In the current work, the Flamelet Generated Manifold (FGM) method is applied with large-eddy simulation (LES) to investigate the effect of methane on dual-fuel (DF) spray ignition. The diesel surrogate n-dodecane is injected as the so-called pilot fuel into selected lean methane–air mixtures, ranging from ϕ_CH4=0 to ϕ_CH4=0.75, at engine relevant conditions. The operating conditions are those of the completely characterized Engine Combustion Network (ECN) Spray A configuration, for which the modeling approach adopted in the present study was extensively validated. The specific purpose of this study is to extend and validate the FGM approach for dual-fuel combustion. In order to understand the interplay of chemistry and mixing, the ignition behavior of selected cases is investigated. It is found that both low and high temperature combustion (LTC and HTC, respectively) are increasingly retarded by higher values of ϕ_CH4, while the induction time between LTC and HTC is relatively insensitive compared to the ignition delay time (IDT). Analysis reveals a more prominent role of mixing for increased ϕ_CH4. The development of LTC and HTC are quantitatively analyzed for different cases. The transition from LTC to HTC is found to be highly correlated with the evolution of lift-off length (LOL), which on its turn is seriously affected by ϕ_CH4. The local flame behavior is analyzed via chemical explosive mode analysis (CEMA), suggesting a clear flame propagation due to diffusion towards lean mixtures after the ignition of the pilot fuel. Besides, it is found that diffusion helps to stabilize the flame in leaner mixtures, which is more important in DF combustion. The results show FGM to be a promising tool in modeling the DF sprays.

In this work, an extension of the Flamelet Generated Manifold (FGM) method is developed suitable for igniting turbulent flames. To create the FGM, the strongly stretched flamelet equations (SSFE) are solved. Whereas in the standard basic method a single representative flamelet strain rate is used, in the new method a range of strain rates is taken into account. This allows including the effect of a varying turbulent scalar dissipation rate (SDR) during ignition. The new approach is validated by applying it in an Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of the Engine Combustion Network (ECN) Spray A turbulent flame for which detailed experimental data are available. First, in a priori validation step, the performance of the new extended FGM, the multi-strainrate FGM (mFGM), is validated by the simulation of ignition and species profiles in laminar flames along the so-called S-curve diagram and comparing with full chemistry calculations. The sub-grid scale (SGS) spray dispersion model is validated against the inert spray experiments in terms of vapor and liquid penetration as well as the spatial distribution of mixture fraction and its root mean square. Finally, the performance of the extended FGM is evaluated by comparison with the ECN Spray A flame. It is found that compared to the single-strain-rate FGM, the prediction of the ignition delay is improved considerably. This is related to the effect of the inclusion of the effect of the SDR, which is mainly on the second-stage ignition, i.e. the high-temperature chemistry. The low-temperature combustion is also affected as it occurs in richer mixtures than observed for the single-strain-rate FGM. Especially the formaldehyde, associated with low-temperature combustion, occurs in wider distribution. Finally, also predictions of soot evolution are studied. To improve the soot prediction capabilities, a new correction to the retrieved source term of the important pre-cursor, acetylene, is introduced. The above modeling developments have been made using a customized OpenFOAM solver developed by the authors. This work demonstrates the importance of including the SSFE SDR as independent parameter in an FGM based on igniting flamelets.