Effects of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities on turbulent premixed flames in a curved rectangular duct

Large-eddy simulations are used to demonstrate the effects of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities (RTIs) on constant-pressure, turbulent premixed flames stabilized in a curved rectangular duct. A splitter plate of constant radius separates a reactant and pilot stream such that the flame stabilizes in the mixing layer between the two streams. Centrifugal acceleration due to the duct curvature induces the RTI, increasing the mixing of the higher-density reactant stream with the lower-density pilot stream. In both non-reacting and reacting flows, the resulting mixing layer thickness grows at rates comparable to those in unconfined RTIs until the flame occupies approximately half of the duct, at which point the duct walls limit the growth rate. The conservative equations are modified with artificial body forces to negate the centrifugal effect (and the RTI) to isolate the impact of the curved geometry. A comparison between the flames with and without the RTI shows that the RTI increases the turbulent flame speed primarily through increased flame surface area. The RTI also increases the range of local flame stretches and curvatures. The increased turbulent flame speed and growth rates due to RTI suggest a viable mechanism to increase turbulent flame speed in gas turbine engines though the application of flow path curvature.