Numerical Study of Premixed Combustion of Methane Stabilized on Porous Medium

The present study focuses on the numerical analysis of the combustion process occurring in a small scale cylindrical combustion chamber using a commercial computational code. The chosen diameter is 18 mm, being the same as the flat flame regenerative combustor currently under experimental investigation by the author (Giovannoni), and it includes a 10 mm thick porous flame holder and a 1 mm thick stainless steel outer wall. A 17 species and 73 reactions skeletal mechanism related to methane oxidation is employed for the simulations. A parametric study is performed and results in terms of temperature profiles, major species’ concentrations and flow velocities are presented. Results show that the flame holder can considerably affect combustion and heat losses from the combustor. In particular at low flow rates, when the laminar burning velocity is much higher than the flow velocity, heat is lost mainly through the flame holder to the walls and to the surroundings. At high flow rates the flame appears to be slightly lifted from the porous medium and heat is mainly dispersed to the walls. This causes preheating of the mixture upstream of the combustion through axial conduction in the wall, achieving superadiabatic temperature. It is also clear from the simulations that employing a flame holder with low thermal conductivity and high porosity yields benefits in limiting heat losses and in widening flammability limits.