Modeling Study of Hydrogen/Oxygen and n-alkane/Oxygen Counterflow Diffusion Flames

A comprehensive analysis of hydrogen/oxygen and hydrocarbon/oxygen counterflow diffu-sion flames has been conducted using corresponding detailed reaction mechanisms. The hydrocarbon fuels contain n-alkanes from CH₄ to C₁₆H₃₄. The basic diffusion flame struc-tures are demonstrated, analyzed, and compared. The effects of pressure, and strain rate on the flame behavior and energy-release rate for each fuel are examined systematically. The de-tailed chemical kinetic reaction mechanisms from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory(LLNL) are employed, and the largest one of them contains 2115 species and 8157 reversible reactions. The results indicate for all of the fuels the flame thickness and heat release rate correlate well with the square root of the pressure multiplied by the strain rate. Under the condition of any strain rate and pressure, H₂ has thicker flame than hydrocarbons, while the hydrocarbons have the similar temperature and main products distributions and almost have the same flame thickness and heat release rate. The result indicates that the fuels composed with these hydrocarbons will still have the same flame properties as any pure n-alkane fuel.