Flame stabilization by a highly conductive cylinder: Multiple steady-state solutions and dynamics

Abstract

This study examines stabilization of a premixed flame by a circular cylinder placed perpendicularly to the uniform flow of the reacting mixture. It is assumed that the cylinder has a high thermal conductivity leading to an effectively uniform surface temperature. This temperature is not fixed, but it is determined by a thermal flame-cylinder balance. The numerical investigation is carried out on the basis of low Mach number Navier– Stokes equations coupled with the conservation equations for the energy and the fuel mass. Two models for transport coefficients are compared. The first model assumes they have constant values, and the second takes into account their change with temperature.

Numerical modeling shows that within the specific range of parameters of this study the system can have several steady-state solutions corresponding to different cylinder temperatures. Moreover, at least two solutions are shown to be stable, corresponding to the hottest and coldest cylinder temperatures. The actual occurrence of one or another regime depends on the initial conditions.