Propagation and extinction of subatmospheric counterflow methane flames

Measurements of flame propagation velocities and extinction states in counterflow provide a valuable source of flame data that contain information about fundamental combustion physics. The approach to properly account for stretch effects in counterflow flame measurements through non-intrusive laser-based local velocity characterization was advanced in the mid-80s by Law and coworkers at atmospheric conditions with simple fuels. Subsequently, several research groups have extended the measurements to elevated pressures and complex fuels. However, counterflow flame data at subatmospheric pressures are limited. In the present study, a method is introduced for measuring laminar flame speeds and extinction strain rates in subatmospheric counterflow flames. A numerical study was performed to assess the dynamics of tracer particles used to facilitate measurements. It was found that the particle phase dynamics used in particle velocimetry measurements are not always representative of the underlying gas phase motion due to thermophoresis and insufficient drag, especially at low pressures. A numerical scheme was implemented whereby the computed particle phases were used for proper comparison with measurements and, based on the computed results, to infer the corresponding values of the gas phase. The method was applied to premixed methane/air and non-premixed methane–nitrogen/oxygen flames at pressures as low as 0.1 atm. Complimentary flame structure simulations were carried out which show that the kinetics of formyl radical prompt dissociation strongly impact the computed subatmospheric flames and may influence the validation of unimolecular and bimolecular reactions rate constants when tested against laminar flame data.