Researchers develop breakthrough on blue whirl flame

Since blue whirls were discovered in 2016, they have captured the imagination of the scientific community for a potential new avenue for low emission combustion.

Now, researchers from the University of Maryland and Texas A&M have teamed up to identify how the whirls are structured, according to a press release from the National Science Foundation. The discovery will allow for more investigations into developed the blue whirls in a controlled way.

Researchers learned the blue whirl could be created through a diffusion flame, premixed rich and lean flame and a triple flame, the National Science Foundation reported. It found a fluid instability, called a vortex breakdown, occurs in swirling flows. Researchers now have the ability to learn more about the whirl and determine far-reaching impacts that will provide to be determined benefits.

"The flame and flow structure revealed by the simulations serve as a base to further investigate how to create the blue whirls in a more controlled way," Xiao Zhang of the University of Maryland, said in the press release. "That leads to pathways to answering more complex questions."