A Combustion Model Validation Framework for Turbulent Premixed Hydrogen-Air Flames Utilizing OpenFOAM

Abstract Developing accurate and robust combustion models is challenging, and their validation can be equally demanding. Even when suitable experimental or numerical datasets are available, setting up and performing validation simulations often requires substantial resources. As a result, most validation studies focus on a single dataset from experiments or numerical simulations, which is generally insufficient for a comprehensive model assessment. Systematic model evaluation, therefore, benefits from a comprehensive, standardized, and easy-to-use validation framework containing multiple validation datasets. This paper introduces a validation framework for combustion models and demonstrates its application to a state-of-the-art flamelet model for large-eddy simulations. The framework deploys the open-source OpenFOAM toolbox to provide an openly accessible simulation standard allowing straightforward integration of newly developed models and facilitating the adoption by the research community. It includes eight validation cases based on both experimental data and direct numerical simulations, and is designed to be readily expandable by the community to accommodate an arbitrarily large number of additional cases. For all cases, the reference data, together with the required configurations and mesh files, are provided. The framework facilitates the systematic assessment of combustion models by automatically performing simulations for all cases and providing comparisons between model predictions and reference data. As a demonstration, a flamelet-based model for lean premixed hydrogen combustion is implemented in OpenFOAM and evaluated within the proposed framework, providing insights into the model’s capabilities and limitations across different flow and combustion conditions.