The effect of pressure in industrial propane-oxygen flames

A two-dimensional model is presented simulating the combustion characterist ics of a premixed propane-oxygen flame at elevated pressures. The model tak es account of the turbulent flow characteristics, the reaction rates contro lled by mixing and chemical kinetics mechanisms and heat transfer with conv ection and radiation. The equations are integrated with the use of the fini te-volume method and are solved for the velocity field, the temperature fie ld and the concentration of reactants and products. The computational resul ts are compared with experimental data from the literature with satisfactor y qualitative agreement. The mechanisms that control the premixed combustio n phenomenon under different pressures (atmospheric and higher pressures) a re analysed. The effects of elevated pressure on the turbulence characteris tics are established and are used for the evaluation of the performance of the employed two-dimensional computational model. Copyright (C) 2001 John W iley & Sons, Ltd.