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DOE OSTI2018

Modeling and projecting implosion performance for the National Ignition Facility

Steady progress is being made in inertial confinement fusion experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Nonetheless, substantial further progress is still needed to reach the ultimate goal of fusion ignition. Closing the remaining gap will require either improving the quality of current implosions, increasing the implosion scale (and correspondingly the energy delivered by NIF), or some combination of the two. But how much of an improvement in implosion quality or energy scale is required to reach ignition? To reliably answer this question, an accurate understanding of current and past experiments is first required. Previous modeling efforts of NIF implosions have shown the need to resolve a wide range of scales (from microns to millimeters) as well as a faithful representation of the genuinely three-dimensional (3D) character of the stagnation process. Modeling NIF implosions is further complicated by the many perturbation sources that have been found to influence integrated implosion performance: flux asymmetries from the surrounding hohlraum, engineering features such as support tents and fill tubes, surface defects and contaminants, and more recently the radiation shadow cast by the fill tube on the capsule. A model including all of these effects, and with adequate resolution, challenges current computing capabilities but has recently become feasible on the largest computers. Here, we review the status of these multi-effect, 3D simulations of NIF implosions, their comparison to experimental data, and preliminary results on scaling these simulations to the threshold of ignition on NIF.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Improved ion heating in fast ignition by pulse shaping

The fast ignition paradigm for inertial fusion offers increased gain and tolerance of asymmetry by compressing fuel at low entropy and then quickly igniting a small region. Because this hotspot rapidly disassembles, the ions must be heated to ignition temperature as quickly as possible, but most ignitor designs directly heat electrons. A constant-power ignitor pulse, which is generally assumed, is suboptimal for coupling energy from electrons to ions. Using a simple model of a hotspot in isochoric plasma, a novel pulse shape to maximize ion heating is presented in analytical form. Bounds are derived on the maximum ion temperature attainable by electron heating only. Moreover, arranging for faster ion heating allows a smaller hotspot, improving fusion gain. As a result, under representative conditions, the optimized pulse can reduce ignition energy by over 20%.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2019

Experimental investigation of the relationship between thermal barrier coating structured porosity and homogeneous charge compression ignition engine combustion

Heat transfer has a monumental influence on homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion. When a thermal barrier coating is applied to the combustion chamber, the insulating effect magnifies the wall temperature swing, decreasing heat transfer during combustion. This enables improvements in both thermal and combustion efficiency without the detrimental impacts of intake charge heating. Increasing the temperature swing requires coatings with lower thermal conductivity and heat capacity. An enticing avenue for simultaneously decreasing both thermal conductivity and capacity is to increase the porosity fraction. A proprietary solution precursor plasma spray process enables discrete organization of the porosity structure, called inter-pass boundaries, which in turn produces a step-reduction in thermal conductivity for a given porosity level. In this investigation, yttria-stabilized zirconia is used to create four different thermal barrier coatings to study the potential of structured porosity as means of improving the “temperature swing” behavior in a homogeneous charge compression ignition engine. The baseline coating is “dense YSZ,” applied using a standard air-plasma spray process. Furthermore, significant reductions of the thermal conductivity are achieved by utilizing the solution precursor plasma spray process to create inter-pass boundaries with a moderate overall porosity. Performance, efficiency, and emissions are compared against both a baseline configuration with a metal piston and an air-plasma spray “dense YSZ” coating. Experiments are carried out in a single-cylinder gasoline homogeneous charge compression ignition engine with exhaust re-induction. Experiments indicate that incorporating structured porosity into thermal barrier coatings produces tangible gains in combustion and thermal efficiencies. However, there is an upper limit to porosity levels acceptable for homogeneous charge compression ignition engine application because an elevated porosity fraction leads to excessive surface roughness and undesirable fuel interactions. Comparison of the coatings showed the best results with coating thickness of up to 150 µm. Thicker coatings led to slower surface temperature response and attenuated swing temperature magnitude.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Computationally efficient evaluation of optimum homogeneous charge compression ignition operating range with accelerated multizone engine cycle simulation

The very intensive calculations necessary to define a performance map requiring evaluation of over a hundred individual operating points can be efficiently conducted with accelerated multizone for engine cycle simulation, leading to a definition of regions of acceptable and optimum homogeneous charge compression ignition operation. Accelerated multizone for engine cycle simulation has the virtue of enabling accurate evaluation of many operating conditions based on thermal stratification data from a single fluid mechanics run at motored conditions. This is possible because thermal stratification is more sensitive to engine geometry than to operating conditions. In this article, accuracy of accelerated multizone for engine cycle simulation is demonstrated by comparison with experimental data for iso-octane homogeneous charge compression ignition operation over a broad range of lean equivalence ratios (0.14–0.28). The validated accelerated multizone for engine cycle simulation model is then applied to generating a performance map for an engine controlled by appropriately adjusting equivalence ratio and internal exhaust gas recirculation. Regions of acceptable and optimum combustion are identified. It is finally demonstrated that while indicated mean effective pressure remains low for optimum homogeneous charge compression ignition operation (1–4 bar), this is sufficient for a large fraction of typical driving in light-duty vehicles. Much driving including idle can therefore be done in homogeneous charge compression ignition mode at high efficiency and low (essentially zero) NOx and particulate matter emissions.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

DOE OSTI2020

National Ignition Campaign Data Analysis by an ICF Outsider

A simple DT burn model, with no alpha-particle warming feedback, using a combination of ICF inputs and the measured ion temperature, T, volume compression, C, ablator velocity, v, and burn width time, Δt, can reproduce the national-ignition campaign (NIC) fusion yields with a rms percent difference of ~40%. Analysis suggestion the fusion-yield reproducibility of NIC events with nominally identically measured T, C, v, and Δt is <30%. The highest fusion yields, at a fixed laser energy are obtained with depleted-uranium (DU) hohlraums and high-density carbon (HDC) ablators. Small diameter fit tubes (≤5 μm) enhance fusion yields by an average of 26±15% relative to 10-μm diameter fit tubes. A dependence of fusion yield on the diameter of the capsule relative to the diameter of the hohlraum is inferred for fixed T, C, v, and Δt. No evidence of conditions close to ignition, or alpha-particle warming is found in the existing NIC data with LEH< 2MJ. To obtain a predictive model for extrapolation proposes we map the T, C, and v into power laws as a function of LEH. The above mentioned extrapolatable model has a rms percent difference from the yields of the second half of the NIC of (56 ± 4)%. Higher (and significantly lower) DT temperatures are obtained with HDC ablators (and low-foot drives). The highest compressions are obtained via low-foot drives, but this does not compensate for the corresponding lower temperatures. An extrapolation of the presented model suggests significant alpha-particle heating at an LEH of ~5 MJ. It is hoped that others more familiar it the conditions needed for ignition will use to presented model to estimate the LEH required for ignition.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Poly(oxymethylene) Ethers as a High Cetane, Low Sooting Biofuel Blendstock for Use in Medium to Heavy Duty Mixing Controlled Compression Ignition Engines

Compression ignition (CI) engines are currently the most common prime mover for medium and heavy duty vehicles; these engines contribute roughly a quarter of US greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, and even higher percentages of particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions. As a result, there have been significant efforts made to reduce these emissions, particularly through selection of low-emissions alternative fuels. Oxymethylene ethers (OMEs) are a class of molecule, typically structured R-O-(CH2O)n-R', which have been considered as a possible blendstock in CI fuels for the goal of soot reduction. Generally, past work has focused on methyl-terminated OMEs, CH3-O-(CH2O)n-CH3, which by virtue of containing no C--C bonds, produce negligible soot. These molecules show significant reductions in soot emission from engines when blended in moderate to high ratios with traditional diesels, however, they have been shown to have inferior physical properties and poor compatibility with some legacy systems. Recent theoretical work has shown that OMEs with non-methyl alkyl groups may have superior performance, albeit at the cost of increased soot formation. In this work, a variety of OMEs with terminating alkyl groups from methyl to butyl are considered for their suitability as CI fuels. The synthesis of these extended OMEs is studied, including formation of n=1 OMEs from common chemical sources, and extension of the chain length to heavier molecules, via reactions over acidic ion exchange resins. Following the synthesis, the properties of these OMEs are studied with respect to their engine applicability. It is found that heavier (propyl- and butyl-terminated) OMEs have superior properties for diesel compatibility, particularly in reactivity, volatility, and water solubility. Extended-alkyl OMEs are found to have higher soot production than methyl-terminated OMEs, but remain superior to diesel soot production on a per-unit-energy basis. A sample of a butyl-terminated OME mixture, n=2-4, is selected as the ideal OME blend for close compatibility with legacy diesel systems. This mixture is blended with certified diesel and tested for ASTM D975 compatibility, passing all required tests but lubricity; decreased heat of combustion is observed but not governed by the diesel standard. Fundamental combustion tests of various mid-weight OMEs are performed in a rapid compression machine, where it is shown that low-temperature chemistry causes a region of decreased dependence of ignition delay on temperature, consistent with methyl-terminated OME behavior. An isopropyl-terminated OME is observed to have low reactivity compared to other OMEs; this fuel is investigated via further rapid compression machine testing and CFR engine testing. It is found that this OME has strong negative-temperature-coefficient ignition behavior - a first for OMEs - and has reactivity lower than other OMEs, but insufficient for direct spark ignition engine testing.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Compression Ignition Engines – Revolutionary Technology That has Civilized Frontiers all Over the Globe from the Industrial Revolution into the Twenty-First Century

The history, present and future of the compression ignition engine is a fascinating story that spans over 100 years, from the time of Rudolf Diesel to the highly regulated and computerized engines of the 21st Century. The development of these engines provided inexpensive, reliable and high power density machines to allow transportation, construction and farming to be more productive with less human effort than in any previous period of human history. The concept that fuels could be consumed efficiently and effectively with only the ignition of pressurized and heated air was a significant departure from the previous coal-burning architecture of the 1800s. Today, the compression ignition engine is undergoing yet another revolution. The equipment that provides transport, builds roads and infrastructure, and harvests the food we eat needs to meet more stringent requirements than ever before. How successfully 21st Century engineers are able to make compression ignition engine technology meet these demands will be of major influence in assisting developing nations (with over 50% of the world’s population) achieve the economic and environmental goals they seek.

diesel engine, diesel fuel, compression ignition e↗

NASA NTRS2023

Reliable Ignition of LOX Methane Propellants in Thermal Vacuum Environment

The goal of this project is to demonstrate reliable ignition of liquid oxygen-liquid methane at thermal vacuum conditions using a coil-on-plug (COP) sparking exciter. Testing will be performed using EP’s Frost-Mint cryogenic propellant test stand, using an engine updated based on data collected from previous engine testing at Plum Brook Station, to determine conditions under which the cryogenic propellants will consistently and reliably ignite. In FY22 the project successfully completed the following milestones. The cryogenic test stand Frost-Mint was upgraded to include an integrated vacuum tube and liquid nitrogen cooling system enabling cold vacuum ignition testing. The Integrated GN2/LN2 Ultra-Low-temperature Enclosure (IGLUE), a custom-built close-coupled heater exchanger shroud was designed, fabricated, tested and integrated into the test stand. The vacuum tube and IGLUE enabled the thruster body and propellants to be conditioned to temperatures and pressures desired. This work recreated the no-light conditions experienced during vehicle-level thermal vacuum testing and obtained thruster performance data and ignition imagery.

liquid oxygen↗

DOE OSTI2014

Ignition Sensitivity and Electrical Conductivity of a Composite Energetic Material with Conductive Nanofillers

The safe handling of powdered composite energetic materials requires an understanding of their response to electrostatic ignition stimuli. A binary composite comprised of Al and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was tailored for ESD ignition sensitivity with varied concentrations of highly conductive nanofillers. The goal was to control the ESD ignition response of the Al+PTFE with small concentrations of nanofillers that may not significantly affect the overall combustion performance of the mixture. The nanofillers examined include carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). Adding CNTs created percolation at a lower volumetric percentage than GNPs and were found to be the controlling nanofiller, creating percolation for the mixture containing both CNTs and GNPs. Various mixing methods were examined. Ignition was achieved only for adding nanofillers at a volumetric percentage and mixing method that led to a bulk conductivity of approximately 5x10-3 ?S/cm.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2017

Flames with repetitive extinction and ignition in a micro flow reactor with a controlled temperature profile at engine-relevant conditions

In this paper, combustion in a narrow channel with an imposed temperature gradient is studied numerically at elevated pressure with engine-relevant fuels. The focus is placed on unsteady flames with repetitive extinction and ignition (FREI) to determine the potential of this regime for fuel testing. It is shown that the FREI regime does occur at elevated pressures for sufficiently small tube diameters. The sensitivity of the extinction and ignition temperatures to low-temperature chemistry is found to be significantly enhanced at 25 bar compared to atmospheric conditions. The ignition and extinction temperatures differ by up to 100 K between PRF mixtures with varying octane numbers. Ternary mixtures of iso-octane/n-heptane/toluene and iso-octane/n-heptane/ethanol at similar RON and MON are also studied. Finally, differences in ignition and extinction temperatures further illustrate the potential of combustion in a narrow channel to distinguish between engine-relevant fuels.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2019

Ignition, Flame Propagation, and End-Gas Autoignition Studies of Natural Gas/EGR Blends in a Rapid Compression Machine

The development of high efficiency, spark ignited natural gas engines is currently limited by engine knock at high power density (at high compression ratio and/or elevated boost pressures) and misfire (at lean conditions and/or high exhaust gas recirculation levels). The knock and misfire limits are further confounded by the wide variety in fuel reactivity observed in “pipeline quality” natural gas. In this study, a rapid compression machine (RCM) was used to characterize the effects of variation in natural gas fuel reactivity and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) on homogeneous ignition delay, flame propagation rate and end-gas autoignition (EGAI) propensity for stoichiometric natural gas/oxidizer/EGR blends. Pipeline quality natural gas with variable reactivity (68 < Methane Number < 95) was simulated using mixtures of methane, ethane, and propane. EGR was simulated with mixtures of Ar, CO2, CO, and NO. EGR substitution rates were varied from 0 to 30 mass percent. Ignition delay period under homogeneous autoignition conditions was measured at compressed pressures of 24.0 to 33.1 bar and compressed temperatures of 667 to 980 K. Flame propagation rate and EGAI propensity was measured at spark-ignition pressures of 29.9 to 32.9 bar and temperatures of 721 to 782 K.

Ignition Delay, Flame Propagation Rate, Rapid Comp↗

DOE OSTI2022

Technology Enablers for Advanced Gasoline Compression Ignition Engines

To meet current emission regulations and increasingly demanding global fleet CO2 standards on fuel economy and future trends towards life cycle GHG emissions, advanced combustion engines remain significant in the passenger vehicle sector to achieve high efficiency and low emissions over the full operating range. Lean burn gasoline compression ignition (GCI) technology has shown to have the most potential in reaching these goals, although it faces challenges in the operating range. In this study, an advanced GCI engine is considered with the capability to operate under two combustion modes, namely low temperature combustion (LTC) and GCI. They are enabled with the use of two Hyundai in-house developed technologies; an advanced valve control mechanism known as continuously variable valve duration (CVVD) and a high-pressure gasoline injection system. At low load, the engine utilizes dual CVVD and dual CVVT (continuously variable valve timing) mechanisms for both intake and exhaust valvetrains to enable NVO (negative valve overlap) to trap hot residuals. The hot residuals enable low load auto-ignition, and the phasing control of that auto-ignition is achieved by varying the degrees of NVO, and in turn, the amount of hot residuals. This is done in real time with respect to the changes in engine loads or operating conditions, significantly improving cylinder-phasing control in LTC mode, and subsequently is able to realize a fuel economy gain and reduced emission benefits. Early direct injection during NVO or intake stroke is used to form homogenous or quasi-homogenous air-fuel mixture for LTC. At mid to high loads, late direct injection of gasoline or GCI mode is employed to take advantage of the high volatility and high resistance to auto-ignition of gasoline fuel, so that diesel-engine like high combustion efficiency can be achieved with lower soot emissions for the same NOx level as diesel combustion. In this paper, the key control and fueling technologies that enable this multiple mode combustion are introduced, and the resultant analysis on engine test and CFD simulation at LTC and GCI operating conditions are presented in detail.

Gasoline compression ignition, low temperature com↗

NASA NTRS1928

Ignition and combustion phenomena in Diesel engines

Evidences were found that neither gasification nor vaporization of the injected fuel occurs before ignition; also that the hydrogen coefficient has no significance. However the knowledge of the ignition point and of the "time lag" is important. After ignition, the combustion proceeds in a series of reactions, the last of which at least are now known.

ENGINES, DIESEL - IGNITION & COMBUSTION↗

DOE OSTI2025

Thermal Gradient Effects on Local Hotspot Ignition in 1,3,5,7‐Tetranitro‐1,3,5,7‐tetrazocane (HMX)

Understanding hotspot ignition, growth, and criticality, as well as the timescales of each, is crucial for parameterizing mesoscale and continuum‐level models that rely on a statistical understanding of hotspots. However, these models often consider hotspots to have uniform temperatures or for hotspots of a given temperature and size to always behave the same. Therefore, using molecular dynamics simulations, we assess the influence of thermal distribution effects on hotspot local ignition and time to ignition in 1,3,5,7‐tetranitro‐1,3,5,7‐tetrazocane (HMX) nanoscale hotspots. Finally, by assessing hotspots with a gradient driven from an initial two‐temperature core–shell setup, we show that small increases in the core temperature under a constant average temperature can lead to order‐of‐magnitude effects on reaction and local ignition timescales.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Piston geometry and stroke optimization for high efficiency propane spark ignition engines

Propane has unique properties and offers interesting characteristics for high-efficiency spark ignition engines. Its high volatility reduces or completely eliminates fuel-wall wetting and facilitates fuel air mixing. Furthermore, propane has a research octane number of 112 and a high octane sensitivity of 15. Finally, its laminar flame speed is on the same order as that of conventional gasoline, and it exhibits high dilution tolerance. Modern spark ignition internal combustion engines rely on fast combustion rates and high dilution to achieve high brake thermal efficiencies. To accomplish this, high stroke-to-bore ratios and high geometric compression ratios have been used in new engine designs. Therefore, propane’s relatively high laminar flame speeds, high knock resistance, and dilution tolerance make it an excellent candidate fuel for modern spark ignition engines. The objective of this work is to co-optimize the piston geometry and the engine stroke to maximize the efficiency of a spark-ignition engine fueled with propane. 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations employing the extended coherent flamelet model were used to study the parametric effects of piston shape and stroke length. A piston geometry based on high performing pistons was parameterized using four controlling parameters. The piston geometry and engine stroke design space was explored using deterministic and quasi-random sampling techniques. In conclusion, a Gaussian process regression model was built using the simulation data to explain the results observed.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Evaluating temperature and fuel stratification for heat-release rate control in a reactivity-controlled compression-ignition engine using optical diagnostics and chemical kinetics modeling

We investigated the combustion process in a dual-fuel, reactivity-controlled compression-ignition (RCCI) engine using a combination of optical diagnostics and chemical kinetics modeling to explain the role of equivalence ratio, temperature, and fuel reactivity stratification for heat-release rate control. An optically accessible engine is operated in the RCCI combustion mode using gasoline primary reference fuels (PRF). A well-mixed charge of iso-octane (PRF = 100) is created by injecting fuel into the engine cylinder during the intake stroke using a gasoline-type direct injector. Later in the cycle, n-heptane (PRF = 0) is delivered through a centrally mounted diesel-type common-rail injector. This injection strategy generates stratification in equivalence ratio, fuel blend, and temperature. The first part of this study uses a high-speed camera to image the injection events and record high-temperature combustion chemiluminescence. Moreover, the chemiluminescence imaging showed that, at the operating condition studied in the present work, mixtures in the squish region ignite first, and the reaction zone proceeds inward toward the center of the combustion chamber. The second part of this study investigates the charge preparation of the RCCI strategy using planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of a fuel tracer under non-reacting conditions to quantify fuel concentration distributions prior to ignition. The fuel-tracer PLIF data show that the combustion event proceeds down gradients in the n-heptane distribution. The third part of the study uses chemical kinetics modeling over a range of mixtures spanning the distributions observed from the fuel-tracer fluorescence imaging to isolate the roles of temperature, equivalence ratio, and PRF number stratification. The simulations predict that PRF number stratification is the dominant factor controlling the ignition location and growth rate of the reaction zone. Equivalence ratio has a smaller, but still significant, influence. Lastly, temperature stratification had a negligible influence due to the NTC behavior of the PRF mixtures.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2021

Data-driven chemical kinetic reaction mechanism for F-24 jet fuel ignition

A data-driven chemical kinetic mechanism for the military version of Jet A, F-24, is developed for numerical simulations of the ignition process. The main purpose of this study is to obtain a practical F-24 mechanism across wide temperature and equivalence ratio ranges, with a particular focus on the negative temperature coefficient and low temperature regions. The new mechanism (ARLMech-HC-F24) is based on the HyChem model of a similar fuel and optimized using a micro-genetic algorithm against an experimental ignition delay data set of the target fuel. The development and optimization processes include reaction selection, population creation, shuffled tournament implementation based on a merit function, and child-individual creation for the next generation. Several techniques and parameters are proposed to generate an accurate mechanism through an efficient process. The newly introduced data-driven mechanism based on these techniques shows better merit value convergence and represents the ignition behavior more accurately than that without the techniques. This practical mechanism is suitable for the numerical simulations of the F-24 or Jet A ignition problem, and the suggested strategies can be employed in similar problems of rate coefficients estimation.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2017

Control of Early Flame Kernel Growth by Multi-Wavelength Laser Pulses for Enhanced Ignition

The present contribution examines the impact of plasma dynamics and plasma-driven fluid dynamics on the flame growth of laser ignited mixtures and shows that a new dual-pulse scheme can be used to control the kernel formation process in ways that extend the lean ignition limit. We do this by performing a comparative study between (conventional) single-pulse laser ignition (λ = 1064 nm) and a novel dual-pulse method based on combining an ultraviolet (UV) pre-ionization pulse (λ = 266 nm) with an overlapped near-infrared (NIR) energy addition pulse (λ = 1064 nm). We employ OH* chemiluminescence to visualize the evolution of the early flame kernel. For single-pulse laser ignition at lean conditions, the flame kernel separates through third lobe detachment, corresponding to high strain rates that extinguish the flame. In this work, we investigate the capabilities of the dual-pulse to control the plasma-driven fluid dynamics by adjusting the axial offset of the two focal points. In particular, we find there exists a beam waist offset whereby the resulting vorticity suppresses formation of the third lobe, consequently reducing flame stretch. With this approach, we demonstrate that the dual-pulse method enables reduced flame speeds (at early times), an extended lean limit, increased combustion efficiency, and decreased laser energy requirements.

42 ENGINEERING↗