Publications

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Here, the effects of heat release on interactions between vorticity (ω) and strain rate (s) in turbulent premixed CH₄/O₂/N₂ counterflow flames are investigated using simultaneous OH laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and tomographic particle image velocimetry (TPIV) measurements. A comparison between the flames and a corresponding turbulent non-reacting variable density N₂-vs-products counterflow reveals the impact of heat release on vorticity-strain rate alignment statistics. Vorticity and strain rate statistics in the flames and non-reacting flow are conditioned on distance from the local flame front and gas mixing layer interface (GMLI) contours, respectively. The magnitude, alignment, and spatial distribution of the vorticity and principal strain rates (s₁, s₂, s₃) are rather different when heat release is present. Density variations without heat release enhance the ω-s₂ alignment while significantly reducing the ω-s₃ alignment and modestly reducing the ω-s₁ alignment. In contrast, heat release at the flame front further reduces the ω-s₁ alignment but increases the ω-s₃ alignment and suppresses the preferential ω-s₂ alignment. Furthermore, increasing turbulence diminishes the effect of heat release on this preferential alignment. In regions with the largest vorticities, both the reacting and non-reacting counterflows show an increase in the probability of ω-s₂ alignment. All counterflow cases have a net positive vortex-stretching contribution to the enstrophy production with a peak production rate at the flame front or GMLI, but the peak values depend on the density variation, heat release, and turbulence level. Elucidation of the complex interplay between these factors contributes to the understanding of the dynamics of turbulence-flame interactions.

Data assimilation techniques are investigated for integrating high-speed high-resolution experimental data into large-eddy simulations. To this end, an ensemble Kalman filter is employed to assimilate velocity measurements of a turbulent jet at a Reynolds number of 13,500 into simulations. The goal of the current work is to examine the behavior of the assimilation algorithm for state estimation of turbulent flows that are of relevance to engineering applications. This is accomplished by investigating the impact that localization, measurement uncertainties, assimilation frequency, data sparsity and ensemble size have on the estimated state vector. For the flow configuration and computational setup considered in this study an optimal value of the localization radius is identified, which minimizes the error between experimental data and state vector. The impact of experimental uncertainties on the state estimation is demonstrated to provide solution bounds on the assimilation algorithm. It is found that increasing the number of ensembles has a positive impact on the state estimation. In comparison, decreasing the assimilation frequency or reducing the experimental data available for assimilation is found to have a negative impact on the state estimation. These findings demonstrate the viability of assimilating measurements into numerical simulations to improve state estimates, to support parameter evaluations and to guide model assessments.

Abstract: The development of high-speed volumetric laser-induced fluorescence measurements of formaldehyde (CH 2O -LIF) using a pulse-burst laser operated at a repetition rate of 100kHz is presented. A novel laser scanning system employing an acousto-optic deflector (AOD) enables quasi-4D CH 2O -LIF imaging at a scan frequency of 10kHz. The diagnostic capability of time-resolved volumetric imaging is demonstrated in a partially premixed DME/air lifted turbulent jet flame near the flame base. Simultaneous imaging of laser beam profiles is performed to account for the laser pulse energy fluctuation and laser sheet inhomogeneity. With the accurate registration of laser sheet positions, the volumetric reconstruction of CH 2O -LIF signals is performed within a detection volume of 17.3×11.9×2.3mm3 with an average out-of-plane spatial resolution of 250μm. A surface detection algorithm with adaptive thresholding is used to determine the global maximum intensity gradient by calculating gradient percentiles. The flame topology characteristics are investigated by evaluating the 3D curvatures of CH 2O surfaces. Curvatures calculated using 2D data systematically underestimate the full 3D curvature due to the lack of out-of-plane information. The inner surfaces near the turbulent fuel jet exhibit higher probabilities of large mean curvature than the outer surfaces. The saddle and cylindrical structures are dominant on both the inner and outer surfaces and the elliptic structures occur with lower probability. The results suggest that the damping of turbulent fluctuations by the temperature increase through the CH 2O region reduces the curvature, but the local structure topology remains self-similar. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

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Abstract: Beam steering by index-of-refraction gradients poses a significant challenge for laser-based imaging measurements in turbulent reacting and non-reacting flows, particularly at elevated pressures. High fidelity imaging and quantitative data interpretation in turbulent flows can be considerably impeded by artefacts generated from beam steering. A wavelet-based filtering scheme has been developed to recover the underlying turbulent flow structures from imaging measurements containing severe beam-steering artefacts. This analysis technique is equally applicable to imaging measurements in reacting and non-reacting flows. It is demonstrated using mixture fraction measurements in a transient turbulent jet flow at 8 bar using Rayleigh scattering imaging at a repetition rate of 100 kHz. The corrected images reveal the temporal evolution of flow structures with negligible residual beam-steering artefacts. Tests of the sensitivity of the wavelet-based filtering scheme to noise and spatial resolution indicate that it is a robust analytic tool for correcting severe beam-steering artefacts commonly encountered in laser-based imaging measurements at elevated pressures. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

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This project explored a new capability for studying collisions of electrons and molecules with unprecedented accuracy by combining high electron-energy resolution with velocity mapped imaging of electrons. Low-energy electrons were produced within a supersonic beam by photoionization of metastable krypton using a dye laser to generate electrons with tunable kinetic energy and a narrow energy spread. A new configuration for electron imaging optics was developed to enable scattering of electrons in a zero-field environment with subsequent rapidly pulsed velocity mapped imaging of the electrons. Development of this new capability will significantly enhance DOE/NNSA's ability to perform basic research on processes relevant to plasmas in atmospheric re-entry and neutron generation for weapons systems and provide fundamental understanding of electron-driven chemistry important to solar energy conversion.

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The collapse or merging of individual plumes of direct-injection gasoline injectors is of fundamental importance to engine performance because of its impact on fuel-air mixing. However, the mechanisms of spray collapse are not fully understood and are difficult to predict. The purpose of this work is to study the aerodynamics in the inter-spray region, which can potentially lead to plume collapse. High-speed (100 kHz) particle image velocimetry is applied along a plane between plumes to observe the full temporal evolution of plume interaction and potential collapse, resolved for individual injection events. Supporting information along a line of sight is obtained using simultaneous diffused back illumination and Mie-scatter techniques. Experiments are performed under simulated engine conditions using a symmetric eight-hole injector in a high-temperature, high-pressure vessel at the “Spray G” operating conditions of the engine combustion network. Indicators of plume interaction and collapse include changes in counter-flow recirculation of ambient gas toward the injector along the axis of the injector or in the inter-plume region between plumes. The effect of ambient temperature and gas density on the inter-plume aerodynamics and the subsequent plume collapse are assessed. Increasing ambient temperature or density, with enhanced vaporization and momentum exchange, accelerates the plume interaction. Plume direction progressively shifts toward the injector axis with time, demonstrating that the plume interaction and collapse are inherently transient.

The collapse or merging of individual plumes of direct-injection gasoline injectors is of fundamental importance to engine performance because of its impact on fuel-air mixing. However, the mechanisms of spray collapse are not fully understood. The purpose of this work is to study the effects of injection duration and multiple injections on the interaction and/or collapse of multiplume gasoline direct injection sprays. High-speed (100 kHz) particle image velocimetry is applied along a plane between plumes to observe the full temporal evolution of plume interaction and potential collapse, resolved for individual injection events. Supporting information along a line of sight is obtained using diffused back illumination. Experiments are performed under simulated engine conditions using a symmetric 8-hole injector in a high-temperature, high-pressure vessel at the "Spray G" operating conditions of the Engine Combustion Network. Longer injection duration is found to promote plume collapse, while staging fuel delivery with multiple, shorter injections is resistant to plume collapse.

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Fuel and oxidizer mixing is a key parameter influencing combustion and emission performance in diesel engines. At the same time, quantitative mixing measurements in automotive sprays are very challenging such that only a few experimental results are available as targets for the development and tuning of numerical models. The caveat is that the experimental data mainly concern the quasi-steady part of the jet, while it can be argued that the injection process in current alternative thermal engines is mostly transient. This work applies planar laser Rayleigh scattering at high-frequency to resolve the development and mixing of vaporized diesel sprays injected in a highly-pressurized environment. The state-of-the-art equipment employed for these experiments include a purposely-built high-power, high-repetition rate pulsed burst laser, optimized optics and a state-of-the-art high-speed CMOS camera. Advanced image processing methods were developed and implemented to mitigate the negative effects of the extreme environments found in diesel engines at the time of injection. The experiments provided two-dimensional mean and variance of the mixture and temperature quantities. The optical system's high spatial and temporal resolution enables tracking of the mixing field with time and space, from which temporally and spatially correlated mixing quantities can be extracted. Further analysis of the detailed mixture and temperature fields offered information about the turbulent mixing process of high-pressure diesel sprays such as scalar dissipation rates or turbulent length scales. Substantial effort was made to assess the uncertainties and limitations of such experimental results due to the optically challenging environment.

We present a series of benchmark flames consisting of six partially-premixed piloted dimethyl ether (DME)/air jet flames. These flames provide an opportunity to understand turbulence-flame interactions for oxygenated fuels and to develop predictive models for these interactions using a canonical burner geometry. The development of accurate models for DME/air flames would establish a foundation for studies of more complex oxygenated fuels. The flames are stabilized on a piloted jet burner similar to that of the partially-premixed methane/air jet flames that have been studied extensively within the context of the TNF Workshop. This series of six jet flames spans jet exit Reynolds numbers, ReD, from 29,300 to 73,300 and stoichiometric mixture fractions, ξst, from 0.35 to 0.60. Flame conditions range from very low probability of localized extinction to a high probability of localized extinction and subsequent re-ignition. Measurements in the flames are compared at downstream locations from 5 to 25 diameters above the nozzle exit. Mean and fluctuating velocity components are measured using stereo particle image velocimetry (SPIV). Simultaneous laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) imaging of OH and CH2O provides insights into the distribution of these intermediate species in partially-premixed DME/air flames. OH LIF imaging is also combined with SPIV to investigate the strain rate field across the reaction zone.

The effects of combustion on the strain rate field are investigated in turbulent premixed CH₄/air Bunsen flames using simultaneous tomographic PIV and OH LIF measurements. Tomographic PIV provides three-dimensional velocity measurements, from which the complete strain rate tensor is determined. The OH LIF measurements are used to determine the position of the flame surface and the flame-normal orientation within the imaging plane. This combination of diagnostic techniques enables quantification of divergence as well as flame-normal and tangential strain rates, which are otherwise biased using only planar measurements. Measurements are compared in three lean-to-stoichiometric flames that have different amounts of heat release and Damköhler numbers greater than unity. The effects of heat release on the principal strain rates and their alignment relative to the local flame normal are analyzed. The extensive strain rate preferentially aligns with the flame normal in the reaction zone, which has been indicated by previous studies. The strength of this alignment increases with increasing heat release and, as a result, the flame-normal strain rate becomes highly extensive. These effects are associated with the gas expansion normal to the flame surface, which is largest for the stoichiometric flame. In the preheat zone, the compressive strain rate has a tendency to align with the flame normal. Away from the flame front, the flame – strain rate alignment is arbitrary in both the reactants and products. The flame-tangential strain rate is on average positive across the flame front, and therefore the turbulent strain rate field contributes to the enhancement of scalar gradients as in passive scalar turbulence. As a result, increases in heat release result in larger positive values of the divergence as well as flame-normal and tangential strain rates, the tangential strain rate has a weaker dependence on heat release than the flame-normal strain rate and the divergence.

Stabilization methods of turbulent flames often involve mixing of reactants with hot products of combustion. The stabilizing effect of combustion product enthalpy has been long recognized, but the role played by the chemical composition of the product gases is typically overlooked. We employ a counterflow system to pinpoint the effects of the combustion product stoichiometry on the structure of turbulent premixed flames under conditions of both stable burning and local extinction. To that end, a turbulent jet of lean-to-rich, CH4/O2/N2-premixed reactants at a turbulent Reynolds number of 1050 was opposed to a stream of hot products of combustion that were generated in a preburner. While the combustion product stream temperature was kept constant, its stoichiometry was varied independently from that of the reactant stream, leading to reactant-to-product stratification of relevance to practical combustion systems. The detailed structure of the turbulent flame front was analyzed in two series of experiments using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF): joint CH2O LIF and OH LIF measurements and joint CO LIF and OH LIF measurements. Results revealed that a decrease in local CH2O+OH and CO+OH reaction rates coincide with the depletion of OH radicals in the vicinity of the combustion product stream. These critical combustion reaction rates were more readily quenched in the presence of products of combustion from a stoichiometric flame, whereas they were favored by lean combustion products. As a result, stoichiometric combustion products contributed to a greater occurrence of local extinction. Furthermore, they limited the capacity of premixed reactants to ignite and of the turbulent premixed flames to stabilize. In contrast, lean and rich combustion products facilitated flame ignition and stability and reduced the rate of local extinction. The influence of the combustion product stream on the turbulent flame front was limited to a zone of approximately two millimeters from the gas mixing layer interface (GMLI) of the product stream. Flame fronts that were separated from the GMLI by larger distances were unaffected by the product stream stoichiometry.

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In turbulent flows, the interaction between vorticity, ω, and strain rate, s, is considered a primary mechanism for the transfer of energy from large to small scales through vortex stretching. The ω-s coupling in turbulent jet flames is investigated using tomographic particle image velocimetry (TPIV). TPIV provides a direct measurement of the three-dimensional velocity field from which ω and s are determined. The effects of combustion and mean shear on the ω-s interaction are investigated in turbulent partially premixed methane/air jet flames with high and low probabilities of localized extinction as well as in a non-reacting isothermal air jet with Reynolds number of approximately 13 000. Results show that combustion causes structures of high vorticity and strain rate to agglomerate in highly correlated, elongated layers that span the height of the probe volume. In the non-reacting jet, these structures have a more varied morphology, greater fragmentation, and are not as well correlated. The enhanced spatiotemporal correlation of vorticity and strain rate in the stable flame results in stronger ω-s interaction characterized by increased enstrophy and strain-rate production rates via vortex stretching and straining, respectively. The probability of preferential local alignment between ω and the eigenvector of the intermediate principal strain rate, s2, which is intrinsic to the ω-s coupling in turbulent flows, is larger in the flames and increases with the flame stability. The larger mean shear in the flame imposes a preferential orientation of ω and s2 tangential to the shear layer. The extensive and compressive principal strain rates, s1 and s3, respectively, are preferentially oriented at approximately 45° with respect to the jet axis. The production rates of strain and vorticity tend to be dominated by instances in which ω is parallel to the s1 - s2 plane and orthogonal to s3.

In this LDRD project, we developed a capability for quantitative high - speed imaging measurements of high - pressure fuel injection dynamics to advance understanding of turbulent mixing in transcritical flows, ignition, and flame stabilization mechanisms, and to provide e ssential validation data for developing predictive tools for engine combustion simulations. Advanced, fuel - efficient engine technologies rely on fuel injection into a high - pressure, high - temperature environment for mixture preparation and com bustion. Howe ver, the dynamics of fuel injection are not well understood and pose significant experimental and modeling challenges. To address the need for quantitative high - speed measurements, we developed a Nd:YAG laser that provides a 5ms burst of pulses at 100 kHz o n a robust mobile platform . Using this laser, we demonstrated s patially and temporally resolved Rayleigh scattering imaging and particle image velocimetry measurements of turbulent mixing in high - pressure gas - phase flows and vaporizing sprays . Quantitativ e interpretation of high - pressure measurements was advanced by reducing and correcting interferences and imaging artifacts.