Modelling of Turbulent Diffusion Flames Stabilized on a Bluff Body

Abstract

The present authors previously proposed a modification of the k-ε turbulence model in the modelling of jet diffusion flames to represent the so-called laminarization phenomenon, caused by combustion in the low-turbulence region, and recently found, in experiments on diffusion flames stabilized on a bluff body, that this phenomenon also exerts an important influence on the structure of these flames with recirculation zone. In the present study, the above modified k-ε model was applied to the modelling of this bluff-body diffusion flame in order to examine applicability of the modification and the ability of the k-ε model to represent such a complex flow field. As a result of comparison of the calculated results to experimental ones, it was found that the consideration of the laminarization phenomenon enables the k-ε model to provide preditions of encouraging quality, though their quantitative discrepancies are still discernible.