Lorentz Mixing of Co-Flowing Reactant Streams

Abstract

A new method has been developed for enhancing bulk mixing in a planar diffusion flame. The fuel stream is seeded with cesium to raise the electrical conductivity at the reactant interface. A current is passed through the flame, and by applying an orthogonal magnetic field a Lorentz body force is induced perpendicular to the flame sheet. Sinusoidal oscillation of the current is used to wiggle the flame sheet at the imposed frequency and promote bulk mixing of the reactants through a disruption of the laminar behavior of the flow. High-speed video images have been analyzed to estimate induced lateral flame sheet velocities. Experimental results compare well with velocities predicted from a simple theoretical analysis.