Kinetic effects of nanosecond discharge on ignition delay time

The effects of nanosecond discharge on ignition characteristics of a stoichiometric methane–air mixture without inert diluent gas were studied by numerical simulation at 0.1 MPa and an initial temperature of 1300 K. A modified non-equilibrium plasma kinetic model was developed to simulate the temporal evolution of particles produced during nanosecond discharge and its afterglow. As important roles in ignition, path fluxes of O and H radicals were analyzed in detail. Different strength of E/N and different discharge duration were applied to the discharge process in this study. And the results presented that a deposited energy of 1–30 m J·cm^(-3) could dramatically reduce the ignition delay time. Furthermore, temperature and radicals analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of non-equilibrium plasma on production of intermediate radicals. Finally, sensitivity analysis was employed to have further understanding on ignition chemistries of the mixture under nanosecond discharge.

Effects of CO_2 Dilution on Methane Ignition in Moderate or Intense Low-oxygen Dilution(MILD) Combustion:A Numerical Study

Homogeneous mixtures of CH4/air under moderate or intense low-oxygen dilution（MILD） combustion conditions were numerically studied to clarify the fundamental effects of exhaust gas recirculation（EGR）,espe-cially CO2 in EGR gases,on ignition characteristics.Specifically,effects of CO2 addition on autoignition delay time were emphasized at temperature between 1200 K and 1600 K for a wide range of the lean-to-rich equivalence ratio（0.2~2）.The results showed that the ignition delay time increased with equivalence ratio or CO2 dilution ratio.Fur-thermore,ignition delay time was seen to be exponentially related with the reciprocal of initial temperature.Special concern was given to the chemical effects of CO2 on the ignition delay time.The enhancement of ignition delay time with CO2 addition can be mainly ascribed to the decrease of H,O and OH radicals.The predictions of tem-perature profiles and mole fractions of CO and CO2 were strongly related to the chemical effects of CO2.A single ignition time correlation was obtained in form of Arrhenius-type for the entire range of conditions as a function of temperature,CH4 mole fraction and O2 mole fraction.This correlation could successfully capture the complex be-haviors of ignition of CH4/air/CO2 mixture.The results can be applied to MILD combustion as ＂reference time＂,for example,to predict ignition delay time in turbulent reacting flow.

Shock tube study of n-decane ignition at low pressures

Ignition delay times for n-decane/O2/Ar mixtures were measured behind reflected shock waves using endwall pressure and CH＊ emission measurements in a heated shock tube. The initial postshock conditions cover pressures of 0.09-0.26 MPa, temperatures of 1 227-1 536 K, and oxygen mole fractions of 3.9%-20.7% with an equivalence ratio of 1.0. The correlation formula of ignition delay dependence on pressure, temperature, and oxygen mole fraction was obtained. The current data are in good agreement with available low-pressure experimental data, and they are then compared with the prediction of a kinetic mechanism. The current measurements extend the kinetic modeling targets for the n-decane combustion at low pressures.

Development of efficient and accurate skeletal mechanisms for hydrocarbon fuels and kerosene surrogate

In this paper,the methodology of the directed relation graph with error propagation and sensitivity analysis（DRGEPSA）,proposed by Niemeyer et al.（Combust Flame 157：1760-1770.2010）.and its differences to the original directed relation graph method are described.Using DRGEPSA,the detailed mechanism of ethylene containing 71 species and 395 reaction steps is reduced to several skeletal mechanisms with different error thresholds.The 25-species and 131-step mechanism and the 24-species and115-step mechanism are found to be accurate for the predictions of ignition delay time and laminar flame speed.Although further reduction leads to a smaller skeletal mechanism with 19 species and 68 steps,it is no longer able to represent the correct reaction processes.With the DRGEPSA method,a detailed mechanism for n-dodecane considering low-temperature chemistry and containing 2115 species and8157 steps is reduced to a much smaller mechanism with249 species and 910 steps while retaining good accuracy.If considering only high-temperature（higher than 1000 K）applications,the detailed mechanism can be simplified to even smaller mechanisms with 65 species and 340 steps or48 species and 220 steps.Furthermore,a detailed mechanism for a kerosene surrogate having 207 species and 1592 steps is reduced with various error thresholds and the results show that the 72-species and 429-step mechanism and the66-species and 392-step mechanism are capable of predicting correct combustion properties compared to those of the detailed mechanism.It is well recognized that kinetic mechanisms can be effectively used in computations only after they are reduced to an acceptable size level for computation capacity and at the same time retaining accuracy.Thus,the skeletal mechanisms generated from the present work are expected to be useful for the application of kinetic mechanisms of hydrocarbons to numerical simulations of turbulent or supersonic combustion.

Effect of the high-power electromagnetic pulses on the reactivity of the coal-water slurry in hot environment

An effect of the high-power electromagnetic pulses onto the droplet of coal-water slurry inside the furnace was investigated.In contrary to the previously investigated laser-induced fuel atomization that occurs at the room temperature,the pre-heated(to 400 K)slurry becomes dry enough to prevent the explosion-like steam formation.Thus,fuel does not atomize and the ignition does not accelerate.Furthermore,the absorption of several laser pulses leads to evident sintering of irradiated surface with following increase of the ignition delay time for up to 24%.Variation of the pulse energy in range 48-118 mJ(corresponding intensity up to 2.4 J·cm^-2)leads to certain variation of the increase of ignition delay.The strong pulsed overheating of the coal water slurry which does not initiate the fine atomization of the fuel generally makes its ignition longer.

A Chemical Kinetics Perspective on the High-Temperature Oxidation of Methane and Propane through Experiments and Kinetic Analysis

In the conversion of methane and propane under high temperature and pressure,the ignition delay time(IDT)is a key parameter to consider for designing an inherently safe process.In this study,the IDT characteristics of methane and propane(700–1000 K,10–20 bar)were studied experimentally and using kinetic modeling tools at stoichiometric fuel-tooxygen ratios.All the experiments were conducted through insentropic compression.The reliable experimental data were obtained by using the adiabatic core hypothesis,which can be used to generate and validate the detailed chemical kinetics model.The IDTs of methane and propane were recorded by a rapid compression machine(RCM)and compared to the predicted values obtained by the NUIGMech 3.0 mechanism.To test the applicability of NUIGMech 3.0 under different reaction conditions,the influence of temperature in the range of 700–1000 K(and the influence of pressure in the range of 10–20 bar)on the IDT was studied.The results showed that NUIGMech 3.0 could reasonably reproduce the experimentally determined IDT under the wide range of conditions studied.The constant volume chemical kinetics model was used to reveal the effect of temperature on the elementary reaction,and the negative temperature coefficient(NTC)behavior of propane was also observed at 20 bar.The experimental data can serve as a reference for the correction and application of kinetic data,as well as provide a theoretical basis for the safe conversion of low-carbon hydrocarbon chemicals.

Effect of plasma on combustion characteristics of boron

As it is very difficult to release boron energy completely, kinetic mechanism of boron is not clear, which leads to the lack of theoretical guidance for studying how to accelerate boron combustion. A new semi-empirical boron combustion model is built on the King combustion model, which contains a chemical reaction path; two new methods of plasma-assisted boron combustion based on kinetic and thermal effects respectively are built on the ZDPLASKIN zero-dimensional plasma model. A plasma-supporting system is constructed based on the planar flame, discharge characteristics and the spectral characteristics of plasma and boron combustion are analyzed. The results show that discharge power does not change the sorts of excited-particles, but which can change the concentration of excited-particles. Under this experimental condition,plasma kinetic effect will become the strongest at the discharge power of 40 W; when the discharge power is less than 40 W,plasma mainly has kinetic effect, otherwise plasma has thermal effect. Numerical simulation result based on plasma kinetic effect is consistent with the experimental result at the discharge power of 40 W, and boron ignition delay time is shortened by 53.8% at the discharge power of 40 W, which indicates that plasma accelerates boron combustion has reaction kinetic paths, while the ability to accelerate boron combustion based on thermal effect is limited.

Flame Morphology and Characteristic of Co-Firing Ammonia with Pulverized Coal on a Flat Flame Burner

Ammonia as a new green carbon free fuel co-combustion with coal can effectively reduce CO_(2)emission,but the research of flame morphology and characteristics of ammonia-coal co-combustion are not enough.In this work,we studied the co-combustion flame of NH_(3)and pulverized coal on flat flame burner under different oxygen mole fraction(X_(i,O_(2)))and NH_(3)co-firing energy ratios(E_(NH_(3))).We initially observed that the introduction of ammonia resulted in stratification within the ammonia-coal co-combustion flame,featuring a transparent flame at the root identified as the ammonia combustion zone.Due to challenges in visually observing the ignition of coal particles in the ammonia-coal co-combustion flame,we utilized Matlab software to analyze flame images across varying E_(NH_(3))and X_(i,O_(2)).The analysis indicates that,compared to pure coal combustion,the addition of ammonia advances the ignition delay time by 4.21 ms to 5.94 ms.As E_(NH_(3))increases,the ignition delay time initially decreases and then increases.Simultaneously,an increase in X_(i,O_(2))results in an earlier ignition delay time.The burn-off time and the flame divergence angle of pulverized coal demonstrated linear decreases and increases,respectively,with the growing ammonia ratio.The addition of ammonia facilitates the release of volatile matter from coal particles.However,in high-ammonia environments,oxygen consumption also impedes the surface reaction of coal particles.Finally,measurements of gas composition in the ammonia-coal flame flow field unveiled that the generated water-rich atmosphere intensified coal particle gasification,resulting in an elevated concentration of CO.Simultaneously,nitrogen-containing substances and coke produced during coal particle gasification underwent reduction reactions with NO_(x),leading to reduced NO_(x)emissions.

Shock tube study of kerosene ignition delay at high pressures

Ignition delay times of China No.3 aviation kerosene were measured behind reflected shock waves using a heated high-pressure shock tube.Experimental conditions covered a wider temperature range of 820-1500 K,at pressures of 5.5,11 and 22 atm,equivalence ratios of 0.5,1.0 and 1.5,and oxygen concentration of 20%.Adsorption of kerosene on the shock tube wall was taken into account.Ignition delay times were determined from the onset of the excited radical OH emission in conjunction with the pressure profiles.The experimental results of ignition delay time were correlated with the equations:11 0.22 1.09 2 3.2 10 [Keros ene ] [O2] exp(69941 RT) and 7 0.88 0.23 4.72 10 P exp(62092 RT).The current measurements provide the ignition delay behavior of China No.3 aviation kerosene at high pressures and air-like O2 concentration.

An experimental and modeling study of n-hexadecane autoignition under low-to-intermediate temperatures

N-hexadecane is a potential candidate of diesel surrogate fuels and is also the largest linear alkane(n-alkanes)with known chemical kinetic models.The objective of this study is to investigate the autoignition characteristics of n-hexadecane in the lowto-intermediate temperature region and to validate the existing kinetic models.In this study,the ignition delay times(IDTs)of nhexadecane were measured using a heated rapid compression machine(RCM)at two pressures of 7 and 10 bar,and over equivalence ratios ranging from 0.5 to 1.3.Two-stage ignition characteristic and the negative temperature coefficient(NTC)behavior of total ignition delay time were experimentally captured.This study paid special attention to the influence of pressure,equivalence ratio,and oxygen content on the IDTs of n-hexadecane.It is observed that both the total IDTs and the first-stage IDTs decrease with the rise of those parameters.It is worth noting that the first-stage IDT is found to show a greater dependence on temperature but a weaker dependence on other parameters compared to the total IDT.The observed IDT dependence in the lowtemperature region(LTR)were quantitatively described by ignition delay time correlations.The newly measured IDTs were then validated against two kinetic models(LLNL and CRECK).Simulation results show that both models underpredict the first-stage IDT but generally capture the temperature dependence.The CRECK model well predicts the total IDTs of n-hexadecane while the LLNL model significantly underpredicts the total IDTs at most investigated conditions.To the best of our knowledge,this study is the first investigation on n-hexadecane autoignition under low-to-intermediate temperatures,which deepens the understanding of large n-alkane oxidation and contributes to the improvement of the existing kinetic models.

Auto-ignition of biomass synthesis gas in shock tube at elevated temperature and pressure

Ignition delay times of multi-component biomass synthesis gas （bio-syngas） diluted in argon were measured in a shock tube at elevated pressure （5, 10and 15 bar, 1 bar = 105 Pa）, wide temperature ranges （1,100-1,700 K） and various equivalence ratios （0.5, 1.0, 2.0）. Additionally, the effects of the variations of main constituents （H2：CO = 0.125-8） on ignition delays were investigated. The experimental results indicated that the ignition delay decreases as the pressure increases above certain temperature （around 1,200 K） and vice versa. The ignition delays were also found to rise as CO concentration increases, which is in good agreement with the literature. In addition, the ignition delays of bio-syngas were found increasing as the equivalence ratio rises. This behavior was primarily discussed in present work. Experimental results were also compared with numerical predictions of multiple chemical kinetic mechanisms and Li＇s mechanism was found having the best accuracy. The logarithmic ignition delays were found nonlinearly decrease with the H2 concentration under various conditions, and the effects of temperature, equivalence ratio and H2 concentration on the ignition delays are all remarkable. However, the effect of pressure is rela- tively smaller under current conditions. Sensitivity analysis and reaction pathway analysis of methane showed that R1 （H ＋O2= O -9 OH） is the most sensitive reaction promot- ing ignition and R13 （H ＋O2 （＋M） = HO2 （＋M））, R53（CH3＋H （＋M）= CH4 （＋M））, R54 （CH4＋H= CH3 ＋ H2） as well as R56 （CH4 ＋ OH = CH3 ＋ H2O） are key reactions prohibiting ignition under current experimental conditions. Among them, R53 （CH3 ＋ H （＋M） = CH4 （＋M））, R54 （CH4 ＋ H = CH3 ＋ H2） have the largest posi- tive sensitivities and the high contribution rate in rich mixture. The rate of production （ROP） of OH of R1 showed that OH ROP of R1 decreases sharply as the mixture turns rich. Therefore, the ignition delays become longer as the equiva- lence ratio increases.

Statistical characteristics of spray autoignition of transient kerosene jet in cross flow

To study statistical characteristics of the random spray autoignition,aviation kerosene was injected transiently into non-vitiated air crossflow in a flow reactor with optical accesses.The operating conditions were relevant to gas turbine combustor:the air crossflow pressure and temperature were in the range of 1.4-1.7 MPa and 830-947 K,respectively,and the jet-tocrossflow momentum flux ratios were 20,50 and 80.Statistical distributions of random ignition delay times with adequate convergence were estimated based on histograms.The dependences of the distributions on reactor pressure,temperature,and jet-to-crossflow momentum flux ratio were studied.The results show that the resulting distributions appear more concentrated with the increase of air temperature or jet-to-crossflow momentum flux ratio.And then the correlations for the mean and standard deviation of the ignition delay time sample data were developed based on the present results.Compared with the correlations of ignition delay time of homogeneous premixed gas-phase kerosene/air mixture reported in the literature,the results show a greater significance pressure dependence and lower temperature sensitivity of the ignition delay time of nonpremixed kerosene spray.

Implication of Sensitive Reactions to Ignition of Methyl Pentanoate:H-Abstraction Reactions by H and CH_(3) Radicals

Methyl pentanoate(MP)was identified as a potential candidate.To facilitate the application of MP with high efficiency in engines,a comprehensive understanding of combustion chemical kinetics of MP is necessary.In this work,the H-abstraction reactions from MP by H and CH_(3) radicals,critical in controlling the initial fuel consumption,are theoretically investigated at the DLPNO-CCSD(T)/CBS(T-Q)//M06-2X/cc-pVTZ level of theory.The multistructural torsional(MS-T)anharmonicity is characterized using the dual-level MS-T method;the HF/3-21G and M06-2X/cc-pVTZ methods are chosen as the low-and high-level methods,respectively.The conventional transition state theory(TST)is employed to calculate the high-pressure limit rate constants at 298-2000 K with the Eckart tunneling correction.Our calculations indicate that the hydrogen atoms of the methylene functional group are easier to be abstracted by H and CH_(3) radicals.The multistructural torsional anharmonicities of H-abstraction reactions MP+H/CH_(3) are significant within the temperature range investigated.The tunneling effects are more pronounced at low temperatures,and contribute considerably to the rate constants below 500 K.The model from the work of Diévart et al.is updated with our calculations,and the simulations of the updated model are in excellent agreement with the reported ignition delay time of MP/O2/Ar and MP/Air mixtures.The sensitivity analysis indicates that the H-abstraction reactions,MP+H-CH_(3)CH_(2)CHCH_(2)C(-O)OCH_(3)/CH_(3)CHCH_(2)CH_(2)C(-O)OCH_(3)+H2,are critical in controlling the initial fuel consumption and ignition delay time of MP.

MILD Combustion for Hydrogen and Syngas at Elevated Pressures

As gas recirculation constitutes a fundamental condition for the realization of MILD combustion, it is necessary to determine gas recirculation ratio before designing MILD combustor. MILD combustion model with gas recirculation was used in this simulation work to evaluate the effect of fuel type and pressure on threshold gas recirculation ratio of MILD mode. Ignition delay time is also an important design parameter for gas turbine combustor, this parameter is kinetically studied to analyze the effect of pressure on MILD mixture ignition. Threshold gas recirculation ratio of hydrogen MILD combustion changes slightly and is nearly equal to that of 10 MJ/Nm3syngas in the pressure range of 1-19 atm, under the conditions of 298 K fresh reactant temperature and 1373 K exhaust gas temperature, indicating that MILD regime is fuel flexible. Ignition delay calculation results show that pressure has a negative effect on ignition delay time of 10 MJ/Nm3syngas MILD mixture, because OH mole fraction in MILD mixture drops down as pressure increases, resulting in the delay of the oxidation process.

Synthesis and Improved Properties of Hypergolic Boronium-Based Ionic Liquids

A series of asymmetric monoimidazolium dihydroboronium-based ionic liquids （ILs） were synthesized from amine-boranes. All the resulting ILs were fully characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis or high resolution mass spectrum. Compared with the symmetric bisimidazolium dihydroboronium-based ILs, these new ILs exhibited improved properties with shorter ignition delay times （IDs）, higher densities, and lower phase transition temperature showing the promising application potential as green propellants. A series of asymmetric monoimidazolium dihydroboronium-based ionic liquids （ILs） were synthesized from amine-boranes. All the resulting ILs were fully characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, IR spectroscopy, elemental anal- ysis or high resolution mass spectrum. Compared with the symmetric bisimidazolium dihydroboronium-based ILs, these new ILs exhibited improved properties with shorter ignition delay times （IDs）, higher densities, and lower phase transition temperature showing the promising application potential as green propellants.