CFD Simulation of Confined Non-Premixed Flames

Abstract

Material processing furnaces are the key component of the manufacturing industries. The burners used in these furnaces require precise control over the flame structure such as flame shape, height, and width. This study mainly focused on the simulation of the flame structure with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach. ANSYS Fluent 13.0 was used to predict the flame characteristics in an enclosed cylinder. Non-premixed combustion model was applied to this combustion phenomenon. To control the flame structure, a micro jet at the centre of the burner is introduced. The effect on flame parameters with varying flow rates of micro jet, fuel jet and co-flow jet is examined. This study confirms the experimental study by Sinha et al. [1], which concluded that an air micro jet at the center of a non-premixed flame can control the flame height and luminosity. Moreover, this paper visualizes the thermo chemistry and transport phenomenon of non-premixed combustion process. Emissions from the combustion are monitored for different boundary conditions. This study shows that innovative strategies can be developed for the precise control over the different types of flames with the help of numerical modeling.