With adaptive-grid computational methodologies and judicious use of compressible and low Mach number combustion models, we are carrying out three-dimensional, time-dependent direct numerical simulations of a laboratory-scale turbulent premixed methane burner. In the laboratory experiment, turbulence is generated by a grid located in the throat of a 50mm diameter circular nozzle; swirl is be introduced by four tangential air jets spaced uniformly around the circumference of the nozzle just above the turbulence grid. A premixed methane flame is stabilized above the nozzle in the central core region where a velocity deficit is induced7the swirling flow. The time-dependent flow field inside the nozzle, from the turbulence grid and the high-speed jets, to the nozzle exit plane is simulated using an adaptive-grid embedded-boundary compressible Navier-Stokes solver. The compressible calculation then provides time-dependent boundary conditions for an adaptive low Mach number model of the swirl-stabilized premixed flame. The low Mach model incorporates detailed chemical kinetics and species transport using 20 species and 84 reactions. Laboratory diagnostics available for comparisons include characterizations of the flow field just down stream of the nozzle exit plane, and flame surface statistics, such as mean location, wrinkling and crossing frequencies.

In this paper we study the behavior of a premixed turbulent methane flame in three dimensions using numerical simulation. The simulations are performed using an adaptive time-dependent low Mach number combustion algorithm based on a second-order projection formulation that conserves both species mass and total enthalpy. The species and enthalpy equations are treated using an operator-split approach that incorporates stiff integration techniques for modeling detailed chemical kinetics. The methodology also incorporates a mixture model for differential diffusion. For the simulations presented here, methane chemistry and transport are modeled using the DRM-19 (19-species, 84-reaction) mechanism derived from the GRIMech-1.2 mechanism along with its associated thermodynamics and transport databases. We consider a lean flame with equivalence ratio 0.8 for two different levels of turbulent intensity. For each case we examine the basic structure of the flame including turbulent flame speed and flame surface area. The results indicate that flame wrinkling is the dominant factor leading to the increased turbulent flame speed. Joint probability distributions are computed to establish a correlation between heat release and curvature. We also investigate the effect of turbulent flame interaction on the flame chemistry. We identify specific flame intermediates that are sensitive to turbulence and explore various correlations between these species and local flame curvature. We identify different mechanisms by which turbulence modulates the chemistry of the flame.

This book presents a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art models for turbulent combustion, with special emphasis on the theory, development and applications of combustion models in practical combustion systems. It simplifies the complex multi-scale and nonlinear interaction between chemistry and turbulence to allow a broader audience to understand the modeling and numerical simulations of turbulent combustion, which remains at the forefront of research due to its industrial relevance. Further, the book provides a holistic view by covering a diverse range of basic and advanced topics—from the fundamentals of turbulence–chemistry interactions, role of high-performance computing in combustion simulations, and optimization and reduction techniques for chemical kinetics, to state-of-the-art modeling strategies for turbulent premixed and nonpremixed combustion and their applications in engineering contexts.