Numerical Investigation on the Effect of Porosity Distribution on the Flame Characteristics

The low velocity filtration combustion of a lean methane/air mixture in the fixed bed reactors is numerically investigated using the system scale method. The effect of porosity on the flame characteristics, such as temperature profile, flame displacement speed and flame shape is examined in this study. For comparison, porosity is considered in two forms, i.e., volumetric average porosity (VAP) and porosity spatial distribution function (PSDF). The simulation results show that, local distribution of porosity primarily affects the flame shape, while having minimal impact on the peak flame temperature and mean flame displacement velocity. Quantitative analysis indicates that the flame displacement velocity obtained using VAP is closer to the experimental data compared to the PSDF. However, the simulation with PSDF explicitly captures the flame front bending caused by local porosity variation. Velocity and temperature fields suggests that flame front bending predominantly depends on the local flame displacement speed (LFDS), which is the vector sum of local interstitial airflow speed and the laminar flame speed of the combustible gas. The radial difference in LFDS, which is associated with uniformity in velocity and temperature fields, serves as the main driving force for flame front instability. The inclusion of PSDF enables a more accurate prediction of flame front development by capturing the preferential flow near the wall.