Journal Article

FZJ-2026-04099

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png An Extended Artificially Thickened Flame Model for Turbulent Hydrogen and Hydrogen-Enriched Flames With Intrinsic Instabilities Under Gas Turbine Relevant Conditions

Schuh, V. (Corresponding author) ; Kaddar, D. ; Bähr, A. ; Bode, M.FZJ* ; Hasse, C. ; Nicolai, H.

2026
ASME New York, NY

This record in other databases:  

Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.1115/1.4069549  doi:10.34734/FZJ-2026-04099

Abstract: Hydrogen and hydrogen blends with ammonia or natural gas are cornerstones in thetransition to future environmentally friendly energy systems, such as gas turbines and aero-engines. However, hydrogen’s unique characteristics lead to intrinsic flame instabilities,resulting in an up to sixfold increase in turbulent flame speeds under gas turbine-relevantconditions compared to flames without instabilities. These effects are not captured bycurrent combustion models, presenting a major barrier for computational fluid dynamics(CFD) simulations. This study addresses these limitations by developing an extension to thewidely used artificially thickened flame (ATF) model, validating it for wide operatingconditions and applying it to turbulent configurations. To this extent, over 200 directnumerical simulations (DNS) of laminar planar flames are analyzed, unraveling thecharacteristics of the enhanced flame speed. The subsequently developed model is validatedacross comprehensive variations in pressure (1 atm − 20 atm), temperature(300 K − 700 K), equivalence ratios ($Φ = 0.4 − 1.0$), and fuel compositions (pure $H_2$,precracked ammonia ($NH_3$/$H_2$/$N_2$) and hydrogen natural gas blends ($CH_4$/$H_2$)) to ensure themodel’s applicability for technically relevant operating conditions. Additionally, the modelis transferred to turbulent conditions using Large Eddy Simulations. For model validation,multiple high-fidelity DNS of turbulent jet flames at various conditions are performed. Theadvanced model shows excellent agreement in a laminar configuration and significantimprovements in predicting turbulent flame speeds of the turbulent jet flames compared tothe state-of-the-art model. By enhancing the widely used ATF model to account for hydrogencharacteristics, this study supports the further development of efficient and environmentallyfriendly hydrogen-powered energy systems.

---

Contributing Institute(s):

1. Jülich Supercomputing Center (JSC)

Research Program(s):

1. 5112 - Cross-Domain Algorithms, Tools, Methods Labs (ATMLs) and Research Groups (POF4-511) (POF4-511)
2. NOVAS - Novel System Architectures Design (NOVAS) (NOVAS)
3. Inno4Scale - Innovative Algorithms for Applications on European Exascale Supercomputers (101118139) (101118139)

Appears in the scientific report 2026

---

Database coverage:
; ; ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Engineering, Computing and Technology ; Ebsco Academic Search ; Essential Science Indicators ; IF < 5 ; JCR ; PubMed Central ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection

---