Effect of fuel stratification length scale on thermodiffusively unstable lean hydrogen flames

Abstract

Lean premixed hydrogen flames are highly susceptible to thermodiffusive instabilities, which generate cellular structures and enhance propagation speed. In practical combustors, incomplete premixing can introduce spatial variations in local equivalence ratio upstream of the flame. This work investigates how the characteristic length scale of inlet fuel stratification affects the structure and propagation of lean laminar hydrogen flames using direct numerical simulations with detailed chemistry and transport. Controlled sinusoidal perturbations of the fuel mass fraction are imposed while maintaining a constant density-weighted global equivalence ratio, and a passive tracer tracks the imposed stratification independently of combustion chemistry and differential diffusion. The results reveal a strongly scale-dependent response. When the stratification wavelength becomes comparable to the spacing of large thermodiffusive structures ($λ\approx 20 δ_f$), transverse composition gradients disrupt thermodiffusive fingers, reducing flame surface area and propagation speed relative to the perfectly premixed reference. For larger wavelengths ($λ\gtrsim 40 δ_f$), stratification organises the flame into alternating fuel-rich and fuel-lean channels, with thermodiffusive cells developing preferentially in richer regions and cusp-like structures forming in lean zones. This increases flame surface area and global propagation speed. The stretch factor remains nearly constant across all cases, indicating that the dominant mechanism is geometric: the scale-dependent creation or suppression of large flame structures rather than significant changes in local burning behaviour. These findings highlight the key role of stratification length scale in controlling thermodiffusively unstable hydrogen flames, with implications for modelling and design of partially premixed hydrogen combustors.