Dynamics of bluff-body-stabilized lean premixed syngas flames in a meso-scale channel

Direct numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the dynamics of lean premixed syngas flames stabilized by a bluff-body in a meso-scale channel at near blow-off conditions, in order to provide fundamental insights into the physical mechanisms responsible for the critical phenomena. Flames in a two-dimensional meso-scale channel with a square flame holder are adopted as the model configuration, and a syngas mixture at an equivalence ratio of 0.5 with the CO:H ratio of 1 is considered. As the inlet velocity is increased, the initially stable steady flames undergo a transition to an unsteady mode of regular asymmetric fluctuation. When the inlet velocity is further increased, the flame is eventually blown off. Between the regular fluctuation mode and blow-off limit, there exists a narrow range of the inlet velocity where the flames exhibit periodic local extinction and recovery. Approaching further to the blow-off limit, the recovery mode fails to occur but the flame survives as a short kernel attached to the base of the bluff-body, until it is completely extinguished as the attached flames are gradually shrunk towards the bluff-body. The results are systematically compared with the hydrogen flame results reported in our earlier study. Examination of the characteristic time scales of relevant processes provided understanding of key mechanisms responsible for the observed differences, thereby allowing improved description of the local extinction and re-ignition dynamics that are critical to flame stabilization.