Combustion instability mitigation by magnetic fields

Time Series and Spectral Analysis of Thermoacoustic Oscillations for Propane-Oxyfuel Combustion in a Swirl-Stabilized, Nonpremixed Combustor

In this study, the time series data for sound pressure and heat release fluctuations were analyzed to establish the stability window of the propane-oxyflames under different operating conditions. The CO2 dilution level and the combustor power density were varied at a fixed global equivalence ratio to investigate the thermoacoustic instability of the flames. The phase difference between the fluctuations and the instantaneous Rayleigh index reveals whether the heat release and pressure fluctuations are coupled, which can result in the amplification of the sound pressure fluctuations. Results showed a negative Rayleigh index and uncoupled fluctuations at low (<40%) and high (>60%) CO2 dilution with coupled fluctuations and sound pressure amplification at intermediate CO2 dilution levels. A peak of varying magnitude appeared in the frequency domain at 465 Hz for both the heat release and pressure fluctuations in the coupled mode. The Strouhal number at different CO2 concentrations revealed a range of vortex-shedding frequencies (300-1000 Hz), suggesting that the coupled mode is vortex-induced. Phase space reconstruction for the sound pressure fluctuations was carried out and it is observed that although the pressure fluctuations are amplified in the coupled mode, limit cycle amplitudes have not been reached. The recorded coupling and uncoupling of the oscillations associated with flame-vortex interactions at certain CO2 concentrations provides a valuable insight on the combustor's dynamics and toward the development of nonpremixed-oxy-flames combustors.

The effect of magnetic field on the performance improvement of a conventional solar still: a numerical study

Due to growing demand for potable water, the improvement of fresh water production systems such as conventional solar stills is a crucial issue. Conventional solar stills are one of the simplest methods of the production of fresh water from saline water; however, they are fairly low-performance devices. Since oxygen is a paramagnetic gas, the humid airflow in a conventional solar still can be controlled by an externally imposed magnetic field. Therefore, this paper presents the effect of magnetic field on the performance improvement of a conventional solar still as a novel technique. The governing equations of the problem are discretized by the finite volume method. The impacts of the applied magnetic field arising from a multilayer solenoid on the streamlines patterns, temperature and mass fraction contours, the production rate of water ([Formula: see text]), and the average heat transfer rate (Nu) are presented at five specified times (cases). The influences of important factors such as intensity (0≤NI≤100000) and location of the magnetic field (X_c=0.15, 0.49, and 0.83) on the heat and mass transfer rates are explored. It is found that the production rate of water and heat transfer rate are increasing functions of magnetic field intensity. For the applied magnetic field with NI = 10⁵and X_c = 0.83 m, water productivity and convective heat transfer rate can be increased by about 43%, 38%, 41%, 40%, and 48% for cases 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively.

Transient analysis of the nonmonotonic response of counterflow laminar diffusion flames in alternating current and step electric fields using a one-dimensional ionic transport model

The electrohydrodynamic response of a counterflow laminar diffusion flame to applied alternating current (ac) electric fields is investigated experimentally and numerically. The flame positions are observed to show typical response to applied ac electric fields with high and moderate frequencies. The flame position does not respond above a threshold frequency corresponding to a certain collision response time, below which it oscillates in phase with the applied electric field. At a very low frequency (less than approximately 1 Hz), however, the flame position is observed to vary nonmonotonically as a function of time. To elucidate the nonmonotonic behaviors, a one-dimensional ionic transport model was employed by applying time-dependent electric fields. The responses of flame positions for ionized layers substituting for counterflow diffusion flames were systematically investigated with respect to one-way ionic wind (OIW) and two-way ionic wind (TIW) models. Consequently, it is demonstrated that the ionic models can produce not only harmonic flame oscillations for relatively low ac frequencies, but also free flame oscillations for stepwise voltages, which originated from the interaction between electrostatic force and ionic wind-induced force in the ionic system for both the OIW and TIW models.

Electrohydrodynamic instability of premixed flames under manipulations of dc electric fields

We report an electrohydrodynamic instability in a premixed stagnation flame under manipulations of a dc electric field. This instability occurs when the electric field strength is at a certain value below the breakdown threshold, which is 0.75 kV/cm in the experimental setup. Above this value the flame front suddenly transits from a substrate-stabilized near-flat shape to a nozzle-stabilized conical surface, accompanied by a jump in the electric current through the flame field. At the transition moment, the flame spontaneously propagates upstream to the nozzle while the flow velocity at the upstream of the flame front decreases to zero, as revealed by high-speed photographs and PIV measurements. These phenomena indicate a transient balance between the fluid inertia and the electric body force around the instability threshold. A quantitative model suggests that the flame instability can be explained by a positive feedback loop, where the electric field applies a nonuniform electric body force, pulling the flame front upstream, and the pulled flame front in turn enhances the local electric body force. The electrohydrodynamic instability occurs when the electric pulling is strong enough and both the growth rates and the magnitudes of the electric body force on flame exceed those of the fluid dynamic pressure.