Screening non-noble metal oxides to boost the low-temperature combustion of polyethylene waste in air

Globally,the efficient utilization of polymer wastes is one of the most important issues for current sustainable development topics.Herein,a green and efficient low-temperature combustion approach is proposed to deal with polymer wastes and recover heat energy,simultaneously alleviating the environment and energy crisis.Non-noble metal oxides(Al_(2)O_(3),Fe_(2)O_(3),NiO_(2),ZrO_(2),La_(2)O_(3)and CeO_(2)) were prepared,characterized and screened to boost the low-temperature combustion of polyethylene waste at 300℃ in air.The mass change,heat release and CO_(x) formation were studied in details and employed to evaluate the combustion rate and efficiency.It was found that CeO_(2)significantly enhanced the combustion rate and efficiency,which was respectively 2 and 7 times that of non-catalytic case.An interesting phenomenon was observed that the catalytic performance of CeO_(2) in polyethylene low-temperature combustion was significantly improved by the 7-day storage in the room environment or water treatment.XPS analysis confirmed the co-existence of Ce^(3+) and Ce^(4+) in CeO_(2),and the 7-day storage and water treatment promoted the amount of Ce^(3+),which facilitated the formation of the oxygen vacancies.That may be the reason why CeO_(2) exhibited excellent catalytic performance in polyethylene low-temperature combustion.

Characterization of Pr-CeO_2 Nano-crystallites Prepared by Low-temperature Combustion&Hydrothermal Synthesis

Pr-CeO2 Nano-crystalline red pigments were prepared by low-temperature combustion with a later hydrothermal treatment using Ce（NO3）3·6H2O and Pr6O11 as raw materials. The phase composition, coloring mechanism and morphology of pigments were analyzed by XRD, SEM, EDS and XPS. Results showed that Pr-CeO2 solid solution with a fluorite structure was obtained by the diffusion of Pr^＋3 into CeO2 crystal lattice during the synthesis process. XPS analysis indicated that Pr^＋3 substitutes Ce^＋4 in CeO2 and is compensated by oxygen vacancies. Compared with low-temperature combustion synthesis, the Pr-CeO2 pigments prepared with a subsequent hydrothermal treatment have an average grain size of about 16.70 nm, and the crystallinity and red tonality are improved.

Numerical simulation of plasma-assisted combustion of methane-air mixtures in combustion chamber

A two-dimensional mathematical model was developed to investigate the effects of dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） plasma on CH4-air mixtures combustion at atmospheric pressure. Considering the physical and chemical processes of plasma-assisted combustion （PAC）, plasma discharge, heat transfer and turbulent were simultaneously coupled into simulation of PAC. This coupling model consists of DBD kinetic model and methane combustion model. By comparing simulations and the original reference＇s results, a high-accuracy of this model was validated. In addition, the effects of PAC actuation parameters on combustion characteristics were studied. Numerical simulations show that with an inlet airflow velocity of 10 m s-1, a CH4-air mixtures＇ equivalence ratio of 0.5, an applied voltage of 10 kV, a frequency of 1200 kHz, compared to conventional combustion （CC）, the highest flame temperature rises by 32 K; outlet temperature distribution coefficient drops by 2.3%; the maximum net reaction rate of CH4 and H20 increase by 11.22% and 12.80% respectively; the maximum CO emission index decreases by 14.61%; the mixing region turbulence mixing time reduces by 89 ms.

Molecular composition of low-temperature oxidation products of the heavy oil

Low-temperature oxidation(LTO)is the main reaction that affects fuel formation in the in-situ combustion process,which has important significance for the subsequent combustion propulsion and the successful extraction of crude oil.In this study,heavy oil was subjected to LTO reactions at different temperatures.Three types of reaction products with varying oxidation depths were characterized in terms of the number of oxygen atoms and the polarity of the molecule to reveal the low-temperature oxidation process of the heavy oil.Ketone compounds and acid polyoxides in the oil phase and deep oxidation products with a higher number of oxygen atoms in the coke were identified with increasing oxidation depth.The experimental results showed that the oxidation reaction of the heavy oil changed from kinetic-controlled to diffusion-controlled in the open oxidation system of the heavy oil as the oxidation depth increased.The oxidation reaction of the oil phase reached a maximum and stable value in oxygen content.The molecular compositions of the ketone compound and acid polyoxide did not change significantly with further increase in reaction temperature.The molecular compositions of the deep oxidation products with a higher number of oxygen atoms in the coke phase changed significantly.The coke precursor molecules with a lower oxygen content and condensation degree participated in the coke formation,and the oxidation reaction pathway and the complexity of the oxidation product component also increased.

Effect of Swirl Preset Vorticity on Combustion Performance of Lobe Nozzle Combustor Chamber

To improve the combustor performance of multi-point injection combustion,lobe nozzle design was applied to the aero-engine model combustor,by presetting the swirl through a certain twisted angle of the edge of the lobe outlet.Numerical simulation in combination with modelling test is used in this paper.The effects of swirl vorticity presetting onto the vortex structure,the characteristics of combustion temperature field,the combustor exit temperature field quality,the combustion efficiency,and the NOx emissions of multi-point injection combustion chamber are investigated.Compared with the conventional vortex flow at the lobe outlet edge,the results of numerical simulation and water modelling test of the swirl vorticity presetting show that the swirl presetting can efficiently enhance the range and intensity of the lobe-induced vorticities.Besides,it can improve the uniformity of the combustion temperature in the combustor chamber,together with the reduced emissions of the pollutant NOx.Moreover,compared with the conventional lobe nozzle chamber,the swirl vortex presetting can effectively improve its combustion performance.The flow simulation test results demonstrate the fluid vortex structure in the combustion chamber and validate the simulation results.

Application of Reaction-Bonded Silicon Carbide in Manufacturing of Spacecraft Combustion Chamber

Silicon carbide (SiC) ceramics is a good structural ceramics material, which have a lot of excellent properties such as superior high-temperature strength up to a temperature of 1 350 ℃, chemical stability, good resistance to thermal shock and high abrasion resistance. The silicon carbide ceramics material has so far been used widely for manufacturing various components such as heat exchangers, rolls, rockets combustion chamber. Sintering of ceramics structural parts have many technological method, the reaction-bonded is one of important sintering technology of ceramics structural parts. The preparation of reaction-bonded silicon carbide (RBSC) is based on a reaction sintering process, whereby a compacted body of α-SiC and carbon (graphite) powders is heated in contact with liquid silicon or gas silicon, which impregnates the body, converting the carbon (graphite) to β-SiC which bonds the original alpha grain. This process is characterized by low temperature and a short time sintering, and being appropriate to the preparation of large size and complex-shaped components, and so on. Besides, during compacting process of reaction sintering, it can maintain a stable dimension of ceramics parts. Therefore, the method of reaction-bonded silicon carbide ceramics has been identified as a technology suitable for producing complicated and highly exact dimensions’ ceramics parts. In this paper, the method of reaction-bonded silicon carbide was applied to the manufacturing of a complex-shaped spacecraft combustion chamber of SiC ceramics. SiC and carbon powder of 4～30 μm were chosen as the raw materials, green compacts containing appropriate wt.% carbon were formed using the mold press method, sintering was performed in a graphite electric furnace under an argon atmosphere. It was introduced in detail that the technological parameters and technological flow of reaction sintering silicon carbide ceramics. At the same time, physical and mechanical experiments such as bending strength, coefficient of thermal expansion, coefficient of thermal conductivity, gastight property, heat resisting property etc. have been carried out. The results demonstrated that spacecraft combustion chamber made from reaction sintering of silicon carbide ceramics is feasible and the results of experiment is satisfactory. The strength of high-temperature structural parts made by reaction sintered SiC varied with silicon content; Under the this article testing condition, the optimum silicon content is 10.5% for the part investigated. The method of reaction sintered SiC ceramics is suitable for manufacturing of complicated spacecraft parts with a working temperature of 1 500 ℃.

Fundamental Laws of Physics and Calculation of Heat Transfer in Combustion Chambers of Gas-Turbine Plants

The laws of heat radiation from black body, the laws of Stefan-Boltzmann, Planck, and Wien are fundamental laws of physics. All in all, a little more than 30 fundamental laws of physics, studied by pupils and students worldwide were disclosed. Scientific disclosure of fundamental laws influences mainly power technology, fuel and energy resources saving. In the late XIX century the laws of heat radiation from gas volumes and the laws of Makarov were disclosed. Since the radiation laws from blackbody are fundamental laws of physics, then the laws of heat radiation from gas volumes are fundamental laws of physics. Effect of using laws of heat radiation from gas volumes on fuel saving, reduction of development pressure on the environment in many countries of the world is shown. Calculation results from heat transfer in combustion chamber of gas-turbine plant are described. The torch in a combustion chamber is modeled by cylindrical gas volumes. Fluxes data from the torch and convective fluxes of cooling air are confirmed by measuring data from chamber-wall temperature.

Application of the porous medium combustion technology in the chamber reheating furnaces at Baosteel

The design of the porous medium combustion （PMC） system which has been applied to chamber reheating furnaces is presented in this study and its main application effects are described in detail. Porous medium materials are mainly ceramic ball sucked granular bed porous media and foam ceramic porous media. This study investigates the foam ceramic porous medium and a schematic diagram of the combustion inside this porous medium. The PMC takes a solid medium as its main heat exchange way, thus greatly improving the heat transfer efficiency. Judging from the application effects,the following conclusions have been made： the PMC technology can save more than 25% of energy with remarkable effects; the furnace temperature uniformity can be significantly enhanced; the porous media combustion technology can make the heating furnace design in a more compact way, reduce the time for heating up the furnace, improve the heating rate and reduce energy consumption.

Effect of Gasoline Property on Formation of Intake Valve and Combustion Chamber Deposits

The cleanliness of gasoline is related to its components and properties.All commercial gasoline builds up deposits on the engine's injector,intake valve and combustion chamber,which can significantly lower the engine performance and influence exhaust gas emissions.In this study,the intake valve deposits (IVD) and combustion chamber deposits (CCD) produced from combustion of fuel containing 21 v%—42 v% of aromatics and 8 v%—31 v% of olefins have been studied using Ford engine tests,and the characteristics of deposits were studied by IR spectroscopy,TGA and elemental analysis instrument.The test results have shown that deposit formation depends on the fuel composition,especially the aromatic content in the fuel.It is also observed that there are differences in the values of IVD and CCD measured by IR spectrometry and elemental analyses.

Influence of Combustion Chamber Design Parameters and Intake Environments on Spark Ignition Engine Performance and Exhaust Gas Emission

In the present paper, the effect of the combustion chamber design parameters on the improvement of combustion efficiency (the heat generated inside the combustion chamber) and the enhancement in the pollution rates (heat emissions) from a four-stroke, spark-ignition engine has been studied experimentally and theoretically. Two different programs, Gaseq and Ansys, were used to simulate the effect of the combustion chamber shape, turbulent kinetic energy, intake temperature, intake pressure, parity ratio, compression ratio, and engine speed on reducing specific fuel consumption in the engine, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and increasing overall engine efficiency. The results showed increasing the intake temperature increased the amount of heat produced in the combustion chamber. This leads to increases in the overall efficiency of the engine, but leads to increasing the carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. Increasing the intake pressure has a positive effect on the combustion temperature and pressure, but it has a negative effect on carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Raising the pressure ratio improved the overall efficiency of the engine by increasing the combustion heat, but increasing specific fuel consumption and emissions. Also, increasing the engine speed above the permissible limit has an adverse effect on the spraying speed due to the piston speed being higher than the flame speed, which leads to a reduction in the engine brake torque. An increase in the compression ratio leads to higher fluid pressure and output capacity, but combustion methods occur. An increase in the kinetic energy of the turbulence leads to good combustion. A bowl in a piston has the highest rate of rotation and rotation compared to flat and hemispherical pistons. That is, the design of the cylinder head of this type leads to an improvement in the combustion efficiency and thus the efficiency of the engine.

Full Cycle Cold Flow Analysis of the Effect of Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber Design in a Diesel Engine

New designs and adaptation methods are experimented to ensure compliance to ever increasing emissions and efficiency requirements of modern diesel engines. Piston head structure which influences the mixing rate and timing of the fuel within in the combustion chamber is known to enable increase in combustion efficiency and thus lower emission rates. In this paper, computation analysis of flow within a diesel engine cylinder with a twin swirl combustion chamber design throughout a full cycle is presented. The results obtained indicate that the effect of the twin swirl combustion chamber on the cold flow conditions is noteworthy and further analysis together with experiments may reveal information that may prove to be useful in further new designs.

Experimental Tests on a Pre-Heated Combustion Chamber for Ultra Micro Gas Turbine Device: Air/Fuel Ratio Evaluation

Current portable power generators are mainly based on internal combustion engine since they present higher values of efficiency comparing to other engines;the main reason why internal combustion engine is not convenient for micro power generation (5 - 30 kW) is because of their heaviness. Micro and ultra micro gas turbine devices, based on a micro compressor and a micro turbine installed on the same shaft, are more suitable for this scope for several reasons. Micro turbine systems have many advantages over reciprocating engine generators, such as higher power density (with respect to size and weight), extremely low emissions and few, or just one, moving part. Those designed with foil bearings and air-cooling operate without oil, coolants or other hazardous materials. Micro turbines also have the advantage of having the majority of their waste heat contained in their relatively high temperature exhaust. Micro turbines offer several potential advantages compared to other technologies for small-scale power generation, including: a small number of moving parts, compact size, lightweight, greater efficiency, lower emissions, lower electricity costs, and opportunities to utilize waste fuels. The object of this study is the experimental tests on a stand-alone gas turbine device with a pre-heated combustion chamber (CC), to validate the fuel consumption reduction, compared to an actual and commercial device, used on air models.

Combustion Characteristics in Growth Chamber for Verneuilgrown Rutile Crystal

Combustion characteristics of three-tube burner in growth chamber for preparation of single crystal by the Verneuil method were investigated,and the effects of nozzle structure and flow rate on the surface temperature of molten cap were analyzed.The results showed that hydrogen flowed out from the nozzle diffused with inner and outer oxygen,and two flame produced in the center and near the wall of growth chamber.The surface temperature of molten cap were gradually reduced from the center outward.The temperature of molten cap decreased gradually with increasing the nozzle aperture of inner oxygen,and varied slightly with the diameter of hydrogen and outer oxygen nozzle.The temperature of molten cap decreased gradually with increasing the flow rate of inner and outer oxygen,while increased with the flow rate of hydrogen.

Optimizing Spray and Combustion in Diesel Engine by Multidimensional Numerical Simulation

The calculation of spray and combustion in diesel engines is described by using the softwares FIRE and BOOST. The application of the resulting computational method to the simulation of fuel spray and breakup, mixture formation and combustion in a heavy duty diesel is presented. According to detailed insight into the governing processes provided by the simulation results, various aspects of the dependence of the spray propagation and combustion on the chamber geometry and spray angle are discussed. Then, global cylinderaveraged pressure traces are extracted from the space and time resolved field quantities and compared to incylinder pressure measurements. Finally, an optimized configuration of the chamber geometry and spray angle with a new injection rate of higher injection pressure is proposed.

Improving Designs of CA6DF2 Series Diesel Combustion System

The technical improvements are made based on the former CA6110 diesel engine to meet the requirements of Euro Ⅱ emission standards. The performance and emission for CA6DF1 and CA6DF2 are all met the demand of design by improving the fuel, combustion and supercharging systems. The injection system adopts high-pressure pump-pipe-injector injection system. To enhance the injection pressure, the methods of augmenting plunger diameter, decreasing the nozzle hole diameter and reducing the inner diameter of the high-pressure fuel pipe are adopted. The design of combustion chamber and the match of inner fuel distributions with air motion are based on a great deal of experimental database and some simple computer-aided methods, which ensure the optimization of performance and provide the guide for experimental development.

Experimental Study of MHD-Assisted Mixing and Combustion Under Low Pressure Conditions

In order to reveal the mechanism of MHD-assisted mixing, and analyse the major parameters which influence the effect of MHD-assisted mixing, experiments of MHD-assisted mixing are carried out with a non-premixed butane-air combustion system. The evolvement of the discharge section and the effect of MHD-assisted mixing on combustion are investigated by changing the magnetic flux density and airflow velocity. The results show that the discharge area not only bends but also rotates around the centered wire electrode, which are mainly caused by the Lorentz force. Moreover, the highest curvature occurs near the centered wire electrode.The discharge localizes near the surface of the wire electrode and annular electrode when there is no ponderomotive force. However, if the ponderomotive force is applied, the discharge happens between these two electrodes and it gradually shrinks with time. The discharge area cannot localize near the annular electrode, which is due to the increase of energy loss in the airflow.When the airflow velocity exceeds a certain value, the discharge section becomes unstable because the injected energy cannot maintain the discharge. The rotation motion of the discharge section could enlarge the contact surface between butane and air, and is therefore beneficial for mixing and combustion. Magnetic flux density and airflow velocity are critical parameters for MHD-assisted mixing.

The Feasibility of Applying AC Driven Low-Temperature Plasma for Multi-Cycle Detonation Initiation

Ignition is a key system in pulse detonation engines （PDE）. As advanced ignition methods, nanosecond pulse discharge low-temperature plasma ignition is used in some combustion systems, and continuous alternating current （AC） driven low-temperature plasma using dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） is used for the combustion assistant. However, continuous AC driven plasmas cannot be used for ignition in pulse detonation engines. In this paper, experimental and numerical studies of pneumatic valve PDE using an AC driven low-temperature plasma igniter were described. The pneumatic valve was jointly designed with the low-temperature plasma igniter, and the numerical simulation of the cold-state flow field in the pneumatic valve showed that a complex flow in the discharge area, along with low speed, was beneficial for successful ignition. In the experiments ethylene was used as the fuel and air as oxidizing agent, ignition by an AC driven low-temperature plasma achieved multi-cycle intermittent detonation combustion on a PDE, the working frequency of the PDE reached 15 Hz and the peak pressure of the detonation wave was approximately 2.0 MPa. The experimental verifications of the feasibility in PDE ignition expanded the application field of AC driven low-temperature plasma.

Influence of Internal Combustion Engine Parameters on Gas Leakage through the Piston Rings Area

In this work, the influence of internal combustion engine parameters (cylinder-piston clearance, piston head height, the first segment position, gap of the first piston ring and gap of the second piston ring, piston rings’ axial clearance, intake valve debit coefficient) gas leakage from the combustion chamber through the piston rings’ area was investigated. This influence was studied by making an initial forming operation over gas leakage in the analyzed area.

Optimization of Combustion Characteristics and Fuel Injection Timing of a New Type Dual-Pit Combustor Rotary Engine

In order to improve the performance of the rotary engine,this paper has designed a new type of dual-pit rotary engine combustion chamber structure,and compares the combustion and emission characteristics with the rotary engine with a traditional combustion chamber.The existence of the dual-pit combustion chamber strengthens the overall vortex intensity in the cylinder,effectively promotes the mixing process of fuel and air in the cylinder,the maximum combustion pressure in the cylinder increased by 8.6%,significantly increases the diffusion combustion speed,and significantly improves the dynamic performance of the rotary engine.On this basis,the effects of fuel injection timing parameters on fuel distribution,combustion and emission characteristics were studied.Fuel distribution is more even and dispersed during injection in the later stage of compression.When the fuel injection timing was 105°BTDC in the middle of the compression phase,the matching effect of fuel distribution law and ignition scheme was the best.When the injection timing was 75°BTDC and 85°BTDC in the late compression stage,the mass fraction of NOx remained at a low level.The correlation between soot generation and the change of fuel injection timing was weak.When the injection time was 85°BTDC,the soot generation remained at a relatively high level.