A General Theory of Turbulent Combustion

A further stage in the development of the ESCIMO theory of turbulent combustion is presented. (ESCIMO stands for engulfment, stretching, coherence, interdiffusion, moving observer.) Specifically, whereas earlier publications described only the “birth” and “stretching” of the gaseous eddies, consisting of interleaved hot and cold (or fuel-rich and fuel-lean) components, the present one describes a mechanism for their “death” in addition. The ESCIMO theory is explained as having “biographical” (Lagrangean) and “demographical” (Eulerian) aspects, which are almost independent of one another. It is illustrated by discussions of several fluid-dynamically simple systems: the stirred reactor, the free turbulent jet, the buoyant plume, and the confined premixed flame.