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Updated: Dec 21, 2025

Experimental Methodology for Estimation of Local Heat Fluxes and Burning Rates in Steady Laminar Boundary Layer Diffusion Flames
Published on: June 1, 2016
Unexpected Propagation of Ultra-Lean Hydrogen Flames in Narrow Gaps
Fernando Veiga-López1, Mike Kuznetsov2, Daniel Martínez-Ruiz3
1Departamento de Ingeniería Térmica y de Fluidos, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, 28911 Leganés, Madrid, España.
Abstract:
Very lean hydrogen flames were thought to quench in narrow confined geometries. We show for the first time how flames with very low fuel concentration undergo an unprecedented propagation in narrow gaps: H_{2}-air flames can survive very adverse conditions by breaking the reaction front into isolated flame cells that travel steadily in straight lines or split to perform a fractal-like propagation that resembles the pathway of starving fungi or bacteria. The combined effect of hydrogen mass diffusivity and intense heat losses act as the two main mechanisms that explain the experimental observations.
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