A. V. Mokhov

Growth of fractal structures in flames with silicon admixture

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements and theoretical analysis are combined to construct the physical picture of formation of SiO2 fractal aggregates in a methane/hexamethyldisiloxane/air atmospheric pressure flame. The formation of SiO2 fractal aggregates is described as a multistage process. The first stage is combustion of fuel in a narrow flame front region with formation of main combustion products including SiO2 molecules. Further downstream SiO2 molecules join in liquid nanoclusters. After cooling combustion products due to heat losses to surroundings, the nanoclusters become solid in a cold flame region and join in fractal aggregates there. Along with growth of fractal aggregates, the restructuring process proceeds in a cold flame region that leads to the decrease of the fractal dimension of fractal aggregates. The measured parameters of fractal aggregates are in accord with those followed from theoretical models.

Growth of Soot Volume Fraction and Aggregate Size in 1D Premixed C2H4/Air Flames Studied by Laser-Induced Incandescence and Angle-Dependent Light Scattering

The growth of soot volume fraction and aggregate size was studied in burner-stabilized premixed C2H4/air flames with equivalence ratios between 2.0 and 2.35 as function of height above the burner using laser-induced incandescence (LII) to measure soot volume fractions and angle-dependent light scattering (ADLS) to measure corresponding aggregate sizes. Flame temperatures were varied at fixed equivalence ratio by changing the exit velocity of the unburned gas mixture. Temperatures were measured using spontaneous Raman scattering in flames with equivalence ratios up to = 2.1, with results showing good correspondence (within 50 K) with temperatures calculated using the San Diego mechanism. Both the soot volume fraction and radius of gyration strongly increase in richer flames. Furthermore, both show a nonmonotonic dependence on flame temperature, with a maximum occurring at ~1675 K for the volume fraction and ~1700 K for the radius of gyration. The measurement results were compared with calculations using two different semiempirical two-equation models of soot formation. Numerical calculations using both mechanisms substantially overpredict the measured soot volume fractions, although the models do better in richer flames. The model accounting for particle coagulation overpredicts the measured radii of gyration substantially for all equivalence ratios, although the calculated values improve at = 2.35.