We experimentally study the hydrodynamic instability of a lean-premixed flame stabilized behind a circular cylinder. On reducing the equivalence ratio () at a fixed Reynolds number (ReD), we find that the flame transitions from a steady mode to a varicose mode and then to a sinuous mode. By examining time-resolved CH* chemiluminescence images and analyzing how the Strouhal number scales with ReD, we determine that the varicose mode is convectively unstable, maintained by the amplification of disturbances in the turbulent base flow, whereas the sinuous mode is globally unstable as a result of the constructive interaction between the two diametrically opposite shear layers (Bénard–von Kármán instability). We attribute the emergence of the sinuous global mode to the flame moving sufficiently far downstream with decreasing that it is out of the wavemaker region. Finally, we investigate the lean blowoff dynamics and find that local flame pinch-off, which occurs at the end of the recirculation zone, is a reliable precursor of global flame blowoff.
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March 2021
Research Article|
March 03 2021
Global hydrodynamic instability and blowoff dynamics of a bluff-body stabilized lean-premixed flame Available to Purchase
Special Collection:
Turbulent and Multiphase Flows
Manikandan Balasubramaniyan
;
Manikandan Balasubramaniyan
1
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong
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Abhijit Kushwaha;
Abhijit Kushwaha
1
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong
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Yu Guan
;
Yu Guan
c)
1
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong
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Jianchang Feng;
Jianchang Feng
2
Combustion, Internal Flow and Thermo-Structure Laboratory, Northwestern Polytechnical University
, Xi'an, China
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Peijin Liu
;
Peijin Liu
a)
2
Combustion, Internal Flow and Thermo-Structure Laboratory, Northwestern Polytechnical University
, Xi'an, China
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Vikrant Gupta
;
Vikrant Gupta
b)
3
Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
, Shenzhen, China
4
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Turbulence Research and Applications, Southern University of Science and Technology
, Shenzhen, China
5
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory
, Guangzhou, China
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Larry K. B. Li
Larry K. B. Li
c)
1
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong
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Manikandan Balasubramaniyan
1
Abhijit Kushwaha
1
Yu Guan
1,c)
Jianchang Feng
2
Peijin Liu
2,a)
Vikrant Gupta
3,4,5,b)
Larry K. B. Li
1,c)
1
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong
2
Combustion, Internal Flow and Thermo-Structure Laboratory, Northwestern Polytechnical University
, Xi'an, China
3
Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology
, Shenzhen, China
4
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Turbulence Research and Applications, Southern University of Science and Technology
, Shenzhen, China
5
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory
, Guangzhou, China
a)
Electronic mail: [email protected]
b)
Electronic mail: [email protected]
Note: This paper is part of the special topic on Turbulent and Multiphase Flows.
Physics of Fluids 33, 034103 (2021)
Article history
Received:
September 12 2020
Accepted:
January 27 2021
Citation
Manikandan Balasubramaniyan, Abhijit Kushwaha, Yu Guan, Jianchang Feng, Peijin Liu, Vikrant Gupta, Larry K. B. Li; Global hydrodynamic instability and blowoff dynamics of a bluff-body stabilized lean-premixed flame. Physics of Fluids 1 March 2021; 33 (3): 034103. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0029168
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