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A generalized Partially-Stirred Reactor (PaSR) model is presented in this work based on the inclusion of multiple chemical times. The PaSR model has shown promising results at modelling turbulence-chemistry interaction in Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) and Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS), providing an extension of the well-known Eddy Dissipation Concept (EDC). PaSR model divides the computational domain into reactive and non-reactive parts. The factor defining this partition is expressed as a function of the system characteristic chemical and mixing times. However, the estimation of these factors, particularly the chemical one, is often oversimplified. The approach proposed in this study seeks to include in the PaSR model the whole set of chemical times involved in the reactive system. Besides, the concept of fine structures , first introduced in the EDC and often adopted also in the PaSR model to characterize the evolution of chemistry in the reactive part of the fluid, is here abandoned in favour of direct manipulation of species production rates. The mean source term is formulated according to the new generalized model through a modal decomposition of the Jacobian matrix. The method is validated a priori with DNS data of a syngas non-premixed jet flame, whose filtered data represent the validation benchmark. A good agreement is found between the new PaSR model and the filtered data for all species at different filter widths. Comparison with the single time scale based model clearly shows the limitations of the old standard approach and the necessity of including the whole spectrum of chemical times for a more comprehensive description of turbulence-chemistry interaction. A thorough analysis with the time scale participation index reveals the complexity of reaction rates contributions to the development of a specific time scale, underlying the importance of developing a model able to inherit all kinetic pathways in the turbulent closure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soot sensitivity to strain rate is mainly responsible for soot formation intermittence in practical combustion devices. This work provides a fundamental study on soot formation in Soot Formation Oxidation (SFO) counterflow flames at varying strain rates. While the problem has been extensively studied in Soot Formation (SF) configurations, where the dominant process is nucleation, investigations remain scarce in the corresponding SFO cases. In the latter, the high temperatures and strong oxidative environments make the surface reactions prevail over nucleation. The work provides a new dataset for ethylene SFO flames in a wide range of strain rates and sheds light on the main processes concurring in determining soot strain rate sensitivity in such conditions. In particular, the peak of soot volume fraction (SVF) is primarily controlled by surface growth and oxidation. The latter becomes progressively more dominant on the side of the SVF distribution toward the oxidizer nozzle, where the presence of oxidizing agents is significant. The soot mechanism adopted predicts a SVF distribution and sensitivity to strain rate in agreement with experimental data. The latter is found similar to corresponding SF cases, although soot loads in the two configurations differ by almost an order magnitude, and the SVF sensitivity is known to be more accentuated for lower soot loads. A deeper investigation revealed that the nucleation process through dimerizations primarily controls the SVF sensitivity, providing the onset of soot necessary for further growth. Then, the latter tends to reduce SVF sensitivity depending on its impact. PAH sensitivities mostly agree with theoretical observation even though further validations on the kinetic mechanism are needed to improve its predictions in lean conditions. The simplistic yet effective model based on the hybrid method of moments and the employment of a reduced kinetic mechanism makes the approach amenable for turbulent computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]