can be confined because the end
of tube is closed. So pressure will rise and the shock wave is produced.

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（2） The propagate velocity of later wave is great than the propagate velocity
of early wave, so all shock waves will be superposited.
（3） The compressed wave is produced uninterruptedly because the premixed
gas combust uninterruptedly, so the stable Detonation Waves is
formed.
Parameters of two kinds of combustion waves
parameters Detonation Waves Deflagration Waves
5～10 0.001～0.03
Velocity of wave

0.4～0.7 4～16
Ratio of velocity

13～55 0.98～0.976
Ratio of pressure

8～21 4～16
Ratio of temperature

1.4～2.6 0.06～0.25
Ratio of density

（1: reactant, 2: production）

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2 Equations of combustion waves
the combustion wave can be considered as an interface between
combusted gas and non-combusted premixed gas.

1(u):reactant; 2(b):production
Equations:
Mass equation： （6－1）
momentum equaion： （6－2）

energy equation： （6－3）

gas equation： （6－4）

Parameters：
（1）known parameters(5)：
（2）non-known parameters(5)：
There are four equations and five non-known parameters, so they
can not be solved.
When parameters of primary state is determinated, we can analyze the changes
of parameter in finally state.

2.1 Hugoniot equation

equation（6－1）and （6－2）can be changed：

（6－5）

(6-5)can be substituted in equation （ 6 － 3 ） （ specific heat

ratio）：

（6－6）

（1）when primary state parameters( ) are given, the relation

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 of can be obtained.
（2）the H line will change if q change.q=0，adiabatic。
（3）no influence of velocity。
2.2 Rankine equation
（6－1）and （6－2） can be changed：
（6－7）
（6－8）
（1）when primary state parameters ( )are given, the relation of

can be obtained.

（2）the curve of is a line.

（3）influence of velocity。

fig6－3 Hugoniot line fig6－4 Rankine line

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2.3Combustion Waves in Premixtures

when the primary state （ ） is given ， the finally state （ ） should be

图 6－5 终态参数分析简图
satisfied with Hugoniot-line and Rankine-line(point of intersection of H-line and
R-line).

Ⅰsection:strong detonation.
Ⅱsection：weak detonation.波后燃烧产物的压力、密度比波前预混气的压
力、密度要高，为爆轰波。
Ⅲsection： 。
Ⅳsection: weak deflagration
Ⅴsection：strong deflagration.波后燃烧产物的压力、密度比波前预混气
的压力、密度要低，为爆燃波。
（1）E： ，
（2）F：
（3）J、K：v＝a（velocity of sound）

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 图 6－5 终态参数分析简图

3 Dependence of laminar burning velocity

Out of the various methods of flame speed measurement presented above, the
Bunsen burner method with contoured nozzle, the flat flame method with heat
extraction, and the stagnation flame method have been extensively used for flame
speed determination for atmospheric and near-atmospheric flames, while the
spherical flame method has been used for both atmospheric and high pressure
flames. Extensive investigations have been conducted on the dependence of the
flame speed on the various physicochemical parameters of the mixture.

3.1 Dependence on Molecular Structure

Next to the adiabatic flame temperature, the molecular structure of the fuel
could also have a strong influence on the laminar flame speed. To assess the extent
of such an influence, we compare the computed laminar flame speeds of ethane,
ethylene, and acetylene with air at atmospheric pressure, recognizing that the
chemical reactivity increases from ethane to acetylene.
Such a comparison, however, is not conclusive because of the corresponding
increase in the adiabatic flame temperatures for these three fuels. Therefore for an
unambiguous assessment, the laminar flame speeds of ethylene and acetylene are
calculated with nitrogen dilution to such an extent that the adiabatic flame
temperature of the respective stoichiometric mixture matches that of the ethane–air
mixture. This eliminates the flame temperature effect for the stoichiometric mixture
and minimizes it for the off-stoichiometric mixtures.

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3.2 Dependence on Pressure

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3.3 Dependence on Freestream Temperature
The upstream temperature affects the flame speed in three ways. The first factor
is through the adiabatic flame temperature Tad = Tu + (qc/cp)Yu, which influences
the reaction rate. For low and small changes in the upstream temperature the
influence is not expected to be strong because the chemical heat release, represented
by qc, is much larger than the thermal energy contained in the upstream flow. For
larger values of Tu the dependence is more sensitive because of the Arrhenius factor.

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4 Chemical structure of flames
It is instructive to recapitulate what we have studied so far on the standard
premixed flame. We have focused on the theoretical derivation and experimental
determination of the laminar burning velocity. The derivation is based on a flame
structure that consists of a broad, diffusive-convective, preheat zone, followed by a
much narrower diffusive-reactive zone within which a one-step, large-activation-
energy reaction takes place, with the attendant heat release. Hence chemical
activation and heat release occur in the same narrow region at the downstream end
of the flame structure. We subsequently presented the experimentally and
computationally determined laminar burning velocities (in the latter case detailed
chemistry was used) and interpreted these data on the basis of the theoretically
derived expression for the laminar burning velocity. It was emphasized that chain
mechanisms, which are inherently multistepped, can profoundly affect the overall
kinetic parameters used by the theory. Such an understanding not only points to the
quantitative and for certain situations qualitative inadequacy of the one-step reaction
used in the formulation, but it also argues against the physical realism of the
associated two-zone flame structure for three reasons. First, since chain mechanisms
frequently consist of large-activation-energy branching reactions that are
temperature sensitive, and terminating reactions that may not be temperature
sensitive, as noted earlier, a chain mechanism may spread out over the entire flame
structure, with the terminating reactions being effective also in the relatively low-
temperature, preheat zone. Second, since some of these terminating reactions can be
highly exothermic, the heat release profile within the flame structure is
correspondingly affected. Third, chemical activation is purely thermal in nature for
the one-step reaction, and occurs at the downstream end of the preheat zone where
the temperature is close to that of the flame. However, from our studies of kinetic
mechanisms we know that chemical activation is frequently initiated through the
agency of radicals. These radicals can be produced in the high-temperature region of
the flame structure and back diffuse to the colder region to initiate the reaction. This
again implies the need for a more detailed description of the reaction mechanism
and hence flame structure beyond that of the one-step.
In the following we shall first discuss the chemical structure using detailed
mechanisms. Both the standard premixed flame and the counterflow nonpremixed
flame will be studied and contrasted, after a brief discussion of the experimental
aspects of studying the flame structure.We shall demonstrate that while
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homogeneous kinetics is preserved in the diffusive environment of flames, species
transport plays an essential role in the flame structure. We shall then present results
of the flame structure analysis based on reduced mechanisms, obtained by using
asymptotics.

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Example:

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