Analysis of Methane-Air Edge Flame Structure

We study the structure of a methane–air edge flame stabilized against an incoming mixing layer. The flame is computed using detailed chemical kinetics, and the analysis is based on computational singular perturbation theory. We focus on examination of the dynamical fast/slow structure of the flame, exploring the distribution of time-scales, the composition of the related specific modes and the effective low-dimensional structure. We also study the importance of chemical/transport processes for both major species and radicals in the flame, analyzing the information available from slow/fast importance indices as compared to reaction flux analysis. Results provide enhanced understanding of the flame, outlining the role of different chemical and transport processes in its observed structure.