Stabilization of a premixed laminar flame on a rotating cylinder

Abstract

This paper investigates the stabilization of a laminar premixed flame on a rotating cylinder. Experiments and DNS are combined to analyze the effects of rotation on the flow topology and flame stabilization. Both experiment and simulation reveal that the usual stabilization pattern (two symmetric flame roots on both sides of the cylinder) is strongly affected by rotation. The flame roots positions on the upper and lower sides of the cylinder are modified with increasing rotation speeds. One of the two flame roots is quenched over a long region. The distance of the flame roots to the flameholder changes with the rotation speed until a bifurcation takes place: at a critical rotation speed, the flame roots merge, and the flame stabilizes upstream of the cylinder. DNS results are used to explain the flame topologies observed experimentally.