| This dissertation describes a fundamental study on the influence of electric fields on combustion reactions and their surrounding gases. A detailed literature survey is provided which outlines the works in the past that have contributed to the modern understanding of the fundamental processes. The interactions that occur when electric fields are applied to flames are complicated, and not enough information exists for electrode designs to be evaluated either by first principles or empirical correlations. Moreover, this prevents robust electric field actuators for control, a topic of great interest currently, from being developed without extensive testing. Electric field, chemical, and fluid-dynamic interactions that occur near the combustion reaction zone, and away from the reaction in the electrode spaces. Based on the results from the literature survey, an apparatus is constructed and a series of experiments are performed. A variety of diagnostics are used to probe flame shapes, sizes and the behaviors of the surrounding gases, as well as the characteristics of the electrical discharge from the flame. Techniques such as photography and schlieren imaging are employed for visualization, and chemiluminescence detection is used to probe the chemistry of the flame. In addition, ion probes are developed for measuring overall voltage-current characteristics and resolving the spatial distribution of ion current in the discharge. The system is analyzed analytically and a computational model is generated, providing a model of the system. The results of the model are used to elucidate the fundamental aspects of the system such as time constants, buoyancy characteristics, and chemical changes. Together, the combined experimental techniques and analysis provide a description of the fundamental processes that occur when electric fields are applied to flames beyond what is currently available and provides a method by which the design of such systems can be accomplished. |
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