Thermal-expansion induced cellular flames

D. M. Michelson*, G. I. Sivashinsky

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

57 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper is devoted to a study of the nonlinear evolution of a disturbed plane flame front in a hydrodynamic instability regime induced by thermal expansion of a burned gas. It is shown that, in sufficiently small-scale flames, spontaneous instability appears in the guise of stationary wide-spaced irregular folds. However, in sufficiently large-scale flames, one encounters a completely new type of hydrodynamic instability: the flame front splits into separate cells which are constantly subdividing and merging in a chaotic manner. The average dimension of the cells is approximately five times greater than the wavelength of the disturbance which has the highest amplification rate (according to the linear theory).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)211-217
Number of pages7
JournalCombustion and Flame
Volume48
Issue numberC
DOIs
StatePublished - 1982
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
Ismel Binational Science Foundation
Ismel Commission for Basic Research
Office of Basic Energy Sciences
Office of Energy Research
National Science FoundationMcS78-01252
U.S. Department of EnergyDE-ACO3-76SFOOO98

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