Composition PDF/photon Monte Carlo modeling of moderately sooting turbulent jet flames

A comprehensive model for luminous turbulent flames is presented. The model features detailed chemistry, radiation and soot models and state-of-the-art closures for turbulence–chemistry interactions and turbulence–radiation interactions. A transported probability density function (PDF) method is used to capture the effects of turbulent fluctuations in composition and temperature. The PDF method is extended to include soot formation. Spectral gas and soot radiation is modeled using a (particle-based) photon Monte Carlo method coupled with the PDF method, thereby capturing both emission and absorption turbulence–radiation interactions. An important element of this work is that the gas-phase chemistry and soot models that have been thoroughly validated across a wide range of laminar flames are used in turbulent flame simulations without modification. Six turbulent jet flames are simulated with Reynolds numbers varying from 6700 to 15,000, two fuel types (pure ethylene, 90%90% methane–10%10% ethylene blend) and different oxygen concentrations in the oxidizer stream (from 21%21%O2O2 to 55%55%O2O2). All simulations are carried out with a single set of physical and numerical parameters (model constants). Uniformly good agreement between measured and computed mean temperatures, mean soot volume fractions and (where available) radiative fluxes is found across all flames. This demonstrates that with the combination of a systematic approach and state-of-the-art physical models and numerical algorithms, it is possible to simulate a broad range of luminous turbulent flames with a single model.