Measurements and correlations of turbulent burning velocities over wide ranges of fuels and elevated pressures

The implosion technique has been used to extend measurements of turbulent burning velocities over greater ranges of fuels and pressures. Measurements have been made up to 3.5 MPa and at strain rate Markstein numbers as low as 23. The implosion technique, with spark ignition at two opposite wall positions within a fan-stirred spherical bomb is capable of measuring turbulent burning velocities, at higher pressures than is possible with central ignition. Pressure records and schlieren high speed photography define the rate of burning and the smoothed area of the flame front. The first aim of the study was to extend the previous measurements with ethanol and propane-air, with further measurements over wider ranges of fuels and equivalence ratios with mixtures of hydrogen, methane, 10% hydrogen-90% methane, toluene, and i-octane, with air. The second aim was to study further the low turbulence regime in which turbulent burning co-exists with laminar flame instabilities. Correlations are presented of turbulent burning velocity normalised by the effective rms turbulent velocity acting on the flame front, ut=u0k , with the Karlovitz stretch factor, K, for different strain rate Markstein numbers, a decrease in which increases ut=u0k . Experimental correlations are presented for the present measurements, combined with previous ones. Different burning regimes are also identified, extending from that of mixed turbulence/laminar instability at low values of K to that at high values of K, in which ut=u0k is gradually reduced due to increasing localised flame extinctions. © 2012 The Combustion Institute.