A parametric study of AC electric field-induced toroidal vortex formation in laminar nonpremixed coflow flames

Abstract

This study presents an experimental work investigating the controlling parameters on the formation of an electrically-induced inner toroidal vortex (ITV) near a nozzle rim in small, laminar nonpremixed coflow flames, when an alternating current is applied to the nozzle. A systematic parametric study was conducted by varying the flow parameters of the fuel and coflowing-air velocities, and the nozzle diameter. The fuels tested were methane, ethylene, ethane, propane, n-butane, and i-butane, each representing different ion-generation characteristics and sooting tendencies. The results showed that the fluid dynamic effects on ITV formation were weak, causing only mild variation when altering flow velocities. However, increased fuel velocity resulted in increased polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) formation, which promoted ITV formation. When judging the ITV-formation tendency based on critical applied voltage and frequency, it was qualitatively well correlated with the PAH concentration and the relative location of PAHs to the nozzle rim. The sooting tendency of the fuels did not affect the results much. A change in the nozzle diameter highlighted the importance of the relative distance between the PAH zone and the nozzle rim, indicating the role of local electric-field intensity on ITV formation. Detailed onset conditions, characteristics of near-nozzle flow patterns, and PAH distributions are also discussed.