Flame holder

A flame holder is a bluff body mounted in high-velocity combustible flow to create a local region of turbulence and low velocity in which a flame is stabilized. ^[1]

Jet engine afterburners and ramjets require a flame holder. ^[2]

The simplest design, often used in amateur projects, is the can-type flame holder, which consists of a can covered in small holes. Much more effective is the H-gutter flame holder, which is shaped like a letter H with a curve facing and opposing the flow of air. Even more effective, however, is the V-gutter flame holder, which is shaped like a V with the point in the direction facing the flow of air. Some studies have suggested that adding a small amount of base bleed to a V-gutter helps reduce drag without reducing effectiveness. ^[3] The most effective of the flame holders are the step type flame holder and the strut type flame holder.

The first mathematical model of a flame holder was proposed in 1953. ^[4]

See also

• Index of aviation articles
• AVPIN - A monofuel used to power turbojet starter motors.
• Components of jet engines
• Exhaust mixer

References

1. The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary,Bill Gunston 2004, Editor, Jane’s Information Group, ISBN   978-0-511-33833-5
2. Ingenito, Antonella (2021). "Flameholder Design Guidelines". Subsonic Combustion Ramjet Design. SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology. pp. 47–74. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-66881-5_6. ISBN   978-3-030-66880-8.
3. "Wayback Machine" (PDF). www.ijser.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
4. Matkowsky, B. J.; Olagunju, D. O. (1981). "Pulsations in a Burner-Stabilized Premixed Plane Flame". SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics. 40 (3): 551–562. doi:10.1137/0140046. JSTOR   2101350. See p. 552.