Effect of an inlet temperature disturbance on the propagation of methane–air premixed flames in small tubes

A flame stabilized in a tube is affected by the temperature disturbance and velocity profile at the inlet boundary. Thus, a multi-dimensional analysis is necessary near the flame. The deviation between one-dimensional and two-dimensional analyses near the flame was investigated quantitatively. The temperature profile in the radial direction was varied to investigate its effects on the propagation of methane–air premixed flames in small tubes. A numerical experiment with Navier–Stokes equations, an energy equation and species equations was conducted coupled with a single-step global-reaction model. Three different temperature profiles were examined for slip and no-slip wall boundary conditions. The effect of temperature profiles on the flame propagation velocity and flame shapes was not negligible depending on the magnitude of the temperature deviation and the tube diameter. This study evaluated a critical length scale of a computational domain or a thermal entrance length of a premixed flame over which the inlet temperature disturbance does not affect the flame characteristics.