Experimental studies of the role of chemical kinetics in turbulent flames

Flames of di-t-butyl-peroxide (DTBP) decomposition in a 0.376DTBP + 1.0N ₂ mixture are studied in laminar and turbulent media. The observed values of unstretched laminar burning velocity are in reasonable agreement with the value obtained from the Zel'dovich-Semenov-Frank-Kamenetsky theory. Turbulent explosions in this particular mixture are characterized by a number of features that are believed to be common for all developing turbulent flames and have relevance to spark-ignition engine combustion of lean mixtures. Flame propagation is unsteady and is characterized by a mass burning rate that increases in time. The rate of the flame acceleration varies from one explosion to another. If the burning rate is related to the average flame radius, however, it exhibits much smaller variations. This phenomenon bears a striking resemblance to cycle-to-cycle variations in a spark-ignition engine. Comparisons of the present results with mixtures of significantly different composition, chemical kinetics, and exothermicity, but with similar laminar flame speed and Lewis number show that the data obtained in closed-volume explosions are in good agreement if the unsteady character of the flame is taken into account. The differences in details of the kinetic mechanisms and thermochemistry appear to be responsible for the flame behaviour only near the limit of extinction by turbulence.