Flame Stabilisation Mechanism for Under-Expanded Hydrogen Jets

A hydrogen under-expanded jet released from a high-pressure vessel or equipment into the atmosphere through a 0.53 mm diameter orifice results in a sustained lifted flame for pressures above 4 MPa and flame blow-out at pressures below 3 MPa. Knowledge of whether the leaked hydrogen creates a sustained flame or is extinguished is an important issue for safety engineering. This study aims to clarify, in detail, a mechanism of flame stabilisation and blow-out depending on the spouting pressure. The model of flame stabilisation is derived using measurements and observations at the flame base location by means of high-speed schlieren images, laser diagnostics, and electrostatic probe techniques. The sustained stable flame originating from the 0.53 mm orifice is characterised by the existence of the spherical flame structures with a diameter of about 5 to 7 mm that appear one after another at the flame base and outside the streamlines of the hydrogen jet. As the spouting pressure reduces to 3.5 MPa, the sustained lifted flame becomes quasi-steady with higher fluctuations in amplitude of the flame base (lift-off height). In addition to that, flame structures are moving further from the hydrogen jet outlet, with a further decrease of spouting pressure leading to blow-out. The existence of spherical flame formations plays an important role in flame stabilisation. Based on the measurements of OH radicals using the PLIF method and ion currents, multiple flame surfaces were found to be folded in the flame structures. The hydrogen jet generates the vortex-like flow near its outer edge, creating flamelets upon ignition, ultimately forming the observed in the experiments spherical flame structures.