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SAE TECHNICAL
PAPER SERIES 982563

Flame Propagation Characteristics

in a Heterogeneous Concentration
Distribution of a Fuel-Air Mixture
Jianguang Zhou
ISUZU Motors Limited

Keiya Nishida and Takuo Yoshizaki

University of Hiroshima

Hiroyuki Hiroyasu
Kinki University

Reprinted From: SI Engines: Combustion and Emission Formation

(SP-1393)

International Fall Fuels and Lubricants

Meeting and Exposition
San Francisco, California
October 19-22, 1998

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Copyright 1998 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.

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Flame Propagation Characteristics in a Heterogeneous
Concentration Distribution of a Fuel-Air Mixture
Copyright © 1998 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
ABSTRACT
An experimental study was conducted to investigate the
flame propagation characteristics in the presence of a
heterogeneous concentration distribution of a fuel-air
mixture in order to provide fundamental knowledge of the
effects of gaseous mixture concentration heterogeneity
on the combustion process. Different propane-air mix-
ture distributions were produced by the reciprocating
movements of a pair of perforated plates in a constant
volume combustion chamber. The mean equivalence
ratio of the fuel-air mixture was varied from 0.7 on the
lean side to 1.6 on the rich side, the turbulence intensity
in the combustion chamber was also varied at levels of
0.185 m/s, 0.130 m/s, 0.100 m/s, and 0.0 m/s. By an
independent control of the mixture distribution and the
turbulence intensity in the combustion chamber, the
flame structure and flame propagation speed at various
heterogeneous levels of the mixture distribution were
investigated in detail. The effects of the mean equiva-
lence ratio on the flame behavior, as well as the correla-
tion of the turbulence intensity with the flame propagation
speed in different heterogeneous mixture distributions,
were studied. The relationship of the flame propagation
speed with the pressure rise in the combustion chamber
during the early flame development was also analyzed in
this paper.
INTRODUCTION
The mixture preparation and formation process has been
recognized to be substantially important in a spark igni-
tion engine. It has a dominant effect on the subsequent
combustion processes of flame initiation, flame develop-
ment and propagation, thus it is one of the essential pro-
cesses in determining the combustion and exhausts
characteristics of a spark ignition engine [1]. The devel-
1
982563
Jianguang Zhou
ISUZU Motors Limited
Keiya Nishida and Takuo Yoshizaki
University of Hiroshima
Hiroyuki Hiroyasu
Kinki University
opment of laser-based measurement technologies in the
last ten years has allowed the researchers to obtain great
insight into this complex process by measuring the con-
centration distribution in the combustion chamber of an
SI engine with a higher accuracy, combined with higher
temporal and spatial resolutions. Application of those
techniques such as the laser induced fluorescence
method, the laser Rayleigh scattering method, and the
laser Mie scattering method [2]-[5] in an actual SI engine
has shown that the fuel-air mixture distribution in the
combustion chamber is heterogeneous, with regions of
rich and lean air-fuel ratios that fluctuate from cycle to
cycle [6]-[9]. It is reasonable to suggest that those heter-
ogeneous mixture distributions do influence the combus-
tion process. However, though a large amount of
research has been conducted on this subject in recent
years, it is mainly restricted to the phenomenological cor-
relation of the mixture distribution with the overall com-
bustion characteristics and engine performance such as
cyclic variation and exhaust emissions [10][11]. A more
thorough clarification of the effects of heterogeneous
concentration distributions of a fuel-air mixture on the
combustion process itself, that is, the flame development
and propagation process is necessary in order to opti-
mize the mixture formation process and achieve a more
efficient combustion with high performance and low
exhaust emissions as well as a good fuel economy.
On the other hand, it has also been recognized that the
combustion process of a spark ignition engine can be
actively controlled by the fuel-air mixture distribution in
the cylinder of the engine. By controlling the spatial and
temporal distribution of the fuel-air mixture in the cylinder,
which means a control of the interaction between the
mixture distribution and the turbulence in the cylinder, the
combustion can be improved. In the last several years,
there has been an increased use of the non-premixed,
direct injection combustion technology such as DISC
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(Direct Injection Stratified Charge) and GDI (Gasoline
Direct Injection) in practical spark ignition engines [12]-
[16]. Despite the significant incremental gains in engine
performance and emissions, a full understanding of the
combustion process, for example, the properties of the
flame development and propagation in the cylinder, has
not yet been completely accomplished. Therefore, it is
desirable and urgently needed in practice to make clear
the flame behavior in such environments, where turbu-
lence and heterogeneous mixture distribution exist simul-
taneously in the combustion chamber, to get an optimum
mixture distribution matching the turbulence characteris-
tics. It is regarded as a key factor in the future for design-
ing engines with superior fuel economy and lower
exhaust emissions.
Although some fundamental studies on the effects of the
mixture concentration on the combustion process have
been conducted for a long time in basic combustion
research [17]-[21], our knowledge is still limited to the
premixed homogeneous flames, or on the contrary, the
diffusion flames. In other words, the effects of a hetero-
geneous mixture concentration distribution on the com-
bustion characteristics still remain unknown, and a
combustion theory, in which the fuel-air mixture in an
intermediate distribution state between the premixed
homogeneous and non-premixed diffusion states, has
not yet been established. Consequently, from the point of
basic research on combustion, it is also important to clar-
ify the combustion characteristics in a heterogeneous
concentration distribution of a fuel-air mixture in order to
develop a new combustion theory that can describe this
phenomenon successfully.
Accordingly, as a fundamental research, an experimental
study was conducted in a constant volume combustion
chamber to clarify the effects of heterogeneous concen-
tration distributions of a fuel-air mixture on the flame
development and propagation process in order to provide
some basic knowledge of the combustion characteristics.
Different propane-air mixture distributions were produced
by the reciprocating movements of a pair of perforated
plates in the combustion chamber. In the previous paper
[22], a laser sheet Rayleigh scattering method was
applied for a quantitative visualization of the mixture dis-
tributions. The temporal variation of the turbulence inten-
sity at the center of the combustion chamber was
measured by the LDV technique. By independent control
of the mixture distribution and the turbulence intensity,
the flame structures and the flame propagation speeds at
various heterogeneous levels of the mixture distribution
were investigated for a stoichiometric propane-air mix-
ture.
In this paper, the mean equivalence ratio of the fuel-air
mixture was changed from 0.7 on the lean side to 1.6 on
2
the rich side. The flame structures and flame propaga-
tion speeds at various heterogeneous levels of the mix-
ture distribution were investigated in detail under those
mean equivalence ratios. Meanwhile, the turbulence
intensity in the combustion chamber was also varied at
the levels of 0.185 m/s, 0.130 m/s, 0.100 m/s, and 0.0 m/
s. The correlation of the turbulence intensity with the
flame propagation speed in different heterogeneous mix-
ture distributions was analyzed. Finally, the relationship
of the flame propagation speed with the pressure rise in
the combustion chamber during the early flame develop-
ment was discussed.
EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS AND
PROCEDURES
FUEL-AIR MIXTURE FORMATION – A constant volume
combustion chamber was used in the experiment. A
detailed description of the combustion chamber can be
found in references [22][23]. Figure 1 shows its sche-
matic diagram. It had a cylindrical shape with a diameter
of 80 mm and a length of 190 mm, and was positioned
horizontally. Two exactly identical perforated plates with
a diameter of 78 mm were installed in the chamber. They
were connected by two air cylinders and could move
reciprocally along the axis of the chamber. Figure 2
shows the time sequences for the experiments. Propane
gas was used as fuel. At the beginning of each experi-
ment, a quantity of propane was first drawn into a syringe
from a fuel bag according to the mean fuel-air equiva-
lence ratio, then it was poured manually into the middle of
the chamber through the fuel intake pipe shown in Fig. 1.
After the pouring, the perforated plates started their
reciprocating movements, and the propane was then
mixed with the air by the flow produced by their move-
ment. After several cycles of the reciprocating move-
ment, the two plates finally stopped at the two ends of the
chamber and the mixture was ignited by an elongated
spark plug at the center of the combustion chamber. In
our study, a mixing number, Nm, was used to define the
total number of cycles of the reciprocating movements of
the two perforated plates. By changing this mixing num-
ber, different heterogeneous mixture distributions could
be obtained. Also, a time, tm, was defined as the delay
time after the two plates stopped at the two ends of the
chamber until the time of ignition. By changing this
delay time, different turbulence intensities of the mixture
could be obtained. Thus various initial conditions with
different turbulence intensities and different heteroge-
neous mixture distributions could be achieved at the igni-
tion.
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Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the constant volume combustion chamber
Figure 2. Time chart for mixture preparation and spark
ignition, and the definitions of Nm, tm and tig
2-D MEASUREMENT OF THE FUEL
DISTRIBUTIONS – The mixture concentration distribu-
tions in the combustion chamber were measured by a
laser sheet Rayleigh scattering technique. A detailed
description of the laser Rayleigh scattering method,
together with the experiment apparatus and the data pro-
cessing procedure can be found in references [22]-[25].
The fuel concentration distributions within a size of 60
mm X 40 mm in the horizontal plane passed through the
center of the combustion chamber were measured at dif-
ferent mixing numbers. In order to evaluate quantitatively
the heterogeneous levels of these concentration distribu-
tions, a degree of heterogeneity, a(t), was introduced and
was defined through Eqs. (2) and (3). a(t, i) was the
mean standard deviation of the local mixture concentra-
tion divided by the mean concentration over the mea-
sured plane. a(t) was the ensemble average of a(t, i).
∑ X (x, y, t, i)
1
X f mean (t, i) = f (Eq. 1)
XY x, y
∑ [X (x, y, t,i) − X
1
f f mean (t, i)
XY x, y
α(t, i) =
X f mean (t, i)
∑ α(t, i)
1
α( t) = (Eq. 3)
N i=1
where
Xf ( x, y, t, i ): Local concentration of the fuel at the
point (x, y) in the measuring plane at time
t in the i-th experiment run
Xf mean ( t, i ): Mean concentration of the fuel over the
measuring plane at time t in the i-th
experiment run
N: Total experiment run numbers
XY : Pixel numbers of the measuring plane
MEASUREMENT OF THE TURBULENCE
INTENSITY – Due to the simultaneous existence of the
flow field and the mixture heterogeneity in the combus-
tion chamber, it is necessary to characterize it in order to
separate its effects on the flame propagation from those
of the mixture heterogeneity. In references [22][23], the
flow in the chamber was visualized by a laser sheet
method. It was found that, in the downstream area within
approximately 45-mm from the plates, the flow showed
an aeolotropic distribution. It implied that the turbulence
of the flow would also be aeolotropic and had an intensity
distribution in the combustion chamber. In order to
account for this factor, besides the turbulence intensity at
the center point of the combustion chamber that was
described in detail in the previous paper [22], the turbu-
lence intensity distribution in the combustion chamber
was measured by the LDV technique in this paper. The
LDV equipment used was a PDPA (Phase Doppler Parti-
cle Analyzer) apparatus (Aerometrics, PDPA-3100) ,
which was operated in the velocity mode. Figure 3 shows
the coordinates and the measurement points in the
]2
experiment. The coordinate (0, 0) was the center point of
the chamber and the X, Y axes corresponded to the axial
(Eq. 2)
and radial directions of the cylindrical combustion cham-
ber. The measured points were in a horizontal plane
3
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passing through the center of the combustion chamber,
which was also the plane for concentration measure-
ment. The instantaneous velocity component, U x(t), in
the axial direction of the chamber, which was also the
movement direction of the perforated plates, and that in
the radial direction of the chamber, Uy(t), were measured.
White carbon with a mean diameter of approximate 1.3-
mm was used as a tracer. The turbulence intensity in the
axial direction, u'x(t), and that of the radial direction, u'y(t),
were derived from their instantaneous velocity compo-
nents by the stationary time-averaged method with an
average time interval of 10 ms [26]. By assuming the
isotropy of the turbulence in the vertical cross section of
the combustion chamber, the total turbulence intensity at
a certain point of the combustion chamber, u'(t), could be
written as [27]:
[u′x (t)]2 + 2[u′y (t)]2
u′(t) =
3 1940 mm. The flame images were recorded by a high
Figure 3. Coordinates and measurement jpoints in the
LDV experiment
Furthermore, considering the spatial distribution of the
turbulence intensity in the combustion chamber, a con-
cept of an effective turbulence intensity was proposed. It
was a volumetric averaging of the local turbulence inten-
sity within a certain volume, and could be expressed as:
1
u′eff (t) =
V ∫
u′i (t)dVi
where
u'eff(t) was the effective turbulence intensity, V was the
total volume for the averaging, dVi was a volume element
and u'i(t) was the turbulence intensity in the correspond-
ing volume element.
In our study, considering the isotropy assumption of the
flow in the vertical cross section, the volume element was
selected to be a cylindrical ring with its cylindrical axis set
as the direction of the combustion chamber. The height
and the outer and inner radii of the cylindrical ring were
selected so that only one measured point was included in
it. Finally, considering the observation area of the flame
in the flame propagation experiment, the total volume
size was selected to be a cylinder having a diameter of
30 mm and a length of 50 mm.
VISUALIZATION OF THE FLAME PROPAGATION
PROCESS – Schlieren photography was used to visual-
ize the flame propagation processes. A schematic dia-
gram of the experimental arrangement is shown in Fig. 4.
A xenon arc lamp with a maximum power of 1 kW and a
pinhole of 1 mm was used as the light source. The
schlieren mirrors were two concave reflection mirrors,
(Eq. 4) which had a diameter of 200 mm and a focus length of
speed video camera (Nac, Memrecam Ci) using an imag-
ing lens with a focus length of 200 mm to get the detail
information of the flame structures. The camera speed
was set to 1000 frames per second and the exposure
time to 1/3000 second. A schlieren stopper with a size of
1.5 mm X 3.5 mm was used to replace the knife-edge.
The synchronization of the mixing, the spark ignition sys-
tem and the camera system was accomplished by a digi-
tal delay/pulse generator (Stanford Research, DG535).
In order to analyze quantitatively the flame propagation
process, the flame images captured by the camera were
later transferred to a computer frame by frame through a
frame grabber and were digitized into 8-bit, 256 pixel X
256-pixel image files. A pressure sensor (Kistler, Model
6421) also picked up the combustion pressure in the
combustion chamber meanwhile.
(Eq. 5)
Figure 4. Schematic diagram of the experiment setup for
schlieren photography
Two parameters, the flame propagation speed, Vf , and
the flame wrinkled factor, Rp/Ra, were used to character-
ize the flame propagation process. The flame propaga-
4
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tion speed, Vf , was defined as the time derivative of the
flame equivalent radius, Ra, at 16 ms after the ignition,
except for the flames in the cases of the mean equiva-
lence ratio, φ=1.1 and 1.3, because in those cases, the
flame fronts exceed the measurement window at 16 ms,
the time derivative of Ra at 12 ms after the ignition was
used to calculate the flame propagation speed. Equation
8 shows the definition of the flame propagation speed.
Rp and Ra was flame equivalent radii derived from the
projected area enclosed by the flame front contour and
the perimeter of the flame front contour respectively. Fig-
ure 5 shows their definitions. The wrinkled factor, Rp/Ra,
was a criterion to evaluate the flame front complexity. A
spherical flame front would have a value of 1.00 and a
larger value of Rp/Ra meant a more corrugated flame
front, which implied a larger flame surface area.
S practicable to control the mixture heterogeneity and the
Ra =
π turbulence intensity independently by controlling both the
L
Rp =
2π
dR a
Vf = tig=16ms
dt
where S, L were the area enclosed by the flame front
contour and the perimeter of the flame front contour,
respectively.
Figure 5. The definitions of the flame equivalent radii,
Ra, Rp
EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS FOR THE SCHLIEREN
PHOTOGRAPHY – Like an actual engine, turbulence
and heterogeneous mixture distribution simultaneously
exist in the combustion chamber, they interact with each
other and influence the overall flame behavior. In order to
investigate the effects due purely to mixture heterogene-
ity on the flame propagation process, the independent
controlling of the turbulence and the mixture distribution
is required. Figure 6 shows an example of the temporal
variations of the degree of mixture heterogeneity, α(t), at
different mixing numbers, Nm , when the diameter of the
holes on the two perforated plates is Dm=4 mm. They the
measurement results by the laser Rayleigh scattering
method as described in the previous section. As shown
in the figure, a small mixing number has a large value of
α. With an increase in the mixing number, the value of α
decreases. Accordingly, it can be deduced that it is pos-
sible to control the mixture heterogeneity by changing the
mixing number. On the other hand, Fig. 7 shows the tem-
poral variations of the effective turbulence intensity at dif-
ferent mixing numbers for Dm=4 mm. It can be seen that,
after the plates stop at the two ends of the chamber (tm>0
ms), the turbulence decays rapidly and the decay rate is
independent of the mixing number. This result leads to
the conclusion that it is possible to change the turbulence
intensity at the time of ignition by controlling the delay
time after the plates' stop. Meanwhile, it is also evident
from Fig. 6 that, in every mixing number, the mixture het-
erogeneity level remains nearly constant during about 50
ms after the plates' stop. However, the turbulence inten-
sity decays rapidly during this period. Therefore, it is
(Eq. 6)
mixing number and the delay time between the plates'
(Eq. 7) stop and the ignition. Thus various initial conditions with
different turbulence intensities and different mixture het-
erogeneity were achieved at the time of ignition, which
(Eq. 8)
made the investigation of the effects of the mixture heter-
ogeneity on the flame propagation possible in our study.
Table 1 shows the experimental conditions for the flame
photography. Two kinds of perforated plates were used.
One had a hole diameter of Dm=6 mm, on which sixty
four 6 mm-diameter holes were uniformly distributed.
The other one had a hole diameter of Dm=4 mm, on
which sixty eight 4 mm-diameter were uniformly distrib-
uted. The objective of using these two kinds of perforated
plates was to investigate the effects of the turbulence
scale on the flame propagation process. It has been ver-
ified that the plate with Dm=4 mm would produce a rela-
tively small scale of turbulence than that with Dm=6 mm.
The mean equivalence ratio was changed from lean side
to rich side at values of 0.7, 0.87, 1.0, 1.1, 1.3 and 1.6.
At each mean equivalence ratio, the effective turbulence
intensity, u'eff(t), was changed at levels of 0.185 m/s,
0.130 m/s and 0.100 m/s in the case of Dm=6 mm, and
0.130 m/s and 0.100 m/s in the case of Dm=4 mm. Fur-
thermore, at each effective turbulence intensity, the
degree of heterogeneity, α(t), was changed indepen-
dently to six values, i.e. six different mixture distributions.
Among the factors of the mean equivalence ratio, the
effective turbulence intensity and the degree of heteroge-
neity, only one parameter was changed while all others
could be fixed for one experiment; thus the effects of the
mean equivalence ratio and the mixture heterogeneity
could be investigated separately. All the experiments
were conducted at room temperature and the initial pres-
sure of the propane-air mixture before combustion kept
constant at 0.1 MPa.
5
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Figure 6. Temporal variations of the degree of mixture
heterogeneity at different mixing numbers for
Dm = 4 mm
Figure 7. Temporal variations of the effective turbulence
intensity at different mixing numbers for Dm =
4 mm
6
Table 1. Experimental conditions for flame
observations
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
EFFECTS OF MIXTURE HETEROGENEITY ON FLAME
PROPAGATION PROCESS – Figure 8 shows the results
of the schlieren photographs of the flames at mean
equivalence ratios of φ=0.7, 1.1, and 1.6 under different
mixture distributions for the case Dm=4 mm. Figure 9
shows the corresponding schlieren photographs for the
case Dm=6 mm. These are the flames 16 ms after the
ignition. At each mean equivalence ratio, a similar trend
exists in the variation of the flame with the degree of mix-
ture heterogeneity, a. That is, the premixed laminar flame
in a homogeneous mixture at α=0.0 and at an effective
turbulence intensity of u'eff =0.0 m/s, appears to have a
smooth flame front. The flame in the same homoge-
neous mixture at α=0.0 and at an effective turbulence
intensity of u'eff=0.130 m/s becomes wrinkled because of
the existence of the turbulence. When comparing the
flames in various heterogeneous mixtures, although they
have the same effective turbulence intensity, due to the
different concentration distributions of the mixture, the
flames appear to have different wrinkled fronts and differ-
ent radii. Furthermore, compared with the flames for dif-
ferent mean equivalence ratios, the flames at φ=1.1 have
relatively larger radii than the corresponding flames at
φ=0.7 and 1.6. The similar phenomenon are also evident
through Fig. 9 for the case of Dm=6 mm, i.e., flames in
heterogeneous distributions become wrinkled compared
with those in the homogeneous distributions at the same
turbulence intensity, and the flames in different degrees
of heterogeneous mixture distribution have different wrin-
kled flame fronts and flame radii.
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Figures 10 and 11 show the above flames quantitatively
in terms of the variations of the flame propagation speed,
Vf , with the degree of mixture heterogeneity, α, under dif-
ferent mean equivalence ratios of φ=0.7, 0.87, 1.1, 1.3,
and 1.6 for u'eff =0.130 m/s in the case of Dm=4 mm and
6 mm. The variations of the flame wrinkled factor, Rp/Ra,
with the degree of the mixture heterogeneity, α, in the
case of Dm=4 mm and 6 mm are shown in Fig. 12 and
13. The results are ensemble averages of 10 experiment
runs. In either case for Dm=4 mm or 6 mm, at each fixed
mean equivalence ratio, it shows that with an increase in
the degree of heterogeneity, the flame wrinkled factor
becomes larger. This indicates that the flame front is
more wrinkled as the mixture distribution becomes more
heterogeneous. However, the variation of the flame prop-
agation speed with the degree of heterogeneity does not
show a linear relationship. In each mean equivalence
ratio, with an increase in the degree of heterogeneity
from the homogeneous mixture, the flame propagation
speed becomes larger at first, then reaches a maximum
value at a certain heterogeneous mixture distribution,
and finally begins to decrease again. In other words, an
optimal mixture distribution for the flame propagation
speed exists at a certain heterogeneous degree of mix-
ture distribution. And this phenomenon was found to
exist at any mean equivalence ratio in the experimental
range besides the stoichiometric mixture that was investi-
gated in the previous papers [22][28]. This variation is
believed to be related to the mixture concentration distri-
butions themselves. From the concentration measure-
ment results, when the degree of mixture heterogeneity is
around α=0.260, a large quantity of fuel-air lumps exist in
the mixture. Because of the correspondence of the local
equivalence ratio with the local burning velocity, when the
mixture is ignited, a flame will propagate with different
7
burning velocities in such a mixture where a large quan-
tity of lumps exists. As a result, strong turbulence is sup-
posed to be induced between these lumps because of
the local difference in the burning velocity, thus the flame
front is disturbed, and the total flame propagation speed
becomes larger than that in a homogeneous mixture.
However, when a becomes much larger, locations with
concentrations out of the flammable limits begin to
appear in the mixture, and this makes the total flame
propagation speed become small again. Furthermore, it
is obvious that this maximum flame propagation speed,
along with the value of α at the maximum speed, has dif-
ferent values at different mean equivalence ratios. Figure
14 shows the variation of the maximum flame propaga-
tion speed with the mean equivalence ratio for Dm=4 mm.
Figure 15 shows the variation of the α at the maximum
propagation speed with the mean equivalence ratio for
Dm=4 mm. With the variation of the mean equivalence
ratio from lean side to rich side, this maximum flame
propagation speed first increases, then reaches a maxi-
mum value at a slightly rich mixture, finally, decreases
again. This is quite similar to the variation of burning
velocity with the equivalence ratio in a homogeneous
mixture, and it is believed that this variation is caused by
the dependence of the burning velocity from the equiva-
lence ratio. The variation of a at the maximum propaga-
tion speed with the mean equivalence ratio, on the
contrary, shows a minimum value around φ=1.1. It
means that the mixture distribution for maximum propa-
gation speed is more heterogeneous at lean and rich
sides than that around the stoichiometric equivalence
ratio. In other words, at the lean and rich sides, a more
heterogeneous mixture distribution will have an enhanc-
ing effect on flame propagation.
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Figure 8. Schlieren photographs of flames in different mixture distributions

at 16 ms after the ignition in the case of D m = 4 mm

Figure 9. Schlieren photographs of flames in different mixture distributions

at 16 ms after the ignition in the case of D m = 6 mm

8
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Figure 10. The variations of the flame propagation speed with the degree of mixture heterogeneity under different mean
equivalence ratios of φ = 0.7, 0.87, 1.1, 1.3, and 1.6 for u′eff = 0.130 m/s and Dm = 4 mm

9
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Figure 11. The variations of the flame propagation speed with the degree of mixture heterogeneity under different mean
equivalence ratios of φ = 0.7, 0.87, 1.1, 1.3, and 1.6 for u′eff = 0.130 m/s and Dm = 6 mm

10
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Figure 12. The variations of the flame wrinkled factor with the degree of mixture heterogeneity under different mean
equivalence ratios of φ = 0.7, 0.87, 1.1, 1.3, and 1.6 for u′eff = 0.130 m/s and Dm = 4 mm

11
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Figure 13. The variations of the flame wrinkled factor with the degree of mixture heterogeneity under different mean
equivalence ratios of φ = 0.7, 0.87, 1.1, 1.3, and 1.6 for u′eff = 0.130 m/s and Dm = 6 mm

12
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Figure 14. The variation of the maximum flame
propagation speed with the mean equivalence
ratio for Dm = 4 mm
Figure 15. The variation of the degree of mixture
heterogeneity at the maximum flame
propagation speed with the mean equivalence
ratio for Dm = 4 mm
EFFECTS OF MEAN EQUIVALENCE RATIO ON FLAME
PROPAGATION SPEED – Figure 16 shows the effects of
the mean equivalence ratio on the flame propagation
speed in various heterogeneous mixtures for Dm=4 mm.
The dotted curve with the symbol "X" is the results of the
13
laminar flame in a homogeneous mixture. It can be seen
that, in the homogeneous mixture, with a variation of the
mean equivalence ratio, there is a maximum flame propa-
gation speed around φ=1.1. This is believed to be related
to the dependence of the burning velocity from the mean
equivalence ratio. When the mixture distribution
becomes heterogeneous, the maximum flame propaga-
tion speed still exists with the variation of the mean equiv-
alence ratio, but its value varies with α. Also the curve of
the flame propagation speed with the mean equivalence
ratio has different shapes in different heterogeneous mix-
ture distributions. With an increase in α, the curve
becomes flatter. This fact indicates that when the mixture
becomes heterogeneous, the dependence of the flame
propagation speed on the mean equivalence ratio
becomes weaker. As a result, it could be suggested that
the flame flammability limits become wider than that in
the homogeneous mixture. Furthermore, the flame in the
heterogeneous mixture for α=0.234 propagates faster
than the homogeneous one at any mean equivalence
ratios.
Figure 16. The effects of the mean equivalence ratio on
the flame propagation speed at different
heterogeneous mixture distributions for u′eff =
0.130 m/s and D m = 4 mm
As evident through Figs. 8 to 16, the flame propagation
speed is dependent on the mixture distribution as well as
the mean equivalence ratio. For summarizing our experi-
ment results, the relationship among the flame propaga-
tion speed, the mixture heterogeneity and the mean
equivalence ratio were plotted in Fig. 17 for the case of
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u'eff =0.130 m/s and D m=4 mm. It can be seen clearly
again that at α=0.0, i.e., when the mixture is in a homo-
geneous distribution, with the variation of the mean
equivalence ratio from the lean side to the rich side, the
flame has a maximum propagation speed around φ=1.1.
However, in our study, the mixture was extended to vari-
ous heterogeneous distributions with a maximum α of
about 0.40, and it was found that, at each fixed value of
α, with the variation of the mean equivalence ratio, φ, the
flame propagation speed always has a maximum value,
although this maximum value changes with the α. On the
contrary, at each fixed value of φ, with the variation of the
degree of mixture heterogeneity, α, the flame propagation
speed also appears to have a maximum value, although
this maximum value changes with the φ. Especially the
later one is an interesting phenomenon that was not com-
pletely clarified yet. Furthermore, in the mixtures having
an α less than 0.250, the mean equivalence ratio has a
stronger effect on the flame propagation speed than in
those having an α larger than 0.250. This is also evident
in the Fig. 16 by a comparison of the curve shapes for a
homogeneous mixture and different heterogeneous mix-
ture distributions.

Figure 17. The variation of the flame propagation speed with the degree of mixture heterogeneity
and the mean equivalence ratio for u′eff = 0.130 m/s and Dm = 4 mm

EFFECTS OF TURBULENCE INTENSITY ON FLAME value of α, i.e., at a more heterogeneous mixture. It

PROPAGATION CHARACTERISTICS – Figures 18 and
19 show the effects of the turbulence intensity on the
flame structure in terms of flame wrinkled factor, R p/Ra.
Figure 18 shows the results for Dm=4 mm, and Fig. 19
shows the results for Dm=6 mm. In either of the figures, a
larger effective turbulence intensity has a larger value of
Rp/Ra. It means that the flame in a larger turbulence has
a more wrinkled flame front. However, a comparison of
the flames for u'eff =0.130 m/s and 0.100 m/s at the same
a, for example as those for φ=1.3 and Dm=4 mm as
shown in Fig. 18 (b), reveals that the increment of the Rp/
Ra from u'eff =0.100 m/s to 0.130 m/s is larger at a larger
implies that the turbulence in a heterogeneous mixture
has a stronger effect on the flame front than that in a
homogeneous mixture. This phenomenon is also evident
in other cases as shown in Figs. 18 (a), 19 (a) and 19 (b).
Figure 20 shows the effects of the turbulence intensity on
the flame propagation speed in a homogeneous mix-
ture. The vertical axis is the relative turbulent flame prop-
agation speed normalized by the laminar flame
propagation speed at the same mean equivalence ratio,
and SL is the laminar flame speed at the same mean
equivalence ratio. It can be seen that a linear relationship
obviously exists between the turbulence intensity and the

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flame propagation speed. This result agrees with the
Karlovitz's turbulence model [29]. Figures 21 and 22
show the effects of the turbulence intensity on the flame
propagation speed in various heterogeneous mixtures.
The results in the case of Dm=4 mm are shown in the Fig.
21, and those for Dm=6 mm are shown in the Fig. 22.
The turbulent flame propagation speed in a heteroge-
neous mixture, Vf T , is normalized by the laminar flame
propagation speed, Vf L, in a quiescent homogeneous
mixture of the same mean equivalence ratio. In either of
these different heterogeneous mixture distributions, the
variation of the flame propagation speed with the turbu-
lence intensity shows a linear relationship, which has a
similar trend as that in the homogeneous mixture shown
in Fig.20. It suggests that the turbulence also has an
enhancing effect on the flame propagation speed even in
a heterogeneous mixture. However, different from that in
the homogeneous mixture, this linear correlation varies
with the mixture distribution, and shows different slopes
and vertical intercepts in different heterogeneous mixture
distributions. This fact implies that the turbulence inter-
acts with the heterogeneous mixture distribution and
turns out an overall flame behavior.

Figure 18. The effects of the mean turbulence intensity on the flame structures
at different heterogeneous distributions for Dm = 4 mm

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Figure 19. The effects of the mean turbulence intensity on the flame structures at
different heterogeneous distributions for Dm = 6 mm
Figure 20. The effects of the turbulence intensity on the
flame propagation speed at different mean
equifalence ratios for Dm = 4 mm and 6 mm in
a homogeneous mixture
CORRELATION OF FLAME PROPAGATION SPEED
WITH PRESSURE RISE – The temporal variation of the
combustion pressure is a direct indicator of the combus-
16
tion situation in a combustion chamber. The pressure
during the combustion process was measured and its
correlation with the flame propagation was analyzed.
Figure 23 shows the pressure histories and the corre-
sponding flames 16 ms after the ignition in different mix-
ture distributions of φ=0.87 for u'eff =0.185 m/s and Dm=6
mm. Those for u'eff =0.130 m/s and Dm=4 mm are shown
in Fig. 24. In our study, primary interest was focused on
the flame propagation in the free space before the flame
arrived on the wall. This corresponds to a period of about
25 ms after the ignition. Hence, only the pressure traces
during this period are plotted. It can be seen clearly from
the figures that, during the very early period, the flame
develops steadily while the pressures shows almost no
significant rise in any kind of mixture distribution. Fur-
thermore, it is obvious that the combustion having a rap-
idly propagating flame also shows a rapid pressure rise.
As a typical example, the combustion in which the flame
has a maximum radius at α=0.266 in Fig. 24 also shows
the fastest rise in the pressure trace. In other words, the
flame propagation process agrees with the pressure rise
in the combustion chamber despite whether the mixture
distribution is homogeneous or heterogeneous. It is nec-
essary in the future to analyze the pressure data in detail
in order to extract other combustion information from it.
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Figure 21. The effects of the turbulence intensity on the flame propagation speed at different heterogeneous mixture
distributions for Dm = 4 mm, (a) α = 0.128, (b) α = 0.195, (c) α = 0.234, (d) α = 0.266, (e) α = 0.394

17
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Figure 22. The effects of the turbulence intensity on the flame propagation speed at different heterogeneous mixture
distributions for Dm = 6 mm, (a) α = 0.107, (b) α = 0.238, (c) α = 0.260, (d) α = 0.306, (e) α = 0.358

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Figure 23. The pressure histories and the flames at 16 ms after the ignition in different
mixture distributions for φ = 0.87, u ′eff = 0.185 m/s and Dm = 6 mm

Figure 24. The pressure histories and the flames at 16 ms after the ignition in different
mixture distributions for φ = 0.87, u ′eff = 0.130 m/s and Dm = 4 mm

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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
An experimental study was conducted to investigate the
effects of mixture heterogeneity on the flame behavior
and propagation characteristics. The mean equivalence
ratio of the fuel-air mixture was varied from 0.7 on the
lean side to 1.6 on the rich side, the effective turbulence
intensity in the combustion chamber was also changed at
levels of 0.185 m/s, 0.130 m/s, 0.100 m/s, and 0.0 m/s.
By an independent control of the mixture distribution and
the turbulence intensity, the flame structure and flame
propagation speed at various heterogeneous levels of the
mixture distribution were investigated in detail under
those mean equivalence ratios and turbulence intensities.
The effects of the mean equivalence ratio on the flame
behavior, as well as the correlation of the turbulence
intensity with the flame propagation speed in different
heterogeneous mixture distributions, were studied. The
relationship between the flame propagation speed and
the pressure rise in the combustion chamber during the
early flame development period was also analyzed in this
paper. The main results are summarized as follows:
1. Results from schlieren photographs of flames in dif-
ferent heterogeneous mixture distributions show that
the flame front becomes wrinkled as the mixture var-
ies from a homogeneous distribution to various heter-
ogeneous distributions, and a more heterogeneous
distribution results in a more corrugated flame front.
This phenomenon was observed for any equivalence
ratio from 0.7 on the lean side to 1.6 on the rich side
within our experimental range.
2. With a variation of the mixture from a homogeneous
distribution to different heterogeneous distributions,
the flame propagation speed first increases, then
reaches a maximum value at a certain degree of the
heterogeneous distribution, and finally decreases
again. In other words, an optimal mixture distribution
for the flame propagation speed exists among the dif-
ferent heterogeneous distributions. This phenome-
non exists at any mean equivalence ratio from the
lean side to the rich side.
3. Similar to that in a homogeneous mixture, the flame
propagation speed is dependent on the mean equiv-
alence ratio even in a heterogeneous mixture distri-
bution. With a variation of the mean equivalence
ratio from the lean side to the rich side, the flame
propagation speed has a maximum value at a certain
value of mean equivalence ratio, φ. However, when
the mixture becomes heterogeneous, this depen-
dence becomes weaker, and the value of φ at the
maximum flame propagation speed varies with the
heterogeneous mixture distribution. It becomes
smaller with an increment of α..
20
4. Similar to that in a homogeneous mixture, the turbu-
lence also has an enhancing effect on the flame
propagation speed in the fuel-air mixture with a het-
erogeneous concentration distribution. A strong cor-
relation exists between the flame propagation speed
and the turbulence intensity even in a heteroge-
neously distributed mixture, and this correlation
changes with the heterogeneous mixture itself.
5. The flame propagation processes in mixtures with
different heterogeneous distributions coincide with
the speed of the pressure rise in the combustion
chamber during the early flame development pro-
cesses.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank Mr. Yasuo Yagi, Mr. Tohru
Ohshita and Mr. Masahiro Shikamori, former students of
University of Hiroshima, for their assistance in the experi-
mental work. They would also like to thank Prof. Hajime
Yoshida of Maritime Safety Academic, Japan, for provid-
ing the schlieren photography equipment. Thanks are
also extended to Dr. Z. S. Filipi of the University of Michi-
gan,U.S.A, for an fruitful discussion.
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