The stability and visualized flame and flow structures of a combusting jet in cross flow

Abstract The blowoff stability and flame behavior of a combusting propane gas jet issuing from a well-contoured burner perpendicularly to a cross air stream in a wind tunnel test section is studied experimentally. A category of never-lift flames was found to have different stability characteristics and behavior from the conventionally reported liftable flames. The stability domain of the never-lift flames covers higher cross-flow velocities and lower fuel jet velocities compared with the liftable flames. The flame configurations in the stability domain are indentified by characteristic modes: down-washed flame, flashing flame, developing flame, dual-flame, flickering flame, and pre-blowoff flame. The schlieren photographs are presented in order to discuss the effects of the flow structures on the general behavior of the flames in each characteristic mode and on the flame stability characteristics. The bisector of the eddy travelling avenue reasonably depicts the trajectory of the combusting jet in cross flow. Correlations for the trajectories of cold and combusting jets in cross flow are obtained.