Self-organized spiral and circular waves in premixed gas flames

Abstract

A diffusive-thermal high Lewis number (Le) gas-phase oscillator has been observed in premixed flames using a lean mixture of butane and oxygen diluted with helium (Le≊3.0). This reactive-diffusive system exhibits both propagating radial pulsations and rotating spiral waves perhaps analogous to those observed in other excitable media such as the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction.