Quantification of Combustion Regime Transitions to Distributed Modes

Combustion in the absence of sharp flame fronts has significant advantages in terms reduced signatures and improved fuel efficiency resulting in increased range. The operating conditions often exceed conventional extinction criteria and typically require careful aerodynamic balancing for sustained chemical activity. The work shows that low Damkhler numbers lead to a separation of reaction zones, flame structures that are distinctly different from those associated with burning in the flamelet regime, that turbulent mixing of separated reaction zones can be expected to become of significant importance and that conventional combustion regime diagrams are inadequate.