Exploring turbulent methane-assisted iron dust combustion: A combined experimental and numerical study of a 47 kW <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si18.svg"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mspace width="0.1em"/> <mml:mtext>th</mml:mtext> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> lab-scale combustor

Abstract

In this study, the combustion dynamics of a methane-supported turbulent iron dust flame in a 47 kW th swirl stabilized laboratory-scale burner is investigated using a combination of experimental and numerical methods. The setup is designed to mimic key features of industrial configurations and provides optical accessibility, enabling advanced diagnostics such as Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) to study particle velocity fields. Experimental measurements are complemented by Large Eddy Simulation (LES) using a novel tabulated chemistry approach and a state-of-the-art Lagrangian particle model to account for complex iron oxidation and gas phase interactions. The results reveal good agreement between experimental data and numerical predictions, validating the simulation framework. Key findings from the combined analysis include the observation of preferential concentration, the effect of turbulent mixing on combustion dynamics, and the interaction between oxygen availability and particle oxidation. These findings offer a valuable reference for understanding the complex multi-phase combustion processes in iron dust flames and underscore the potential for scaling iron combustion toward sustainable energy applications. • First joint experimental and LES study of a turbulent iron–methane flame. • Experimental evidence of particle clustering effects in larger-scale burner. • Measurement of iron particle velocity fields. • Flamelet-LES of turbulent iron–methane combustion agrees well with experiments. • Detailed analysis of particle trajectories and conversion inside the burner.

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