Turbulent structure and dynamics of swirled, strongly pulsed jet diffusion flames

The structure and dynamics of swirled, strongly pulsed, turbulent jet diffusion flames were examined experimentally in a co-flow swirl combustor. The dynamics of the large-scale flame structures, including variations in flame dimensions, the degree of turbulent flame puff interaction, and the turbulent flame puff celerity were determined from high-speed imaging of the luminous flame. All of the tests presented here were conducted with a fixed fuel injection velocity at a Reynolds number of 5000. The flame dimensions were generally found to be more impacted by swirl for the cases of longer injection time and faster co-flow flow rate. Flames with swirl exhibited a flame length up to 34% shorter compared to nonswirled flames. Both the turbulent flame puff separation and the flame puff celerity generally decreased when swirl was imposed. The decreased flame length, flame puff separation, and flame puff celerity are consistent with a greater momentum exchange between the flame and the surrounding co-flow, resulting from an increased rate of air entrainment due to swirl. Three scaling relations were developed to account for the impact of the injection time, the volumetric fuel-to-air flow rate ratio, and the jet-on fraction on the visible flame length. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.