Predicting the ignition sequences in a separated stratified swirling spray flame with stochastic flame particle tracking

Stochastic flame particle tracking in conjunction with non-reacting combustor simulations can offer insights into the ignition processes and facilitate the combustor optimization. In this study, this approach is employed to simulate the ignition sequences in a separated dual-swirl spray flame, in which the newly proposed pairwise mixing-reaction model is used to account for the mass and energy transfer between the flame particle and the surrounding shell layer. Based on the flame particle temperature, the particle state can be classified in to burnt, hot gas, and extinguished. The additional state of hot gas is introduced to allow the flame particles with high temperature to survive from nonflammable region and then potentially to ignite the nearby favourable regions. The simulations of the separated stratified swirl spray flame reveal two different ignition pathways for flame stabilization. The first showed that some flame particles from the spark would directly enter the main recirculation zone resulting from the velocity randomness and then ignite both sides of the combustor simultaneously. The second showed that flame particles from the spark would ignite the traversed regions following the swirl motion inside the combustor. The predicted ignition sequences were compared with the evolution of flame morphology recorded by high-speed imaging from experiments, showing qualitative agreement.