Abstract
The Blow-off characteristics of LPG/air lean pre-mixed flames were experimentally investigated using a double and a multiple concentric coflow burners. Experiments were conducted to understand the effects of recirculation motion, thermal interaction between flames, and stratified flame configuration. Here, the stratified premixed flame is a "new concept" of a flame that sequentially contains fuel rich, stoichiometric, and fuel lean reaction zones in a flame. The blow-off from a lean premixed flame was significantly suppressed with recirculation motion. The recirculation motion by itself, however, was not sufficient to prevent the blow-off when the equivalence ratio became low. The existence of a inner premixed flame could also help to prevent the blow-off of lean premixed flame; however, the blow-off suppression effect was rather diminished by weakened recirculation motion with the presence of inner flame. The inner flame could be separated from an outer flame on a multiple concentric coflow burner, causing recirculation motion as well as thermal interaction between flames to become effective; therefore, the blow-off was further suppressed. The lean premixed flame could be stabilized with a fuel rich premixed flames that was produced with the supply of fuel through an inner nozzle. The penetration of lean premixed gas from outside into the fuel stream produced a lifted rich premixed flame. Chemiluminescence images of OH, CH, and $C_2$ radicals confirmed the structure of a stratified premixed flame. The stable premixed flames could be obtained at the very fuel lean condition by applying the stratified premixed flame concept.
