Conditional Source-term Estimation (CSE) is a turbulent combustion model which uses conditional averages to provide closure for the mean chemical source term and is based on the same ideas as the Conditional Moment Closure (CMC) approach. CSE applies first order closure for the conditional averages which are obtained by inverting an integral equation and has been used to simulate a range of premixed, non-premixed and partially premixed flames. In the present study, CSE is applied to investigate a high efficient, low emission combustion process called Moderate and Intense Low Oxygen Dilution (MILD) combustion. This work represents the first application of CSE for MILD combustion, the first application of a multi-stream CSE formulation and the first doubly-conditioned CSE formulation applied in the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) framework. The objectives of the present study are to i) investigate the CSE combustion model for turbulent non-premixed combustion, ii) develop a CSE formulation for MILD combustion problems, iii) implement CSE for MILD combustion problems in Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and LES and iv) compare the CSE predictions to experimental and previous numerical results for well documented MILD combustion flames. Numerical simulations of a confined non-premixed methane flame are completed using the CSE non-premixed approach. This study investigates the sensitivity to various CSE model parameters and shows CSE is able to accurately predict non-premixed methane combustion. A detailed study of the inversion problem encountered in CSE is also investigated using the Bayesian framework. The origin of the perturbation seen in the unconditional mass fraction in CSE and the impact of a smoothing prior on the recovered solution and credible intervals are discussed. Different regularization methods are studied and it is shown that both zeroth and first order Tikhonov are promising regularization methods for CSE. In the present work, the non-premixed CSE formulation is extended to include the impact of radiation of the conditional reaction rates and is applied to a semi-industrial furnace. This study demonstrates that a RANS-CSE simulation is able to accurately predict the temperature and species concentration, including NOx, for large scale realistic furnace configurations. Finally, a multi-stream CSE formulation is developed and applied to the DJHC burners in the RANS and LES framework. This new CSE formulation is able to predict the temperature and velocity profiles in very good agreement with the experimental data. Further, the LES multi-stream CSE formulation is able to predict the time-dependent nature of the DHJC burners.

Conditional Source-term Estimation (CSE) is a closure technique for modelling turbulent combustion phenomena. CSE uses the Conditional Moment Closure (CMC) hypothesis for closing chemical source terms: conditionally averaged chemical source terms are closed by conditional averaged scalars, which are obtained by inverting an integral equation, instead of solving transport equations (as in CMC). Since CSE has been successfully applied to both premixed and non-premixed configurations, it represents an attractive method for dealing with the more general and complex case of partially premixed combustion. The objectives of the present study are to (i) consolidate the premixed formulation of CSE through numerical simulations of a turbulent bluff body premixed flame; (ii) formulate, implement and test the Doubly conditional CSE (DCSE) in the context of partially premixed combustion; (iii) compare the DCSE predictions with well documented turbulent partially premixed flames. The canonical example of partially premixed flames is represented by turbulent lifted flames. A series of lifted turbulent jet flames is investigated in RANS by using DCSE. The DCSE calculations are successful in predicting the lift-off heights at three different conditions and reproducing many aspects of the flame structure in agreement with the experimental observations. The current results show that important aspects of the stabilization mechanism can be reproduced by the DCSE combustion model. The applicability of DCSE is further evaluated by applying this approach to a series of turbulent V-shaped flames for which experimental data is available. Premixed and stratified conditions are investigated. Overall, the agreement between numerical results and experimental findings is good, demonstrating the capability of DCSE to deal with partially premixed combustion. Future work includes implementation of CSE in LES and investigation of different fuels such as propane and biofuels.

Conditional Source-term Estimation (CSE) methods are used to obtain chemical closure in turbulent combustion simulation. A Laminar Flamelet Decomposition (LFD) and then a Trajectory Generated Low-Dimensional Manifold (TGLDM) method are combined with CSE in Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) simulation of non-premixed autoigniting jets. Despite the scatter observed in the experimental data, the predictions of ignition delay from both methods agree reasonably well with the measurements. The discrepancy between predictions of these two methods can be attributed to different ways of generating libraries that contain information of detailed chemical mechanism. The CSE-TGLDM method is recommended for its seemingly better performance and its ability to transition from autoignition to combustion. The effects of fuel composition and injection parameters on ignition delay are studied using the CSE-TGLDM method. The CSE-TGLDM method is then applied in Large Eddy Simulation of a non-premixed, piloted jet flame, Sandia Flame D. The adiabatic CSE-TGLDM method is extended to include radiation by introducing a variable enthalpy defect to parameterize TGLDM manifolds. The results are compared to the adiabatic computation and the experimental data. The prediction of NO formation is improved, though the predictions of temperature and major products show no significant difference from the adiabatic computation due to the weak radiation of the flame. The scalar fields are then extracted and used to predict the mean spectral radiation intensities of the flame. Finally, the application of CSE in turbulent premixed combustion is explored. A product-based progress variable is chosen for conditioning. Presumed Probability Density Function (PDF) models for the progress variable are studied. A modified version of a laminar flame-based PDF model is proposed, which best captures the distribution of the conditional variable among all PDFs under study. A priori tests are performed with the CSE.

Fundamentals of Low Emission Flameless Combustion and Its Applications is a comprehensive reference on the flameless combustion mode and its industrial applications, considering various types of fossil and alternative fuel. Several experimental and numerical accomplishments on the fundamentals of state-of-the-art flameless combustion is presented, working to clarify the environmentally friendly aspects of this combustion mode. Author Dr. Hosseini presents the latest progresses in the field and highlights the most important achievements since invention, including the fundamentals of thermodynamics, heat transfer and chemical kinetics. Also analyzed is fuel consumption reduction and the efficiency of the system, emissions formation and the effect of the flameless mode on emission reduction.This book provides a solid foundation for those in industry employing flameless combustion for energy conservation and the mitigation of pollutant emissions. It will provide engineers and researchers in energy system engineering, chemical engineering, industrial engineers and environmental engineering with a reliable resource on flameless combustion and may also serve as a textbook for senior graduate students. - Presents the fundamentals of flameless combustion and covers advances since its invention - Includes experimental and numerical investigations of flameless combustion - Analyzes emission formation and highlights the effects of the flameless mode on emission reduction