A numerical study on the blow-off limit of premixed hydrogen/air flames in a cylindrical micro-combustor

Abstract

In the current work, a numerical study on combustion of premixed H2–air in a micro-cylindrical combustor was carried out and the critical velocity of inlet flow that causes the blow-off was obtained. Furthermore, the effects the equivalence ratio, wall thickness, geometry of combustor and thermal properties of walls on the critical blow-off velocity were studied. The numerical results showed that, increasing the equivalence ratio results in higher critical blow-off velocity. A micro combustor with thicker wall had better flame stability. As the combustor dimeter is decreased the blow-off occur in lower inlet flow velocity. Higher thermal conductivity of walls increases the critical blow-off velocity. In addition, with varying heat convection coefficient (h) and emissivity coefficient (ε) of the walls from 1 to 60 W/m2.K and 0.2 to 0.8 respectively, the critical blow-off velocity is reduced and shows the importance of wall thermal properties in the design and operation of micro-combustors.