Ignition delay-time behind reflected shock waves of small hydrocarbons–nitrous oxide(–oxygen) mixtures

Although nitrous oxide has been identified as an important intermediate during the combustion of many solid propellants, there is a limited amount of data concerning the high-temperature oxidation of hydrocarbons by nitrous oxide. In the present study, ignition delay-times of small hydrocarbon–N_2O mixtures with and without O_2 were investigated through shock-tube experiments and chemical kinetic simulations. Experimentally, it is shown that the addition of oxygen induces a significant reduction of the activation energy of the ignition process. Simulations demonstrate that delay-times are usually satisfactorilly predicted but that the detailed reaction models used do not capture all the features of the OH* emission profiles

Absorption cross section at 3.39 µm of alkanes, aromatics and substituted hydrocarbons

The present study reports gas phase absorption cross sections at 3.39 μm of 21 liquid hydrocarbons. Measurements were performed in the temperature range 303–413 K using an infrared He–Ne laser. In addition to n-alkanes, a number of cyclo-alkane, aromatic, and substituted hydrocarbons were investigated. The results demonstrate that (i) the absorption cross sections are temperature independent in the studied range, and that (ii) the aromatic and substituted hydrocarbons exhibit much smaller cross sections than n-alkanes for an identical number of C–H bonds. A tentative empirical correlation has been developed and shown to accurately predicts the cross section

Experimental and numerical study of the ignition of hydrogen-air mixtures by a localized stationary hot surface

The ignition of hydrogen-air mixtures by a stationary hot glow plug has been experimentally investigated using two-color pyrometry and interferometry. The ignition process was characterized by the surface temperature at ignition, as well as by the location where the initial flame kernel was formed. The experimental results indicate that: (i) the ignition temperature threshold is a function of equivalence ratio; (ii) the ignition location is a function of the rate at which the glow plug is heated because high heating rates favor non-uniform heating. As a result, ignition occurs on the side rather than near the top face of the glow plug. Comparison with two-dimensional numerical simulations exhibits discrepancies in terms of the temperature threshold value and dependence on equivalence ratio. Simulations performed imposing a non-uniform surface temperature show that a temperature difference between the side and the top of the glow plug as low as 12.5 to 25 K resulted in side ignition for hydrogen-air mixtures. The effect of surface chemistry was estimated numerically by imposing a boundary condition of zero species concentration for intermediate species, H and HO_2, at the hot surface, which increased the ignition threshold by up to 50 K for an initial H_2 concentration of 70%. The present study shows that surface temperature non-uniformity, heterogeneous chemistry and reaction model used, could influence the experimentally reported and numerically predicted ignition threshold as well as the location of ignition

Hot surface ignition of stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixtures

Hot surface ignition is relevant in the context of industrial safety. In the present work, two-dimensional simulations with detailed chemistry, and study of the reaction pathways of the buoyancy-driven flow and ignition of a stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixture by a rapidly heated surface (glowplug) are reported. Experimentally, ignition is observed to occur regularly at the top of the glowplug; numerical results for hydrogen-air reproduce this trend, and shed light on this behavior. The simulations show the importance of flow separation in creating zones where convective losses are minimized and heat diffusion is maximized, resulting in the critical conditions for ignition to take place

Hot surface ignition of stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixtures

Hot surface ignition is relevant in the context of industrial safety. In the present work, two-dimensional simulations with detailed chemistry, and study of the reaction pathways of the buoyancy-driven flow and ignition of a stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixture by a rapidly heated surface (glowplug) are reported. Experimentally, ignition is observed to occur regularly at the top of the glowplug; numerical results for hydrogen-air reproduce this trend, and shed light on this behavior. The simulations show the importance of flow separation in creating zones where convective losses are minimized and heat diffusion is maximized, resulting in the critical conditions for ignition to take place

The effect of heating rates on low temperature hexane air combustion

Combustion of hydrocarbon fuels is traditionally separated into slow reaction, cool flame, and ignition regimes based on pressure and temperature. Standard tests, such as the ASTM E659, are used to determine the lowest temperature required to ignite a specific fuel mixed with air at atmospheric pressure. It is expected that the initial pressure and the rate at which the mixture is heated also influences the limiting temperature and the type of combustion. This study investigates the effect of heating rate, between 4 and 15 K/min, and initial pressure, in the range of 25–100 kPa, on ignition of n-hexane air mixtures. Mixtures with equivalence ratio ranging from Φ = 0.6 to Φ = 1.2 were investigated. The problem is also modeled computationally using an extension of Semenov’s classical autoignition theory with a detailed chemical mechanism. Experiments and simulations both show that in the same reactor either a slow reaction or an ignition event can take place depending on the heating rate. Analysis of the detailed chemistry demonstrates that a mixture which approaches the ignition region slowly undergoes a significant modification of its composition. This change in composition induces a progressive shift of the explosion limit until the mixture is no longer flammable. A mixture that approaches the ignition region sufficiently rapidly undergoes only a moderate amount of thermal decomposition and explodes quite violently

Dynamics of ignition of stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixtures by moving heated particles

Studying thermal ignition mechanisms is a key step for evaluating many ignition hazards. In the present work, two-dimensional simulations with detailed chemistry are used to study the reaction pathways of the transient flow and ignition of a stoichiometric hydrogen/air mixture by moving hot spheres. For temperatures above the ignition threshold, ignition takes place after a short time between the front stagnation point and separation location depending upon the sphere's surface temperature. Closer to the threshold, the volume of gas adjacent to the separation region ignites homogeneously after a longer time. These results demonstrate the importance of boundary layer development and flow separation in the ignition process

Effects of differential diffusion on ignition of stoichiometric hydrogen-air by moving hot spheres

Studying thermal ignition mechanisms is a key step for evaluating many ignition hazards. In the present work, two-dimensional simulations with detailed chemistry are used to study the effect of differential diffusion on the prediction of ignition thresholds of a stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixture by moving hot spheres. Numerical experiments showed an increase of 40 K in the minimum ignition temperature required for ignition when diffusion of species at different rates is taken into account. Detailed analysis of the species profiles at the ignition location and a sensitivity study of the system to the diffusivity of H_2 and H revealed the key role played by the diffusion of H atoms in preventing ignition to take place at temperatures below 1000 K

Dynamics of ignition of stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixtures by moving heated particles

Studying thermal ignition mechanisms is a key step for evaluating many ignition hazards. In the present work, two-dimensional simulations with detailed chemistry are used to study the reaction pathways of the transient flow and ignition of a stoichiometric hydrogen/air mixture by moving hot spheres. For temperatures above the ignition threshold, ignition takes place after a short time between the front stagnation point and separation location depending upon the sphere's surface temperature. Closer to the threshold, the volume of gas adjacent to the separation region ignites homogeneously after a longer time. These results demonstrate the importance of boundary layer development and flow separation in the ignition process