Peculiarities of the flame formation of a propane-air mixture in a narrow channel

This paper presents a numerical study of the features of propane-air mixture flame propagation in a narrow cylindrical channel. The main purpose of the study is to determine the effect of the channel width on the combustion characteristics of a propane-air mixture with a composition close to stoichiometric. The problem is formulated using the methods of reactive gas dynamics. The solution method is based on the Van Leer method for determining flows on the faces of computational cells. The peculiarities of the combustion front formation and its propagation along the channel are revealed and analyzed. The formation of the curved flame front is shown to have a cyclical nature. The visible flame velocity is obtained as a function of the channel radius. The proposed physical and mathematical model can be used to determine the thermal conditions of operating cylindrical burners.