It is widely recognized that action must be taken to address urgent problems arising from global warming, air pollution and the rising cost of fossil fuels. Optimisation of the design and performance of engines and furnaces is clearly necessary, in order to ensure that fuel is always burned as cleanly and efficiently as possible. Detailed and accurate computer simulations of combustion processes can provide a valuable design tool to assist in this process. However, turbulent flow and combustion interact with each other in complex ways; for example, an increase in turbulence intensity may either speed the rate of heat release or lead to extinction of the combustion reactions. A successful simulation code must provide an accurate description of these interactions.

The lecture will present a review of physical and chemical processes involved in the interaction between turbulence and combustion. Simulation models that aim to describe combustion in engines and furnaces will then be described, unsolved problems will be identified, and the need for further research will be emphasised.