Influence of Micro-Lobed Burner on the Non-Premixed Combustion of Methane and Oxygen

Non-premixed combustion was implemented in a micro-lobed combustion system, and its influence on combustion was studied using both experiments and simulations. The results show that a micro-lobed burner produces streamwise vortices with intensities that increase with the equivalence ratio of methane to oxygen (Φ). Due to the streamwise vortices and the increment of the contact area between methane and oxygen, the gasses mix well in the micro-lobed burner, giving it a larger OH mass fraction and higher temperatures than the micro-splitter burner. Moreover, the equivalence ratio greatly influences the combustion enhancement from the micro-lobed burner, especially near the burner exit. The maximum temperature difference between the two micro-burners at the Z/D = 0.01 cross section is 171 K, when Φ is 0.6. However, when the mixing enhancement caused by the streamwise vortices disappears, Φ has little influence on the combustion temperature of the micro-lobed burner, especially when Φ ≥ 1. In this case, the maximum temperature variation between the micro-lobed burner and micro-splitter burner remains nearly constant.