Influence of the preheating layer characteristics in a two-layer porous burner

Abstract

To assess the influence of the perforated plate that precedes the flame support layer in a newly designed bilayered porous combustor, a numerical study was conducted by means of a three-dimensional unit cell. The model includes the Navier-Stokes equations, the gas and solid energy balances and the transport equations for chemical species and was computationally implemented using the finite volume method. Radiative heat transfer in the solid matrices, local thermal non-equilibrium and detailed chemistry are accounted for. Simulations of the burner using perforated plates with holes of different sizes were conducted. It is shown that a perforated plate with holes of 1 mm in diameter is able to provide the necessary quenching of the reaction front, leading to the stabilization of the flame within the pores of the flame support layer for all the range of operating conditions and is, thus, an appropriate choice. The influence of the diameter of the holes on the temperatures attained by the gas and solid phases, as well as on the emissions of pollutants, namely NO and CO, is discussed.