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At least 631 records · Page 35

Combustion of unsupported methanol/dodecanol mixture droplets at low gravity

Experiments are reported on the combustion of free or unsupported methanol/dodecanol mixture droplets in a reduced gravity environment. The experiments were conducted in a drop tower. The Grashof number (based on drop diameter) in the moving frame of reference was on the order of 10 exp -5 for the period of droplet burning. Combustion of the mixture droplets was characterized by a multi-stage process indicative of diffusion controlled burning. The flame was not visible during the first stage because of the lighting used, but was visible (and spherical) in the final stage. The results suggested that the mixture droplets did not extinguish. By contrast, methanol droplets consistently extinguished. Microexplosions were not observed for mixtures with initial concentrations of equal volumes of methanol and dodecanol. However, most of the droplets containing initially 75 percent (by volume) of methanol exploded. The initiation of microexplosion, as defined by the occurrence of homogeneous nucleation within the droplet, is explained by comparing the calculated nonlinear variation of superheat limit with composition for a methanol/dodecanol mixture with the boiling point of dodecanol.

Yang, J. C.↗

Diffusive and Radiative Transport in Fires (DARTFire): Opposed-Flow Flame Spread in Low-Velocity Flows

For flames spreading into a low-velocity flow that can only be obtained in microgravity, we have observed behavior that is different from that which is obtained at higher velocities where radiative effects are unimportant and species transport is relatively fast. Unfortunately, lack of a large body of low-gravity flame spread experimental data inhibits progress in developing an understanding of the physics of low-velocity, opposed-flow flame spread phenomena. Recent DARTFire sounding rocket experimental studies though, coupled with developing theory and modelling, have allowed some strides in understanding to be made, on which we report here. Four launches to date have resulted in six experiments for opposed-flow flame spread over a thick PMMA sample. During the 6 min microgravity period, the PMMA samples were ignited, and steady flame spread was studied under varied flow velocity, oxidizer atmospheric conditions, and, because radiative heat transfer is so important in these slowly spreading flames, external radiant flux. These were the first attempts at such experimental control and measurement in microgravity. A recent reflight of the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE) has demonstrated, as modelling predicts, that for the thick fuel of the DARTFire experiment, flame spread in a quiescent environment is a transient process evolving from ignition to extinction on the order of 600 s (Altenkirch et al., 1999). Further study then of the effects of radiation in the very low-velocity opposing flows is of interest in understanding the transition from steady, sustained spread to the unsteady evolution to extinction as the opposing flow is reduced further and eventually removed.

Altenkirch, R. A.↗

Emissions Characterization for Ammonia Fuel Blends in an Enclosed Swirl-Stabilized Diffusion Burner

This study investigates ammonia flames using the enclosed Sydney swirl burner (ESSB), focusing on detailed global emissions measurements. Emissions were measured via Fourier-transform-infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, utilizing a heated, long-path absorption cell. Hot, wet measurements of pertinent species were collected, and concentrations were determined via lineshape fitting in conjunction with the HITRAN database. Results show that partially cracked ammonia compositions yield lower emissions compared to pure NH3/H2, and small amounts of NH3 addition to CH4-containing fuel blends exhibit high levels of NOx and CO, with measurable HCN and unburnt CH4. Equilibrium calculations suggest trade-offs between chemical timescale, heat loss, and mixing. Future work will explore emissions sampling procedures and expand analysis using chemical reactor network modelling.

ammonia combustion↗

The effects of turbulence on the flame structure and NO formation of ammonia turbulent premixed combustion at various equivalence ratios

Ammonia is carbon-free and is regarded as a potential fuel to address global warming issues. Here, in this work, three-dimensional direct numerical simulations (DNS) of ammonia/air turbulent premixed flames were performed to explore the influence of turbulence and equivalence ratio on the flame structure and NO formation characteristics. Two equivalence ratios were considered, i.e. Φ=0.9 and Φ=1.1. The general flame structures were presented and species distributions were examined. The NO mass fraction was found to be the highest in the product for the lean case and in the reaction zone for the rich case. The conditional mean values of species mass fractions and reaction rates were compared with those of the unstrained and strained laminar premixed flames to explore how well the laminar flame structures can approach those of the turbulent flame. The budget analysis of the species transport equations showed that turbulent diffusion plays an important role in species transport. The turbulent diffusivity D T was estimated using the gradient hypothesis based on the DNS data. Various laminar flame simulations with different diffusivities were carried out. It was shown that the conditional means of the DNS agree well with those of the laminar flames including D T in the transport property calculation. The global and local NO formation characteristics were investigated. It was found that the mean NO production conditioned on the progress variable is lower compared with the corresponding laminar flame in the rich case. However, the relative contributions from various NO pathways are rarely affected by turbulence. The NO mass fraction is higher in negative curvature regions compared with positive curvature regions of the flame surface for the rich case, which is due to the preferential diffusion of H 2 and other radicals and the enhanced NO pathways in negatively curved regions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

The Cool Flames Experiment

A space-based experiment is currently under development to study diffusion-controlled, gas-phase, low temperature oxidation reactions, cool flames and auto-ignition in an unstirred, static reactor. At Earth's gravity (1g), natural convection due to self-heating during the course of slow reaction dominates diffusive transport and produces spatio-temporal variations in the thermal and thus species concentration profiles via the Arrhenius temperature dependence of the reaction rates. Natural convection is important in all terrestrial cool flame and auto-ignition studies, except for select low pressure, highly dilute (small temperature excess) studies in small vessels (i.e., small Rayleigh number). On Earth, natural convection occurs when the Rayleigh number (Ra) exceeds a critical value of approximately 600. Typical values of the Ra, associated with cool flames and auto-ignitions, range from 104-105 (or larger), a regime where both natural convection and conduction heat transport are important. When natural convection occurs, it alters the temperature, hydrodynamic, and species concentration fields, thus generating a multi-dimensional field that is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to be modeled analytically. This point has been emphasized recently by Kagan and co-workers who have shown that explosion limits can shift depending on the characteristic length scale associated with the natural convection. Moreover, natural convection in unstirred reactors is never "sufficiently strong to generate a spatially uniform temperature distribution throughout the reacting gas." Thus, an unstirred, nonisothermal reaction on Earth does not reduce to that generated in a mechanically, well-stirred system. Interestingly, however, thermal ignition theories and thermokinetic models neglect natural convection and assume a heat transfer correlation of the form: q=h(S/V)(T(bar) - Tw) where q is the heat loss per unit volume, h is the heat transfer coefficient, S/V is the surface to volume ratio, and (T(bar) - Tw ) is the spatially averaged temperature excess. This Newtonian form has been validated in spatially-uniform, well-stirred reactors, provided the effective heat transfer coefficient associated with the unsteady process is properly evaluated. Unfortunately, it is not a valid assumption for spatially-nonuniform temperature distributions induced by natural convection in unstirred reactors. "This is why the analysis of such a system is so difficult." Historically, the complexities associated with natural convection were perhaps recognized as early as 1938 when thermal ignition theory was first developed. In the 1955 text "Diffusion and Heat Exchange in Chemical Kinetics", Frank-Kamenetskii recognized that "the purely conductive theory can be applied at sufficiently low pressure and small dimensions of the vessel when the influence of natural convection can be disregarded." This was reiterated by Tyler in 1966 and further emphasized by Barnard and Harwood in 1974. Specifically, they state: "It is generally assumed that heat losses are purely conductive. While this may be valid for certain low pressure slow combustion regimes, it is unlikely to be true for the cool flame and ignition regimes." While this statement is true for terrestrial experiments, the purely conductive heat transport assumption is valid at microgravity (mu-g). Specifically, buoyant complexities are suppressed at mu-g and the reaction-diffusion structure associated with low temperature oxidation reactions, cool flames and auto-ignitions can be studied. Without natural convection, the system is simpler, does not require determination of the effective heat transfer coefficient, and is a testbed for analytic and numerical models that assume pure diffusive transport. In addition, mu-g experiments will provide baseline data that will improve our understanding of the effects of natural convection on Earth.

Pearlman, Howard↗

Outwardly Propagating Flames at Elevated Pressures

Spherical, outwardly-propagating flames of CH4-O2-inert and H2-O2-inert mixtures were experimentally studied in a high pressure apparatus. Stretch-free flame speeds and Markstein lengths were extracted for a wide range of pressures and equivalence ratios for spherically-symmetric, smooth flamefronts and compared to numerical computations with detailed chemistry and transport, as well as existing data in the literature. Wrinkle development was examined for propagating flames that were unstable under our experimental conditions. Hydrodynamic cells developed for most H2-air and CH4-air flames at elevated pressures, while thermal-diffusive instabilities were also observed for lean and near-stoichiometric hydrogen flames at pressures above atmospheric. Strategies in suppressing or delaying the onset of cell formation have been assessed. Buoyancy effects affected sufficiently off-stoichiometric CH4 mixtures at high pressures.

Law, C. K.↗

Dynamics and structure of turbulent premixed flames

In earlier work (Mantel & Bilger, 1994) the structure of the turbulent premixed flame was investigated using statistics based on conditional averaging with the reaction progress variable as the conditioning variable. The DNS data base of Trouve and Poinsot (1994) was used in this investigation. Attention was focused on the conditional dissipation and conditional axial velocity in the flame with a view to modeling these quantities for use in the conditional moment closure (CMC) approach to analysis of kinetics in premixed flames (Bilger, 1993). Two remarkable findings were made: there was almost no acceleration of the axial velocity in the flame front itself; and the conditional scalar dissipation remained as high, or higher, than that found in laminar premixed flames. The first finding was surprising since in laminar flames all the fluid acceleration occurs through the flame front, and this could be expected also for turbulent premixed flames at the flamelet limit. The finding gave hope of inventing a new approach to the dynamics of turbulent premixed flames through use of rapid distortion theory or an unsteady Bernoulli equation. This could lead to a new second order closure for turbulent premixed flames. The second finding was contrary to our measurements with laser diagnostics in lean hydrocarbon flames where it is found that conditional scalar dissipation drops dramatically below that for laminar flamelets when the turbulence intensity becomes high. Such behavior was not explainable with a one-step kinetic model, even at non-unity Lewis number. It could be due to depletion of H2 from the reaction zone by preferential diffusion. The capacity of the flame to generate radicals is critically dependent on the levels of H2 present (Bilger, et al., 1991). It seemed that a DNS computation with a multistep reduced mechanism would be worthwhile if a way could be found to make this feasible. Truly innovative approaches to complex problems often come only when there is the opportunity to work close at hand with the (in this case numerical) experimental data. Not only can one spot patterns and relationships in the data which could be important, but one can also get to know the limitations of the technique being used, so that when the next experiment is being designed it will address resolvable questions. A three-year grant from the Australian Research Council has enabled us to develop a small capability at the University of Sydney to work on DNS of turbulent reacting flow, and to analyze data bases generated at CTR. Collaboration between the University of Sydney and CTR is essential to this project and finding a workable modus operandum for this collaboration, given the constraints involved, has been a major objective of the past year's effort. The overall objectives of the project are: (1) to obtain a quantitative understanding of the dynamics of turbulent premixed flames at high turbulence levels with a view to developing improved second order closure models; and (2) to carry out new DNS experiments on turbulent premixed flames using a carefully chosen multistep reduced mechanism for the chemical kinetics, with a view to elucidating the laser diagnostic findings that are contrary to the findings for DNS using one-step kinetics. In this first year the objectives have been to make the existing CTR data base more accessible to coworkers at the University of Sydney, to make progress on understanding the dynamics of the flame in this existing CTR data base, and to carefully construct a suitable multistep reduced mechanism for use in a new set of DNS experiments on turbulent premixed flames.

Bilger, R. W.↗

DNS of ignition and flame stabilization in a simplified gas turbine premixer

With the increasing need for fuel flexibility, mitigation of auto-ignition (AI) inside gas turbine (GT) premixers becomes crucial. They must be designed to yield a sufficiently homogeneous fuel-air mixture to achieve low emissions while at the same time avoiding the occurrence of AI and subsequent flame stabilization. This challenge requires a detailed understanding of turbulent mixing and chemistry interactions. In the present work, a direct numerical simulation (DNS) of an array of jets in crossflow (JICF), representative of an industrial GT premixer, is reported to shed light on these complex phenomena. It is found that AI kernels form in the aft part of the premixer and coalesce into a flame front that then propagates upstream, mainly through the boundary layer, and successively engulfs the jets. This, therefore, suggests a significant role of the jet array pattern on the flame stabilization. It is noted that AI kernels continue to form independently during the whole time of the simulation. To clarify the contribution of AI and diffusion in the ignition kernels and the main flame, chemical explosive mode analysis (CEMA) is employed jointly with a kernel tracking algorithm. It is found that during the initial formation of the flame, many ignition kernels form in mixtures with low scalar dissipation rate and large contribution from AI mode. As they quickly grow, they merge into a single flame front that becomes increasingly more diffusion-assisted over time, balancing the AI mode. Turbulence is shown to have a significant enhancing effect in lean premixed flames, but further analysis is required to fully characterize it. These findings are relevant for the industrial premixer studied, and also for novel micromix concepts that may be used in the next generation of GT combustion systems.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Effect of gravity on the stability and structure of lean hydrogen-air flames

Detailed, time-dependent, 2D numerical simulations with full hydrogen-oxygen chemistry are used to investigate the effects of gravity on the stability and structure of laminar flames in lean, premixed hydrogen-air mixtures. The calculations show that the effects of gravity becomes more important as the lean flammability limit is approached. In a 12 percent hydrogen-air mixture, gravity plays only a secondary role in determining the multidimensional structure of the flame with the stability and structure of the flame controlled primarily by the thermo-diffusive instability mechanism. However, in leaner hydrogen-air mixtures gravity becomes more important. Upward-propagating flames are highly curved and evolve into a bubble rising upwards in the tube. Downward-propagating flames are flat or even oscillate between structures with concave and convex curvatures. The zero-gravity flame shows only cellular structures. Cellular structures which are present in zero gravity can be suppressed by the effect of buoyancy for mixtures leaner than 11 percent hydrogen. These observations are explained on the basis of an interaction between the processes leading to buoyancy-induced Rayleigh-Taylor instability and the thermo-diffusive instability.

Patnaik, G.↗

On the determination of laminar flame speeds from stretched flames

The effects of stretch on the determination of the laminar flame speed are experimentally studied by using the positively-stretched stagnation flame and negatively-stretched bunsen flame, and by using lean and rich mixtures of methane, propane, butane, and hydrogen with air whose effective Lewis numbers are either greater or less than unity. Results demonstrate that flame speed determination can be influenced by stretch through two factors: (1) Preferential diffusion which tends to increase or decrease the flame temperature and burning rate depending on the effective Lewis number, and (2) Flow divergence which causes the flame speed to assume higher values when evaluated at the upstream boundary of the preheat zone instead of the reaction zone. Recent data on flame speed including the present ones are then examined from the unified viewpoint of flame stretch, leading to satisfactory resolution of the discrepancies between them. The present study also proposes a methodology of determining the laminar flame speeds by using the stagnation flame and linearly extrapolating the data to zero stretch rate.

Wu, C. K.↗

Analysis of combustion acoustic phenomena in compression–ignition engines using large eddy simulation

As computational capabilities continue to grow, exploring the limits of computational fluid dynamics to capture complex and elusive phenomena, which are otherwise difficult to study by experimental techniques, is one of the main targets for the research community. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the physical processes that lead to combustion noise emissions in internal combustion engines. In particular, diesel combustion in a compression-ignition (CI) engine is studied in order to understand the singular behavior of the in-cylinder flow field responsible for the acoustic emissions. The main objective is, therefore, to improve the understanding of the phenomena involved in CI engine noise using large eddy simulations. Several visualization methods are employed to investigate the connection between combustion behavior and its effects on the pressure field. In addition, proper orthogonal decomposition is used to analyze the modal energy distribution among all the acoustic modes. The results show that the acoustic signature is fundamentally conditioned by the intensity of the premixed combustion rather than by the pressure oscillations generated by turbulent fluctuations in the flame surface established during the diffusion stage.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Photodissociation of dicarbon: How nature breaks an unusual multiple bond

The dicarbon molecule (C2) is found in flames, comets, stars, and the diffuse interstellar medium. In comets, it is responsible for the green color of the coma, but it is not found in the tail. It has long been held to photodissociate in sunlight with a lifetime precluding observation in the tail, but the mechanism was not known. Here we directly observe photodissociation of C 2 . From the speed of the recoiling carbon atoms, a bond dissociation energy of 602.804(29) kJ∙mol -1 is determined, with an uncertainty comparable to its more experimentally accessible N 2 and O 2 counterparts. The value is within 0.03 kJ∙mol -1 of high-level quantum theory. This work shows that, to break the quadruple bond of C 2 using sunlight, the molecule must absorb two photons and undergo two “forbidden” transitions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Combustion characteristics in the transition region of liquid fuel sprays

A number of important effects were observed in the droplet size transition region in spray combustion systems. In this region, where the mechanism of flame propagation is transformed from diffusive to premixed dominated combustion, the following effects have been observed: (1) maxima in burning velocity; (2) extension of flammability limits; (3) minima in ignition energy; and (4) minima in NO(x) formation. Unfortunately, because of differences in experimental facilities and limitations in the ranges of experimental data, a unified description of these transition region effects is not available at this time. Consequently, a fundamental experimental investigation was initiated to study the effect of droplet size, size distribution, and operating parameters on these transition region phenomena in a single well controlled spray combustion facility.

Cernansky, N. P.↗

Combustion characteristics in the transition region of liquid fuel sprays

A number of important effects have been observed in the droplet size transition region in spray combustion systems. In this region, where the mechanism of flame propagation is transformed from diffusive to premixed dominated combustion, the following effects have been observed: (1) maxima in burning velocity; (2) extension of flammability limits; (3) minima in ignition energy; and (4) minima in NOx formation. A monodisperse aerosol generator has been used to form and deliver a well controlled liquid fuel spray to the combustion test section where measurements of ignition energy have been made. The ignition studies were performed on monodisperse n-heptane sprays at atmospheric pressure over a range of equivalence ratios and droplet diameters. A capacitive discharge spark ignition system was used as the ignition source, providing independent control of spark energy and duration. Preliminary measurements were made to optimize spark duration and spark gap, optimum conditions being those at which the maximum frequency or probability of ignition was observed. Using the optimum electrode spacing and spark duration, the frequency of ignition was determined as a function of spark energy for three overall equivalence ratios (0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) and for initial droplet diameters of 25, 40, 50, 60, and 70 micro m.

Cernansky, N. P.↗

Near-limit flame structures at low Lewis number

The characteristics of premixed gas flames in mixtures with low Lewis numbers near flammability limits were studied experimentally using a low-gravity environment to reduce buoyant convection. The behavior of such flames was found to be dominated by diffusive-thermal instabilities. For sufficiently reactive mixtures, cellular structures resulting from these instabilities were observed and found to spawn new cells in regular patterns. For less reactive mixtures, cells formed shortly after ignition but did not spawn new cells; instead these cells evolved into a flame structure composed of stationary, apparently stable spherical flamelets. Experimental observations are found to be in qualitative agreement with elementary analytical models based on the interaction of heat release due to chemical reaction, differential diffusion of thermal energy and mass, flame front curvature, and volumetric heat losses due to gas and/or soot radiation.

Ronney, Paul D.↗

Cool Flames in Propane-Oxygen Premixtures at Low and Intermediate Temperatures at Reduced-Gravity

The Cool Flame Experiment aims to address the role of diffusive transport on the structure and the stability of gas-phase, non-isothermal, hydrocarbon oxidation reactions, cool flames and auto-ignition fronts in an unstirred, static reactor. These reactions cannot be studied on Earth where natural convection due to self-heating during the course of slow reaction dominates diffusive transport and produces spatio-temporal variations in the thermal and thus species concentration profiles. On Earth, reactions with associated Rayleigh numbers (Ra) less than the critical Ra for onset of convection (Ra(sub cr) approx. 600) cannot be achieved in laboratory-scale vessels for conditions representative of nearly all low-temperature reactions. In fact, the Ra at 1g ranges from 10(exp 4) - 10(exp 5) (or larger), while at reduced-gravity, these values can be reduced two to six orders of magnitude (below Ra(sub cr)), depending on the reduced-gravity test facility. Currently, laboratory (1g) and NASA s KC-135 reduced-gravity (g) aircraft studies are being conducted in parallel with the development of a detailed chemical kinetic model that includes thermal and species diffusion. Select experiments have also been conducted at partial gravity (Martian, 0.3gearth) aboard the KC-135 aircraft. This paper discusses these preliminary results for propane-oxygen premixtures in the low to intermediate temperature range (310- 350 C) at reduced-gravity.

Pearlman, Howard↗

Effects of unburnt reaction progress on stretch flame dynamics under elevated temperatures

Flames in practical combustors and engines are inevitably subject to the effects of upstream chemical reaction progress and stretch, induced by elevated thermodynamic conditions and flow non-uniformities, respectively. Recent shock tube experiments and simulation studies on flame propagation have shown that flame speed under engine-relevant conditions can be enhanced with non-negligible upstream chemical reaction progress, especially when low-temperature heat release is involved in the unburnt mixture. On the other hand, depending on the mixture equivalence ratio and diluents, nonequidiffusion (including the non-unity Lewis number effect and the preferential diffusion effect) can couple with the flame stretch to fundamentally affect the flame propagation, which can manifest as either facilitation or suppression. Depending on the transport property of a reacting mixture, there hence can be either inhibition or promotion from unburnt reaction progress and stretch effects on flame propagation. In the current work, through one-dimensional numerical simulations of transient planar and spherical flames of n-heptane/air under elevated thermodynamic conditions, the combined effects of upstream chemical reaction progress and stretch on flame propagation are investigated. Results show that for both lean and rich n-heptane/air mixtures, flame speed can be substantially promoted with reaction progress, while the rich mixtures can exhibit opposite stretch dependence after first-stage ignition. Different definitions of effective Lewis number are adopted to explain the change in Markstein length for spherical flame in lean and rich mixtures reformed by the low temperature chemistry. Further, this work fills an important gap in laminar premixed flame research relevant to practical combustion systems and can provide useful insight into local turbulent flame behaviors and phi-sensitivity in engine combustion.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Effect of Wind Velocity on Flame Spread in Microgravity

A three-dimensional, time-dependent model is developed describing ignition and subsequent transition to flame spread over a thermally thin cellulosic sheet heated by external radiation in a microgravity environment. A low Mach number approximation to the Navier Stokes equations with global reaction rate equations describing combustion in the gas phase and the condensed phase is numerically solved. The effects of a slow external wind (1-20 cm/s) on flame transition are studied in an atmosphere of 35% oxygen concentration. The ignition is initiated at the center part of the sample by generating a line-shape flame along the width of the sample. The calculated results are compared with data obtained in the 10s drop tower. Numerical results exhibit flame quenching at a wind speed of 1.0 cm/s, two localized flames propagating upstream along the sample edges at 1.5 cm/s, a single line-shape flame front at 5.0 cm/s, three flames structure observed at 10.0 cm/s (consisting of a single line-shape flame propagating upstream and two localized flames propagating downstream along sample edges) and followed by two line-shape flames (one propagating upstream and another propagating downstream) at 20.0 cm/s. These observations qualitatively compare with experimental data. Three-dimensional visualization of the observed flame complex, fuel concentration contours, oxygen and reaction rate isosurfaces, convective and diffusive mass flux are used to obtain a detailed understanding of the controlling mechanism, Physical arguments based on lateral diffusive flux of oxygen, fuel depletion, oxygen shadow of the flame and heat release rate are constructed to explain the various observed flame shapes.

Prasad, Kuldeep↗