Nonlinear analysis of hydrodynamic instability in laminar flames—I. Derivation of basic equations

An asymptotic nonlinear integrodifferential equation is derived for spontaneous instability of the plane front of a laminar flame.If the combustible mixture is deficient in the light component, spontaneous instability will lead to self-turbulization of the flame, and the flame front assumes a strongly nonstationary cellular structure.If there is an excess of the light component, spontaneous instability produces stationary, irregular wrinkles on the flame front, and the flame continues to propagate in a laminar regime.It is shown that in all cases spontaneous instability of the flame implies an increase in its propagation velocity.     

Nonlinear analysis of hydrodynamic instability in laminar flames—II. Numerical experiments

We consider a nonstationary nonlinear integrodifferential equation describing the evolution of a disturbed plane flame front. The following two-dimensional problems are solved numerically: (i) The formation of a wrinkled noncellular laminar flame front under conditions of spontaneous hydrodynamic instability. (ii) The formation of a turbulent cellular flame front under conditions of spontaneous diffusional-thermal instability. (iii) The formation of a turbulent wrinkled-cellular flame front under conditions of spontaneous hydrodynamic and diffusional-thermal instability. We compute the flame front velocity in laminar and turbulent propagation.     

Experiments on velocity augmentation of spherical flames by grids

Using spherical wire mesh screens with a wire diameter d and a mesh size l, an experimental study was carried out involving homogeneous mixtures of propane/air, ethylene/air, acetylene/air and with oxygen enriched air. Streak photographs of the processes were taken, yielding information on the flame propagation speeds inside and outside the screen. The ratio of the two speeds immediately before and after crossing the screen, α, can be interpreted as practically equivalent (for the same “heat release”) to the ratio of flame velocities relative to the unburned gas, i.e. Values of (α − 1) are correlated with the Reynolds number based on the wire thickness d, density and viscosity of the unburned gas and flame propagation speed inside the wire mesh. The experiments were repeated with two and three spheres of different diameters, e.g. inner screen 9 cm in diameter and outer screen 18 cm in diameter or three screens, 9, 13.5 and 18 cm, respectively. The second screen usually added a factor of 2 on the value of α. The third screen produced very little additional effect. The highest value of α we ever obtained for mixtures with air was about 12 (for acetylene/air). With oxygen enriched air the situation is quite different. If the flame velocity of the laminar flame relative to the unburned gas exceeds 2 m/sec, the value of α may increase up to a level corresponding to detonation.     

Laminar dust flames in a reduced-gravity environment

The propagation of laminar dust flames in suspensions of iron in gaseous oxidizers was studied in a low-gravity environment onboard a parabolic flight aircraft. The reduction of buoyancy-induced convective flows and particle settling permitted the measurement of fundamental combustion parameters, such as the burning velocity and the flame quenching distance over a wide range of particle sizes and in different gaseous mixtures. Experimentally measured flame speeds and quenching distances were found in good agreement with theoretical predictions of a simplified analytical model that assumes particles burning in a diffusive mode. However, the comparison of flame speeds in oxygen–argon and oxygen–helium iron suspensions indicates the possibility that fine micron-sized particles burn in the kinetic mode. Furthermore, when the particle spacing is large compared to the scale of the reaction zone, a theoretical analysis suggests the existence of a new so-called discrete flame propagation regime. Discrete flames are strongly dependent on particle density fluctuations and demonstrate directed percolation behavior near flame propagation limits. The experimental observation of discrete flames in particle suspensions will require low levels of gravity over extended periods available only on orbital platforms.     

大长径比固体火箭发动机点火瞬态过程分析

为了定量描述大长径比固体火箭发动机点火滞后期和火焰传播过程,分析了试验压强一时间曲线和升压速率曲线,并利用数值计算对点火瞬态过程进行仿真;根据两条曲线的数学与物理意义推断主装药首次火焰时刻为升压速率上升阶段过零时刻,火焰传播结束时刻为升压速率由上升转下降的极值时刻;数值仿真结果验证了这一推断。该方法简单有效,适用于工程实践。     

Fine structure of interplanetary shock fronts from the data of the BMSW instrument of the PLASMA-F experiment

The paper is concerned with studying the thickness of fronts of 38 interplanetary shocks detected by the BMSW instrument, which is a part of the scientific payload of the SPEKTR-R spacecraft, which was launched into a highly elliptical orbit in 2011. The main parameters of the interplanetary shocks have been calculated as follows: the ratio of thermal pressure to magnetic pressure before the front β, the angle between the shock front normal and the undisturbed magnetic field θ_Bn, the ratio of the shock propagation velocity to the magnetosonic velocity in the undisturbed region M_ms, and the shock front velocity relative to the Earth. It has been shown that the front thickness determined from the plasma parameters approximately matches the front thickness obtained from the magnetic field measurements and lies between 0.5 and 5 proton inertial lengths. In some events, the oscillations have been observed (upstream and downstream of the shock) in plasma parameters and in the magnetic field data. The length has been found to be between 0.5 and 6 proton inertial lengths for the preceding oscillations and between 0.5 and 10 proton inertial lengths for the following oscillations. The average value of the proton inertial length is 62 km.     

Prediction of turbulent diffusion flames with a four-equation turbulence model

For turbulent flame prediction a four-equation turbulence model consisting of the turbulent kinetic energy, the dissipation rate and the density-velocity correlations using unweighted statistics is suggested. The fluctuating concentrations are taken into account by using Spalding's (1971) equation for the variance of the mixture fraction f and by defining the probability density function of f as beta-function. The thermodynamic model for the combustion of H₂ with air assumes infinitely fast reaction in a global single step. Preliminary results are shown for the calculation of Kent and Bilger (1972) turbulent H₂-air diffusion flame. For this flame with fluctuating density the inclusion of the velocity-density correlations appears to be essential, because they have a strong effect especially on the development of the turbulent viscosity and the mean velocity and mass fraction profiles. Consequently the mean concentrations are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Statistical Approach to the Evaluation of the Mean Correlation Length and the Propagation Velocity of Middle-Scale Plasma Structures in the Earth's Foreshock

Based on simultaneous measurements of ion fluxes made onboard the closely separated satellites Interball-1and Magion-4, the propagation velocity of middle-scale plasma structures in the Earth's foreshock relative to the solar wind flow is estimated. The derived value of this velocity allows these structures to be identified as a fast magnetosonic wave propagating upstream of the solar wind inflowing the Earth's bow shock. An evaluation is also made of the correlation length of these disturbances in the plane perpendicular to the Sun–Earth line. This length is approximately equal to 2R _E.     

Initiation of spherical detonation in hydrocarbon/air mixtures

Spherical detonations have been initiated by solid explosive (Tetryl) charges in well-mixed stoicheiometric air mixtures with each of the hydrocarbons, ethane, propane, n-butane, isobutane and ethylene at atmospheric pressure. Prior to initiation, the gases were contained in plastic bags; total gas volume and available path length were up to 1.6 m³ and 2 m, respectively. The detonations were shown to be self-sustained by continuous measurement of detonation velocity using X-band microwave interferometry. Measured detonation velocities were in all cases close to calculated C-J values.In a few experiments close to the limits of detonability, velocity and blast pressure/time records indicated that the propagating wave system is sometimes irregular. The irregularity that occurs just after initiation is characterised by a reaction front velocity very much lower than the constant detonation velocity, but subsequently attaining the latter by an acceleration process. These observations indicate the existence of a dissociated phase in which shock and reaction fronts may no longer be coupled.Because similar experimental conditions were used throughout, it was possible to establish the relative susceptibilities of the various fuel gases to detonation. Comparison is made with the Zeldovich criterion and a detonation kernel theory of Lee.     

Radial propagation velocity of energetic particle injections according to measurements onboard the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cluster</Emphasis> satellites

Injections of energetic electrons with a dispersion over energies were observed during the February 23, 2004 (at about 03:20 UT) substorm onboard the Cluster satellites in the vicinity of perigee near the midnight meridian. The delays in the particle observation caused by the energy dependence of the magnetic drift velocities made it possible to determine the position and time of the beginning of the drift, tracing the trajectories of the leading center of particles back in time in the magnetospheric model. The comparisons of the measurements of four satellites allowed us to determine the radial propagation of the injection front with a velocity of 100–150 km/s at a distance of 7–9 R _E. The comparison with a few previous measurements shows a substantial slowing down of injections as they approached the Earth, and this confirms the prospects of this method for more detailed study of propagation of plasma injection into the inner magnetosphere.     

An experimental study on the stability of jet diffusion flame

The stability behavior of jet diffusion flame developing in a coflowing high temperature air stream was studied experimentally, using city gas and hydrogen as fuel gases. The primary variables studied were temperature and velocity of the air stream. Two distinct types of stability limits were observed. The first is the blow-off of the rim-stabilized flame, which is familiar and has been studied by a number of investigators. The second is the break-off or extinction of the turbulent portion of the flame at the transition point from laminar to turbulent flow. The second limit is quite unfamiliar and is interesting in relation to the structure of turbulent diffusion flames. The important implications of the experimental findings concerning the stability and the structure of turbulent diffusion flames is discussed.     

超高速撞击声发射信号在Whipple结构中的传播时序特性研究

为研究屏/舱声发射信号传播时序特性,以典型Whipple防护结构为例,利用二级轻气炮对其进行超高速撞击实验。首先,利用独立于靶件的“遮挡板”阻挡弹丸击穿前板形成的二次碎片云撞击后板,利用布置在前、后板特定位置的超声换能器采集单纯的前板声发射信号,分析信号模态特征,结果表明：前板信号主要包括S0、A0和S2等三种模态板波,经圆柱支撑构件传播进入后板之后,全部转换为A0模态板波。在此基础上,建立了屏/舱声发射信号到达时序预测公式。其次,撤除遮挡板,利用布置在后板特定位置的超声换能器采集前、后板信号的混叠信号,分析两种信号的到达时序并与预测结果进行对比,结果验证了达时序预测公式的有效性。     

One Possible Mechanism to Sustain Combustion inside a Closed Region under Zero Gravity

An experimental study carried out aboard the Mirstation showed that a stearin candle can burn for a long time even inside a closed volume without a forced circulation. Such experiments imply that there is some mechanism for a permanent transport of the oxidizer to the flame zone. It can be assumed that a jet of combustion products outflowing along a normal direction with respect to the flame surface produces a vortex motion in the environmental space, which delivers oxygen to the flame zone. To verify the feasibility of combustion to be sustained by such a mechanism, a mathematical statement of the problem of combustion inside a closed region under zero gravity without a forced circulation was formulated. A simplified model was put forward to simulate the combustion of solid and liquid substances, which allowed the effects of chemical reactions to be reduced to boundary conditions. The computations showed that the proposed mechanism of oxygen transport to the flame zone really can sustain an almost stationary regime of combustion.     

Geometric structures of frames of reference and natural language semantics

This article aims at formal specifications of reference systems in spatial cognition. It concentrates on two roles of reference systems connected to spatial language: reference systems resolving ambiguities and reference systems forming a basis for the classification of linguistic terms. Although coordinate systems are often seen as candidates for the geometric structure of reference systems, it is shown here that they do not appear in the explanations that go into the details. An analysis of the German terms vor, hinter, rechts and links (in front of, in back of, right, left) presents an alternative model for the geometric structure of spatial reference systems.     

RBCC燃烧室超声速反应混合层特性的大涡模拟

以飞行马赫数为4.5Ma的RBCC发动机典型工作状态为研究背景,采用大涡模拟研究了支板火箭射流和空气来流形成的超声速反应混合层的掺混燃烧过程,获得了燃烧室内详细的流场结构和流动特征,分析了强射流条件下超声速反应混合层的特性。结果表明由于速度梯度的存在,火箭射流进入燃烧室后与空气来流形成环形剪切层,剪切层内丰富的旋涡结构主导火箭射流和空气来流的掺混燃烧,随着湍流能量的串级输运,化学反应过程中释放的能量将被转化成细观尺度的湍流动能,大尺度旋涡将能量传递给小尺度旋涡并最终耗散,细小尺度的旋涡一方面能够促进燃烧反应物的掺混并强化燃烧过程,另一方面会给化学反应过程带来强烈的脉动,使得局部火焰淬灭,火焰结构表现出明显的非定常性。     

液体亚燃燃烧室点火装置工作特性数值研究

基于气体动力学和计算流体力学的相关理论,采用CFD-ACE＋流场计算软件,对液体亚燃燃烧室点火装置单独工作时的稳态流场进行了数值模拟.在试验验证的基础上分析了点火器室压、点火导管内径和导管的结构形式对火焰点火性能的影响.结果表明：当点火器室温和燃气流量恒定时,若保持管道的扩张比不变,选用较低室压的点火器更利于点火;在一定范围内增大导管内径可以提高火焰的点火性能;燃气在直管内的流动损失较小,出口射流的速度较高,穿透深度较大,带弯头的点火导管出口火焰特征类似,有无弯头对火焰的影响很大,而角度差异产生的影响很小.     

装药燃烧增压过程中脱粘扩展条件实验分析

研究了在高增压燃烧条件下固体推进剂／绝热层界面脱粘进一步扩展的诱导因素，获得了脱粘传播速度与燃烧室点火压强梯度之间的经验关系及临界压强梯度，提出了三种脱粘扩展模式。研究表明，当脱粘槽较窄并且点火增压梯度较大时，脱粘前沿扩展较快。     

Combustion characteristics of the end burning hybrid rockets in laminar flow

In this study, we aim to clarify the blowoff mechanism for flame spreading in an opposed laminar flow in narrow solid fuel ducts. To clarify this mechanism we conducted two experiments. First, we observed the changes of the flame spread rate at various oxygen velocities, ambient pressures, and port diameters. For flame spreading in laminar flow, combustion modes could be classified into 3 distinct regimes based on the strength of the opposed flow, i.e., chemical regime, thermal regime, and stabilized regime. This result is consistent with the result in turbulent flow. In the stabilized regime, quenching distance is almost constant despite oxygen velocity. In order to investigate the effect of ambient pressure and port diameter of fuels on blowoff limit, transition oxygen velocity is observed. As a result, transition oxygen velocity is proportional to the logarithm of the ambient pressure and port diameter. This relation is applicable despite the flow condition. Furthermore, we calculated velocity gradient at the fuel surface to reveal the determining factor of the blowoff limit in laminar flow. Consequently, velocity gradient, which is considered to dominate flow separation in laminar flow, would not be constant. This is because the velocity gradient at the fuel surface could not be evaluated by only the assumption of Hagen–Poiseuille flow but other parameters, such as vaporized fuel gas and natural convection by buoyancy should be included.     

An experimental study of flame turbulence

An experimental study of the turbulence generated by an enclosed, premixed, propane-air flame has been carried out in a combustion chamber of 25 × 20 cm cross section. Care was taken to reduce any effects of the axial pressure gradient. By suitable changes in the grid geometry, the turbulence intensity and scale of the approach flow were varied independently. The results of these experiments show that a strong link exists between the mechanisms of turbulent flame propagation and flame-generated turbulence. Thus three distinct regions may be identified, each having different characteristics in regard to the effects of turbulence scale on flame-generated turbulence. For each region, a physical mechanism for flame-generated turbulence is proposed. In particular, it is observed that over a wide range of intensity and scale of the approach turbulence, (a) the relative turbulence intensity in the flame zone varies in the range 1–2 times the relative turbulence intensity of the cold flow, (b) in the region of intermediate turbulence levels ( ) the flame-generated turbulence intensity reaches a minimum value which is equal to the approach stream turbulence intensity, (c) the flame-generated turbulence intensity reaches a maximum value when the rate of production of turbulent vorticity is equal to about half its rate of viscous dissipation.     

Developing a Low-Velocity Collision Model Based on the Nasa Standard Breakup Model

We have conducted a series of low-velocity impact experiments to understand the dispersion properties of fragments newly created by low-velocity impacts possible in space, especially in geostationary Earth orbit. The test results are utilized to establish a mathematical prediction model to be used in debris generation and propagation codes. Since the expected collision velocity between catalogued objects in geostationary Earth orbit shows a peak at a few hundreds meters per second, these impact experiments were conducted at a velocity range lower than 300m/s. As a typical structure of satellites in geostationary Earth orbit, thin aluminum honeycomb sandwich panels with carbon fiber reinforced plastics face sheets were prepared, while the projectile was a stainless steel ball of 9mm diameter. The data collected through these impact experiments have been re-analyzed based on the method used in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) standard breakup model 1998 revision. The results indicate that the NASA standard breakup model derived from hypervelocity impacts could be applied to low-velocity collision possible in geostationary Earth orbit with some modifications.