Constant Volume Spray Auto-ignition Study of Alkanes

Spray auto-ignition experiments were carried out in a constant volume combustion chamber for some pure alkanes(n-paraffins with different chain length, cyclohexane, n-butyl cyclohexane, and isooctane) and blends of n-decane with Standard Blended Fuel(isooctane/n-heptane) and product gasoline. Test results showed that the reaction activity of n-paraffins was relatively high. Meanwhile, the auto-ignition characteristics differed significantly with the molecular structures of alkanes. Adding different volume fractions of n-decane to Standard Blended Fuel and product gasoline could improve the fuel reaction activity at varying degree. Finally, functional groups effects were used to simulate the relationship between the molecular topology and the auto-ignition quality.

Influence of Ethanol Addition on the Spray Auto-ignition Properties of Gasoline and Its Relationship with Octane Number

In this study,the spray auto-ignition properties of binary primary reference fuels(PRFs)of 2,2,4-trimethylpentane and n-heptane with different research octane numbers(RONs)were measured according to the industry standard NB/SH/T 6035 to determine their ignition delay times at various initial temperatures.Furthermore,the auto-ignition properties were investigated after blending the PRFs with various amounts of ethanol.The results revealed a very good correlation between the derived cetane number and the RON for the PRFs in both the presence and absence of ethanol.In addition,a concept of ignition delay sensitivity was developed for ethanol-containing fuels that exhibited a close relationship with the octane sensitivity,which is defined as the RON minus the motor octane number(MON).Finally,the developed method was applied to conveniently estimate the RON and MON values of several ethanol-containing fuels by simply measuring their auto-ignition properties.

An experimental study on spray auto-ignition of RP-3 jet fuel and its surrogates

Jet fuel is widely used in air transportation,and sometimes for special vehicles in ground transportation.In the latter case,fuel spray auto-ignition behavior is an important index for engine operation reliability.Surrogate fuel is usually used for fundamental combustion study due to the complex composition of practical fuels.As for jet fuels,two-component or three-component surrogate is usually selected to emulate practical fuels.The spray auto-ignition characteristics of RP-3 jet fuel and its three surrogates,the 70%mol n-decane/30%mol 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene blend(Surrogate 1),the 51%mol n-decane/49%mol 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene blend(Surrogate 2),and the 49.8%mol n-dodecane/21.6%mol iso-cetane/28.6%mol toluene blend(Surrogate 3)were studied in a heated constant volume combustion chamber.Surrogate 1 and Surrogate 2 possess the same components,but their blending percentages are different,as the two surrogates were designed to capture the H/C ratio(Surrogate 1)and DCN(Surrogate 2)of RP-3 jet fuel,respectively.Surrogate 3 could emulate more physiochemical properties of RP-3 jet fuel,including molecular weight,H/C ratio and DCN.Experimental results indicate that Surrogate 1 overestimates the auto-ignition propensity of RP-3 jet fuel,whereas Surrogates 2 and 3 show quite similar auto-ignition propensity with RP-3 jet fuel.Therefore,to capture the spray auto-ignition behaviors,DCN is the most important parameter to match when designing the surrogate formulation.However,as the ambient temperature changes,the surrogates matching DCN may still show some differences from the RP-3 jet fuel,e.g.,the first-stage heat release influenced by low-temperature chemistry.

Auto-ignition and stabilization mechanism of diluted H_2 jet flame

The controllable active thermo-atmosphere combustor(CATAC) has become a utilizable and effective facility because it benefits the optical diagnostics and modeling. This paper presents the modeling research of the auto-ignition and flames of the H2/N2(H2/CH4/N2,or H2/H2O2/N2) mixture on a CATAC,and shows curves varying with temperatures of auto-ignition delay,the height of the site of auto-ignition of lifted flames,and flame lift-off height. The results of auto-ignition delay and the lift-off height are compared the experimental results to validate the model. A turning point can be seen on each curve,identified with criterion temperature. It can be concluded that when the co-flow temperature is higher than the criterion temperature,the auto-ignition and lifted flame of the mixture are not stable. Conversely,below the criterion temperature,the mixture will auto-ignite in a stable fashion. Stabilization mechanisms of auto-ignition and lifted flames are analyzed in terms of the criterion temperature.

Preparation and characterization of (metal, nitrogen)-codoped TiO_2 by TiCl_4 sol-gel auto-igniting synthesis

The nitrogen-doped and （metal, nitrogen）-codoped TiO2 photocatalysts （metal = Ag, Ce, Fe, La） were synthesized by sol-gel auto-igniting synthesis （SAS） with the complex compound sol of TiCl4-NH4NO3-citri acid-metal nitrate- NH3.H20 as a precursor. The products were characterized by means of XRD, XPS, and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra, and their photocatalytic activity was investigated under visible light. It was found that all the synthesized powders showed good absorption for visible light, and that the radius and alterable valence states of doping metallic cations played important roles on their photocatalytic activity. These results were discussed in detail.

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.

Characterization of A-site excessive perovskite La_(0.7-x)Sm_(x+0.02)Ca_(0.3)CrO_(3-δ)

La0.7-xSmx＋0.02Ca0.3CrO3-δ （0≤x≤0.4） powders with A-site excessive perovskite structure were synthesized by auto-ignition process and characterized. X-ray diffraction （XRD） patterns of samples after sintering at 1400℃ for 4 h were indexed as tetragonal structure. The relative densities were all above 96% although decreased slightly with the increasing content of samarium, indicating that the excessive A-site element was helpful to enhance their sinterability. Conductivities of the specimens in air increased with increasing content of samarium. The conductivity of La0.6Sm0.12Ca0.3CrO3_swas 33.6 S/cm in air at 700℃ which was about 1.7 times as high as that of La0.7Ca0.3CrO3-δ （20.1 S/cm）. Average thermal expansion coefficients （TECS） of the specimens increased from 11.06×10^-6 to 12.72×10^-6 K^-1 when x increased from 0 to 0.4, and they were close to that of Y doped ZrO2 （YSZ）.La0.7-xSmx＋0.02Ca0.3CrO3-δ （0.1≤x≤0.3） were good choices for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells （IT-SOFCs） interconnect materials.

Heavy Duty Natural Gas Single Cylinder Research Engine Installation, Commissioning, and Baseline Testing

Natural Gas (NG) Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) are a promising alternative to diesel engines for on-road heavy-duty applications to reduce greenhouse gas and harmful pollutant emissions. NG engines have not been widely adopted due to the lower thermal efficiency compared with diesel engine counterparts. To develop the base knowledge required to reach the desired efficiency, a Single Cylinder Engine (SCE) is the most effective platform to acquire reliable and repeatable data. A SCE test cell was developed using a Cummins 15-liter six-cylinder heavy-duty engine block modified to fire one cylinder (2.5-liter displacement). A Woodward Large Engine Control Module (LECM) is integrated to permit implementation of real-time advanced combustion control. Intake and exhaust characteristics, fuel composition, and exhaust gas recirculated substitution rate (EGR) are fully adjustable. A high-speed data acquisition system acquires in-cylinder, intake, and exhaust pressure for combustion analysis. The baseline testing shows reliable and consistent results for engine thermal efficiency, indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), and coefficient of variance of the IMEP over a wide range of operating conditions while achieving effective control of all engine control and operation variables. This test cell will be used to conduct a research program to develop new and innovative control algorithms and CFD optimized combustion chamber designs, allowing ultra-high efficiency and low emissions for NG ICE heavy-duty on-road applications.