Stabilization of a Premixed Methane–Air Flame Using Nanosecond Repetitively Pulsed Discharges

Nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) discharges have been used for a broad range of applications, such as plasma-assisted combustion. In this paper, we use an NRP plasma discharge produced by electric pulses of about 10 kV during 10 ns at a frequency of 30 kHz to stabilize a lean premixed methane/air flame at atmospheric pressure. We show here that the plasma created in the recirculation zone allows the stabilization of the lean flame and a reduction of the lean extinction limit by about 10%-15%, using only a small amount of energy (the plasma power represents less than 1% of the power of the flame).