Pollutant formation and energy release in confined turbulent diffusion flames

An investigation of the effects of inlet air swirl, pressure and fuel/air velocity on the time-mean and fluctuating flow field in a confined turbulent diffusion flame combustor has been carried out. The results of this investigation show that variation of these three parameters produce major changes in the time-mean flow field within the combustor which significantly influence pollutant formation and energy release. In addition, it was found that there are substantial large-scale contributions to the total rms turbulent velocity field. These large-scale fluctuations result in significant departures from Gaussian turbulence and isotropy in the initial mixing regions and have pronounced effects on mixing and chemical reaction.