Analysis of Radiation Reabsorption Effects on Flame Characteristics and NOx Emission in Laminar Flames

The radiation reabsorption effects on NOx formation and flame characteristics in CH₄/Air laminar flames were numerically investigated by using full chemistry mechanism and detailed transport properties. The radiative gases were treated as non-gray gas and their spectral radiative properties were evaluated by means of the statistical narrow-band model. The radiative heat transfer equation was solved by the discrete ordinate method. It was found that the reabsorption of emitting radiation leads to substantially wider flame thickness and higher flame temperature than those calculated by using the optically thin model, and the radiation reabsorption effect on the “radiation extinction limit” becomes more important. The results show that the level of NOx is predicted to be highest in the adiabatic flames, that is, flames without radiation heat loss, and that the level of NOx is predicted to be lowest in the flames by the optically thin model. In the flames by the SNB model, the predicted amount of NOx lies between these two levels. The calculated results also show that the radiation reabsorption effect on NOx formation grows stronger as the stretch rate decreases, particularly when CO₂, a strong absorber, is added to the unburned gas mixture. In this study, the effectiveness and validity of the optically thin radiation model for calculating NOx formation in laminar flames was also investigated in comparison with the SNB model.