Turbulent flame structures of premixed prevaporized n-heptane/air in thin and broken reaction zone regimes

  • Wenjun Lin
  • , Hongchao Dai
  • , Xiao Cai
  • , Limin Su
  • , Jinhua Wang
  • , Zuohua Huang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A modified piloted premixed jet burner (PPJB) has been built to study the flame structures of highly turbulent premixed prevaporized n -heptane/air flames at an engine-relevant conditions, addressing a notable gap in liquid fuel combustion research. The modified PPJB demonstrated well-characterized flow field properties through rigorous hot wire anemometer and particle image velocity calibration, exhibiting excellent stabilization capability for premixed flames with Karlovitz number ( Ka ) exceeding 1000. Statistical analysis of the flame front structure, characterized through OH planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) diagnostics, revealed minimal deviation in topological features when compared to gaseous fuel. By combining simultaneous OH–/CH2O-PLIF, distinctive behaviors in both preheat zone and heat release zone not fully characterized in prior studies were observed. The preheat zone thickness expands to an order of magnitude larger than laminar flame even at moderate turbulence, while the heat release zone maintains near-laminar thickness despite extreme turbulence ( Ka > 1000). Such a behavior exhibits marked contrast with typical gaseous fuels. The CH2O and OH signals further reveal prolonged pre-flame decomposition of n -heptane, suggesting fuel-specific turbulence-chemistry interactions that are more pronounced in prevaporized liquid fuels. These results provide new experimental evidence for modeling turbulent combustion of prevaporized liquid fuels, particularly under conditions relevant to high-speed combustors.

Original languageEnglish
Article number137858
JournalFuel
Volume412
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 May 2026

Keywords

  • Broken reaction zone regime
  • Prevaporized n-heptane
  • Turbulent flame structure
  • Turbulent flow field

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